Re: [TANGO-L] Tandas at the speed of a mouse click

[Jay Rabe <jayrabe @HOTMAIL.COM>]

I have only done a little DJ'ing, so am very much on the beginning of the
learning curve. I'm using MusicMatch by default, but also keep a spreadsheet
of all my music so I can keep track of other parameters that I cannot plug
into MM (beats/min, emotional tone, etc.). This is getting very tedious.
I've had Media Center by J. River recommended (Thanks Tine!) and downloaded
a trial copy last night but haven't played with it yet. My question: what
software do other DJ's recommend and use?

J in Portland
www.TangoMoments.com


----Original Message Follows----
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown   @DAL.FRB.ORG>

Christopher L. Everett wrote:

>Stephen Brown wrote:
>>...
>>In short, djs who do a poor job with a computer
>>probably are distracted or don't know their music well enough to create
>>coherent tandas.  Using preset tandas allows them to determine what
>>goes together without distraction or the pressure of time.

>A good DJ would have prearranged tandas ready to go.

I agree.  Apparently, the djs that Alberto wrote about enjoy the
flexibility of programming their tandas on the fly and do not have
prearranged tandas.

>>[A]bout MP3 sound quality:

>Using a quality MP3 encoder (LAME, perhaps) and 224K, 256K or even 384K
>VBR encoding makes an audible improvement.

I wonder how many djs rip at these relatively high rates or have the
software for VBR.  VBR is not used by the most common MP3 prgorams, such
as i-tunes.

> You can explore other formats like Ogg or FLAC.  Some are even lossless
compression formats.

The most popular dj programs are written to play MP3 files.  A few play
other file formats.

For more technical information about encoding, see
http://arstechnica.com/guides/tweaks/encoding.ars

>I would also go for an audiophile quality sound card as well.

I would bet that not many djs have invested in an audiophile quality sound
card.

Christian wrote:
>mp3 is based on psychoacoustics ...
>... which presumes that hearing (and sound) is flawless.
>[appearantly people with perfect hearing have no problems, but those
>with limited hearing (the majority) do have!]
>neither one is right for old tango music.

Doesn't this depend on the bit rate as well as the quality of the sound
card?

With best regards,
Steve (de Tejas)

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