how long before you could beatmatch?

TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- DJ Booth
-- how long before you could beatmatch?
Pages (4): « 1 [2] 3 4 »

Posted by Misty Kitty on Nov-09-2003 18:26:

I've had my decks about 3.5 months now, i can beat match fine on a good night, was doing so after about 6weeks. However the pitch on my numarks (1650's) don't seem to be sensitive enough. Will match, then adjust accordingly as it slips, then it slips the other way. Re-adjust and it slips back a little frustrating to say the least, any suggestions? (other than buy new decks )

Posted by Clyde77 on Nov-09-2003 19:38:

^^ maybe try to adjust the weight of your tone arm

Posted by DJ G-Nome on Nov-10-2003 00:29:

I think it took me about 3 months after I got my 1200's to get it down right. Before that, almost never on my old 1970 something belt drives. Now after 3 years it really comes naturally.

Posted by progressivepey on Nov-10-2003 07:27:

Posted by DannyO on Nov-10-2003 08:02:

For me it took nearly a year before I could do endless mixing without trainwrecking, but I had a pretty tough time with my equipment, I had these black belt driven Soundlabs, that had NO torque, couldn't hold pitch for more than a few seconds, and a mixer that had the very basics, not even gains, just faders, and to make it worse it was second hand and in kinda bad shape, but hey I was like nearly 12 when I got these, its all I could afford, and I didn't know anything about DJing other than I wanted to do it because I'd been listening to trance and house for like just over a year by then, but when I learned to mix on those and be changing the pitch accordingly all the time, slap me on techs whenever, and I could do it with my eyes closed, humm that gives me an idea.

Posted by Acid John on Nov-10-2003 08:28:

in terms of skill, i didnt start off the best way. at first, i was COMPLETELY reliant on the beat lights on my mixer. i still attempted to mix in my headphones, but almost all the time, i was looking down at the beat lights... i dont know how long i went on with this, but eventully i forced myself to do things without the beat lights. i had a 2xLP set of records by DJ Vortex, and i discovered that all the songs had the same BPM. so i started practicing with these records, and within the same day, the concept of beatmatching clicked...

Posted by Luke Terry on Nov-10-2003 13:00:

i still cant

Posted by Alekos on Nov-10-2003 15:25:

quote:
Originally posted by Luke Terry
i still cant

LOL Same here dude !

Posted by Nabistai on Nov-10-2003 15:47:

quote:
Originally posted by IKKI-ZUVK
LOL Same here dude !

Probably with the difference that he was joking

Posted by VIO on Nov-10-2003 17:20:

quote:
Originally posted by dknylady
as for beatmatching 4 trax perfectly the first time you touched the tables, i'm sorry, i just can't believe that. i do know that before your ear is trained you cannot hear the trainwrecking at all (i've been through it) so it might have sounded perfect to you and the other people. now you should get some experieced djs to critique your mixing, that will really help to tell if you are REALLY beatmatching properly.

well, believe it or not it's true. arsalan posted that he was able to beatmatch his first time as well. remember that trainwrecking and having to making small corrections when the tracks go slightly out of phase are two different things. a trainwreck is a ruined mix. i never said i didn't have to make corrections to the tracks while they were playing but i didn't come close to trainwrecking. mixing records is *so* easy. i could easily tell if two tracks were even slightly out of phase especially with the studio monitors that i use. i started producing two years before i started djing, but the tracks i produced weren't really tracks meant for djs. they were still electronic but not really your standard dj fare. about three months before i started djing i used to load up a bunch of pvd, digweed, sasha and other dj's full sets on my computer and listen to them when i went to bed and let them play all night. i'm sure that helped me train my ear to tell when the beats were even slightly off. as for phasematching that's really easy too. that comes natural for anyone who's produced or was a musician before they started djing. djing in general is just really really easy. once you know how to beatmatch everything else is just cake. about 3 years ago paul oakenfold's agent told paul that djing was easy and that he was just playing other peoples music, no big deal. paul challenged her to play a live set at a club. she practiced for three months and ended up rocking the club. needless to say, oaky lost the bet. anyone can do it. i've never really understood why people are so enamored by djs. all we really do is play two tracks at the same speed and blend them together. it's the easiest job in the music industry. djing is just like anything else. some people pick it up really quickly and some take a bit more practice. just because i was able to do it the first time doesn't make me a better dj then everyone else, i just had lot's of musical training before i started that i'm sure contributed to it. also, i didn't have to learn how to dj i watched some djs and it just "clicked" with me. besides, i never said that i've never trainwrecked. i just didn't then. i was having a good day.

Posted by Alekos on Nov-10-2003 17:25:

quote:
Originally posted by Nabistai
Probably with the difference that he was joking

You're probab;y right LOL

Posted by Boomer187 on Nov-10-2003 17:34:

quote:
Originally posted by VIO
well, believe it or not it's true. arsalan posted that he was able to beatmatch his first time as well. remember that trainwrecking and having to making small corrections when the tracks go slightly out of phase are two different things. a trainwreck is a ruined mix. i never said i didn't have to make corrections to the tracks while they were playing but i didn't come close to trainwrecking. mixing records is *so* easy. i could easily tell if two tracks were even slightly out of phase especially with the studio monitors that i use. i started producing two years before i started djing, but the tracks i produced weren't really tracks meant for djs. they were still electronic but not really your standard dj fare. about three months before i started djing i used to load up a bunch of pvd, digweed, sasha and other dj's full sets on my computer and listen to them when i went to bed and let them play all night. i'm sure that helped me train my ear to tell when the beats were even slightly off. as for phasematching that's really easy too. that comes natural for anyone who's produced or was a musician before they started djing. djing in general is just really really easy. once you know how to beatmatch everything else is just cake. about 3 years ago paul oakenfold's agent told paul that djing was easy and that he was just playing other peoples music, no big deal. paul challenged her to play a live set at a club. she practiced for three months and ended up rocking the club. needless to say, oaky lost the bet. anyone can do it. i've never really understood why people are so enamored by djs. all we really do is play two tracks at the same speed and blend them together. it's the easiest job in the music industry. djing is just like anything else. some people pick it up really quickly and some take a bit more practice. just because i was able to do it the first time doesn't make me a better dj then everyone else, i just had lot's of musical training before i started that i'm sure contributed to it. also, i didn't have to learn how to dj i watched some djs and it just "clicked" with me. besides, i never said that i've never trainwrecked. i just didn't then. i was having a good day.

You forgot one element in your equation, track selection. One thing that seperates the oakenfolds PVDs and tiestos is their ability to rock a crowd with some of the newest stuff and their own stuff.

your right, anyone can beatmatch and blend two tracks together, it is when you can structure a long set to keep the crowd moving that you have become good.

Also, do you use any effects when mixing?

Posted by VIO on Nov-10-2003 17:48:

quote:
Originally posted by Boomer187
You forgot one element in your equation, track selection. One thing that seperates the oakenfolds PVDs and tiestos is their ability to rock a crowd with some of the newest stuff and their own stuff.

your right, anyone can beatmatch and blend two tracks together, it is when you can structure a long set to keep the crowd moving that you have become good.

Also, do you use any effects when mixing?

you're right, i didn't explain myself. i should have said that mixing is easy not djing. anyone can mix if they can beatmatch, some just produce much better results then others. track selection is the most important aspect of djing and that's what really defines a dj's style. i would rather listen to a dj that has sub-par mixing skills with great track selection then a dj with outstanding mixing skills that mixes shit tracks all night. yeah i use effects but i use them sparingly. i'll use a filter or flange during a build up to work it a bit and sometimes i'll use some other effects like echo or the sampler in combination with the eqs to create sort of a breakdown and build up in the middle of a long track to break it up a bit.

Posted by Boomer187 on Nov-10-2003 18:07:

^^Ahhh, that makes your post a lot more clear. Now I see we are on the same page.

Posted by Nemesis44 on Nov-10-2003 18:12:

Actually, you will be surprised by how many people can't beatmatch. And for those of us who stick with it for long enough to get really good so that you understand pitch, key, dancefloor dynamics and mood creation count yourselves lucky. Some fail just through lack of guidance from other DJs and others fail through frustration. Most DJs will never play past the four walls of their bedrooms.

For those of you who don't know...(Vio I know you know this. )
Being a good DJ is also about your personality and how you interact with the crowd. Make them watch you and give them an insite as to how you are as an individual. Make each person feel as if you are playing for them personally. Look as if you love what you are doing and you are meant to be there.
If you can do this you will be surprised what you can get away with in terms of mixing. Be an entertainer.

Nem feels down... partied too hard this weekend.

That'll teach me
Nem

Posted by VIO on Nov-10-2003 18:12:

quote:
Originally posted by Boomer187
^^Ahhh, that makes your post a lot more clear. Now I see we are on the same page.

yeah, my coffee hadn't kicked in yet this morning. cheers.

Posted by Flash Bastard on Nov-10-2003 19:25:

it's not the time what makes the differents but how you use your skills

Posted by VIO on Nov-10-2003 19:52:

quote:
Originally posted by Flash Bastard
it's not the time what makes the differents but how you use your skills

what?

Posted by IntegraR0064 on Nov-10-2003 21:59:

There's really no way to know how long it actually took to learn to beatmatch, since a lot of dj's don't have trained ears at the beginning. Just as someone else said...after like 2 months or something I thought I could beatmatch fine. I listened to one of those sets i made back then though...and holy shit...it hurt my ears!

I think i'm pretty consistent now though, after like 8 months. It's been a slow process.

Posted by BlInX on Nov-10-2003 23:05:

Hey, well my dad brought me techs sl 5100 old school, the pitch is like in a discman u role it upwards and it goes slower, u role it downwards it goes faster, i was playing some old school records of my dads and i beatmatched my first try... He was surprised... My friend who is djing for 3 years now was surprised... since then i never stopped djing, btw tonight im getting mk2's , I think its because my dad was a dj when he was young he used to take me to weddings parties etc... when i was 9 i started playing drums till 12 then i stopped and started playing electric guitar gary more kinda style (blues), anyways thats what I have to say.

Posted by Fast Turtle on Nov-10-2003 23:11:

It's been over two years for me and my transitions still aren't all perfect..after about the first year or so I started becoming fairly deft at it, though.

I inititally picked it up very quickly, starting with virtual turntables, but it wasn't really good, I could just align the beats fairly well, but they'd drift quickly.

Posted by BlInX on Nov-10-2003 23:16:

Everyone has his own ways of learning, so people have to work hard to take out a 70% in there exam... some people dont even look at there notes (they just listen in class, or read once) and they can get an easy 90% it depends on you... For example me i suck in school but i have passion for music.... thats the only thing that im actually good at.... and I'm happy, even though djing can't make u rich..

Posted by djkonami on Nov-11-2003 00:16:

well I started out on Gemini XL-100's about 2 years ago, and I didnt even know what beatmatching was!! Then about 2 months after that I found out what beatmatching was and kinda how to do it online. I got the money I got a pair of used Technics SL-1200's. I say it took me about 10 months to be able to spin a whole set fairly well. Now I have a pair of Technics SL-1210M3D's and a Allen & Heath Xone:62 Mixer. I can beatmatch most of the time no problem now, of course I have my days but.. who doesnt!!!! I just dont have too much time for it because of work and all..

Posted by 404 Science on Nov-12-2003 02:48:

i just tried out my friends geminis and this was my first time using turntables ever, and i beatmatched on my second and third try.

but then again, ive use traktor and ive listened to 123048799482359082340 sets...

i cant do it on the fly, but i pretty much got it second try.

Posted by on Nov-12-2003 21:24:

Well ProdigyChild was my mentor when I started to mess around on his crappy xl500's. almost everytime I at his place I would mess around for awhile trying to beatmatch... and I was never really good at it, but I kept praticing, and one nite, semi drunk, and mixing, i finally beatmatched my first 2 tracks ever.. it was like the best feeling ever.. (I did fuck up the mix after that one tho ) So since then I have gone out, picked myself up some Gemini PT-2100's and a Gemini 676Pro2 mixer, and started DJing at home. its prolly been over a year since I actually started playing around with DJing, but I have had my own equipment now for like 4 months, and I can pretty much beatmatch now... prolly like 90% of the time... So it really just takes loads of practice...

Pages (4): « 1 [2] 3 4 »