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Riton

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Hey everyone...

remember my post a couple weeks ago about me wanting to mix as a hobby?

Well im receiving some serious cash and i said what the heck, how about i really give it a shot.

Im gonna grab 2 CDJs, a mixer and some new speakers and im gonna really go for it.

Who knows what might happen, but i dont think i wanna do anything more than just mix for friend and chill with it.

Anyway as ive said before, i have pretty much no idea what im supposed to do...

and i dunno anybody who could really teach me consistantly...

I went over to this guy's place the other night, and he showed me how to beatmix... i think...

All he did was Cue the second track at the first beat, and then kept playing both together over and over again in the headphones in order to make sure the tracks "fit together" and adjusted the speed of the second one. Then when the "stansa" of the first track ends and a new one starts, you add the second track without the "low" and after one stansa you invert the "low" in order for only the second one to be playing (i guess you could say bass, but what i mean is the low knob on the mixer u know...)...

And that's it... I dont even know when to "stop" the first track... or how for that matter...

He showed me how to toy around the effects but not much more... and boy does it seem complicated...

Now im wondering... anybody got decent tutorials or things to tell me to do when i get the stuff? Like tips and tricks, or just what to do... cuz i dont feel that this beatmixing is all i need to know to be able to mix semi decently... even with a lot of practice...

Well i hope this post doesn't die too soon cuz i really need ur help guys :)

Post away!

Dav

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Well, you got the basics there. Just learn to beatmix, and then the flow of mixing will come by it self using eq and fading. Get controll over the beatmatching before you start messing around with effects and such :)

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well the hardest part is obviously to make the match, using .7 increases or decreases on that weird scale... and then hearing if it matches right... also it's a bitch to hear which is slightly faster and which is slower and if they dont match perfect how to spin the wheelie thing to make them like match, in case they are not in perfect superposition...

but as they say, practice makes perfect...

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Exactly, it's all about practise. You should also try an mix other genres in other bpm ranges, so you don't get too caught up in the "0.7 = 1 bpm" thingie. That only applies around 145ish.

Also, mix different genres. Todays psy is ofte so similar in sound from artist to artist, which makes it hard for a n00b (to use your own word :) ) to hear the difference in tracks. But if you try to mix a psy track with a techno track you easilly hear the difference, thus making it easier to hear which track that runs wrong (too fast/too slow).

I have not tried all of these tricks myself, I'm only thinking out loud here. But I have done my share of beatmixing across genres, hiphop-hardcore/gabber, gangsta rap/80s pop, etc :)

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yeah, the 0.7% for 1bpm change only works perfectly around 140bpm. it's 7.5% at 150bpm and 6.5% at 130 bpm. but in between it's never quite perfect and you'll always have to slightly nudge the jog wheel unless you have CDJs that can do, say, 0.72-0.74-0.76% like those new Pioneers.

 

i'd also recommend putting tape over the bpm % thingie and beatmatching by ear for a while, to get the hang of it. once you can do that, you can start using the % counter to help you.

 

try mixing more minimal stuff to start off, you can get the hang of beatmatching easier. play with the levels and the fader, try cutting out the bass and jacking up the mids for fun, do 3 counts on one track - flip to the other for 1 count, and back, etc. try mixing two tracks together for 3-4 minutes and play with the EQs to get the most harmonious sound.

 

get some breakbeats and learn to mix them together, get some DnB and mix that also.

 

put together some longer mixes, record them, listen to them to see what sounds good and what doesn't, which tracks go well together and which don't. fix the mistakes, record again, and listen. it's the best way to learn, imo.

 

after you get the technical stuff down, find some house parties that are willing to let you play, play to your friends and gauge their reactions, that's where the real experience comes from. play on the radio if you can, it teaches you more freeform approach since you don't have to worry about the dancing crowd but you still get live feedback from listeners.

 

with that, maybe in 2 years' time you'll get good enough to play the opening slot at a real party. Then play build-up early slots for a while to learn how to get everyone dancing and not wear them out - good flow is important.. eventually you'll get to play at peak time and then the grrlz will be all over you. B)

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wow dmtree thx for the great info!!!

now let me be even more of a pain in the ass...

do you happen to have some tracks/albums/compilations that youd like to recommend for this learning period?

and finally... here is the list of what i think im gonna get!

What do you guys think:

"cd player- cdj 200 s(pioneer)

mixer- djm 300 (pioneer)

speakers- pi-10 (wharfedale)

amp-c 320 (nad)

speaker cables- clearwater (van den hul)

interconect cables-the name (van den hul)"

Any good?

Thx in advance!

Im gonna probably get this friday so i need a max of advice possible plz!

Dav

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Pioneer just came out with a new mixer line that supposedly fixed the sound quality problems they had with the original DJM line. I'd go for the DJM-400 over the 300, if you must get Pioneer.. there are other good mixers on the market in that price range, like Ecler for example.

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yeah, the 0.7% for 1bpm change only works perfectly around 140bpm. it's 7.5% at 150bpm and 6.5% at 130 bpm.

487949[/snapback]

 

0,69 143 BPM (there is no 0,7% = 1 BPM)

0,75 133BPM

0,8 125 BPM

 

Copy/Paste from Isratrance.

 

120 0.833333333

121 0.826446281

122 0.819672131

123 0.81300813

124 0.806451613

125 0.8

126 0.793650794

127 0.787401575

128 0.78125

129 0.775193798

130 0.769230769

131 0.763358779

132 0.757575758

133 0.751879699

134 0.746268657

135 0.740740741

136 0.735294118

137 0.729927007

138 0.724637681

139 0.71942446

140 0.714285714

141 0.709219858

142 0.704225352

143 0.699300699

144 0.694444444

145 0.689655172

146 0.684931507

147 0.680272109

148 0.675675676

149 0.67114094

150 0.666666667

 

:-)

 

Krell

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well it's what the guy offered in the range of price, i guess i can call him to change it... and they are the official pioneers resellers down here in israel apparently... so pioneer is best to get i think for me.

definitely will check out the prices for the new mixer...

but is this one particularly bad or smthg?

 

and do you happen to have a short index list for those tracks you were talking about by any chance?

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Guest djnemo

Hey everyone...

remember my post a couple weeks ago about me wanting to mix as a hobby?

Well im receiving some serious cash and i said what the heck, how about i really give it a shot.

Im gonna grab 2 CDJs, a mixer and some new speakers and im gonna really go for it.

Who knows what might happen, but i dont think i wanna do anything more than just mix for friend and chill with it.

Anyway as ive said before, i have pretty much no idea what im supposed to do...

and i dunno anybody who could really teach me consistantly...

I went over to this guy's place the other night, and he showed me how to beatmix... i think...

All he did was Cue the second track at the first beat, and then kept playing both together over and over again in the headphones in order to make sure the tracks "fit together" and adjusted the speed of the second one. Then when the "stansa" of the first track ends and a new one starts, you add the second track without the "low" and after one stansa you invert the "low" in order for only the second one to be playing (i guess you could say bass, but what i mean is the low knob on the mixer u know...)...

And that's it... I dont even know when to "stop" the first track... or how for that matter...

He showed me how to toy around the effects but not much more... and boy does it seem complicated...

Now im wondering... anybody got decent tutorials or things to tell me to do when i get the stuff? Like tips and tricks, or just what to do... cuz i dont feel that this beatmixing is all i need to know to be able to mix semi decently... even with a lot of practice...

Well i hope this post doesn't die too soon cuz i really need ur help guys :)

Post away!

Dav

487593[/snapback]

Hi man, I tried reading your post, but as I am pretty heavily dyslexic, I have a problem getting what you want :( Some Linebreaks would be wonderful for the likes of me. I am gonna put it in notepad now and then read it again! :D
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Guest djnemo

Hey everyone...

remember my post a couple weeks ago about me wanting to mix as a hobby?

Nope, but that doesnt matter :D

 

Well im receiving some serious cash and i said what the heck, how about i really give it a shot.Im gonna grab 2 CDJs, a mixer and some new speakers and im gonna really go for it.

there are CDJ 1000 MK3's out now :D

 

Who knows what might happen, but i dont think i wanna do anything more than just mix for friend and chill with it. Anyway as ive said before, i have pretty much no idea what im supposed to do...

if you really want this, you will know what you are supposed to do :)

 

and i dunno anybody who could really teach me consistantly...

I went over to this guy's place the other night, and he showed me how to beatmix... i think...

There is no such thing as learning how to dj instantly, you will have to do a lot of training. When I started djing, I stood with my 2 recordplayers (technics) and the mixer for about 4 hours a day.

 

Djing is an artform for me, it needs perfection. If you will get really into it, then you will soon see what I am saying here :D

 

All he did was Cue the second track at the first beat, and then kept playing both together over and over again in the headphones in order to make sure the tracks "fit together" and adjusted the speed of the second one.

 

Then when the "stansa" of the first track ends and a new one starts, you add the second track without the "low" and after one stansa you invert the "low" in order for only the second one to be playing (i guess you could say bass, but what i mean is the low knob on the mixer u know...)...

Yeah, atleast on my mixer the lower knob is also the bass. This is however just one of the techniques you can use, there are soooooo many. you can try and fiddle around with this, and then you might find your own one.

 

It really helps listening to mixtapes/cds from good djs, and try and listen to what they did. It helps a lot of course, if you know the tracks that the dj you are listening to, is playing.

 

And that's it... I dont even know when to "stop" the first track... or how for that matter... He showed me how to toy around the effects but not much more... and boy does it seem complicated... Now im wondering... anybody got decent tutorials or things to tell me to do when i get the stuff?

 

Like tips and tricks, or just what to do... cuz i dont feel that this beatmixing is all i need to know to be able to mix semi decently... even with a lot of practice...

Well i hope this post doesn't die too soon cuz i really need ur help guys

Post away

I havent seen any, but I am sure there are some if you google around. The best thing is learning by doing though.... tutorials might destroy the "feeling".

 

If you have any questions mate, then please send me a PM. I am very busy at the moment, so please be patient with getting replies, but normally I am pretty fast answering, IF i have the answer of course! :D

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0,69 143 BPM (there is no 0,7% = 1 BPM)

0,75 133BPM

0,8 125 BPM

488059[/snapback]

right, the % decreases as the bpm goes up, i had it backwards.. :rolleyes:

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Guest The Journey Man Project

Just hope it goes well... had mine for ages and never spent the time practising, complete waste of money, but kinda wish I had them here in Japan where I have loads of free time... funny how life works... if you are mixing for friends and for yourself then you don't neccessarily need the best, helck I was quite happy to use Traktor dj studio on my girl's pc, and just not sue the auto beat match button, it might not look as traditional but it des take skilll... when I go back to Australia will probably just stick with Traktor, if it is good enough for Ott to use live it is good enoug for me, and a shit load cheaper...

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noob

:P

488135[/snapback]

hehe

 

antiquated, rather. remember, we didn't have no bpm counters back in the day.. we just used to put them black slabs of hardened goop on the wheels and work the pedals underneath to make them spin. :)

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hehe

 

antiquated, rather. remember, we didn't have no bpm counters back in the day.. we just used to put them black slabs of hardened goop on the wheels and work the pedals underneath to make them spin. :)

488179[/snapback]

would be interesting to see something like that at a party

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thx for the awesome comments people!

im all alone in my new appartment now (i WILL post pics of everything once i get the stuff) and im soooo lonely and bored...

i NEED a new passion...

Im not saying im gonna be any good... but i really wanna do this!

and worse comes to worse i can sell them for sure...

hmm nobody answered my question about the DJM 300s, are they really that much worse than the DJM 400?

And thx for posting people!

Im still gonna google around for tutorials and such now, i feel i could do some reading until i get them (probably friday)...

Any comments on the stuff im getting until it's too late?

I CANT WAIT PEOPLE!!!!

im sorry if i sound like a kid about to get a new toy but tha'ts how i feel right now...

hope this works out :D

thx again for the nice words!!!!

dav

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hmm nobody answered my question about the DJM 300s, are they really that much worse than the DJM 400?

488186[/snapback]

I'm just not a big fan of Pioneer mixers in general - the sound quality isn't as good as in other mixers in that price range, and the EQs don't leave room for finesse, imo. They may have fixed that in the new line, don't know yet - they just came out.

 

The good thing is, the Pioneers are the industry standard, easy to use workhorses, and should last for many years.

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would be interesting to see something like that at a party

488180[/snapback]

just wait till that post-apocalyptic party in 2013. B)

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maybe I'm wrong but could it be that there is no djm 400

only djm 300/500/600/1000

488916[/snapback]

they're new, DJM-400 and DJM-800

 

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