DJing ***FAQ*** methods and techniques, bump often

The crash cymbal signals the 'beginning' of a 32 beat stanza. So cue the second record on the first beat of a stanza, and let it play on the first beat of the other records stanza.
Crash cymbals arent the only thing to signal the beginning of a stanza however. Other elements act as signals as well. After a ton of listening you cant help but hear the beginning, middle, and end of every stanza.
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Bluelight_pimps up in this mutha fuckin hizzouse...
 
The crash cymbal signals the 'beginning' of a 32 beat stanza. So cue the second record on the first beat of a stanza, and let it play on the first beat of the other records stanza.
Crash cymbals arent the only thing to signal the beginning of a stanza however. Other elements act as signals as well. After a ton of listening you cant help but hear the beginning, middle, and end of every stanza.
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Bluelight_pimps up in this mutha fuckin hizzouse...
 
what are some more ways to mix in another record besides the 32beat way, what makes djs like seb fontaine, pvd, teisto, ect so good? is it there track selection, there samples or what?
 
As far as competitive tables go, I personally use the Numark TT1's(which have been replaced by the TT2's) and paid 375 for them. This is about the standard price for tables of any quality. This top end tables from Stanton, Vestax, Gemini, and Numark are all good, but you need to look at the individual features that they have and decide what you want. For example +/-10 instead of the standard 8, reverse platter, digital pitch etc. Check out www.pssl.com or www.123dj.com for a good listing of these tables.
Now as far as what constitutes a good mix, here's my take on the subject. I should start of by saying that I spin jungle, which definitely influences my view of spinning, but I also spin house, trance, and breaks on the side. Each genre has qualities that can really help you in whatever style you spin, and I have to say that trance helped my ability to spin jungle significantly. So, here's my input:
Not all styles support the same types of transitions, and this is very important. For example, trance tends to support long, flowing transitions while jungle tends to support shorter, more dynamic mixes(hard house tends to follow this also). One thing that you should always keep in mind is whether or not the tracks will conflict with eachother. If two tracks are very heavily layered, and the layers begin to develop quickly a long mix would be a bad idea since the mix will begin to sound "busy". This is where phrasing begins to become important. I personally don't count 32 measure stanzas because this doesn't support all genres. I always count stanzas as 8 measures(props to Kurve on that one) which will never do you wrong. Plus I personally think it's alot easier to keep track of just going up to 8 instead of 32. The way this works, is if you start an incoming track in phase with the outgoing track the new samples will start in the incoming track at the same time that samples drop off in the outgoing track. This keeps your mixes natural sounding. Utilizing this technique with the ability to read vinyl will allow you to time your mixes perfectly(read, you can make things happen in a mix when you want them to). So what does this mean? If you look at your records, you'll notice that the pattern in the vinyl is much tighter when there's more happening in the music. A good example of this is look at the difference in what it looks like around a break, and what it looks like when the beat drops in. Look at the vinyl at the end of your outgoing track, and at the beginning of your incoming track. Using this, you can pretty accurately judge when to start bringing in the next track, so that there's never a lull in your mixes, and also there's never an overly busy point.
Another part of a mix that should not be overlooked is balancing the EQ of the two tracks. You want the beats of the tracks to be fairly similar, otherwise the mix will sound very imbalanced. It never sounds good when a quieter beat is suddenly overtaken by a very strong beat on the next track, or vice versa.
As for beatmatching, all I can say is it will come with time. But just remember, DJing is more about playing good records, and having a good time than anything else. Good luck
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Fuck PLUR! It's all about hardcore assfucking!--The stuck-up 8ups
Just remember, I can delete you--Spencer
 
Hey AcidBurn, you got any suggestions on how to hear the end of a Stanza in D&B? I usually count the loudest snare, 2,4,6 etc.
 
Stanzas are pretty easy to recognize in DNB. This genre follows 8 bar stanzas pretty strictly sinces the tunes progress so fast. Your best bet is to listen for a change in the beat, or a new sample beginning. Try and pay attention to the dynamics of the track(short breaks, vocal samples etc.) and that will give you a good clue as to where the stanzas are since they are almost always on the last measure of the stanza.
Good luck!
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Fuck PLUR! It's all about hardcore assfucking!--The stuck-up 8ups
Just remember, I can delete you--Spencer
 
The end of a stanza is (usually) pretty easy to hear in DNB. Listen for things such as a change in the beat, new samples, very short breaks etc. which usually signify the end of a stanza. Make sure you're doing this well before you intend to be starting your mix if you aren't familiar with the record. The last thing you want to be doing is have the record running out on you and you're still trying to figure out stanzas.
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Fuck PLUR! It's all about hardcore assfucking!--The stuck-up 8ups
Just remember, I can delete you--Spencer
 
dnb may not have the same time signature... but id definatly look to the snares first to find the time patterns
 
::: :: ::
:: :: :: ::
:: :: :: ::
::: :: ::
:: :: :: ::
:: :: :: ::
:::: :::: mb
{ahh so I got bored!!)
great thread tho'
 
ok, new genre:
Hard House and NRG, would it stand to reason that because of the speed (say 140-145bpm) your actual mixes (when both records are playing live) would be a shorter length of time than say trance or deeper house?
if so, time-wise or beat-wise, what's a pretty comfortable mix-length to be working in? how many stanzas from the end should i start thinking about dropping the next track in?
 
ok, new genre:
Hard House and NRG, would it stand to reason that because of the speed (say 140-145bpm) your actual mixes (when both records are playing live) would be a shorter length of time than say trance or deeper house?
if so, time-wise or beat-wise, what's a pretty comfortable mix-length to be working in? how many stanzas from the end should i start thinking about dropping the next track in?
 
Im sorry if this has been answered but I face this problem....
I can match beats alright. But when I do match them one 'runs' from the other. I just cant seem to get the pitch right... Do I need a Beat counter? or is there some trick that I can use to keep the pitch right? I mean I try to adj. the pitch. Usually on the the one that sounds faster. Should I do it the other way arround?
any help is VERY much appreciated....
 
Im sorry if this has been answered but I face this problem....
I can match beats alright. But when I do match them one 'runs' from the other. I just cant seem to get the pitch right... Do I need a Beat counter? or is there some trick that I can use to keep the pitch right? I mean I try to adj. the pitch. Usually on the the one that sounds faster. Should I do it the other way arround?
any help is VERY much appreciated....
 
Im sorry if this has been answered but I face this problem....
I can match beats alright. But when I do match them one 'runs' from the other. I just cant seem to get the pitch right... Do I need a Beat counter? or is there some trick that I can use to keep the pitch right? I mean I try to adj. the pitch. Usually on the the one that sounds faster. Should I do it the other way arround?
any help is VERY much appreciated....
 
Soulfly--check my above post about mixes. What I said about mixes conflicting with eachother apply to all styles. Hard house does tend to have shorter mixes than trance, not because of how fast the beats are, but because they progress much faster. Meaning that new samples are added more quickly, which means that you have less time that the mix will sound good.
So how's the DJ thing going? Haven't talked to your lame ass in a while
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Fuck PLUR! It's all about hardcore assfucking!--The stuck-up 8ups
Just remember, I can delete you--Spencer
 
What is actually happening when you're records "run" is this....while the beats may be in sync, the pitch throws the beats off because they aren't just 1% 2% etc, they are 1.4% or 4.3% You can have matched beats for one or two stanzas or so, but that one or two tenths is what will throw you off. I personally think that it is better to keep practicing without a beat counter because you will learn (eventually) to hear exactly which record is off in you're headphones. And once you have learned that then it's rather easy to fix out of sync beats. As far as techniques go, there are many. You just have to find one that suits u.
 
What is actually happening when you're records "run" is this....while the beats may be in sync, the pitch throws the beats off because they aren't just 1% 2% etc, they are 1.4% or 4.3% You can have matched beats for one or two stanzas or so, but that one or two tenths is what will throw you off. I personally think that it is better to keep practicing without a beat counter because you will learn (eventually) to hear exactly which record is off in you're headphones. And once you have learned that then it's rather easy to fix out of sync beats. As far as techniques go, there are many. You just have to find one that suits u. Oh yeah............BUMP.
 
What is actually happening when you're records "run" is this....while the beats may be in sync, the pitch throws the beats off because they aren't just 1% 2% etc, they are 1.4% or 4.3% You can have matched beats for one or two stanzas or so, but that one or two tenths is what will throw you off. I personally think that it is better to keep practicing without a beat counter because you will learn (eventually) to hear exactly which record is off in you're headphones. And once you have learned that then it's rather easy to fix out of sync beats. As far as techniques go, there are many. You just have to find one that suits u. Oh yeah............BUMP.
 
A big, fat, much-needed *BUMP* back to the top.
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