Dj Equipment-What You Need to Know

If you are planning to become a be a DJ, a disk jockey, one the most difficult things you will come across is to buy your own equipment. It will be difficult not because of anything else, but because DJ equipment is expensive. In order to buy all the equipment you need you will have to spend thousands of dollars. To have what you need to be a DJ you wont have to buy only on piece of equipment but many. A DJ can mix and match components of different qualities and price ranges to make the entire outfit suit a budget. One of the most expensive pieces of equipment that you will need to buy is a mixer. Sound mixers vary from make to make and from model to model and their price depends on their features and their quality. You can buy a DJ mixer for a couple hundered dollars to a few thousand dollars. If you are new to the disk jockey business, it is advised that you only spend only a few hundred dollars. The cheaper mixers can work just as well as the more expensive ones and if you are new to DJing then you should not spend too much money because you dont know how business will be. The good news is that manufacturers of quality mixers and audio equipment in general, like Numark, Gemini, Aiwa, Akai produce good quality economic DJ mixers.
After the mixer you will need a turntable as well. There are different kinds of turntables available. If you are in to vinyl then you should get a traditional DJ turntable, or if you are into CDs and MP3s there is a wide selection of turntables for the new technologies that resemble the traditional ones. In general, turntables are more expensive than plain players, but there are good ones available for under $400. You can even choose to buy a direct drive turntable, but you will have to spend more money for one of these. Most DJs however prefer them as they play records faster and dont lag. Players are much cheaper than turntables but have less features. DJs who like to scratch and spin records prefer the turntables because players only provide sound output like any other CD or DVD player. A new DJ should not overspend on equipment. And one item you can save money for is the speakers. Speakers are used for live events and as a DJ if you want to minimize your costs and not have to rent any equipment in the future. In general the price of any speaker depends on the price of its output. There are small woofer speakers that a DH can buy for less than $100. if you are new to the field you might consider buying a DJ pack, a DJ in a box package and save money. These packages contain everything you will need. Using cheap DJ equipment is only recommended for new DJs. If you start getting gigs and start making money then you should consider buying more advanced equipment.

Exploring Reggaeton Music and Dances

Reggaeton is a type of urban music that has become widespread in popularity among young music lovers in Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Reggaeton music originated in Panama and caters to Hispanic youth, with rapping and singing often in Spanish. The music is a blend of Jamaican style music such as dancehall and reggae and Latin America style music such as salsa, bomba, plena, merengue, bachata, hip hop, bolero, R&B, and Latin pop.

Reggaeton music boasts its own specific rhythm and beat. The rhythm of reggaeton is often referred to as “Dem Bow.” The name Dem Bow references the title of a dancehall song from the 1990s by Shabba Ranks. Though the music genre of reggaeton is mostly associated with Puerto Rico (where this style of music was popularized and became famous), the lyrics are more hip hop type lyrics than dancehall.

The Beat of Reggaeton

It’s the reggaeton beat, or Dem Bow, that drives the music and dances. The beat is described as a drum-machine track that originated with Jamaican dancehall rhythm. Reggaeton combines a syncopated snare and steady kick drum to create an unusual rhythm. There’s a 4/4 beat emphasized by the kick drum, and the snare starts with the “and” of the 3rd 8th note and right on the 4th 8th note. There are about 95 beats per minute, and the result is a magnified “boom-ch-boom-chick” sounding beat.

Reggaeton beat sounds are usually synthesized electronically. There are also simple melodies created with electronic instruments, keyboards, and electric guitars. The beats are versatile, and can be based on bolero, hip-hop, salsa, merengue, bachata, or other similar beats.

The Reggaeton Dance

Sensual (and controversial) dancing can often be seen in reggaeton clubs or on music videos. The perreo type dance is a form of grinding dance derived from Puerto Rico. The dance puts women in control of the dance and is very provocative in its nature. Perreo moves are popular in dancehall, rhythm and blues, and hip-hop music as well. A slightly calmer form of reggaeton dancing is cumbia, which was originally a folk dance and music from Colombia. Like perreo, the cumbia dance is flirtatious in nature with the women luring the men toward them and then pushing them away.

Some of the leading artists in reggaeton include CandyMan, Esko, Fito Blanko, Nicky Jam, La Fabrica, Don Miguelo, Daddy Yankee, De la Ghetto, DJ Blass, Baby Rasta & Gringo, Don Chezina, Lito & Polaco, Eddie Dee, Adassa, El Chombo, and Tony Touch. Some popular producers of reggaeton music are Eliel, Luny Tunes, and Noriega.

With the widespread popularity of reggaeton music, there are now many radio stations specializing in this type of music. There are also online radio venues where fans can download music, listen online, or watch the reggaeton music video of choice. The major benefit of online radio is fans can listen to their favorite music or watch their favorite videos around the clock.

Got HD? It’s the next big thing in radio — pure, crystal-clear sound — and it’s free!

HD Radio technology is the next big thing because it makes it makes FM stations sound nearly as good as if you were listening to a CD. The sound is just amazing clean, pure and crystal-clear. It even enables AM stations to sound as good as an FM station today.

Lets pretend youre a sports talk radio fan. Just imagine how much better your experience will be when theres no distortion, no annoying hiss, crackle, fade or static. It will be just like listening to your favorite AM station broadcast in FM.

And if music is your thing, youll love HD Radio technology even more because youll be able to hear music on your favorite classic or rock station in the clearest, cleanest, purest form ever available over the airways and, best of all, its free. All you have to do is buy a new radio.

In fact, this technology even makes it possible for your local stations to broadcast in true 5.1 surround sound. Just imagine that. You turn on your favorite music station and you are immediately surrounded by sound — just as if you were sitting in your favorite concert hall.

HD Radio technology also makes possible something called multicasting that allows stations to broadcast two or more different signals simultaneously. So, your favorite oldies stations could be broadcasting music from the 60s, 70s and 80s all at the same time!

More than 500 stations are already broadcasting in HD Radio technology. And HD radios are available for both the home and car.

So far, radio stations have not done much publicity on this exciting, new form of broadcasting but you can bet that will be changing in the near future.