chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

just curious as to what mixing technique you use.

im a trance dj, sometimes delve into house etc, but mainly uplifting ibiza trance. now when im mixing, i generally use the cross fader to bring tracks in from the left to the righ and vice versa. for smooth blending i would adjust the lows mids and sometimes highs as needed.

but when i first started out i used to leave the cross fader in the middle and use the channel faders to mix in. i found it difficult to get s mooth transaction between tracks as ive found on the faders 1-8 volume wise is mooth, then 8-10 is much more sensitive - if this makes sense.

reason i ask is i have been watching a few mixing videos on youtube and 99% of them have used my old technique while turning the low/mid/high gains right down and adjusting as appropriate.

is this for house dj's where a smooth mix is very important, or do trance djs use this too?

just im thinking of swapping my technique to try perfect it and get get smoother more pro sounding mixes for when i try promote myself (depending on current work situation).

help advice, links always welcome, i know theres a few fellow jockeys (past and present) on here.

andy

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

I tend to mix old school hardcore, garage and jungle/drum 'n' bass so the technique is different, more cutting and punching than soft fading. If I'm mixing intelligent dnb I tend to use the channel fade technique, although as you say, cutting the mid/bass dependant on the tunes.

It really depends on the specifc tunes IMO, you need a variety of techniques in your locker depending on the effect you are after for that mix. A nice gradual build up can be nice for uplifting trance.

Too many weak DJ's use the same technique for every mix and don't really listen to the composition of the music and use it to its advantage. Its easy to spot and a real bugbear of mine I'm a nightmare to go to a clucb with

SPG

I agree, depends on what your mixing, in my early days always used to use a cross fader, then one time after it had broken for the second time I started to use the channels. The'yre great for gradually building in a tune, particulary Trance I used to find.

Crossfader was great though for "whacking" in tunes or a particular part of a tune, mainly used that in later life (new mixer by then!) for hard house.

I think it's all about your own style, I used to appreciate a mix where you really could'nt tell when one tune ended and the next started, but a guy a used to DJ with would drive me mad with leaving it really late to start mixing, mainly in the DJ friendly bits then leave the tune running really late into the next. If I learnt anything with regards to keeping a dance floor happy it was the keep the beats going and get to the part of the tune they know asap, which is very hard with Trance due to all the breaks!

Freak

I havent touched cross fader in years- either at home or professionally.
*edit- actually, not strictly true....my EFX return is linked into my cross fader so I can fade that in nicely. Other than that, never used it.

Worth noting, that out of the hundreds and hundreds of A list Djs I work with on a very regular basis, the only trance DJ I have ever seen use the cross fader is Eddie Halliwell and even then he doesnt use it a great deal ( he is all over the channel faders instead mostly), and the only house Dj, James Zabiela, and again only occasionally.
Aside from those, it is basically never used by trance or house Djs at the top of their game.
Drum & Bass and hardcore its universally used by practically everyone.

Correctly matched gains and working the EQs and channel faders is the key to good and smooth mixing....

Edit- if you want smooth, buy a rotary mixer....
gratuitious **** shot of part of my setup:
Image200.jpg - Image - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
(Vestax PMC 46mk2 )

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

so it seems the way to go is channel faders after all

well basically the set up im currently running is the following...

left hand side, denon dns1000 cd deck

middle, behringer djx700 mixer (courtesy of *smiles*)

right hand side, technics 1210 mk3 vinyl deck.

so a good mixture. i am gradually swapping from vinyl to cd but current moneys mean i cant afford to get another denon cd deck currently unless one comes up well priced at the right time.

i have found when plugging my set up together, that naturally the cd deck is louder than the vinyl deck. so ive adjusted the gains accordingly so they are at the same level. obviously i understand some tracks are louder than others, whether it be the way theyre recorded onto cd, or etched into vinyl, so i do make allowances for this when mixing.

when i did/will in future mix with the channel faders i will generally only go to about 8 on the scale because as mentioned above, the next 2 steps on them (particularly on this mixer) seem suddenly a lot louder and not in proportion with the rest of the fader.

i have seen some clips of djs who when bringing a new track in turn the 3 eq gains right down and bring the channel fader right into the same level as the outgoing track. then proceed to mix using the 3 eq gains, while fading the outgoing track gains out. i think this could be a good method for myself, otherwise i believe with trance you may end up with too much of one eq on top of each other.

one noticeable advantage with using the cross fader was the lack of need to mess with the eq gains, bar the lows for outgoing/incoming basslines.

im currently going through around 500 cds ive got for mixing upstairs and jotting down the bpm's for the induvidual tracks.

one thing i would like to ask is how the djs on here sort their music out?

as above i recently wrote approx 500 cds from tracks on the pc. ive basically put them into 2 big cd folders in alpabetical order, but due to the quantity of music imnot that familiar with, when mixing i find myself struggling to figure out/remember what one choon sounds like and what speed it goes.

so something i am trying is the above, writing down all the bpms and arranging the choons by them. so when i start a mix, i can choose the slower tracks and build up the set the the faster tracks later on.

what are other dj's methods on this. i ask so many questions because im trying to get to club/bar level now i have a wealth of new material to mix and im trying to recognise all the stuff i have at my disposal.

for sometone like myself who have been bedroom djing for nearly 6 years, i want to get to the next step and try get some week night/weekend work.

Freak

You always go to full on the channel fader- yes the top part of the fader will be a different curve than the rest- this is normal for a club mixer.
You adjust the gain to suit the track- every track will be different. Granted with CDs, not as much difference as with records where you can get v loud and v quiet cuts, but still different to need to adjust the gains for every single track.
Best way is to needle jump (yes I learnt on vinyl many moons ago) to the loudest part of the track you are cueing, and match the meters to the current playing track.

In big racks with no particular order except for genre.
Helps having a photographic memory I guess....
Cd wallets, again by genre- i know them well enough to not have to label or subdivide them further.

believe me, when you start playing out on a regular basis, you get to know them v quickly.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

ahhh. so if i did end up getting a set somewhere, to start with id be better off taking a massive collection of choons with me.

with regards to genre, really i play is trance. i suppose you could disect it into sections, but what throws me is the remixes.

basically what i have done is put one artist/track per cd along with all the remixes of that track. so some cd-r's have one track, and a couple have like 8-9 depending on how many mixes of the track there are/i like.

i could take a couple pics of what my set up currently looks like, its nothing special but im well confised with everything. all over the place and nothing really organised. as said i play one style of music, ie trance but enjoy pretty much every aspect of it, whether it be say summery soft stuff to more dark material. my collection ranges from around 126bpm to 141bmp, so really a big collection in between. i find it hard to split all my tracks into specific catagories or genres.

really the stage i want to be at is where i go into the room, flick open a folder and let loose with the vinyl or cd's and have a knowledgeable idea of where my mix is going.

SiDHEaD

I'm a cross fader, and depending on the track i usually drop the bass off a bit on the one coming in and then every 16beats i knock the bass down a bit on the one going out and the high down a bit too. Really depends on the track tho. I guess my stuff is similar to hardcore tho.

I mix scousehouse and commercial dance

Set up is DJX700 with CDJ800MK2s and Virtual DJ Pro making up the 4 channels.

Currently trying to learn how to scratch properly lol

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

cool. i think from what freak has said, im gonna go with the channel fader approach.with more practise il probably get better mixes in than using the cross fader for my genre.

my problem is i dont like scouse house or commercial stuff, so in a town like scunny, your buggered as thats what everyone plays. little electro and some house creeping in though, possible hope.

heres some pics of my simple set up currently...












as you can see, im currently just naming/detailing my collection of cds so im a little more organised. most my material on vinyl is classic ibiza stuff. trying to get rid of that fairground speaker near the radiator lol. notice the cracking walls

SiDHEaD

And for those of you who don't know what scouse/bouncy house is here's a mess about i did on W-T-F radio the other day mainly to practice my scratching.

http://www.sidmix.co.uk/files/DJ%20S...n%20180508.mp3

Just bear in mind i was only mixing from VDJ whilst doing other things at the same time lol Still some good bouncy tunes tho (albeit with way too much scratching on - wouldnt normally do that much). Just need to keep practicing the patterns! CD started skipping on the last track so i terminated it hah

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

just downloading it now. can i ask how you record your mixing to your pc? theres a thread in nsr about my exploits from trying to develop from ye old cassette tape

SiDHEaD

Linein on the PC from the mixer and then use Audacity (it's free !) to record. Could have done with amplifying/normalising that mix before exporting it cos its a bit quiet but was only a mess about set.

Must get round to banging out a promo cd as i wanna get some weekend work, i think it's high-time bouncy house earnt it's place down here. I've played in a club before for private parties, but never had a residency. It always seems to go down a treat and I get really positive feedback about my set etc. I just absolutely LOVE it. Just wish i could scratch as well as i mix (when trying properly). Rob Cain particularly and DJ Sy are scratching gods!!

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

fair play to you fella, but the cheesey (soft) side isnt my thing at all.

if you can get work from it, than go for it, having listened its not my thing at all, unless off my skull on beer

SiDHEaD

I suppose that was a particularly cheesy set LOL. I've got a fair amount of bouncy stuff that's a lot harder, but for radio use the cheesier stuff seems to go down better - i.e. bouncy remixes of mainstream stuff.

mickywrx

iTrader: (29)

I've only ever clarted on with decks at my mates when pi$sed, so for me it was always just ramdomly messing with the cross fader.

My mate who's decks I used to **** about with can mix a bit, might be a bit hard for your liking though, Andy.

TERROR`S CAVE OV HARDCORE | ENTER THE CAVE !

SiDHEaD

Nope, I likes hardcore It's what i drive to

StickyMicky

i "used" to use pretty much everything depending on how i was feeling

i say "used" as 2/3 months back i gave everything away

the lot

records i had been collecting since i was 15, ltd rare white labels, my decks, mixers, the whole fackin lot

figured i was growing up and simply could not be ****ed on with trying to sell the stuff so gave it away to a mate, he took what he wanted and is now selling them via discogs, he said he would give me some cash back when they have all gone, but to be honest i`m not really that fussed, he has sold some of them for £30 a pop apparently so hes trying to force me to take money for them he estimated i had around 5/600 records, never even relised i had that many, but they were just taking up shelf space and doing my head in

his brother took the decks and gave me some cash which i did not really want, i would rather somebody got some use out of them rather then me having them taking up space gathering dust.

it was quite a relief to give them away to be honest!!!

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

fair enough but i cant help thinking of the phrase "more money than sense". sorry.

even doing your head in you could have got a few quid from someone on ebay etc and put the money aside for kids etc?

hopefully il never have to sell my vinyl, got some right raritys in there and i enjoy looking through them like a historian something i enjoy and have a passion for alongside my artwork. nice to have the diversity me thinks.

scoobydoo555 is posting me a copy of soundforge8.0 so hopefully il be able to get some mixes with new learnt techniques down.

StickyMicky

this is the thing, i was getting embarrassed by the whole thing

i turned 30 last week, i run a business, i have a set of decks in my spare room

it don't kinda fit together lol
i gave up clubbing a few years back, completely lost interest, thing is a few years back i was working with a chap who had some proper rare vinals, he gave me this bootleg whitelable record with about 10 x ALTERN-8 tracks on it

told me it took him years to find a copy, he gave it to me for free and i could not belive he would give it away, his words "sometimes you just grow up a bit and get sick of them" i do recall saying "i will never do that"

only i have just given the same record away to my mate

don't have any kids, one thing i HATE doing is selling stuff, to many tossers and time wasters, i have better things to do then waste my time flogging tunes on ebay, its just to much time and effort for me personally IMO

did the whole dj thing, played on various internet radio stations (think afterhoursdjs still play some of my mixes now) played in a club, various house parties, did the drugs, the whole shebang, for years, now i would rather just have a nice pint and play on my xbox

watched the rise and fall of the trance scene in newcastle, saw a mate go from a resident at a good trance night, to getting kicked out when the scene died down, and now he dj`s in a lapdancing bar playing ****e just to pay the bills.


been there, done that, had far to many t shirts

i even had "1 last mix" just before i gave them away, got about 45 mins in, fecked up and the records went out of synch, stopped them and thought "what the **** am i doing lol"

previous to this they had probably been standing for about 2 years untouched

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

wow, bit of history there


from reading what youve written, seems you lost the passion for what you were doing. as you say you have a business and other priorities. same as these superstar djs, most are mid 30's now but music is their life.

i can see myself being one of the latter not the former. i just seem to have an unhealthy passion for this sort of theing.

StickyMicky

the thing about the super stars, is they have made it, i bet most of them are sick of it, but it brings in good money so they keep doing it

i was reading some waffle about moby in the latest mixmag (G/F still does a bit of clubbing) and he was saying he was sick of the touring and stadium style bull****, just wanted to play some small clubs as it was less hassle, or something along them lines.

the mans paggered, hes ready to give his decks away

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

il keep tabs on ebay then

thats were i wanna be, just some localish work in a few bars, so i can experience and really find out whther im cut out for it. yeah ok its one of those dreams, but plenty of people have gotten work, tried it, stuck it or ditched it. hows that saying go about regretting never having tried something.

SiDHEaD

I can relate there. Most of what i do is based around music these days. Lost interest in cars I wanna get in somwhere playin the tunes i love cos i enjoy it. i dont need the money.

Ghetto Dude3

i bet you were more then passionate about cars at one point as well

SiDHEaD

yeah well i'm probably just bitter about that cos i'm not allowed to spend money on them atm House to buy,... grrrrrrrrrrrr.

TopBanana

If you ask really nicely I'll show you my setup. Don't want to look like I'm showing off or anything though...

RMA26

I started out at 13 years old! Chopping cd’s (from Std cd players) into each other at the local youth club

I was unfortunate enough to have an accident at this age which left me bed ridden for almost a year, during which I inherited a pair of 1200’s (which I still have)

I spent 12 months messing around, learning the basics (1992) – music at this time was a mixture of Hardcore, Rave & Acid House which was a bitch to mix as there was no real foundation to the tracks

I persevered as a bedroom DJ until I got the confidence to start doing house party’s after leaving school, which progressed into various spots at clubs in and around Yorkshire, with a few down south

At 19 I was given the chance to play Ibiza, supporting my mate who is now very well known in the industry, a lucky break more than anything!

When I first started out the mixers were diabolical, No EQ’s, the faders were stiff as hell (both channel faders and cross faders) unlike today’s equipment

I use a combination, cross fader has less distance to travel than a channel fader, which is tonnes better (obviously) for scratching or chopping something in quick, faders are better for gradual mixing – it all varies on the music I am playing

I’ve used tonnes of mixers over the past few years, the one I’ve stuck with is a Vestax PCV275 which (IMO) is a brilliant all round mixer, plenty of inputs, fantastic EQ’s & Kills & a truly excellent cross fader (which is replaceable) – not cheap at the time (£500) but it certainly does the job (Bad point being no curve adjustment on the crossfader!)

I’ve used DJM600, Allen & Heath Xone 62 etc & to be perfectly honest the new digital mixers are taking away some of the history of DJ’ing, who really needs a BPM counter? (a DJ who’s tone deaf!!!?) whilst some of the features on the DJM600 are brilliant when used with CDJ’s as a standard mixer it is no better than one of the lower end Stanton

I am historically a Vinyl DJ, reason being that I have so much bloody vinyl (and I play old skool, retro, classic house) I have never looked at going digital, that said I have experimented with CDJ’s & Technics SL-DZ’s etc & they are very good, so much so that I am debating a purchase at the moment

Question – What’s better CDJ800 MK2, or CDJ1000 MK3? – My mate has 1000’s MK3 & says they are pretty much the same, except when used with Pioneer DJM500/600/800

Current set up at home consists of

X2 Technics SL1210 MK3D (The rare ones) & Ortofon Nightclub S carts & needles
X1 Vestax PCV275
X2 Alesis Monitors
X1 RA150 Amp (Running the Valdus 400’s)
X2 Wharfedale Valdus 400 floor stander’s
X1 Technics Amp (Various inputs for PC/MP3 Player/CD Multichanger – Running the Alesis monitors)
X1 Technics Tape Player/Recorder
X1 Technics 5 disc CD Changer

Dell Desktop PC, running Acid Pro, Cubase, Fruityloops & VirtualDJ (not Shown in pics)

Debating on a pair of CDJ800 mk2, or pair CDJ1000’s

Pics

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

top banana by name/nature

go on let loose. we are but amateurs compaired to you, mr van buuren

RMA26

Speak for yourself COB

TopBanana

Well if you insist...