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First off, if you're already mixing tracks in your computer and you just need to combine your computer's output with a microphone, pretty much any mixer, DJ oriented or otherwise, will do. But if you're planning to mix your tracks as well as the mic using the mixer, read on... For less technically demanding DJing (such as at home or at a wedding) most any ...

The 'mic' input on your laptop is designed for a microphone's low level input. It has a preamp to boost the signal to 'line' level hence if you are feeding a line level signal into a 'mic' input it will be amplified into clipping aka distortion. Assuming that your 3 channel mixer has "phono" level inputs and line level outputs, it would be good to get ...

You can make it work with that kit list if your mixer has a power amp. But realistically you should plan for the following at gigs: MacBook and Thinkpad (always prepare for a computer to die - which is very embarrassing if you don't have backup) Software Soundcard (you can get away without it, but a soundcard gives better quality) Amplifier Speakers Audio ...

The first thing to say here is, I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. Second thing to say... you should talk to a lawyer to answer questions about your particular situation definitively. Having said that, I found a nice article about the various issues related to DJing, etc. I believe the bit below should be applicable to you, though I'd recommend ...

This is in a DJ context, so I'm presuming you're talking about a DJ-style mixer with a crossfader, rather than a more traditional line mixer. You've got at least two audio sources (at least one laptop, at least one iPad), so if you want to play them at the same time, you'll need some kind of mixer. However, if you plan to play only one device at a time ...

How are you using the external sound card/audio interface with the iPad(s)? A better answer will require a more detailed explanation of our setup, including model numbers or at least what kind of connectors each component provides. The simple answer is if you can plug source A into speaker B and it works well enough for you without a mixer, then no you ...

Watts per pound. That is to say you want to evaluate on the following criteria: How portable is it? (Can you fit it in your car with all the other gear? Will these be light enough for you to pick up and move?) How powerful is it? (Can you fill your average venue with enough clean as in non-clipping volume with some head room to spare?) To simplify, the ...

There are a few options open to you depending on what path you want to down (hardware/software). If you are looking to really learn how to beat match then there are a couple of options. 1) Get yourself some second hand turntables (vinyl), a 2 channel mixer and some speakers. Gemini are a cheap, beginners brand that should do the trick (I started off on ...

Something that may help you with mixing in a microphone and also add some legitimacy to your setup (make it less 'hackish') would be an audio interface. Since the sound quality of most internal sound cards for computers is not very good, it will most likely cause your setup to sound better also. What you would do is plug in the microphone into the ...

NI DJ Traktor Pro TRAKTOR PRO is the new benchmark in DJ software. Mix digital files on four decks, using the high-quality internal mixer or external hardware, and the best effects suite around. Fully primed for professional use, TRAKTOR PRO redefines the art of DJing. The downside, it costs money...

From my experience using a generator is no more dangerous than plugging in your equipment into mains power. Either way, best option is to get a surge protected power board. So you'd have Power Generator -> Surge Protected Board -> Equipment This will protect you from power surges that may occur. However - as with using mains power - it will not protect ...

First off, to be pedantic, you can "DJ" any way you can figure out how - even something simple like just playing track after track in iTunes. Now, most people (myself included) don't think this is nearly as interesting as cutting or blending tracks and keeping continuous music going, so I'm going to explain the common ways this is done. The basic setup is ...

Thanks for your interest. The situation was a bit urgent so I just fiddled around and figured it out. You can't run it through Traktor but you can run it by itself (open in Quicktime / VLC) and then go into your sound settings and change the sound settings to whatever external soundcard you may be using to run through your system.

For each individual music piece you would have to determine what the license you obtained it from was, whether or not that license allows for derivative works from it and if not you need to get permission from the person or corporation that owns the rights to the work: a) Is it licensed under Creative Commons? ( http://creativecommons.org/ ). If so does the ...

VirtualDJ also does all this, and comes in a free addition as well. From the website: Designed for home DJs, VirtualDJ Home includes nearly all the features of VirtualDJ Pro, with only a few limitations. If you don't own or don't plan to use any additional DJ hardware (mixer, turntable, DJ controller or video projector), then VirtualDJ Home will ...

This seems a bit like a shopping question, but the only one I know that does this is MixMeister. It can do all 4 of your requirements: Beat matching and transition throughout Fade out/in and use of effects Is a standalone application Can add to the playlist in real time, run from existing playlist, or both

In MediaMonkey you can browse your collection by file extension and several other criteria. To browse by extension: First select the music node in the media tree at the left. This will show all the music in your collection. Next right click at the top of the Genre area and add a column. Right click at the top of the new column and select extension. ...

I think what you're experiencing is the side affects of changing the speed of a clip without changing the pitch. Typically if you try and slow down or speed up a piece of music, it's pitch will get higher or lower respectively, like slowing down a 12" vinyl record. This happens because when you slow down a piece of audio you're reducing the frequency of ...

Instead of a mixer, it sounds like you could use a MIDI interface for your mixing software, as well as an external sound card, which is something you could easily arrange for $100-200 total. Perhaps something like the Numark DJ2Go - inexpensive, functional, but not fully-loaded MIDI interface that will work with a variety of DJ software. See this review ...

The major players seem to be Serato, Traktor, and Virtual DJ. I hear a lot of people like Mixxx and Deckadence, although they don't seem to have quite the user base. There's also Ableton Live if you don't necessarily want to use something that looks like turntables. It's sort of a fundamentally different way of DJing though. It's like having a giant ...

You can do this either with two sound cards and software to use each one (per imsky's answer) or with one sound card that has multiple stereo outputs. If you take the one sound card route, you'll need software that can send your music (presumably MP3s or something like that) out to the disparate outputs. It sounds kind of like you're looking to DJ a party, ...

There's a free app from Cycling74 called SoundFlower you can use for this. It presents itself as an audio interface but is completely virtual. You use it as the output device in one app and the input device in the other app and you're all set. Audio now passed directly from one app in to the other. Not sure how well it works with 10.6. But it worked great ...

If you're just working in a bedroom, then powered monitors will be more than loud enough for your needs. I've been pleased with my Alesis M1 Active 520s, which are a decent choice if you are on a budget. If you need something to take to small venues, then I'd recommend checking out the Mackie SRM450.