10 Things You Need to DJ Your Party Beginner Guide

April 3, 2022

I had so many different Dj setups over the years and here is my honest recommendation based on my experience.

WHAT IS THE BEST DJ SETUP FOR BEGINNERS?

The short answer is that you need a DJ Controller, Dj Speakers, Dj Headphones, Laptop, and a Music Library.

Laptop – $300
Music Library – $100
DJ Software – $13
DJ Controller – $200
Dj Speakers – $600
Dj Headphones & Microphone – $60
Dj Wires – $20
Dj Lights – $12

The total price for DJ beginner equipment is about $1105.

So I really tried to rack my brain to make sure I give you the full complete beginners guide so you could do your first party. Of course, you could start with a DVR setup as in turntables or deejays but today we’re just going to talk about a controller setup.

LAPTOP

The first thing you need is a laptop or an iPad. So we’re going to talk laptops so definitely whatever you have to do borrow your parents get a friend rent one find someone to rent one every weekend whatever you have to do to get a laptop at the beginning.

That’s got to be number one. Get a laptop. And as long as it meets the minimum requirements to run the specifications of whatever program you’re going to use recordbox Serato DJ.

All cool but just double-check and make sure that the program will run smoothly on whatever it is you’re using if you’re using a Macbook PRO from 2015 and up you’ll have no issue whatsoever. But other than that I definitely want to double-check to make sure you have the right system requirements.

MUSIC LIBRARY

Number two you guys are filling that laptop up with music. Sure some people use Spotify if you get Spotify Premium sure you can offline download a lot of stuff.

Most deejays want to have their music with them so you guys start filling up that iTunes with music.

Start buying music every 10-20 dollar bill you get, and start filling it up with all the music you think you need, not music for you to bump around your neighborhood and that’s your own choice to spend your money on.

But music for your business that you’re going to need to start getting starts going through the decades, start getting all the top 10 hits, and just start getting your music and I promise you to as you start seeing your collection grow, one day you’re going to look back and wow I have 4000 songs on my collection, my God I could do I could play anything is amazing.

So start buying actual music.

Try and avoid streaming programs that really are just a backup for a request. If you really don’t have the song but you need to have the songs you’re gonna play every weekend buy them. That’s my recommendation.

DJ SOFTWARE

The third thing you’re going to need on that laptop is a program. You need a deejay software to use unless you’re gonna go totally old school and deejay with actual vinyl or CD or something.

Unless you’re going to use a USB controller like the RX or the RX2 you’re going to need a program on your laptop or your iPod or whatever it is. So start thinking about that what you want to get into Serato or RecordBox.

Keep in mind a lot of the controllers do come with programs or they unlock it or whatever it is but a program has got to be on your mind.

DJ CONTROLLER

The number four is a controller, you need a controller. The controller I recommend right now for beginners is the Pioneer DJ DDJ 400.

Will something incredible come up tomorrow? Maybe by Newmark maybe by Hercules made by another company?

Today I recommend the DDJ 400 for a beginner, you get a full record box so that eliminates three and four and it’s the right price about $250. You cannot beat that even if it’s $300 where you’re buying it, well worth it.

So that’s my recommendation for number 4 DDJ 400 or any type of beginner controller that has two channels that has a sound card in it so you can put your headphones in it. That’s important. You need to start listening to this sound outside. The people need to start hearing it.

DJ SPEAKERS

So number five is powered speakers, you want pre-amped speakers.
At about $600 you can get a brand new pair of Beringer speakers and it just goes up from there $700 you can get to Mackie and then it goes up to Eevee and then you can get into all types of great stuff JBL and Bose.

There are great speakers out there that have got to be number five for you to start thinking about.

DJ HEADPHONES AND MICROPHONE

Number six 2 in 1, headphones, and a microphone. Definitely, you need headphones or you’re really not going to be able to mix you have to do it all on the fly-out loud and microphone whether you even plan on talking or not. You still need to go grab a mike.

Your client might need to make an announcement. You might need to make an announcement whether you realize it or not, somebody might have lost their phone or whatever you might have to make that announcement.

There are 50 dollars Sure microphones, you could even use the microphone on your iPod, or iPhone headphones if you really have to. But you need headphones and you need a microphone.

DJ EQUIPMENT WIRES

Number seven wires. You need all the wires you’re going to need whatever that is if it’s SLR RCA. Check the backs. Check the system. Most likely if you’re going to buy a beginner controller it’s going to have RCA hookups in the back that you’re gonna have to buy a little $15 adapter.

That will essentially let you plug into your XLR-powered speakers. So double-check all the wires you need if you’re not sure. Try and set up to see what’s happening if sounds not coming out. You’ll be able to figure now very quickly you’ll see what you’re missing.

Or else you go to Guitar Center, you go to a deejay store you tell them, you take pictures of your setup whatever you have to do, take pictures of the back and show them, hey this is what am I missing I’m not getting any sound to write me whatever I’ll help you out but that’s what you need wires.

And then if you’re going to go all out right away you can put this in the same category is, flight cases you don’t necessarily need flight cases right off the bat but if you want to protect your controller work you’re going to go the DVR setup off, the back flight cases is definitely something you’re going to have to work into eventually you probably will need one.

But on a beginner controller obviously, sometimes it’s not worth it because a flight case can be $200 so to put a $250 dollar controller into a $200 case obviously sometimes doesn’t logically make sense.

But that’s up to you guys to think about if you can get a great deal in a used case, sometimes gears come with the case but also a great option even if you’re gonna get a bigger controller. Definitely, something to look at.

DJ LIGHTNING

Number eight is some type of light. Now I’ve shown you guys the $12 blinkered light on Amazon. You can even stack up for those on your first-party whatever it is it depends on the setting if it’s a basement or whatever.

If you need to rent more lighting that’s fine a lot of deejays rent lighting for a while.

I’ve told you guys I was more into lighting growing up, so I would but I didn’t care necessarily about the biggest craziest loudest speakers, for me, it was all about what kind of new light can I get, what type of Chaser can I add to my life chain to make it cooler.

All types of stuff that was into. But lighting is definitely something you want to start thinking about again. Now there are just such cheap options back in the day you had to spend at least a couple hundred bucks to even get a mushroom or a gogo or anything but today $12 Amazon Blanco lite. I mean come on.

BUSINESS CARD

Number nine is business cards. You got to show up at your first party with business cards seriously because people are gonna ask you:

Hey, what’s your number?

Boom. Business card. You got to have somewhere to put your business cards. So this may seem like a no-brainer to some but not some to others. But you need a table or something like you don’t need at all a booth like our custom Booth.

You can get one, sure, again if you’re just gonna go money is no object of course booths are cool, but you definitely need some type of table whatever it is even if it’s a foldout table.

And also at the same token, I always liked having a nice curtain in front of the gear with your company name on it whatever that is it goes hand-in-hand with the business Mart business cards and marketing flyers but I recommend definitely 100 percent business cards.

And if you could put out the extra couple of bucks to get your logo printed on a curtain that you’re going to put on the table in front of your gear, then I think you’re really off. You’re going to start looking super professional and your name will be stuck in people’s minds all night when they’re dancing.

Every time you press play people subconsciously glance over at the deejay booth, they’re going to see your company name. So it’s not something everyone thinks about but it’s you as a deejay needs to think about getting your brand name out there and your company names out there.

HAVE FUN

Number 10. This might seem silly until you’re actually in the situation and you realize how important it is but you have to be having fun guys.

It’s going to be a little bit intense the first couple of parties trying to figure out the music selection reading the crowd getting used to your equipment making clean mixes all of this stuff.

But at the end of the day, the only way you’re going to have a great party is if you have fun because you can make a crappy mix. You can play a song that clears the dance floor.

None of that matters because if you’re having fun and you’re smiling and you’re real everybody back in and you start playing what people want to hear you’re going to figure all that stuff out.

You have fun. Seriously even if you’re bombing. Put a smile on your face put your arms in the air and seriously have fun because if you’re not having fun literally bro you are the deejay you’re setting the tone for the whole party.

So if you’re not having fun you’re not having a good time. I promise you your crowd’s going to be sitting there going like “whatever” as opposed to like “Yeah”, go watch any hype deejays go look at any of those pictures, they’re standing on the booth they’re going nuts, they’re having a good time.

So you’ve got to be having a good time or no one’s going to be having a good time. All right, players, that’s the 10 things I think you need to do for your first party if I missed anything leave a comment.