What precisely is it that "makes" the DJ? Myself I think it is a catchy nom de guerre and a pair of REALLY baggy pants. Others, such as Michael Sarysz disagree with me on this point. He says it is the mixer (if he had to pick one thing -- and for our purposes he does).

"The most important thing for a DJ is the gear he or she is spinning on. There's no substitute for quality equipment and nothing worse than using cheap, outdated or damaged gear when you're out there doing your thing trying to rock the crowd. It's almost like your trying to spin music in hand cuffs -- no freedom to try new tricks. Technology can be a DJ's best friend and you should always be open to experimenting with the latest equipment."

Sarysz, best known for his appearance on the NBC show Momma's Boys, is also a DJ, musician, songwriter and paramedic. The latter can come in useful when DJing in LA, trust me.

Over the years Sarysz has moved from mixer to mixer as his technical skill rose so did his need for a top of the line mixer. He went up the ladder through some functional but less than advanced models before moving to Pioneer.

"When it was time for me to really get serious about being a true professional DJ, I knew I had to make some big-time investments and upgrade my gear. I decided to go back to the DJ shop where I originally purchased my equipment and picked up my first Pioneer Mixer. I went with the DJM 600," he says. "This is an awesome mixer; it features big range of effects. The DJM 600 has it all: everything from delay and echo, flangers, trans and pan. It also has the ability to auto BPM your track, which will put your effect on time. That's really important because you can't properly use your delay effect unless the timing is right where you need it to be."

It also has Auto Beat Effector -- which allows you to add effects to each channel, microphone and master independently. It also has an Auto Beat Sampler where you can sample and play back with one touch.

The DJM 600 lists for $1,100 but you can find it for around $900 (new of course, used you can find it cheaper). Sarysz has moved away from the DJM 600 these days and upgraded to the DJM 700. He will favor Gearwire with his detailed analysis of the 700 and why it is his new baby.