Beginnings

I think that I've always been interested in DJing in some form or another. I remember my dad playing Will Smith's Big Willie Style in the car and loving Jazzy Jeff's cuts even though I had no idea who he or scratching was.

As an edgy pre-teen/teenager I fell in love with Linkin Park. Mr. Hahn's cuts on songs like Session and Cure For The Itch always stuck with me and I remember loving the X-Ecutioner's track on Reanimation.

When I got a bit older, my uncle let me borrow some of the mixes that his old friend, DJ Illcognito had recorded. This was my first time listening to an actual mix and it blew my mind. It got me digging for the actual names of the tracks and I learned so much about hip hop and downtempo from studying and obsessing over these mixes.

I later was lucky enough to be introduced to DJ Illcognito at a vegan restaurant that he sometimes DJ'd at. A couple years later when I could drive, he invited me over to his place and he gave me a demo on how DJing works. I still remember those silver technics in his loft so vividly. 

As interesting as DJing was to me at the time, I found the barrier to entry to be way too high and time consuming. I was way more focused on playing saxophone and doing well in school that DJing took a huge backseat until after I finished my undergrad ~6 years later.

Numark NS7i

After I got my first job out of university as a Junior Web Developer, I spent my first paycheque on a used Numark NS7 serato controller. I think this would have been around 2017. I taught myself really basic mixing and kind of just mucked around aimlessly with youtube videos to learn how to use it. I remember using the crossfader as a volume fader until I went to a jam session and was taught not to do that.

Amazing controller with spinning platters. I really wish I had kept it, but I ended up giving it away to a producer friend when my parents sold their house and I had to get rid of gear.

Numark NS7iii

I can't quite remember why I felt the need to get this controller. I think I might have just wanted extra performance pads and thought the screens were cool. According to my receipts, I picked this up in 2019 about 1.5 years after I got my first controller. GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a crazy thing. 

Loved this controller until the right turntable motor torque became really low and it was too crazy/expensive a process to diagnose + fix it. 

I really do wish that I had kept this though. The screens on it were *perfect*. You could scroll through your library and the refresh rate was relatively high, meaning that you pretty much didn't need to look at your laptop. If there's ever a spinning platter controller with this good of screens again, or if Numark ever makes the Dashboard again, that would pretty much be an insta-cop for me (especially the Dashboard).

Pioneer DDJ-SX3

Again, I can't remember how I justified buying this at the time. I think I just wanted to try jog wheels and found a good deal on the SX3 through ebay. I used it for a couple house parties (I wasn't even really playing out yet by this point!!!) and then quickly sold it to my uncle who used it in DIY generator parties out on Vancouver Island.