This past Saturday I was DJing with Bird Peterson and when we switched out laptops there was a LOUD pop and silence for about 1 minute. Doh!

I totally forgot to plug up the power adapter to my Serato box. Damn it! Well, needless to say, this exact scenario happens OFTEN in clubs all across the world. Obviously you have to plan ahead in order to avoid this kind of a disaster.

Here are a few scenarios you may find yourself in and some solutions…

Sharing turntables + mixer + DVS box

This happens when everyone shares everything except laptops.

The simplest solution is to use vinyl while the transition takes place. Make sure you always carry club-friendly vinyl with you just in case. Also, make sure you have a power adapter for your digital vinyl system (DVS) box. Serato, for instance, doesn’t come with a power adapter, but you can buy one from Radio Shack. You will need one, b/c as soon as you unplug the USB cable, the unit will power off and not allow you to play vinyl (since it’s powered by USB).

You could also run a CD or iPod through an aux channel on your mixer while you perform the switch over.

If you are on Serato, you could buy and use the Rane TTM 57 mixer which would allow you to switch using vinyl relatively easily.

Sharing turntables + mixer only

This happens when each DJ has their own digital vinyl system (DVS) box + laptop.

The cheapest solution requires at least a 4 channel mixer (such as the Pioneer 800). The idea is simple, you have both laptops plugged up to their respective DVS boxes. The line outputs of both DVS boxes should be plugged into 4 channels on the mixer ahead of time. Then when it’s time to switch, the laptop that’s next up would have a song prepared and you plug in the turntable that isn’t being used into the DVS box for the new laptop. For a moment you will have 1 turntable in each DVS box and you can mix the new laptop in seamlessly. Once the mix is done, plug up the other turntable in the new DVS box. The beauty of this solution is that it’s totally free (assuming you have a 4 channel mixer).

Another option would be to use a break-out box such as the Magma Switchbox. You basically plug both DVS boxes into this as well as the turntables in to this. Then you flip the switches on top to your desired settings. This seems like the simplest route, but the box will run you some loot.

If you are lucky enough to have a mixer with a sampler on it, you could even loop a short segment of the last song and extend it while getting someone to talk on the mic while the next DJ sets up. I have seen this work several times.

How to avoid it altogether

You could not even deal with the switch over at all by getting turntables + mixer for each DJ. That way the transition is seamless between sets. While one guy is finishing up, the next one can be setting up.

Lemme know if you have any cool ideas on how to ease the switch between DJs at a club. I am sure there are some unique ones!