Wanna learn to mix

scattered_raver

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
190
Im really interested in learning to mix, and wanna know what the best deck to start on would be? I wanna start on vinyls too.

Also any tips for someone learning?
 
There are some really good tutorials online. I dont have the time right now, but ill link you to the one I used a while back later today
 
Start on technics 1200s if you wanna use vinyl. There are cheaper tables but trust me, nothing else will be even close to worth your money.
 
Start on technics 1200s if you wanna use vinyl. There are cheaper tables but trust me, nothing else will be even close to worth your money.

i disagree. I started on some shit fisher price decks (can't remember the actual brand) and got good on those. when I switched over to 1200s my skill level pretty much doubled overnight. master shit decks and you'll be able to spin properly on anything. plus that way you won't have to drop $600 on 1200s only to have it turn out that you hate it (which chances are you won't, but still). you can probably get some shitty used decks and a mixer to dick around on for $200. and at that price, they don't really lose their resale value.

also, this has been done to death, but don't waste your time with vinyl. depending on the genre you want to play, a lot of music isn't even released on vinyl anymore. if you are dead set on a turntable-based setup, I would really recommend a serato/traktor scratch/torque style setup to go along with it. I recommend traktor, but it's a bit steep. you can still play vinyl with any of these. but when you get sick of dropping $15 per track, you can play digital music as well. i think you can find torque for about $200, and chances are, you will have a music collection in digital format which you will be able to play right away. then, if for some reason you decide you want to use vinyl once you have learned how to spin with a digital system, you will already have the skills you need. plus even if you decide to stick to mostly vinyl, you will still want your digital setup for those tracks you just can't get on wax.
 
i've actually got one thing to add. don't wast your money on 'dj headphones'. comfort and durability should be the most important factor when choosing your headphones. sound quality really doesn't matter. you are using these headphones to cue and beatmatch. all the big dj headphones that actually sound decent are way to fragile to carry around with you as every day headphones, and chances are that if you are using them to spin, you REALLY won't be too picky about the sound quality in your ear.
 
i wouldnt second that. when you find yourself getting better & maybe playin at bigger, louder parties, you need a good headphone, or your ears will hurt after some time.
 
cross that bridge when you start playing at bigger, louder parties. even so, I have totally stopped using expensive headphones and have never had a problem playing long sets.
 
Hey I just joined this forum, but I've been dj'ing for almost 10 years now. I'm actually a moderater on another dj specific forum. But here is my advice...

First decide what route you want to go...

1. Vinyl-You get the nastalgia of using vinyl, but that's about the only advantage. Also you will be limited to songs you can find on vinyl also.

2. CDJ- Basically turntables that play cd's. A lot of them will let you scratch the cd's just like with vinyl. Some have built in FX also. And of course there is the added advantage that you can find virtually any son gyou want and burn it to a cd so your song possibilities are endless.

3. Digital - There are two routes here actualy. The first is using strictly your computer and maybe a midi controller too. A lot of people do this now because it's pretty easy. And usually the beatmatching (adjusting the speed of 2 or more songs so that they play together correctly) is done for you. The advantage here is that you have more options for creativity. Looping, limitless fx, the ability to use basically any song on your computer, and can play as many songs at once (because you aren't limited to 2 or 3 decks). The disadvantage? Well really these only apply to DJ'ing. The first one is the fact that computers inevitabley will crash, and if you are playing live at a club or what not, nothing is worse then a computer related problem. These can be anything from a slight hickup to a full up system freeze requiring a restart. Major buzzkill for the dancefloor. Also (this varies from crowd to crowd) some people might not take you seriously if you are staring into a laptop screen the whole time. They might not consider you a legitimate DJ unless you're using decks. Which brings me to the other form of digital dj'ing which is called timecode.... Basically timecode is a technology that lets you play, mix, scratch and do all that stuff using mp3's but controlling it all from your turn tables or cdj's. So it's like cdj's but instead of using cd's you're hooked up to a computer and are using mp3's (or .wav's). The advantage here is you get most of the fx, looping, etc that you get with the other kind of digital dj'ing but you also get the joy of spinning with your hands. Also you don't have to haul a huge crate of vinyl or case of CD's around. Disadvantages are, a.) Once again the instability of using a computer vs. analogue gear. b.) Some people still won't take you seriously c.) the cost. You are going to have to still buy the turntables or cdj's but you are also going to have to buy a soundcard and the software. You can get a working soundcard for around $80 and the low end software (virtual dj or deck-a-dance) for around the same price. 95% of the DJ's who take this route wouldn't use these because they are very unstable and their FX, Looping, etc are crap. Basically if you want to ever play gigs to more than just a few people you will want to get Serato or Traktor. Both of which are expensive.

Personally, I use the second method... cdj's. I can burn any song to a cd, including my one off remixes that I produce. Plus I can scratch and cut up on them like I did when I used to have vinyl. If I ever want to do timecode in the future, I already have the gear too, but as an experiencd DJ I still don't trust it yet.


About headphones... You want two main things which are isolation and bass responce. This is because when you are cueing a song (beatmatching it in your headphones and getting it ready to go before you mix it in for the audience) you want to be able to hear the drums and be able to find the beat quickly and easily. The sound isolation will cut out all the other sounds going on around you and the bass frequency will help you hear the kick better.


Any other questions feel free to ask meh.
 
1200's are the standard (prolly hear that alot). I have alot of fun making flawless mixes on Ableton live, my setup for that is MP3's (of course), Mixmeister BPM reader (free online, google it), Axiom 25 MIDI controller (about $200), and an X-Session Pro (about 100$). I usually load up tracks on BPM reader then load them on 4 audio tracks in Ableton and manually time warp if I have to (in your case I would just shit can the ones that dont match). I control the 2 frequency controls on each track to the 8 knobs on the Axiom (2 for each track), and control triggering each track with the keys on the keyboard. Load a triple band EQ on each track and assign those to the X-session pro as you would a DJ mixer (dont forget the volume ones). Then assign the crossfader on the x-session to the crossfader on the DAW and there ya go (spark one, or dose yourself). The 8 knobs on the axiom will let you blend each track with a sexy manual filtering type effect, and the x-session will pretty much be what its supposed to be (try mixing 2 tracks by cuttin the bass for one and the hi for the other or watever). Fun stuff.
 
no mate, if you want to use vinyl use it! i mix hard dnb and all the good tracks are still released on vinyl, plus there's plenty of record shops online and in the UK to get back cat stuff from too. it's harder to get some of them, but it makes it that much sweeter when you find a track you love that you've been after for a while! i think most clubs have the full set up now anyway (2xturntables, 2xCDJs) so you could use mostly vinyl and burn to disc what you don't have and mix that in at the club.
with decks, buy 1210s (or 1200s -only diff is the colour) i regret not buying 1210s..coz i didn't have the money and didn't want to buy a full expensive set-up and then decide i didn't enjoy mixing! but if you buy cheap, you buy twice! if you buy 1210s and decide you don't enjoy djing, then you can sell them on at a good price, if you buy anything alse, it'll be harder to sell on and you might find yourself selling it at a fraction of the price.

with headphones i agree with coday about isolation and bass response, but my mate advised me not to spend too much on headphones as it's not necessary when you're only using them to cue up tracks (and he plays in big clubs and has done some arena gigs.) so i spent £40 on headphones and i'm happy with them, i suppose it depends where you're playing though! if you're just starting out and it's for bedroom djing and parties then don't spend too much on em.

also, about your mixer make sure you get one with a record output so you can record your mixes!

as for tips..know you're records well, and practice, practice, practice!!! don't give up, everyone has good days and bad days. good luck!
 
1200's are the standard (prolly hear that alot). I have alot of fun making flawless mixes on Ableton live, my setup for that is MP3's (of course), Mixmeister BPM reader (free online, google it), Axiom 25 MIDI controller (about $200), and an X-Session Pro (about 100$). I usually load up tracks on BPM reader then load them on 4 audio tracks in Ableton and manually time warp if I have to (in your case I would just shit can the ones that dont match). I control the 2 frequency controls on each track to the 8 knobs on the Axiom (2 for each track), and control triggering each track with the keys on the keyboard. Load a triple band EQ on each track and assign those to the X-session pro as you would a DJ mixer (dont forget the volume ones). Then assign the crossfader on the x-session to the crossfader on the DAW and there ya go (spark one, or dose yourself). The 8 knobs on the axiom will let you blend each track with a sexy manual filtering type effect, and the x-session will pretty much be what its supposed to be (try mixing 2 tracks by cuttin the bass for one and the hi for the other or watever). Fun stuff.

I DJ'ed with ableton for a long time. Also have an axiom 25. Couple things... I don't see why you would need a BPM analyzer? When you warp the track, that's what you are doing... finding the BPM for ableton to use. If you go this route (which I wouldn't starting out because it spoils you and makes it harder to use decks... which you will eventually want to do) you won't want to just pull a track out of itunes and slam it into ableton during a live gig. A turntablist brings a record crate wherever he plays (and with cdj's a case of cd's) and it's the same with Ableton. You need to find the tracks you want to use and warp them and keep them in your library so they are ready to go. You don't want to trust the auto-warp feature in Ableton too much. Also check out mixedinkey.com It has all sorts of information about finding the keys of your tunes, and how to figure out which other songs will be in key. They also sell a software that is supposed to find the keys for you. Although it's actually a good idea, and much more useful than a BPM analyzer, it costs money and and isn't really that great or accurate. If you really want to sound good though, you need to learn to mix in key somehow. 90% of the pro's do it. There is a free software that actually works better, Rapid Evolution, but it's still probably only right about 65-75% of the time. There are tutorials all over the internet about how to find it with just a keyboard and your ear. Learn this, it will improve your skills a lot. On my page, soundcloud.com/coday182, I have some of my older mashups and they are all mixed in key.

if you do go Ableton, though, you will definately need a midi controller like mentioned earlier. The axiom is good, but for DJ'ing I'd definatley recommend the UC33e. I don't remember the price, but it's about the same as the Axiom but is more suited for the job. Basically has 8 sets of 3 knobs (so total of 24) which can be mapped to anything. Plus 9 faders. So if you have 4 tracks like the guy above you can have 4 faders controlling their volume (and 5 left for whatever) and 12 knobs controlling the Hi's Mids and Lows (with 12 left for EFX). Contrary to what the guy said above, you will definately need to have control over atleast those 3 basic frequencies.

And true, headphones for dj'ing don't need to bee to expensive. I've been in clubs before that didn't have a good dj booth with monitors though, and it was very hard to cue up a track in my headphones. American Audio has dj headphones for ~$70 US which are O.K. Also if you ever get into producing remixes and stuff you will want better sound quality, and I would highly recommend the Seinnheiser HD205's. You can get them for like $40, they have superior sound quality for the price, and are great for dj'ing (they even have the option where you can swivel one of the ear cups to just have one ear on).

Any more questions, hit me up. I love this stuff. I'm going to school for music production, and I am one of the top DJ's at my university
 
ha the seinnheiser HD205s are the headphones i use! love them, but haven't played in a club yet so not sure what they'll be like then.
 
Dude I know. I wouldn't mind still having mine to wear around campus. You buy them not knowing what to think for the price but you fall in love with them.
 
cross that bridge when you start playing at bigger, louder parties. even so, I have totally stopped using expensive headphones and have never had a problem playing long sets.

exactly.....

It'll be quite a while before anyone ever gets to that level.....

Get sum cheap $20 headphones....You wont need anything else until u start to play out
 
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