You may not think an external hard drive is important for music producers and performing DJs but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The reality is that, try as we might prevent it, you’re probably going to have to deal with a computer crash or two over the course of your lifetime. What makes this even more problematic is that you’re probably going to have a couple of hard drive crashes right before (or even worse, during) a performance or rehearsal.
Computer crashes not only can be frustrating in and of themselves, but they can often result in a complete loss of data files. In this case, it can be a severe problem to deal with a crash only to find out that all of your songs, tracks, and samples have been corrupted, deleted, or made entirely unusable.
The good news is that, with an external drive, you can protect your files, by storing them somewhere separately from your computer. This greatly reduces the odds that you’ll deal with any complete data wipes, especially for your more important or large files.
Our Overall Choice
Having the right external drive is super important to keep your files and data safe. The Seagate Backup Plus is our best overall pick. Not only are all of their hard drives top-of-the-line, but they are also reasonably priced with great additional perks and features.
3 Top External Hard Drives – Best, Premium & Value
Even though all of these choices function the same that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the same quality. We’ve curated a list of the best ones currently available on the market. These are great for personal as well as professional use meaning that they’re perfect whether you’re just looking to store away images or have a complete list of tracks and samples on-hand in case of an emergency.
Seagate Backup Plus (Best Overall)
Starting off our list, we have the Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive. Even if you’re not someone well-versed in different hard drives, you’ve probably heard of the Seagate company, and for good reason.
Seagate’s Backup Plus has a varied external storage limit capacity, ranging from 1TB up to 5TB. This is great for the vast majority of people that need quality products. It is super portable and easy to carry around with you, working with both Windows and Mac computers. It also has a USB 3.0 drive that makes file access incredibly easy compared with other hard drives.
Probably the most impressive feature here, is the Backup Plus’ ability to set up automatic backups to ensure your external storage is safe and easily retrievable even if there is an unforeseen accident or issue. These backups can be every day, every week, every month, or even entirely on-demand.
The only downside to these units is that the speeds aren’t quite as fast as others on this list and there isn’t much security encryption.
Still, this is more than offset by the 2-year warranty alongside a 2-month free membership for Adobe Creative Cloud Photography.
What We Like:
- Great For Storing & Backing Up Files
- Super Portable Drive & Easy To Take With You
- Comes With Warranty & 2-Month Adobe Photography Plan Included
What We Don’t Like:
- Isn’t The Fastest On This List
- Doesn’t Have The Best Security On This List
WD My Book Duo (Premium Pick)
Coming off the heels of the P10, we have the second WD (Western Digital) storage device on this list, the WD My Book Duo. What makes this device easily one of our top favorites is the fact that, while it’s on the pricier side of things, you’ll never have to worry about your storage needs ever again.
Whereas most hard drives cap out at around 4 or 5TBs, that’s actually just where the Western Digital My Book Duo begins.
Here, you’ll have 4TB as the smallest option, with sizes as high as 36TB at the largest. This means that, especially at the higher levels, the My Book Duo is the one storage you’ll need to carry all of your work, regardless of size or file numbers.
As mentioned, however, while you’re getting a ton of space, you’re not getting all that space for free. On top of the more expensive price point, the Western Digital Duo external drives have a shorter warranty and can’t be used outside of storage on your desktop or gaming console.
What We Like:
- Includes USB-3 Hub
- Offers Up To 36TB Of Storage
- Very Accessible
- External SSD
What We Don’t Like:
- Very Expensive
- Comes With A Shorter Warranty
WD My Passport (Best Budget)
Definitely, a serious contender if you are working to a budget. We have another entry by WD, this time for those that don’t have the largest budgets and want something a bit more affordable.
Here, the WD My Passport come as a more dialed-down option. It has a hard disk form factor of 3.5 inches while offering storage capacities ranging from 1TB up to 5TB.
The WD My Passport external drives are compatible with both desktops and laptops as well as various gaming consoles.
This makes this external drive a great form for versatility even while at the reduced price point. The hard drive comes with a 3-year warranty as well as AES-256 hardware encryption, meaning that your files are fully protected.
The one big downside, unfortunately, is its overall stability. While you shouldn’t have an issue in most instances, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when a My Passport needed complete formatting completely out of the blue.
Again, this isn’t likely to happen; just more likely to happen compared to any of the others.
What We Like:
- Affordable and Great Value
- Has A Compact Design For Easy Travel
- External SSD
- Comes With AES-256 Hardware Encryption
What We Don’t Like:
- Can Be More Unstable External Drives
- Needs A Larger Option For Good Download Speeds
Alternative Best External Hard Drives for DJs
If the three options above aren’t well-suited to you, there are still a host of other top products out there for you to choose from. Below, our team has highlighted the following options for those in search of the best portable drives for DJs.
LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt
While not quite as well known as Seagate, LaCie are still a highly regarded computer accessories company, making some great devices for regular home use.
Here, for those that plan on putting themselves in particularly crazy or exhaustive scenarios, you’ll probably be a fan of the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt.
The Rugged Thunderbolt is meant to be your ideal option when it comes to durability and being exposed to more rugged environments. Its design is made to handle life in difficult terrains as well as constant treks on the road.
It can last longer than most other hard drives, surviving most forms of wear & tear which would normally be fatal. It’s water-resistant, drop-resistant, and dust-resistant, meaning you really can take it anywhere and everywhere.
Of course, it’s not just a tough cookie that can take a drop or fall like a champ. The Rugged Thunderbolt is also impressively fast, leveraging just as much from the “Thunderbolt” as it does from the “Rugged”.
The hard drive uses a USB C lightning-fast cable, with speeds as high as 130MB/s. This lets you zip through your downloads at record speed without needing to sit for very long.
The downside here is that, for all of its benefits, you’re going to be paying a pretty penny. Prices can be quite high while the setup process itself can be a bit cumbersome.
Also, while they do have sizes that reach upwards of 8TB when you consider what you’re paying, some may be a bit disappointed that they aren’t getting anything in the double-digits.
What We Like:
- Super Resilient & Durable
- Surprisingly Fast
- Super Portable
- USB Connection
What We Don’t Like:
- Very Expensive (Considering Storage Size Cap)
- Can Be A Drag To Setup & Initiate
WD Black P10 Drive
Western Digital, more commonly known as WD, is arguably the second-most renowned company when it comes to digital storage devices (outside of Seagate), WD is known for making some top-notch, high-quality hard drives spanning a variety of different genres and niches.
While there are two other options on this list, for those that are into the gaming side of things, the WD Black P10 Game Drive is worth looking into.
This Western Digital external drive has a variety of storage space capacities, ranging from 1TB up to 5TB.
This makes it arguably your one-stop shop when it comes to holding your online games, even some of the beefier titles that require a lot of space. In fact, this drive’s large sizes can hold around 125 different AA and AAA game titles.
The P10 also comes with USB 3.0 connectivity and a hard disk form factor of 2.5 inches. This may be on the lower side of things, but the device does also use a Type-A USB cable along with a Micro-B cable and a SuperSpeed interface.
The external drive isn’t just compatible with computers and portable devices, but you can also use it with your gaming systems, allowing you to use it with your Xbox and PlayStation. While you won’t be able to play PS5 games stored on your external HDD, you can at least save yourself the trouble of redownloading 100GB of games,
The only real downside is that it doesn’t come with an SSD card and its connection is a bit dated. Outside of that, this is the best gaming drive you’ll ever need.
What We Like:
- Great For Gamers
- Runs Very Fast
- Very Durable
What We Don’t Like:
- Doesn’t Come With An SSD Card
- Has A Dated Corruption
What is an External Hard Drive?
Simply put, it is a portable digital storage device that connects to a computer through a USB port or other interface. It can be used to store and back up files, as well as to transfer files from one computer to another.
It is also a convenient and easy way to expand the storage capacity of a computer without having to open it up and install a new hard drive inside.
Some hard drives are small and portable, while others are larger and more suited for storing and backing up large amounts of data. For DJs, smaller portable hard drive versions are the best external drives to look into.
Why Do DJs Need One?
DJs often use digital storage devices generally to store and organize and transport their music collections. These hard drives can hold a large number of music files, which is important for DJs who need to have access to a wide variety of tracks during their performances.
Using one also allows DJs to easily transport their music collection from one location to another, such as when traveling to different gigs.
Additionally, having a separate place to store digital files allows DJs to store their music files in a separate location, which can be useful for backing up their collection and protecting against the loss of music due to the computer or hard drive failure. Which is every DJ’s nightmare!
What Are External SSDs?
An external solid-state drive (SSD) is a portable storage device that uses solid-state technology to store data. Like an external hard drive, an external SSD can be connected to a computer through a USB port or other interface such as USB-C.
However, unlike a hard drive, an SSD has no moving parts, which makes it faster, more durable, and more resistant to physical damage.
External SSDs are typically smaller and more lightweight than hard drives, and they also tend to be more expensive. But these types of high-capacity drives are just the ticket for DJs on the move and in their studios.
Some external SSDs are also designed to be rugged and durable, making them well-suited for use in demanding environments or for taking on the go. So ideal backup drive options for DJs!
Our Final Verdict
It doesn’t matter what your external storage situation is, you ideally need to opt for one that will best serve your needs. Whether it be; faster transfer speeds, durable design, or tonnes of storage, it all depends on your requirements.
However, our external hard drive recommendation would be the Seagate Backup Plus:
These can not only help you store considerably more than you could otherwise, but they’re great as backup options in case you deal with a computer crash or a corrupted file becoming entirely unusable.
Take some time to check out these external storage options, maybe go for a model with an external SSD and see what factors are most important for you and why you’d need an external solution the most.
