DCD Pro 1000 Problems?

There is a Learning Curve to everything.. don't expect to get on the 1000, and think your a GOD on the unit on the first touch.

You might have gotten to comfortable with the 88, and because the 1000 is new to you your feel like you have to start all over.. well don't worry. Learning the 1000 is something that you will not regret ( I PROMISE ).

I am going to walk you through some basic features on the 1000 that is going to pay off handsomely for your gig saturday. Just try to understand the following......

Scratch Mode 1 The 1000 has 2 scratch modes. To activate the first mode all you have to do is hit the scratch button. Now you activated regular vinyl mode, to which you can touch the Jog Wheel while the song is playing and it will stop ( just like a turntable would ) plus you can scratch live on this mode.

Scratch Mode 2 To activate the secondary scratch mode you must turn off the first scratch mode, and then hold down the scratch button for 1 second. Now you will see the scratch button flash on & off.

Getting Creative once the secondary scratch button is activated, now you can use your " IN " button from the loops section to set up cue points on the fly. while the song is playing hit the " IN " button from the loops section on whatever point of the song you wish while it's playing, and then you can either touch the jog wheel, or just hit the reloop button ( located under the " OUT " ) and it will automatically go back to the point of where you hit the " IN " button. Now you can double up on the song when you time it correctly. People on the crowed would think your using two turntables when done correctly. By doubling up all you have to do is hit the " IN " button, and then a half a beat later ( which is quickly ) hit the reloop button to double up. Best to do with with a Snare of a song.

I suggest you practice on it a little bit first. Once you master this technique you'll could do some pretty cool tricks. With the Secondary scratch function.

Looping if you loop a beat of any song you can store those loops into the banks which are located on the bottom of the unit. You should see 3 banks " 1 " " 2 " " 3 " . To store a loop in one of the banks you just simply push the memory button ( while the loops is playing ) and store it in any bank you wish. now if you wanted to switch tracks while the loop is stored all you have to do is hit the sample button ( located next to the " memory " button ) and then hit the same bank where you stored your loop. make sure that you push the button on beat of the loop so that they are on beat. Once you hit the bank again ( while Sample On ) you can hear a bit of a flange going on, thats because the song is playing twice now. All you have to do is hit stop on the CD player,and then the Loop keeps playing, and the song stops.. now you can go to anohter track on the CD and mix it in with your loop you stored in one of the banks. You follow me so far??

Jog Wheel You really concider the 88 over the 1000? Think about it.. what can you do better on those small 88 jog wheels? On the 1000 you got complete control over the music with the size of the jog wheel plus you have your visual indicator on the display so that you can read your music like a clock. You can visually see where your cue points are when playing.

Auto BPM The Auto BPM counter needs to be activated just by by pushing the button once. Then you'll see it display the BPM on your display box. You might see the BPM's fluctuate just a bit because of the beat of the song. It all depends on the song your playing to how the BPM's react.. this is what your probably talking about.

Effects just hit any effect on the unit and it will sync in with the song you have playing. If you think the effect is not onbeat with the song then just use the TAP BPM to sync of the effect manually.

I think everything i stated aboove should set you off to a good start with the unit. If you have anymore questions regarded the 1000.. please by all means let me know. Thanks

Ok, the weekend is over and I spent 17+ hours working with this unit over the weekend. The larger jog wheel is nice, but still seems twitchy especially at higher pitch control settings (8% and up.)

The only real problem I still have with the unit is the BPM counter. Auto generated bpms are horribly inaccurate. Here's Saturday night: Drop in a Promo Only CD, load up the track and take a look at the auto bpm...177bpm!?!? The case says 130. Hmmmmm. Check the intro, maybe it's got no intro beat. Nope not the case. Tap it in...167 bpm...NOW REPEAT THIS FOR 5 HOURS!

Is this a real problem, or do we have a defective unit?

dj ether drift

When you mix songs together, do you use the BPM's? Or do you mix by ear? Most DJ's Mix by ear, and don't rely on a BPM counter to tell them how to mix.

Either way call in tech support if you feel that there is a problem with this. They will help you out and solve this for you quickly.

800 322 6337 .. Ask For Joey.. Tell him i sent you.

Yeah I have to agree with Skilz, I never rely on any BPM counter to beatmix with, I always use my ears......way more accurate. All other DJs I know do the same too.

Real stupid question. What's the 1000?

retract that last question (since I can't remove a previous post). Yes it was a stupid question and to answer myself. Look at the website under "CD players" Duh!

Well Skilz, I do mix by ear, but with the hussle and bustle of DJ'ing a nightclub (taking music requests, working with the dancers, live entertainment, etc...) it's nice to have an accurate bpm counter to look at and use as a starting point for the mix, especially when you only have a minute or two to put together a clean mix.

BTW, thanks for taking a shot at me. You wanna test my skills, stop by sometime and I'll rip you apart.

quote:

BTW, thanks for taking a shot at me. You wanna test my skills, stop by sometime and I'll rip you apart. [/QB]

EXCUSE ME

I was NOT trying to take any shot at you at all. If you can see from my post above i have done nothing but try to HELP YOU. If anything i was just trying to give you a suggestion, or something similiar down that road. But not in a million years would i try to take a shot at any of the members in this forum.

I try to be helpful, and honest, and straight foward with people.

If there is something that new members in this forum should know about me is that i don't beat around the bush with any topic, and if there is something that people should know then i will say it without any hesitation.

Once again i was NOT trying to take a shot at you. i am NOT that type of person. And for the members who have been here in this forum since day 1 will vouch for me on this one.

Sorry for the confusion.

P.S I was in Minneapolis last month. When you coming to Vegas?

well, for a guy who uses bpm counters i dont think ripping skilz apart would be that easy.... although.... if i ever get the chance.....i'd try to take him on along with the rest of u guys just for the hell of it.... i'd prolly get ripped to smitts..... but i bet it'll be fun ....
but yeah....dont get me wrong drift.... but i do think u misunderstood skilz....unless u were joking around or somthin?? ...

but yeah...im out


BTW, gigless saturdays really stink

Did i say something wrong? did i ? did i ?

...I think I've been working in Minneapolis too long. Everyone up here talks so much BS, so you got to be on your toes. Sorry Skilz. Took your coment the wrong way. My apologies.

On a seperate note: Noticed a odd glitch with the unit during my set tonight. The right CD drive wouldn't open at one point and I ended up having to shut down the unit to correct the problem. Not good.

Drift,

No Worries... it was just a misunderstanding.

About the CD player, Just use the # i gave you above, and speak with Joey. Trust me the problem will be corrected... you could just have a faulty unit. These things happen, and every company experiences this.. there is no hidding here, or avoiding that your unit is just fine.. just give that # a call. There is only so much the people on the forum can do for you now.. Thanks

Planning on calling from the club tomarrow. Thanks.

did i say i was going to cry, you guys are awesome, but anyway, i've been in the bussiness since 1989 as a pro, every since growing up i wanted to be a dj, back in the day 70s block party on the basketball court, well let me tell you i went from new mart to 1200s to gemies duals, when american dj came out with the velocity and the msrp i was like, i don't care what price it was, and on top of that the optical fader, beat counter with the velocity, stop the press, my mixes can sound supper dope, it's on. Do i rely on beat count for the most part no, if i already know the songs will match ie naughty girl, yeah, freak a leek, no not even, but to expand beyond that set well yes i do. so it's a handy tool not relied on. But if you got it use it. now hold on before you say your not a real dj or your not a professional dj you must define professional. I am professional enough to borrow for the american dj products and make that back in two gigs I think i can count as a as you say real dj. oh by the way this is my hobby, not full time job yet still owe uncle sam 1.5 years of service to hit 20 then turn the tables for a guaranteed check for life may it be long. Any way i ramble enough. So those of you with beat counters use it thats why amdj put them there to help you be all you can be. for those with their beat counter being inaccurate or your not happy with it and you think something is wrong send it back for repair before the warranty expires, that's why amdj offer a warranty so they can keep happy customers, like me, my warranty on my qd 5 was two weeks from expiring when i notice a problem guess what? you got it, pack it up, overnite it went. by the way my system been to the war and back, and still performing, best upgrade ever, well i guess i let someone else have a post.

Honestly who gives about an auto BPM counter

They dont work well for a reason

I challenge any electronic BPM counter manufacturer to make an "ACCURATE" BPM counter. There is no such thing, oh they might try and they do come close but none of them have the intelligence to count beats - accurately, constantly, on ALL types of music.

That's why you have to use your ears because we as humans (well...some do)know the difference between techno style beats and hip hop style beats.

quote:

Well Skilz, I do mix by ear, but with the hussle and bustle of DJ'ing a nightclub (taking music requests, working with the dancers, live entertainment, etc...) it's nice to have an accurate bpm counter to look at and use as a starting point for the mix, especially when you only have a minute or two to put together a clean mix.

ether drift sorry but that's a cop-out....experience, ability and good people skills (i.e. telling someone to wait until you've finished mixing a song) over a BPM counter is answer to busy nightclub environments, trust me I've been there.

ROQ out.

Everybody has there own prefrences. If people feel more comfortable with a BPM counter then be it. The BPM counter was invented for a reason. It's almost on every single CD player in the industry. If you think about it, If there wasn't such a high demand for it, then it wouldn't be on the CDI 500, or DCD 1000, or any other unit out there. Why is it there now on almost every player if we all think it's useless? If we all think that it's best to use our ears then why is it still there. I totally agree that it's best to mix by ear ( Hands Down ) but believe it or not there is a hugh demand for it. And the best thing for you to do is just point a fellow DJ toward the right direction when they need help.

It's almost like playing Video Games.. you buy the game, but you have the option to buy the Strategy Guide for it. Whats the point of buying the game if the Guide tells you exactly how to beat it??? This give you no reason to play it, or buy the game in the first place.. if you want to see the ending just flip to the last page.

you know what i mean? Or did you all lose me on this???

Thats cool Skilz and I agree with all what you said. I just worry that a lot of amature DJs out there think that a beat counter should be a major priority when it comes to purchasing a piece of equipment.

Back in the day there was no such thing as a BPM counter, we did it the hard way, using skills, talent and a truckload of practice to beatmix music and never had to rely on a machine to do it for us.

I've always said this - it's not the equipment that makes a DJ good, its the DJ using it. A good DJ should be able to hear a song and be able to roughly estimate it's BPM without a BPM counter. With that should be able to throw in good accurate mixes with very little effort, leaving time for other things like talking to babes etc.

ROQ out.