I’ve used it as part of my setup for sometime and done lots of practise on it, but there is nothing like a paid gig to test you out.
One thing I did notice was that I think I might be better with fewer but longer playlists.
On VDJ I have lots of 80s-Gold with maybe 10 tracks in. I found navigating to those getting a track and back out much slower on the prime go, than on laptop.
Whereas the longer playlists were much easier.
So for those who have trod the path, what other tips and tricks and changes have you made ?
Agreed. I find playlist preparation much more important when using my Prime Go or 4+ than a Serato controller. I am more free to explore my music collection on the computer as I am used to the workflow and with the mouse/full keyboard I can quickly queue up a different vibe if the dance floor is going one way vs. the other.
I think this will come with time getting used to the workflow and adjusting my playlists.
Wiring, I now have an ultimate streamlined setup for gigs, I can plug in one set of XLRs, another for my monitor and a power cord and be ready to roll… my monitor runs on battery too (Bose S1 pro) so if I cant be bothered with extension leads or another power cable ill run it on battery. No more laptop stand, chargers, USB cables, faffing around.
I also keep a blank SD card in my Prime 2 for recording mixes, and the SSD has all my music on. Life has never been so good for gigs.
The best features on Engine for me are Match, I use this to get out of a hole when im struggling to find the next track, which can happen on a 4hr set. I also use fader echo a tonne too, great for multi genre gigs where you want to just cut across to the next track.
For music management, im certain many regulars are sick of this picture by now, but I have my folders fully replicating playlists in each piece of software. It goes like this, a list of genres with a leading ‘0’ in the folder name so they always appear at the top, then an A-Z of albums I have downloaded or ripped. This way everything is super organised, with full albums having their own folder and single downloads being added to whatever genre I feel necessary.
My prime go is my back up unit now as i have been using my sc live 4 for most of my gigs I can’t see myself going back to a controller now i like everything being in one place having less songs to look at i think helps me make better choices or at least make a choice rather than staring at my laptop and second guessing myself.
I tried to connect my laptop to my ddj flx 4 to use DJ Pro the other day and it was a faff so i’ll stick with my standalone gear
Looks good, for example for reggae, how do you grab 3 reggae tracks and then find some ska, similar bpm. I can do it in seconds on the laptop, but seems to take an age on the prime go (it’s easier on the prime 4 as I can see more)
The way you have it right now, is very similar to me, special stuff that I use regularly happy birthday songs etc, then venue specific tunes, then genres.
but I was thinking of trying to use the software more and organise it myself less.
If you’ve been down that path before and there are pitfalls to smartlists, I’d really appreciate a heads up if you could ?
I use Rekordbox, Serato and Engine. I also like to listen to my music in none DJ settings. I found that I buy loads of single tracks from an album and hated the way apple ‘organised’ them into folders. So I decided to create a bunch of genres followed by an A-Z of albums in my music folder.
It then means I can maintain exactly the same playlist layout regardless of the software I use, whilst also keeping my music organised.
I buy new music, add it to whichever genre I deem fit, drag that folder into its namesake playlist in each of the software I use and it the new music is added.
I can then rock up to any gig on pretty much any software/Dj unit and know exactly where all my tracks are.
I tried them for like 90-100bpm just to see if it worked but I’ve never really needed to export them as I tend to just sort by bpm then switch playlists if I fancy a genre switch… then use match if I ever get a memory blank during a set. Collection sorted by date added descending, playlists by BPM usually.
Match is one of those features I’ve ignored as it’s new, but I really really need to look at and practise as it “almost” replicates" one of my favourite mind goes blank features of VDJ, which is genius DJ, which is normally not great, but shoving 10 tracks that sort of work and are similar bpm are normally enough to get the grey cells firing and come up with a better one, or at least gives you something to mix into and 3 mins to find a better option !
I don’t use it every time but sometimes when you’re not feeling it at a gig, tired, under the weather, or get caught speaking to someone/dealing with requests etc it’s handy to press it and quickly pick a track as a get out of jail.
I’d say that and fader echo are the two handiest features for me in recent times. Oh and the FX light flashing and being able to hear filter in the headphones.
