CD v Vinyl v Digital

[deepntwisted]

Be good to start this thread again as it seems to be an issue that just wont go away. Within the last few months have seen sets by Digweed and Sasha, both were making extensive use of the CD mixer. In particular Digweed on his Uni tour who played very little vinyl, it would appear. Speaking to producer/DJ Maurice... he is moving more and more away from vinyl. The reasons... using vinyl means there is always some smart arse at a venue who will have a copy, thereby spoiling exclusivity. It is easier just to call another producer who has a new track on their hard drive and ask them to burn to CD. The demise of vinyl however could be catastrophic as many in the industry rely on music vinyl production for a living. What would be the motivation for an underground producer to spend hours/days creating a new track for little or no financial reward?
What is your preferred format and why?
Will there be any vinyl in 5 years time?
Could the death of vinyl actually mean the dance music industry implodes?

For all of you who wondered at Sasha's comments in the chat transcript (those about Ableton, that is). Here is an article that appeared at the same site that hosted the chat (http://www.inthemix.com.au/p/np/viewnews.php?id=15867) a day (?) earlier. It's also got some explanations of the cd incident.

Superstar DJ dismisses record rage net rumours
News courtesy of Skrufff.com

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"In about three weeks time I?m ditching vinyl and CDs to go out on the road using my computer and that?s going to allow me to mix anything with everything," said Sasha. "I?m now actively distancing myself from that progressive sound that was previously attached to me, because it really doesn?t hold much interest for me anymore," he revealed. "I think it?s time to move on, maybe I?m looking back to ?85 instead of ?95." He added.

[krelm]

Re: CD v Vinyl v Digital

What is your preferred format and why?

I like vinly and CD equally. Never played with any of the recent digital options. I find vinyl more fun to mix (and easier to be dead-on with mixes), but CDs are much lighter and I like not having to deal with consequences of different pressings (ie, a heavy record handles differently than a thin record)

Will there be any vinyl in 5 years time?

Yes, I'm sure.

Could the death of vinyl actually mean the dance music industry implodes?

No - unless the dance music industry fails to adapt. Considering the increasing number of labels selling tracks digitally and the growing number of online stores doing the same, I don't see the electronic music industry imploding because of a decrease in popularity of vinyl.

In the end, I think any DJs that limit themselves to only a single format are doing themselves a great disservice. I have a lot of tracks which are vinyl-only and a lot which are CD-only. Having both sorts of decks available means I have a huge base from which to make track selections. Eventually everything might be available digitally, but it's going to be awhile.

[Galapidate]

Check out this month's DJ Times. The vinyl vs. digital argument is the feature of the entire issue.

[superEGO72]

i would have used to say that vinyl would live forever. even when i got a cjd100, i thought that.

then i got a cdj1000mk2... and.. well, my opinion is changed somewhat.

im not sure, i cant think of any reason why id want to have vinyl any more. i used to say that i really liked how tactile it was, but with the cdj1000, its pretty close.. now if you want to do scratching and all that, maybe its not ready yet.. but overall, its pretty good.

then you get the hot cue points, the loop controls.. stuff like that is VERY convenient once you learn to use it effectively.

so i imagine that cds will be the primary mixing from now until... well, until a new standard of audio (by standard i meant that everyone has a player in their car)

digital? well.. i doubt it. for live production stuff, yea i think tools like ableton will be sweet for that... the ony way i see it taking over is if dj's are able to get ahold of the track in pieces... not all the samples.. but maybe 4 tracks... rhythm, bass, melody, vocals.. or whatever.. then those could be mixed witha computer.. that would be cool... but for regular mixing? lets face it... the beat matching part of the equation doesnt really take that long once you master it... i mean.. with one minute left, you beatmatchon the fly and still come out with a perfectly matched track that only lacks in it's musical nature. the same any time though... beatmatching in the mix isnt that hard...

[brakada]

My problem with all new digital CD inventions is, that they make DJ-ing easier. If things will get much easier, everyone will be able to become a DJ and everyone will be saying, oh, I could mix that better with my computer.

IMO it's definitely the most fun to watch a DJ spinning from vinyl. the way DJs change their records, the way they handle them, it's just so different than pressing a couple of buttons and using a midi controller.

But since we must advance the current best option (that's IMO again) would be vinyl for playing released stuff and FS for handling samples, unreleased stuff and everything else.

[FM]

"Machines that make their job increasingly easier ... will never replace the talent of those who use the machines."

-John Terry, Vestax

[brakada]

"Machines that make their job increasingly easier ... will never replace the talent of those who use the machines."

-John Terry, Vestax

Wishfull thinking... :wink: I.e. automated pitch control will make it easier to match beats, and what only talented or skilful DJs were able to do in a matter of seconds, will be achieved in the future by merely pressing a couple of buttons. So, at least a part of talents is being replaced. Sadly.

[ekm]

It is really going to piss me off the day that some company makes a mixer or cd player that will automaticly match beats with a press of a button. All of the time and practice I have put in over the years will be for nothing.

That day will happen.

About the vinyl vs CD argument. I just purchased a CDJ-1000mk2, but it has not arrived in the mail yet, so I can't say either way at this point.

[Travis_C]

Re: CD v Vinyl v Digital

Hope your girlfriend knows she'll never see you again, lucky bastard.



You can do amazing things with mkIIs. Anyone in the market to buy a kidney? Slightly used.

[dj_drunken_master]

It's like Microsoft products. Kids (and most adults) nowadays don't know how to spell because its all done automatically.

[FM]

"Machines that make their job increasingly easier ... will never replace the talent of those who use the machines."

-John Terry, Vestax

Wishfull thinking... :wink: I.e. automated pitch control will make it easier to match beats, and what only talented or skilful DJs were able to do in a matter of seconds, will be achieved in the future by merely pressing a couple of buttons. So, at least a part of talents is being replaced. Sadly.

not quite..automated pitch control and beat matching still aren't anywhere near perfect, because the machine can't fully 'read' the beat (frequency). That and while many can mix 2 tracks together, only a few can mix the right 2 tracks together.

[djpnuemo]

Re: CD v Vinyl v Digital

vinyl all the way baby. if i MUST, a cd here and there

[Arn]

machines are making things easier but that just opens up a new world of creativity. look at zabiela. once we do have automated pitch control and perfect beatmatching we'll finally get rid of the down and dirty annoying aspects of djing and have full creativity to throw together some really crazy stuff....