mixing using upfaders

roll with it

roll with it

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 5, 2003
Messages
287
i've jus got a cdj to add to my 2 decks, so i need to use all 3 channels of the mixer.
but doin this ya need to use the upfaders, cos the crossfader needs to be in the middle.

i can mix fine usin the crossfader, but hav trouble with the upfaders?

im not sure how much volume to bring in, and when the other channel volume should go down? alotta the time it gets all clashed?

any tips or advice on how to mix better with the up faders?
and who else uses the upfaders over the cross fader


ta
 
a few of the clubs i have played in have even removed the crossfader & stuck it in the middle with tape; lots of DJs only use the channel faders.

the only way to really get to grips with it is to practice. i know it sounds like a cop-out answer, but that's the way i got comfortable using channel faders.

it takes some getting used to - especially the linking of the two movements when you're trying to replicate a crossfader result. just get some records you know really well, sit in front of the speakers and practice some transitions.

it's coping with the difference in scale that's the problem, because your inter-channel fader now has twice the range & is on parallel vertical planes rather than the usual horizontal single-movement crossfader. i found that i had to make myself stop using the crossfader for a while - a month or two - before i was completely comfortable. it's worth it tho - once you have it nailed you have more possibilities, you can play when the xfader's fucked, you can do new things with the combination of movements.

practice and listen. if necessary practice and listen and record and listen, that's what helps me :)

on club mixers, often the crossfader can cut off too much of the sound - especially if it's a cheaper / more sensitive mixer - meaning you can get volume variations, and almost nothing is more audibly frustrating for a crowd than when the music gets quieter... i think that's why some clubs tape the crossfader off.
 
Also, if you're deadset on using the xfader, there should be a switch to assign which input you want to go to either side. Every time you finish a mix you just have to flip the switch.

But I agree with dr seuss that once you switch to the up faders, you'll never miss the xfader. Soooo much more control.

And a tip for when you start practicing, igure out how to turn your crossfader off, because I would always mess up and hit it accidentally, and lose sound.
 
u mean get into the machine and un wiring it? i rather the tape method and jus tape it steady,
 
I honestly don't think I've EVER used the xfader to mix. there was never enough control to make smooth mixes. The only time I use it now is if I slam it to one channel, hit the stop button on the outgoing record for a neat little effect, then drop it back in the midde to play the next record. otherwise, it stays in one place all the time.

as far as knowing how far to bring up the level fader, it depends on the mixer. I usually bring it in full or almost full volume with my vestax, but I have the eqs way down because I mostly mix with them. That and you can't really even hear the incoming record until 8 or 9 anyway. However, on my buddy's pioneer 500, you can hear the incoming record at like 3, so how far to bring up the volume really depends on your mixer and how you want to go about the transition.

like everyone has already said though, just practice using it exclusively and eventually you'll never mess with the xfader again. I know I can't stand hearing the change in volume when someone mixes in the middle, takes out the outgoing record, then moves the crossfader all the way to the playing one. grrrr.
 
oh and when it comes to taking the outgoing record out, I like to raise the bass of the incoming one while lowering the volume of the out going record. that way the out going one doesn't lose too much bottom end during the mix. its not quite as simple as that, but thats the idea behind it anyway. have fun!
 
roll with it said:
u mean get into the machine and un wiring it? i rather the tape method and jus tape it steady,
Click to expand...

http://www.numark.com/index.html?http://www.numark.com/products/product_view.php?v=overview&n=22

This is my mixer, on the front panel underneath the lip of the top panel there are a bunch of switches that allow you to assign channels to the xfader, as well as turn it off all together.

You're mixer may or may not have it. Sorry if I confused you.

And, about bringing in basses, I play Hard Trance and Hard Techno which is very bass heavy, so I have to watch the bass very closely. Basically I cut the incoming record most of the way, then flip the basses at some point when I switch which record is the focus of the mix. I very rarely have both going at the same time.
 
drum and bass

hehe... have 2 put in my 2 cents...

obviously you guys don't play drum and bass...
mixing w/ both up and down and the x-fader is a must....
any club who would tape the x-fader must not ever have Spooky or anybody play....
so forget about any turntablist playin...
can't scratch w/ out the x-fade....
 
I dont use the crossfader at all, unless I'm playing a more ambient, chilled set..
You have so much more control over amplitude and balance if you centre the crossfader (or disable it) and just use the upfaders, but this does depend on genre..
I use EQ extensively when mixing two tracks, but when you use the crossfader, this become much much harder..
 
I never use the x-fader either. I always use the up/down faders and EQ's. When I first started mixing, my roomie had a Vestax Pro-07 (scratch mixer), and it wasn't very useful mixing house and techno. Now that I have my own equipment (Vestax PCV-275 [awesome!]) I don't have to worry anymore. In order to make the mixes smooth on the prior, I remember that I used the volume knobs to fade in the tracks, which was hard considering that you couldn't monitor how the track was doing in relation to the other BPM wise.

I haven't learned to scratch, and probably never will since DJ'ing for me is more of a hobby than a serious business.

Dunno, it's up in the air, but I'm a fader man myself. :)
 
i mix house, breaks mainly. bit of trance.
been playin around with the faders, and it aint as bad as first thought. as long as u have things beat matched nicely, then there aint much diff from cross fader.
 
it gets worse b-c the music that you get on CDs may
all be 'mastered' differently... some of the CDs of
original productions that i get aren't 'finalized' correctly
with regard to levels and what not... so you really
need to have a mixer that has a post fader mix that
you can hear in your headphones what is ACTUALLY
being 'heard' by the 'crowd'...

between that, and using the light-indicators for
the channels on the mixer, and you should be
fine. hoepfully, the club you're playing in would
have proper compressors that would keep
the volumes relatively at the same level so that
minor deviations aren't noticed...

i've always used both the crossfader
and the volume faders when mixing
for the smoothest possible mix. And
I encourage anyone who are NOT
using volume, crossfader, and EQs
during a mix to do so.
 
physix said:
i've always used both the crossfader
and the volume faders when mixing
for the smoothest possible mix. And
I encourage anyone who are NOT
using volume, crossfader, and EQs
during a mix to do so.
Click to expand...



yep =D
 
Yeah, what he said. Why limit yourself? You have all these different methods at your fingertips, so might as well use ALL of them. I've always used a good mixture of crossfader trickery and channel fader adjustments. Always worked well for me.
 
a club with the fader taped down... jeez id cry at the sight of that, but yeah anyway upfader for mixing crossfader for cuts, tricks and skratching
 
pRop5... said:
a club with the fader taped down... jeez id cry at the sight of that, but yeah anyway upfader for mixing crossfader for cuts, tricks and skratching
Click to expand...

it's happened at 3 venues i've played at (!!!!).

i thought it was just gear owners being over-protective ;)

ah well, april we get CDJ1000s, a&h xzone, 50k of sound.... =D
 
I actually thought that one was supposed to mix with the crossfaders and not the upfaders. Then I got this gemini mixer when I bought my turntables. Come to find out that the crossfader didn't work so I HAD to learn using the upfaders. Its a good thing I learned to use them because you get more control out of them than using the crossfader. The only drawback is that some records are produced differently (volume is a bit higher on some than others) and you have to adjust accordingly.
 
Get used to NOT using Crossfaders.


Crossfaders are for BATTLING/HIPHOP mostly.


If you ever encounter a UREI or a RANE PRO mixer , what would you do?



:|
 
YOu can have so much more control of a mix using the upfaders, unless you could modify your crossfader's curve using a cartesian table graph on a LCD display, you'll never get the curve you want. Some faders just have a smooth/hard curve switch, nothing more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top