What gear / music did you have when you first started DJing?

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Papa Deuce

Mac Daddy DJ
Aug 8, 2006
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Valley Forge Area
OK, this was my gear:

2 Peavey speakers - 15" with built in horns... no clue on model number

1 gemini mixer

1 Crown amp - might have been Crest, tho.

About 100 45's

2 $100 Technics turntables

and 3 crates of albums.

No lights. No back up gear.

My how things have changed, eh?

BTW, I was DJing since the 1970's, but with other people's gear.
 
I was very fortunate in this area. My now ex-wife and I made a pile of money in the stock market, and a good friend was the corporate trainer for Far West Productions in So Cal. He talked me into this business in '87.

I took a bunch of money and the friend of mine to a DJ supply company in San Diego. Came home with:

2 EV 1502 ER speakers. GREAT sound, but huge.
QSC amp. Can't remember the model, but it was top of the line.
2 Technic 1200 turn tables
1 SM58 mic imitation by Yamaha ( I still have it, BTW!)
1 HUGE two level coffin for the TT, Mixer, and Amp.
Mixer was a Numark of some type. I just don't remember.
2 Ultimate stands with case.
All necessary cables.

I loved that stuff. It killed me to carry it all, and setting up was a PAIN, due to size and having a dozen or so milk crates for my LPs. I don't miss all that at all!
 
2 1200 mkII
1 cerwin vega DM1
2 SAE amps
UREI Crossover
DBX eq

Cerwin Vega Bass
Yorkville Elite tops
 
The first gear I owned:

2 Cerwin Vega MV15s
Nikko Alpha 240 Amp
2 Nikko Turntables
1 Nikko Tape deck
1 Rostech mixer
1 Audio Technica Mic

I actually have all this still around and it all works except for the Mixer there is a blown channel. Actually I had it out on a rental for almost 2 years to a playland place that does kids birthday parties. It's back here and stored now
 
Pioneer receiver
Pioneer 15" 4 ways
JVC dually 12"
2 Pioneer DD TT
Technics tape player
Realistic mixer
40 LP's
100 45's

Then added a Sansui amp made things a lot more fun.
And I still have them all and they keep on ticking.
 
Home System Is Here Pre 1978 : http://ourdjtalk.com/album.php?albumid=38
First Pro System:1978
2 Technics 1200 Turntables (Still In Use Today)
Clubman Mixer
Shure SM58 Mike (Still In Use Today)
Dynaco PreAmp (Retired for Home use)
Sansui Reverb (Retired for Home use)
Ashly 3 way Stereo Crossover (Still In Use Today)
Tapco Ten Band Stereo EQ (Retired for Home use)
4 400W Amps (I still have them and use one in a current rack)
1 700w Amp
4 JBL Scoops/Bass Bins (Still In Use Today)
2 EV Midrange Horns (Still In Use Today)
2 EV Tweeter Banks (Still In Use Today)
DBX Compressor (Retired for Home use)
DBX Subharmonic Synthesizer (Retired for Home use)
2 Bose 802s (Still In Use Today)
 
Started with a pair of Peavey International 118's but they didn't stay long.

Pair of JBL SR4732's
Pair of JBL MR925's
Crest CA12
Crest CA9
Carver pro series for the mr925's
Rane crossover (I biamped the SR4732's)
Peavey board.
Some shure wireless (I can't remember the model)
A pair of Technics1200, shortly replaced by a pair of Technics SL-P1300 top-loading CD players (anyone remember these?)

I wish now I had hung on to the Crest amps. Today I still have a newer pair of SR4732X JBL's.

Best,

Paul
 
Being that I was 13 and poor, I had no equipment of my own. I used the company's equipment.

Most of the time, if I recall properly, it was:

2 homemade cabinets with EV Force 15 drivers and electro piezo horns (had access to Peavey 18" beasts for some shows - took 2 people to move them)
Atus Mixer
Don't recall the mic but it was wired
2 Technics Turntables
Dual Cassette deck
Coffin to house it all

Coffins were later redesigned to house 2 CD players, cassette deck, mixer and mic

1 Crown amp - big heavy beast
Don't remember what type the other amps were.
Mostly 33's but some 45's
Cassettes

No lights
No back up gear

My own first set of equipment was:

2 homemade cabinets with 15" drivers and electro piezo horns
Atus Mixer
Wired Mic
2 Technics CD players
Dual Cassette deck
Coffin to house it all

Over the years, I got my own turntables and upgraded the other components

I still have all of this equipment and it still works.
 
If we're going way back, I lugged a home sound system:
Carver Integrated Amp (it was rack mountable and had ~200 w/ch)
Dual turntable
Nakamichi cassette deck
various speakers: AR 10(I think?) + home made 3 ways
I had most music recorded to tape (metal tape & dolby C) with transitions & breaks making it a just push play with vinyl requests mixed in between tapes.
 
Started with a lot of Radio Shack gear back in the 70's :)

8-track player, home turntable, home receiver, forget what kind of speakers -- two of them I built myself.

Then in the early 80's when I got into more weddings and fancy stuff, I traded in a couple of my guitars at a music store, and came out with a brand new PA system -- huge speakers (don't recall the brand), amp, and lots of assorted sundries. Was still using a little RS mixer. Then when DJ gear started coming out, I got a Gemini mixer, and a couple direct drive Onkyo tables, and a cassette deck.

Music was on 8-tracks, vinyl and cassettes, and like Scott, I made a lot of mixes at home.


Then, by the time I had that all sorted out, with a huge home made coffin, that weighed more than I did -- CD's came out. Had to start all over again... :sqerr:

Sold all the old heavy crap, to my ex-wife's first husband -- bit of a payback, for him leaving her, and getting me stuck with her... ;)
 
Circa 1979.
RS 6 channel mono mixer into Kenwood 3500 Integrated amp (35W @8 Ohms and 53W @4) into 4 12" 3 way home speakers (local built) with them bolted 1 on another so I had a "stack" on each side. 1 Sony logic controlled cassette and one Hitachi logic deck. 1 Technics SL-BD-35 TT. Pioneer 305 headphones.
I still have everything except the speakers. 1 RS "Highball" mike. (gone too)
 
If there was ever any names on the gear I started using, it was gone by the time I started with the company. The guy that taught me how to DJ believed in buying the least expensive 2nd hand equipment he could find.

But it was turntables and cassette players, amp, speakers, and wired mic. 1989. He made single cassettes of the most popular songs. Yes, copying music was evening happening back then.


Contrary to how some believe remember it, it wasn't all just super great DJs with fantastic equipment back then
 
1973-74

Crates of albums and 45's
RS mixer
Audio Technica and Lloyd's turntables; rigged on/of switches so I could cue. We riiged a "case" to suspend the tables to prevent skipping
Rented initially; typically Shure Vocalmaster mixer/amp with colum speakers, or Peavet Column with a Traynor amp/mixer
Then purchased a traynor 8 channel mixer/amp (mono) and 2 Earth Sound Research Boxes (2 15's, horn and two tweeters). They were huge - 5 feert tall by about 30" wide; weighed about 125 lbs apiece.

Lights were mostly home made; colored floodlights mounted on the inside of gutted out PA columns, things made with Christmas trees lights, etc. Fobbed a"keyboard" for the lights; we actually had a frien "playing" the lights...and a strobe or two and traffic light from RS.....
 
It was all Radio Shack stuff when I started. I was married at the time and couldn't afford pro gear, even used.

The rig was an '80s-vintage receiver, a pair of RS PA amps (all 100 WPC), six Mach III 15" 3-way home stereo speakers, EQ, pair of single-tray CD players, old cassette deck, a Highball corded mic and the famous RS 3-mic console mixer.

The receiver was good quality. I believe Pio was building 'em for RS back in the day. The PA amps were from GemSound and a big waste of money ~ they'd break down like clockwork. Three rack spaces for a 100-watt amp. But having three amps was a good thing... if one decided to take the night off, the others would carry the show. It happened more than once.

I built a rolling case to house it all... like Rick's, the darn thing was heavy as hell and a bear to load. But once off the truck it could be rolled pretty much anywhere. I couldn't move it up stairs though.

Mounted casters under the speakers as well. That made moving them a lot easier.
 
all Radio Shack stuff for me....small 4 channel board....the EQ they sold for years that had the light display in the middle of it that would bounce and make you feel really cool, lol....250 watt amp...and pioneer 6 disc cd players (the kind that took the cartridges)
 
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