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The "pitch bend" technique

I'm posting this because i'm amazed at it. I'm sure this is no novelty for many people out there, but i'm also sure there are people like me who are waiting to discover this precious gem.


I kept hearing about the "pitch bend" technique in many dj forums, but i was never able to replicate it. So that's why i'm explaining it step-by-step for dumbs like me.

So when you cue a record and prepare to pitch it, after your ears calculate if the cued record is more or less accelerated than the one that's playing, what do you do? Most people either accelerate touching the vynil, decelerate using the platter or touching the vynil, or grabbing the spindle. But that isn't as accurate as pitch bending.

So what is pitch bending? Let me explain step by step. Let's say the cued record is slower than the one that's playing. Accelerate a little pusing the pitch by 1 or 2%. Is it still slower? Or maybe it's close in speed, but the beats are off. NOW is the technique. Instead of pusing the vynil or grabbing the spindle, quickly push the pitch to +6% and then quickly return it to the 1 or 2% initial position. Do a little more small pitch adjust., then if the record is still off, do it again. If it's faster, then push the pitch to -6%, quickly return it to the position before the push. Do a small pitch adjustment if needed. Voila, they are cued in perfect sinchrony.


After you try a few times, you'll realize it's more much accurate than touching the vynil/platter. Why is simple, you accelerate using the motor, which is more accurate than your hand (unless you have a lots of years of djing..). Also i noticed than when i used my hand, some seconds after i had to correct it by doing the opposite movement. With this technique, this happens a lot less, and if it's done live, it is much much smoother.

Before this technique, i used to pitch in 20 to 30 seconds, now i pitch in 5 to 10! And this in 2 days. Amazing!

PS: keep in mind that you have to have a few months of regular beatmatching behind your back, or this will be much more difficult to master.

Hope this helps the less enlightened like me!

fair enough the beats may be running at the same tempo but they might not be correctly MATCHED.ie: the 32 beats over 32 beats.if ya know wot i mean.

when youve cued up your next record,then you release it on the first beat,you want it to stay with the 1st records beats exactly,instead of drifting slower of further ahead.so when you come to crossfade at a breakdown,your timing might be off.

hard to explain

I know what you mean. But i think you haven't understood.

This technique serves both to pitch and to "catch up" with the record playing. It substitutes all kinds of touching the platter/vynil you would do (except cueing of course).

Let's say record 2 is 2 beats off record 1. So when you push the pitch to +6% or +8%, do it until you see the beats are 1 to 1. Then put the pitch in the original position and do regular pitching.

yep this is the way to go IMO
I only touch the record to put it on beat to make the transition (after it is beatmatched on "that" spot etc) so that I don't loose the perfect spot but I'm considering doing everything with the pitch (which may mean I'll have to pitch-ride more since I'll loose that great spot I previously had found).
Well with CDs I use only the pitch, but that has a pitch display

this is the way ive been doing, i didnt know it was called pitch bend though.

I kinda picture it as an oscillation that is reaching a zero point, or the "required bpm point"

I swear by this method as do a lot of DJs.
It's usually called 'Riding the pitch' or 'Pitch waggle'. Pitch Bend usually refers to a function on a CDJ deck which is slightly different.

It's actually harder to learn and therefore a lot of DJs don't like it. But in the long run I think your corrections will be smoother. You also don't get reactive compensation as you do when you slow the platter down by hand.

But you get DJs who do both. Judge Jules doesn't toutch the record but Matt Hardwick does. I have watched the top pro's and seen both methods.
What I noticed about Matt Hardwick was that he never slowed the platter down by touching it, he only ever touched it to speed it up.

(And for some reason it's not the first time I have seen it confused with phrase matching either... Still can't figure out why. )

Cheers
Nem

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 I swear by this method as do a lot of DJs. It's usually called 'Riding the pitch' or 'Pitch waggle'. Pitch Bend usually refers to a function on a CDJ deck which is slightly different. It's actually harder to learn and therefore a lot of DJs don't like it. But in the long run I think your corrections will be smoother. You also don't get reactive compensation as you do when you slow the platter down by hand. But you get DJs who do both. Judge Jules doesn't toutch the record but Matt Hardwick does. I have watched the top pro's and seen both methods. What I noticed about Matt Hardwick was that he never slowed the platter down by touching it, he only ever touched it to speed it up. (And for some reason it's not the first time I have seen it confused with phrase matching either... Still can't figure out why. ) Cheers Nem

Agreed. I'm always all for slowing by hand. Perhaps I should try this though...

i never liked this method, cuz after you return back to the pitch(after they are in sync) you may be off, but if you correct with hand u can just move the pitch slowly up or down

quote:

Originally posted by Haunted i never liked this method, cuz after you return back to the pitch(after they are in sync) you may be off, but if you correct with hand u can just move the pitch slowly up or down

Exactly. I must say that I have only dabbled with "riding the pitch" but am a very solid at beatmatching while touching the platter/spindle. I will admit that I am not good at riding the pitch but I think part of my frustration is that I know I may not really be getting closer to the "perfect" position. Sometimes when I do try and adjust using the pitch I stick my finger on the opposite side that I am adjusting (if I need to speed up, I place my thumb on the minus pitch side) so I know about where to come back to.

That sounds like a nice idea and technique, but to be honest, do whatever works. I touch the record/platter/spindle and I mix just fine. It's all about personal preference.

its the only way to go, i only touch the record when i'm cueing it, but the minute i bring it up... its only pitch-bends from there.

quote:

Originally posted by auujay Exactly. I must say that I have only dabbled with "riding the pitch" but am a very solid at beatmatching while touching the platter/spindle. I will admit that I am not good at riding the pitch but I think part of my frustration is that I know I may not really be getting closer to the "perfect" position. Sometimes when I do try and adjust using the pitch I stick my finger on the opposite side that I am adjusting (if I need to speed up, I place my thumb on the minus pitch side) so I know about where to come back to.

Well, i guess this is very hard to learn, unless you have a few months beatmatching behind. As i beatmatched regularly for about a year now, i was pretty easy for me. And i believe that with time my ability and speed will improve, as sometimes i also put it in the wrong position. You can also push the pitch a little ahead or behind the initial position when you return it to make pitching even faster, but that depends on how good ears are.

Maybe the best technique is using the pitch bend/pitch ride and using the spindle. The spindle is used for very little corrections and i think they can complement each other. Do you use the spindle, Nemesis?

Also if your mess with the record you're playing live, then pitch riding will be much smoother.

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0729 its the only way to go, i only touch the record when i'm cueing it, but the minute i bring it up... its only pitch-bends from there.

yep same. have to get used to it though (i started this after months of perfecting my beatmatching skills), but i definitely recommend it for the smoothest transition. but of course, its all up to personal preference

I've started doing this, I personally find it to be so much more accurate than using the platter (but to be fair my platter is made of plastic )

quote:

Originally posted by AndskiSpeed I've started doing this, I personally find it to be so much more accurate than using the platter (but to be fair my platter is made of plastic )

lol! i remember those days...i've tried this and if you know your tunes this is quick as hell,but i was trying to beatmatch some tunes i haven't fucked around with much and i was messin up.

I�ve been riding the pitch for about a year now, and I can safely say my mixing has taken a leap forward in skill since mastering it. Really is worth your while to learn.

ok guys,my 1200's are coming this saturday and i wanna know exactly how to do this for when they arrive.

can some explain this VERY CLEARY IN LAYMANS TERMS? step by step

cheers guys!

The reset button on the mk 3 technics works wonders for this technique

doesn't this also depend on how much pitch control the tt has? you could master this on your own deck, but say if yours has +/-8%, and you're on a deck with +/-10% or +/-16%, wouldnt it throw you out of whack?

I don't believe that will be a problem, i do the same with my cdj's and they have +10% pitch.

Pete Mitchell i think you should first learn how to beatmatch regularly, then move to this.

quote:

Originally posted by Inertia doesn't this also depend on how much pitch control the tt has? you could master this on your own deck, but say if yours has +/-8%, and you're on a deck with +/-10% or +/-16%, wouldnt it throw you out of whack?

I suppose you could end up with a little too much movement at first on a pitch that does %10. But I think what would set you straight pretty quick is that you are going by what you hear and not what you see.

Cheers
Nem

quote:

Originally posted by borron Pete Mitchell i think you should first learn how to beatmatch regularly, then move to this.

just wanna know how to do this thats all...

I understand you're having trouble doing what i've written, it happened to me the same. I'll explain again.

You have track A and track B. Track A is live and track B is cued on phones.
You notice that track B is slighly faster. Not way faster, but a little, let's say in the area of +1/+3%. So now push the pitch up to 6% and pull back and let it in +1%, all in the same movement, without stopping. You notice track B is almost at the same speed. Do the movement again but now let the pitch in +1.5%. Now you notice that both tracks are pretty much at the same speed, but track B is one beat ahead of track A (to notice this you had to have them cued in phrase). So this time, push the pitch to -6% and then return it to +1.5%. Now do the little adjustments, compensate with another movement to +6 or -6 if necessary, and it's beatmatched.

With practice, it takes a lot less than beatmatching "by hand". As i said in the original post, i went from 20 seconds at best to 5 at best.

See....i don't have these old fart 1200s. I use stanton str8-100s...and they have pitch bend buttons. Basically a button that does that for you. The great thing about it is that you don't have to worry about putting hte pitch exactly where it was.

When i'm on my friend's 1200s...i usually use the spindle. You can make very imperceptible changes with that...but if I actually had 1200s myself i'd probably learn to do it that way with the pitch.

They have a button for that? Interesting, i didn't know. But i don't think that's a really good thing? I mean, when you start to play out, how are you going to pitch bend?

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