Has digital DJ Equipment killed off vinyl?
With Panasonic announcing the end of production of the legendary Technics turntables, it seems as if the final bell has tolled for vinyl. The company have cited declining demand for the turntables as the reason for stopping, and with the steady rise of digital DJ equipment, it is an argument that is hard to counter.
Digital DJ equipment does offer some significant benefits: music files can be stored in enormous quantities on a computer or hard drive. Records are bulky, heavy and fragile, making them difficult to move around. Planning sets leaves little real room for improvisation; if a record has been omitted it can't be part of a mix, but you can fit an entire music library on a PC.
There can be literally thousands of tracks in one collection, and yet music management software means that DJs only need a snippet of information to search their database and locate the right file. To find the right vinyl, you have to crouch down and physically root through the records.
Mixing digital files also makes travelling much easier for DJs. Skilled DJs play at clubs all around the globe, and, as the tools of their trade, their music has to travel with them. Vinyl collections could only be transported in the holds of planes, leaving it exposed to theft, damage or delay. Digital DJs, meanwhile, always have their DJ equipment and music in their possession.
Another benefit of switching to digital DJ equipment is the ease with which new tracks can be sourced and purchased. Rather than trawling through the shelves at record shops or begging record labels for limited releases, digital files can be purchased and downloaded instantly, from anywhere in the world.
Several copies of new tracks can be made and saved, protecting a DJ from loss in addition to allowing simultaneous play of the same track on two decks. This can only be done with vinyl if two copies are purchased. As is typical with many cultural forms, both vinyl and digital have their fans, and even though digital DJ equipment is undoubtedly easier to use and less expensive, the debate is certain to rumble on for the foreseeable future.
Digital DJ equipment does offer some significant benefits: music files can be stored in enormous quantities on a computer or hard drive. Records are bulky, heavy and fragile, making them difficult to move around. Planning sets leaves little real room for improvisation; if a record has been omitted it can't be part of a mix, but you can fit an entire music library on a PC.
There can be literally thousands of tracks in one collection, and yet music management software means that DJs only need a snippet of information to search their database and locate the right file. To find the right vinyl, you have to crouch down and physically root through the records.
Mixing digital files also makes travelling much easier for DJs. Skilled DJs play at clubs all around the globe, and, as the tools of their trade, their music has to travel with them. Vinyl collections could only be transported in the holds of planes, leaving it exposed to theft, damage or delay. Digital DJs, meanwhile, always have their DJ equipment and music in their possession.
Another benefit of switching to digital DJ equipment is the ease with which new tracks can be sourced and purchased. Rather than trawling through the shelves at record shops or begging record labels for limited releases, digital files can be purchased and downloaded instantly, from anywhere in the world.
Several copies of new tracks can be made and saved, protecting a DJ from loss in addition to allowing simultaneous play of the same track on two decks. This can only be done with vinyl if two copies are purchased. As is typical with many cultural forms, both vinyl and digital have their fans, and even though digital DJ equipment is undoubtedly easier to use and less expensive, the debate is certain to rumble on for the foreseeable future.
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