Being the owner of two turntables, I enjoy playing my records and creating my own mixes. Don't get me wrong though, I limit myself purely to the bedroom dj experience, and I'm quite happy with it. I bought my turntables nearly 6 years ago, and in that small time span it's interesting how the MP3 has made them close to obsolete. Nowadays the majority of DJs, carry their tracks around on laptops and mix with sophisticated applications like Virtual DJ. These offer all the classic characteristics of a mixer and turntables but usually add sampler-like effects and loops to customize your set.

With Virtual DJ, you can do all your djing on your PC. Drag and drop your tracks from your music database to the turntables. Adjust the sound levels, synchronize the songs by adjusting pitch, smoothly drag the cross fader to create the transition between the tracks and set high, mid and low to ensure that your mix is flowing. If you don't want to worry about your transitions, press the auto mix button and let Virtual DJ do all the work for you.

What makes Virtual DJ exciting to aspiring DJs are the sample loops and jingles you can spontaneously add to your mix. Drag and drop effects like backspin, flippin double and brake to play around with the tracks. Bring in loops to add a rhythm or melody to the music. If you know how to introduce and time these effects well, you can really turn the set to your own flavour and create your own signature sound.

Virtual DJ also lets novice djs dominate the dance floor. If you're really not confident about your djing capabilities you can choose to prerecord your own mix. Saving your recording as an MP3 is probably the best option, although in Virtual DJ you can also create a mix CD, handy if you want a backup or if you're not planning on bringing your laptop to the party. If you have your own show on the net, you can connect to an internet radio server and broadcast your own session live. That way you can attract a bigger audience and make your name known on the internet.

Virtual DJ is accessible to beginners and packed with extra features. The only real downside however, is that Virtual DJ has a tendency to jam when you're adding effects, samples or tweaking the equalizer during a mix. There's nothing worse when you're in the middle of a set and you've got people on the dance floor. To avoid surprises, we suggest that you record your mix beforehand or that you use effects sparingly.

On the whole, Virtual DJ is an intuitive and exciting application for beginning and aspiring DJs. You'll get the chance to showcase your very own styled mix without having to buy and carry around expensive and bulky equipment.