The Equipment Needed to Become a Disc Jockey
A disc jockey is a person who plays selected music for an audience. Whether the audience is a wedding, huge party, a concert or listeners to a radio station, DJs provide the entertainment that make these events exciting. To become a disc jockey, certain equipment needs to be purchased and used in order to create the type of atmosphere the DJ wants.
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Turntable
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Turntables, the most common devices used by disc jockeys, have a slip mat under the vinyl record. To create a more dramatic effect, the DJ usually scratches the record by holding and reversing the slip mat on the turntable. Turntables can also loop tracks for continuous play.
Recordings
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Records, CDs, files from a personal computer, downloaded sound effects, even music from an individual's iPod can be used to enhance a DJ's performance as well as give the audience a diverse selection of music to listen to.
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Slip Mats
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Slip mats are used to avoid resistance between the record and turntable. This can help the record stay still on the turntable, but the turntable can move around during actual play.
DJ Mixer
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A DJ mixer is the centerpiece to a DJ music session because it connects various sources to produce multiple sounds or to change one sound to another. The music made on the mixer can be transferred to an amplifier or speaker so people can hear the music. A mixer has an equalizer to fade sounds in and out, a cross fader, which gives access to mix sounds from various channels, and headphone and microphone outputs to set up functions to interact with the crowd.
Headphones
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Headphones are used to help prepare DJs for the next set of recordings while another recording is played to the audience. Headphones can provide a link to how the person wants to mix his music. While using headphones, DJs can determine which beats would fit together as well as how certain songs will go together in a music set.
CD Decks
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Instead of playing vinyl records on a turntable, DJs can use a CD deck. CD decks come in two forms: a single deck and twin units. Twin units have two CD trays, allowing the DJ to play music without frequently changing a disc during an event. The other half of the CD deck is used to control the speed and sound for each CD deck on the system.
Microphone
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A microphone is used to announce songs and acknowledge or encourage the audience. Having a microphone can give DJs the freedom to have fun with the crowd as well as with their music.
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