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Posted by dan_Saviola on May-11-2004 19:30:

breaks

anyone have an accurate theory on how to mix breaks? obv with house and trance u mix the 4 beats seamlessly. but with breaks u mix the kick drum so u have the differnt basslines left over to clash. any thoughts

Posted by CosmoKid on May-11-2004 20:06:

high hats?

Posted by dan_Saviola on May-11-2004 20:12:

well when i listen to breaks mixes - by the best on earth - freeland rennie etc, its mainly the kick drum that is beatmatched fro about a phrase and the bass killed on the introducing tune. then the bass lines will switch and thus fade out. anyone agreeing with that method?

Posted by wushuboy on May-11-2004 22:57:

quote:
Originally posted by CosmoKid
high hats?

i second that

Posted by TwoPlow on May-11-2004 23:08:

I mix breaks more than anything. Line it up with the snares on the 2 & 4, and then get it perfect with the hi-hats. It's really not that hard.

Posted by dj prometheus on May-12-2004 00:57:

two plow is correct for breaks its the snare.Mix on the snares thats the easiest way.It s best to try to get feel by using the whole sog though.This includes high hats and kicks and melodies.The snare is just to make sure everything is in sync.
You can actually mix house and breaks together by setting the snare to hit every other house beat.Same goes for jungle and hardcore.

Posted by TwoPlow on May-12-2004 01:06:

Yeah, DJ Prometheus is right. That's how you mix between the genres as well. Snare to clap. I actually mixed Drum 'n' bass before anything else, making breaks and 4/4 kick stuff pretty easy.

Prometheus, I see you're a fellow Oregon guy. Where from?

Posted by stupidisco on May-12-2004 01:09:

it will come with time...

it did with me.. beatmatching is fucking easy now.

Posted by Inertia on May-12-2004 01:11:

Two Plow is right. but to simplify it, just count. it'll eventually turn out you're doing what Two Plow says, but just listen to the breakbeat pattern, and count 1 2 3 4. find a sample on one of the beats that you feel comfortable with, and throw that onto its respective 4x4 beat.

that's basically what i followed in order to learn to mix breaks, and i can basically mix any break record in easily. what i do have a LOT of trouble is throwing a 4x4 record ONTO a breaks record for some reason. i get lost when im doing my corrections due to all the different beats. any tips?

Posted by dj prometheus on May-12-2004 01:21:

im in corvallis and I used to mix dark freeform trancecore and drum and bass.Now I only produce really but I haven't forgot what I learned from my mixin days.

For the post above....
have you tried becoming proficent at both varieations?I think if you mix both styles seperate for a while you will understand the whole of how they can become compatible.I was to the point to where I could get my mixes close just off of one thing like hats or melodies.(no beat or snare)After a while you will find yourself mixing on the song instead of the beat.I hope I helped.

Posted by dan_Saviola on May-12-2004 05:57:

even in pro mixes i never really hear breaks mixes that slowly fade out. it seems that its more a case of matching the 2nd and 4th then cutting the base. am i not right in saying that if you have matched the snare drum that u cant line up cymbols and hi hats as nothing can be done to it further?

Posted by dj prometheus on May-12-2004 06:16:

yeah you are right-o about that.If the snares are matched and it still sounds like crap then the records simply will not go together.
Don't get me wrong man I still use kicks and snares to match.What I was trying to illustrate is that a pro sees it as more than just matching kicks and snares.A pro sees it as matchin the whole song including key tempo and everything else that goes with it.Any pro dj can get two records close but not perfect to sync with just the melodies.(im not talking about pads as much as melodies that move)
I think a little bit of cutting (not too much)of the basslines make your mix a little smoother.Its rare to find basslines that accompany each other and truley enhance the other but it is still possible.Usually when I mix I bring in one record just slightly quieter than the other with the upfaders but some people use the bass knobs and fade one as they raise another So that the percussion from the original starting track is all thats left.If you are extremely confident then this process can be done quickly but I have seen a lot more people trainwreck who pull the upfaders too fast.

Posted by tu_face on May-12-2004 09:35:

everything in a track has some rhythm. just because you cant hear a definite noise doesn't mean it aint there..

try beatmatching umek - gatex.. so long as you know how to cue it right its actually quite easy.

with breaks, forget the kick, it will probably just confuse you, in fact do yourself a favour and kill the bass on the cue signal...

Posted by vhx1 on May-13-2004 18:26:

Listen to my mix. I mix with the high hats.

Posted by Inertia on May-14-2004 02:14:

prometheus: that sounds like a good idea, but i dont have access to enoguh breaks records to mix more than 4-5 tracks of breaks on top of the other. will try though, and i have been able to put breaks on breaks successfully, just not 4x4 on breaks. i HAVE done it, but i normally have to do a LOT of corrections and its not smooth at all...