Dj advise needed!!!

[Guest sanmartindj]

Hey guys,

I'm having a little trouble with my mixing, not in the mixing itself but rather in making it sound good when you have to mix in and out quickly. I am a BIG fan of long mixes and most of my mixes start 2 min or more before the song is finishing. The problem is that certain songs have a break down or simply blow up 1 min into the song (give or take) and when I try to mix them faster to be able to do it within 1 min I have trouble making the mix sound smooth and not as if I cut something.

Any advise on eqing or any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

If you want to have longer mixes then stay away from tracks that break down towards the beginning or towards the end. I hardly buy tracks (unless they are made really well) that are contructed in this fashion. I like really tracky stuff. And If I play a record live that has a break down in the beginning or the end, I play it towards the middle of my set to start a new sequence if you know what I mean.

[Guest saintjohn]

What Terry said.

Also, because the tracks are structured differently, you might want to wait longer than usual before bringing in a tune that "goes big" at the one minute mark. You say your segues are typically two minutes, right? 2 minutes @ 128 beats per minute = 256 beats or 64 measures (that's 256 beats divided by 4/4 time). If the next track only goes 32 measures before it demands attention, don't start it in the usual place. Wait. Count another 32 measures and let the current track wind down. Trust yourself. The total overlap will only be 32 measures, but the transition will still seem fairly gradual because you're giving the first record a chance to play out.

Of course, if you're spinning CDs, you can just loop the intro and make it as long as you like.

[Guest Adam Singer]

yes, the cdj looping feature is nice

[rbs]

I mix tracks that require fast in and out mixing...It's tough and you do have to work and be precise. I usually sweat a lot if the AC isn't turned up to max. Where as your 2 minute mix you can really tweak and bring your sound in slowly, the 1 minute build takes you catching the beat and bring it in by the eigth measure. I always bring my tracks in without bass and ease it in by the 8th measure. By the 16th measure, the bass is in and I'm slowly taking the original track out. 32-new track on.

Like Terry and Saint John said wait a little more until the end and bring it in, but if you can start early and start cutting sounds out and bring new sounds in....it might sound interesting. You have to try different techniques out.

[Guest Seb]

Sometimes I'll just continue mixing both records while the breakdown hits. So instead of finishing the mix when the new record breaks, keep the mix going with the break down. The first record will probably be pretty clean at this point so you can have a dry beat mixed with the break down of the new record. Once the break down ends the new record will bring in more energy and you can slowly mix out the old record. Of coarse this depends highly on the dynamics of both tracks but I've found this to work out nicely in that circumstance.

[Guest AlanS]

Sometimes I'll just continue mixing both records while the breakdown hits. So instead of finishing the mix when the new record breaks, keep the mix going with the break down. The first record will probably be pretty clean at this point so you can have a dry beat mixed with the break down of the new record. Once the break down ends the new record will bring in more energy and you can slowly mix out the old record. Of coarse this depends highly on the dynamics of both tracks but I've found this to work out nicely in that circumstance.

This is exactly how I'd handle it ;D

[Guest sanmartindj]

Thanks for the advise guys, I'll give it a try and see how it turns out.

Sebastian c: the problem I have with your technique is that if the track blows up then there is no problem, but if the track cuts the bassline and goes into a melodic part then thesong I'm mixing out of will end and it will sound as if I had cut something out of the track and thus rendering the whole long smooth mixes idea useless.

Again, thanks for the advise

[Guest Seb]

Thanks for the advise guys, I'll give it a try and see how it turns out.

Sebastian c: the problem I have with your technique is that if the track blows up then there is no problem, but if the track cuts the bassline and goes into a melodic part then thesong I'm mixing out of will end and it will sound as if I had cut something out of the track and thus rendering the whole long smooth mixes idea useless.

Again, thanks for the advise

ya it really depends on the tracks your mixing. My feeling is sometimes 2 tracks just weren't meant to be. No matter how much you wish 2 tracks to go together sometimes it just doesn't work. Sometimes the best matched beats are the ones you never even imagined to go together. Just play around with it and you'll figure it out. ;D

[Guest saintjohn]

Another option: cheat. Use a third CD deck or turntable. It's easy if you've got a looping CD player, but vinyl will work, too. I've even got a Subliminal 12" around here somewhere with an entire side of 133.3 bpm locked grooves (Harry Choo Choo Romero: Beats Volume 2 - The Cricket Mix, in case you were curious) which I used to keep spinning all night long - just in case. Certain DJs can do truly magical things with three decks, but even my mundane "backup" approach has its merits. Having an extra tune already beatmatched has saved me from trainwrecking more than once. It's always nice to have Plan B just a crossfade away if you need to stretch a segue or in case something goes terribly wrong. If one side of a turntable goes out (stop licking those cartridges, dammit!), you can switch to the reserve track before the dancefloor even notices. If your "emergency loop" is the intro of a big tune you plan to drop later, the crowd will think you're artfully teasing them - and they'll love you for it.

[Guest swirlundergrounder]

If one side of a turntable goes out (stop licking those cartridges, dammit!)

Don't lick the cartridge. This will cause corossion on the contact points. Use a clean pencil eraser on the contact points on the cartridge and inside the tonearm where it gets the most dirty.

[AndrewChibale]

Another option: cheat. Use a third CD deck ...

excuse you ?

look, if it is vinyl use the elements u have available: sampler, the features on the mixer, use the eq's at all times if u wanna keep the mix "smooth" .. be extra careful with the gains and DO NOT TOUCH THEM UNLESS YOU REALLY NEED TO << most djs do this and it is a big mistake cause almost every track mixing in doesnt have the same "volume" that they do by the middle of the track so later on you will just wind up on going higher and higher and the overall volume of your set

one thing you can do (i learned this from a buddy of mine :) is, once u have the track beatmatched; forward the needle to the middle of the track and pay attention to the levels on the track u wanna mix in and the one playing at the moment, use the gains to adjust volumes IF NEEDED

if you mix using cd's then, edit the tracks before you burn them, i do this all the time .. if theres a track that u like so much but u think it is too short both in and out, use some software to "loop" it and make it long enough for you to mix in and mix out

get to know your tracks also, practice mixing them at different points .. some tracks just sound better with other tracks mixing them in at different points .. sometimes a 30sec mix is just enough (if u have the right tracks) << this doesnt apply all the ime of course

also, keep this in mind all the time .. all tracks dont have a "constant" speed .. << dont ask me why but theres always tiny minor changes, especially at the end of every track (and especially on vinyl) this can also produce a horrible sound to the mix so be careful on this too

if all of this sounds too complicated then .....

KEEP PRACTICING !

[Guest saintjohn]

once u have the track beatmatched; forward the needle to the middle of the track and pay attention to the levels on the track u wanna mix in and the one playing at the moment, use the gains to adjust volumes IF NEEDED

Good advice. You definitely want the gain set properly before you bring a track up in the mix. I check the middle of each incoming record before I even start to beatmatch, but Andrew's method works just as well. Like he said, though, don't make unnecessary adjustments.

if you mix using cd's then, edit the tracks before you burn them, i do this all the time

The secret of the exclusive Chib edit is revealed! Again, more good advice . . .

all tracks dont have a "constant" speed .. << dont ask me why but theres always tiny minor changes, especially at the end of every track (and especially on vinyl)

Hmmm. I always thought the problem was with me or the worn-out turntables I frequently encountered. In particular, the pitch fader on the Technics 1200 Mk 2 can get weird around the center "click" and cause the platter to speed up or slow down without provocation. Don't even get me started on technicians who modify 1200s to "remove the quartz" (http://www.dancetronics.com/othpages/mod1200.html).

[Guest sanmartindj]

thanks for the advise andrew and saintjohn I'm gonna give your suggestion a try

P.S. I use cdjs