Hercules DJControl Starlight – Portable USB DJ Controller $127.06 Delivered @ Amazon UK via AU

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poppingtags on 10/03/2024 - 15:03 amazon.com.au (613 clicks)
Last edited 10/03/2024 - 15:42 by 1 other user

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Good enough for 100 gecs' Boiler Room set

Full overview + review here

I was looking at trying my hand at DJ'ing, and this seems to be one of the best controllers to get started on, without breaking the bank. If/when you outgrow it, it can also serve as nice portable or back up controller.

Any tips + tutorials I should check out would be greatly appreciated!

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• 

  Intoxicoligist on 10/03/2024 - 15:06

  Is this something you can learn to DJ on? How would one go about starting? I've always been interested

  • 

    poppingtags on 10/03/2024 - 15:10

    +1

    Admittedly completely new to this but I've read a few reviews and forum threads on it, and apparently it's a great controller to learn on for the price - that's what I've bought it for.

    I'll be diving into YouTube tutorials, this is the one I'll be starting with.

  • 

    figlia on 10/03/2024 - 15:18

    +3

    don't get this shit, this is basically a toy. If you add few more $ (regularly on special) or get it second hand ddj 200

    • 

      poppingtags on 10/03/2024 - 15:32

      Seems like plenty of people have cut their teeth on this, and recommend it as a good way to test the waters and learn the basics. Much more portable than the DDJ-200, and has a Boiler Room set under its belt.

      I'm planning on using mine just to see if I actually enjoy DJing, and if I do - I'll probably skip the DDJ 200 and jump to the FLX4, since the DDJ 200 just seems like a stepping stone to the FLX4 anyway.

      • 

        figlia on 10/03/2024 - 16:20

        +2

        have a look at the layout of any dj deck on the market, now look at this thing. it's a gimmicky device.
        I do agree 200 is a bit dated but it will give you a lot more of a feel to what dj is all about as well as stock standard eq / faders

        flx4 is great but x4 the cost

        • 

          poppingtags on 10/03/2024 - 16:35

          +1

          @figlia: It's a fair point, especially if you know you're serious about DJing and want a controller that will give you some room to grow, but there also seems to be plenty of people who think it's a decent device to learn the basics - and not a gimmick. For people like me who have no idea if they'll even like DJing, it comes at half the price of the DDJ 200.

          I'm also considering purchase trajectory. I don't mind spending the extra for the FLX4 if I enjoy DJing (especially since people mention that DDJ 200 also leaves you wanting more) but I don't see the point in owning the DDJ 200 and the FLX4, whereas the Starlight + FLX4 combo seems like a good combo, with different strengths. I should also note that I have no intention of pursuing this on a professional level, it will be purely for my own entertainment.

      • 

        astrotrain on 10/03/2024 - 19:58

        Have to agree with @figlia here this is a gimmick and you should just jump into the DDJ200. Would be good for a backup in case your real equipment broke down but the knobs and faders look like a kids toy. Looks like it doesnt even have the EQs? You will probably outgrow it in a few weeks if you start practicing regularly where as the DDJ200 would probably get your skills up to a decent level. Having said that i havent used the DDJ200 but i learnt on the Traktor S2 which is very similar 2 channel mixer.

• 

  Spendmore on 10/03/2024 - 15:21

  I can see AI killing off the DJ industry in a few years.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 10/03/2024 - 15:46

    +1

    AI will never trump the creativity of an individual.
    AI wont read your mind and create exactly what you want. So having the skills to tweak and refine till you get what you want will always be higher value than anything AI presents.

    • 

      poppingtags on 10/03/2024 - 16:46

      +1

      While I agree with you, unfortunately the reality is that creativity has been commodified. If a club can hire an AI-DJ at a fraction of the cost of a real one, a DJ that is always on time, never drunk, won't cause any trouble, always has new sets, doesn't get tired - I can see plenty of clubs that will. Look whats already happening with AI visual art. Open AI's Sora pushes the boundaries even further.

      It shouldn't be too difficult to train an AI to DJ either, given that its all controlled by software and there's a lot of formulaic elements to it.

      • 

        astrotrain on 10/03/2024 - 19:52

        So you're a beginner DJ who has just bought a beginner DJ controller but you say AI is going to take over DJs? From your vast experience DJing what gives you this impression? How will AI figure out how to read a crowd? Sure you can just have it mix in top40 tracks but when it comes to actually rocking a party thats a different story especially for DJs that are really honed in on their craft and their audience.

        Same for art, sure they can make some pretty pictures but most of them look sterile af.

        • 

          poppingtags on 10/03/2024 - 23:36

          @astrotrain: Maybe rewind and read through my comment again - where exactly did I say that AI is going to "take over DJ's"? I said that it's not difficult to imagine some clubs employing AI DJs for the benefits I outlined above. Same with the art - it might be sterile to you, but plenty of companies are already using it - and its only very, very early days.

          Do your DJ skills also cover vast experience in training machine learning systems? If it did, I'd imagine you'd know that sentiment analysis has already made significant strides in the last few years. I might be a beginner DJ, but I work in tech and have been specialising in AI. Not only could crowd sentiment be read by an AI, especially when there are distinct auditory and visual cues to train it on - the same cues that a DJ looks for when reading a crowd, but beyond that, it could achieve personalisation that a human DJ could only dream of. Each ticket sale is tied to an email address, that email address has vast amounts of data tied to it, it wouldn't be difficult to triangulate a playlist based on shared tastes across ticket holders, then pass on additional variables for how the set should be structured, optimising for everything from the time of day, to the number of drinks purchased, to specific celebrations/holidays.

          To spell my point out to you again - I'm not saying that AI DJ's will come in and smash your controller, but it's not difficult to see at least some clubs going for this option, just as some companies have already started using AI art in their branding and promotions. Of course, there will always be a place for human artists, I never said otherwise.

          • 

            astrotrain on 11/03/2024 - 17:25

            @poppingtags: Yeah i was agreeing that Top40 bars and places that dont really care about music will most likely get taken over by AI. They already have those Spotify DJ apps in bars now where you download the app select tracks and they get thrown in a queue for for the soundsystem to play.

            i have experience in both DJing to a live audience and being a creative as i work in digital design as well. So i use AI in Adobe apps and so far it sucks. I'm sure it will improve over time but creatives will adapt with the technology just like DJ's have been doing since Grandmaster Flash setup 2 turntables and a mixer. If anything it will mean that people will be more likely to seek out those authentic human experiences and listen to "real" DJs. You get that already with DJs and bars marketing themselves as vinyl DJs and vinyl nights. Long live the DJ.

            *edit - one thing your post is that you talk about ticket sales and email addresses and creating datasets for partygoers but this is only going to work at a festival or ticketed event. Hows it going to work at some random club in the city where a Hens night shows up with 30 girls that want to hear Taylor Swift remixes all night? From my experience girls run the dancefloor, get the girls to the dfloor and the lads will follow. This is the thing with DJing live you're constantly darting your eyes around the crowd trying to gauge whos feeling what, then you also have to track the energy of the crowd once it builds up. In regards to AI do you think it would be a situation where cameras are installed to gauge crowd interaction?

        • 

          Spendmore on 11/03/2024 - 15:21

          @astrotrain: A good DJ doesnt need to read the crowd they direct the crowd not vice versa.

          • 

            astrotrain on 11/03/2024 - 17:07

            @Spendmore: Depends where you DJ, not everybody is a headlining festival DJ that people are paying to see. Normal DJs in bars and clubs are reading the crowd.

            • 

              Spendmore on 11/03/2024 - 17:09

              @astrotrain: Yeah true I guess I didn't take that kind of DJ into consideration. Certainly it would be harder for an AI DJ to replicate a human in that scenario.

              • 

                astrotrain on 11/03/2024 - 17:35

                +1

                @Spendmore: @poppintags 95% of DJs (myself included) are those kind of DJs. Playing bar/club gigs, sometimes to like 5 people sometimes to 200 haha. People asking to play ABBA even though its a hip hop night. Fun times.

                • 

                  pizzip on 11/03/2024 - 20:32

                  @astrotrain: I wonder how AI will handle requests, will it make a mashup of In Da Club and Waterloo on the spot in the above situation?

• 

  Spendmore on 10/03/2024 - 15:59

  +1

  Yeah it cant trump human creativity yet and possiby never will. Imagine the learning Ai can do, it could be fed sets from all the best DJ's and have access to the latest music. I can see the local nighclub saving costs employing an AI dj service for starters.
  Its unfortunate but AI will dilute all human creativity, producers will be feeding prompts to AI and making music that sells. Its already common in the movie and video game scene its inevitable.

• 

  SAVE FERRIS on 11/03/2024 - 23:56

  Wouldn’t recommend this for both beginners or experts wanting something to play around with. The main reason being the lack of dedicated EQs. Yea there’s a dedicated filter knob but this doesn’t replace dedicated EQs. Follow the other recommendations mentioned earlier by others for suitable beginner equipment.

  Source: I used to have one. I’ve also been DJing since the late 90s and spent the last 12 years with multiple weekly residencies in Adelaide.

• 

  theMoebius on 12/03/2024 - 12:18

  +1

  @poppingtags - try this link for a free online course for the Starlight controller: https://www.thedjcoach.com/hercules

  I got the controller as a gift a little while back (after dropping some hints!) and for various reasons am only now getting into learning the basics - the above course seems pretty good (especially for a freebie).

  I think I'm in the pretty much exactly the same scenario as you - wanting to explore DJing on a personal level (not to perform) and couldn't justify the price commitment for Pioneer controllers, etc mentioned above until I know I'm going to get some use out of them.

  Look, I totally get why the posters above who sound like they've been DJing for a while would dismiss this as a toy/gimmick and recommend Pioneers, etc instead but I'd say there's still a market for devices for stuff like this. Sure, the lack of EQs, etc will be a limiting factor at some point but from what I understand there's still a lot of basics to practice before then.

  Like poppingtags, I also found plenty of positive reviews, etc that recommended the Starlight in context, i.e. acknowledging the target audience, its limitations, etc. - I too ultimately would like to buy something like the FLX4 when I'm more proficient, but can't justify the outlay at this point.

  • 

    poppingtags on 12/03/2024 - 13:09

    +1

    Hey Moebius, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    I actually received the unit over the weekend and completed the course you linked, I've been very happy with it! It doesn't have the high and mid EQs, but other than that - it has all the basics to give you a feel for DJing. Like you, I totally understand why people would dismiss this over the Pioneers, but the form factor is great, doesn't take up space, allows you to explore ideas, and if you do decide to upgrade, you still have a relatively inexpensive, ultraportable controller.

    Having got quite deep into similar hobbies, I feel like people get a bit carried away with gear and forget that at the heart of it, its just a tool for creativity - a good example being 100 gecs choosing to use this controller over the $8000 CDJs for their Boiler Room set. Interestingly a lot of the criticisms levelled at the Starlight in the comments, are the same criticisms levelled at the DDJ 200 that everyone has been recommending.

• 

  AndrewMTG on 17/03/2024 - 00:24

  this looks like something I'd buy use omce and never again for 5 yrs till i remmeber about it