CD DJ Cheap/Beginner Set-ups

I'd like to start mixing with (preferably) a dual CD DJ set-up and mixer. Is there anything cheaper than the obvious Denon/Pioneer set ups?

Also, I'd like the DJ CD players to include a scratch ability and such.

I can use a scratch effect on my midi controller, but it's not half as cool. And I realize that scratching CDs isn't half as cool as scratching vinyls, so I don't want to continuously cut my coolness in half.

Help!

Thanks :sunny:!

Do you have a laptop?

Do you have a laptop?

Yeshum.

A lot of people nowadays are using ableton as virtual tables then using a midi interface with a midi enabled mixer to do all the mixing. And since you already have some other type of midi controller, which you can program to do other things like filters, effects, sampling, etc.
The problem with CDjs and scratching, is it sounds bad. Maybe the really expensive ones sound alright, but anything reasonable is going to sound stupid. Scratching is meant to be done on vinyl. period.
I got some dirt cheap ancient CDJ's recently and they work great. Pitch lock and time shift perfect and do a good job staying put, which is all you really need to beatmatch and make a good mix.

2nd for Ableton

If you are going to do mixing with MP3s just use Ableton. Especially since you have a MIDI controller already. Set up 4 channels for tracks, and the rest of the controls can be set to use effects.

I stay away from low end DJ gear - If you really want to buy some hardware, use Ableton Live for now. Save up, then by good gear down the road. If you dont use them, they tend to hold their value well. I bought two technics 1200 MKIIs and I could turn around and sell with a loss of maybe 100 bucks.

You can also pick up Searto Scratch for turntables if you want the vinyl aspect. Ive used it a couple times and it seems solid.