FRIDAY FUN: Post a picture of your DJ setup — right now

Real life can't be photoshopped. And we know that the glossy and impossibly tidy DJ setup pics are staged. So show us yours. Right now. We dare you.

DJ Setup (5)

dan-setup-picture-recent-header

Whenever there’s discussion about people’s DJ setups, the inevitable barrage of posted pictures show lean setups at their cleanest. Much like the frenzied cleaning sessions that happen whenever guests come over, there’s this illusion that everyone puts out that we all try to live a perfect, uncluttered life. But that’s a load of crap. We all live in functional environments. We all forget to tidy up once in a while.

So here’s a challenge for you: post a picture of your DJ/production studio/desk/corner. Right. Now. We want to see those piles of cables, stacks of records, broken headphones. Prove to everyone that you’re just as human as the next person. If it makes you feel better, post before and after shots, like I have below.

dan-setup-picture-recent
Poor little dumping ground…

I’ve cheated slightly and the ‘before’ shot is from when we first had our conversation on Slack, but a lot of equipment gets passed across my DJ desk, and it’s a battle to keep it clear. I now have a corner of a shiny new extension for my work/play as well!

Your turn

What does your DJ table look like right now? Post your candid photos!

Dan Morse
Dan Morse

Opinionated DJWORX newsie. Loves Traktor, analogue mixers, vinyl and Android. The best Techno bedroom DJ you know.

Articles: 150

Related Posts

186 Comments

  1. Funny story about the Brazil flag on the top left of the Expedit: We got it at the London Olympics women’s volleyball (not beach volleyball, though. Instead of just four tall, lithe female athletes jumping around, we had 12) finals in 2012. It was Brazil vs USA, and one of the Brazil fans went round the arena taping these flags to the fences. About half way into the game, Brazil were winning and one butt-hurt USA fan decided to go around and rip these down. We liberated this one and became Brazil fans by default. It’s now used as a dust cover with cherished memories.

      • This is old expedit but i do have a couple of the new kallax shelves for a big bit of my vinyl collection (the rest being in wardrobes).
        So make that 3 for me ..:)

          • If we are including the rest of the house add 3 more expedit 5×5 for the wifes books! and I’d agree about them being the top seller in Ikea (or maybe that’s the tea-lights I always seem to come back with).

            Anyway here’s a picture of the not so tidy side of the room ..mostly just gear porn :)

            Notice the Mixman DM2 – this one is in perfect condition, but i used to have a couple as they were my first “midi mods” after that I started using ATMegas and Teensys. Oh how we have moved on ..

      • Indeed, there’s just a few of them eh? Mine’s the Expedit/Lack tv stand setup you can find plans for around the internet (aka I lost the link, but I could probably find it if I looked)

  8. There’s a 1200 as well, just out of shot on the right of the 57. If we’re counting Expedits, the whole set up sits on two modified 2×4 Expedits, sort of like an Ikea hack to bring it up to 99cm high. There’s also a 5×5 Expedit on the opposite wall.

  14. Space is non existent in my current domestic arrangement. So this is what i have perched on the end of my desk, if i want to bang a few tunes out.
    I also have a Denon MC4000, but that lives in a flightcase & only comes out to play at Gig time.

  17. Are you saying my setup isn’t always as tidy as the photo shown in the 7″ story would imply? Have I really taken time out of my busy schedule to arrange it just for that one shot, all because the lives we present to the world on social media are a complete fabrication made to convince other people that we live great and successful lives while in reality we actually grovel in our sad, lonely, cluttered, smelly man-caves?

  19. live with a bird who would kill me if it was messy, so mine just looks like this all the time (minus the laptop which is currently on my lap)
    edit: and I’m plus one on the Expedit

  22. Okay, but if you get all wide eyed it’s not my fault :P

    I have to say this before I put the pictures in though: we just swapped out to the new desks (from our previous Obutto R3volutions, which while nice for racing and just gaming, if you actually want to do stuff after a while they get rather annoying), so that’s why there’s such a giant mess. That and I’ve been trying to find places to put everything that wound up being moved… I’m not commenting on what the rest of the living room looks like, because it’s literally a giant disaster area with two walkways forged out of said mess as we sort through everything – joys of living in a small one bedroom apartment.

    Oh right, and the frames above my turntables are censored because of the content in said pictures :P

      • Hey, you called for “as it is right now” pics… If I had checked this post tomorrow things would be a LOT cleaner, and my records would be under the decks too, as I boxed them up and put them in the room so I wouldn’t have to worry about ruining anything while moving a bunch of things around ^_^;;;

        Still have to find a spot for a bunch of those video cards and additional motherboards, plus the various computer parts, but this (for us, it’s a long) weekend the game plan was to finish re-arranging the living room and getting it all nice and sorted out so it’s properly liveable again :)

      • Now that there’s coffee in me, I think the two biggest reasons I posted them (despite the fact I was planning on cleaning up anyways) are….

        1) Challenge accepted, and
        2) Additional motivation to actually clean it all up

  25. It really doesn’t have a chance to get too messy. Pulling it to the station every week means that there is weekly crap elimination and a dusting schedule.

  26. I don’t have any new flicks of my current home setup, but here are a few older ones as well my gear in action at our practice sessions. Currently own 4 Vestax PDX-2000’s (grey), 1 Vestax PDX-2300 (black), A stanton SK2, SK2F, SK2F limited edition, DJ tech dif1, vestax 06 black, vestax 06 gold, vestax 05 gold, vestax 08 pro and a few other gadgets. Instagram: JAM1PHOTO

  30. Production Room: I’m having a rough week and don’t feel like cleaning up (though I should or it’ll just become worse)

    DJ Setup: Still building/modifying the setup (poles need paint and polish). I had planned on posting it when all was done. I think I may get another pair of monitors and paint those green too…

    For the curious the speaker is a D.A.S Artec 10a.

  35. Techs, Rane56, SL3 is buried behind, Ableton, Maschine, Rokits. Mixer and SL3 are the only things that ever move.

    With pic this time.

  41. Question; Why do most people always have their setup so they are facing the wall? Ignore my turntable set up as I had nowhere to put it, my NI setup is configured the way I always go for;- facing into the room.

    Any particular reason everyone faces the wall? Is it purely space saving or has nobody though of turning round and facing the room?

    Just wondering……

    • Can’t speak for others, but for me, my home setup is in a home studio, and when I use it there isn’t a crowd in front of me to perform for so it makes zero sense to face towards an empty room and waste valuable real estate in the process.

    • Mine’s facing a wall for a few different reasons… Stability is arguably the biggest one, keeping cables somewhat tidy, and even more importantly it takes up the least amount of room.

      We have the equivalent of three desks in our living room (two Obutto R3volutions PLUS 16′ of total desk… Currently put together, but we’ll be splitting it so whatever one of us is doing doesn’t affect the other, like say… Bumping the desk with a chair arm causing the other person’s monitor arms to shake somewhat).

    • Space. Our house was designed by a moron so the main bedroom (where my DJ stuff is) has a weird shape. It’s also built over the stairs, so there’s a big wooden box-out that takes up loads of space.

  49. I think it’s in the human organization, I personally do not like the mess and trying to maintain order …….., but my wife quoted Einstein “The order requires the fools, the genius of the rules over the chaos.”

  50. I like to keep my stuff in order:)

    Rane Empath GOLD, 2 x the one and only Technics 1210 M3D, Proac Studio 118 Speakers, Traktor Audio 6 and lots of 12″:)

  54. My current setup:
    Rane MP2015
    2x Technics M5G
    2x Kontrol D2
    RMX-1000
    EFX-1000
    HD-25
    Rokit 8 G2

    It rarely looks untidy.
    Glad you didn’t ask for a picture of the kitchen setup, though :D

  57. Quick question… Has anyone else seen one of those ‘pearl white’ pdx 2000s. I got it from HTFR years ago and haven’t seen another since in my travels.

  62. I just got two new AT 1240 tables in this week. Sold all my gear when I moved (two TTX’s a XONE 2:02, Traktor A8, an X1, and a Kontrol S2) I did jump up in the caliber of mixer this time though with the 62-Z. Got it for a killer deal on ebay. Glad I have an all in one,now so much nicer not having to deal with an external sound card. OSX still kinda buggy for Serato 1.9 though :-/ At least I have gear again!

      • Yes Dan. The one on the left is a one piece and tore half my ear off when I tried putting on. It’s from China but is a good copy although small and lethal inside. The one on the right is the two piece from Disney. I want the Anovos version, but I’ve just splurged on a TTm57 MK2 and the wife will tear my other ear off if I order it.

  76. I love building booths, so the last one I made I went all out. New house, entire attic to myself, and the best gear I wanted…. One side is DJ side, on the other side it’s all led and a tv for playing games with friends.

    But then we got pregnant, and priorities shift. Now, 9 months later I am happy with the booth I got. I refurbished the parts and made two desks, sold the cd players and traitor controllers and went for an DDJ-SP1 with my turntables. Although I don’t play as much, i love midi mapping and make things do they weren’t designed for. I can’t get rid of my vinyl. I’ll go clean up today, I edit the good pics on it later!

Leave a Reply