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Numark CDX ( Pitch & Mixing )

Hi guys,

This is a message for all Numark CDX owners. I have a few questions about it.

I recently started mixing with 2 Numark CDX and 1 DXM01. When i'm mixing my records i match the beats by using the pitch control ( same BPM at 2 decks ) and the touching my vinyl platter for complete accuracy. But sometimes it takes time to do this ( cause BPM can change and beats aren't always matched quickly ). Is there a better way to do this or a way to do it faster ?

And when using the mixer should i let the basses more or less the same or instantly swap them ( mostly i mix trance ) ?

Please help me out.

Thanks

first of all, if you are using the BPM readout as a guide, don't. use your ears, they are better at it

technically you are beatmatching correctly from what you posted, although i will say one thing; it's easier for your brain to calculate when a track is too slow, than it is for it to calculate that its too fast. for this reason, its recommended that you always start with your cue track too slow, and pitch it up til you are at the right place.

however, you have to take into account the pitch increments of the cd deck you are using. as far as i know, the numark cdx has a pitch increment of 0.1%, which means that your beats will always wander slightly. if you find its between 2 measures (e.g too slow on +2.3, too fast at +2.4) the easiest way to do it is to leave it on one and keep nudging/slowing it every now and again to keep it in.

as far as your eq work is concerned, there isn't really any right or wrong way to do it, as each mix is a different kettle of fish. sometimes just swappijng them sounds wicked, but if you do it all the time it can get tiresome. sometimes blending the bass will work (better if there is no basslines going on) so you can slowly turn one up whilst slowly turning the other one down.

hope this is of some help

Thanks for the information. However i have one more remark:

If you say not to use BPM readout and ajusting beats by ears, should i use the pitch slider only for speeding/slowing a track until my ears hear the beats match ( even if the BPM readout is different... like deck A is at 139.5 BPM and B is at 140.1 ... is it possible that beats wont start drifting then ? )

And do you often touch or turn your 12" platter while mixing ?

hope you let me know something

Push2005

quote:

Originally posted by Push2005 Thanks for the information. However i have one more remark: If you say not to use BPM readout and ajusting beats by ears, should i use the pitch slider only for speeding/slowing a track until my ears hear the beats match ( even if the BPM readout is different... like deck A is at 139.5 BPM and B is at 140.1 ... is it possible that beats wont start drifting then ? ) And do you often touch or turn your 12" platter while mixing ? hope you let me know something Push2005

I agree with tu_face and think as a dj you should'nt rely on the bpm counter to match your tunes. Especially not the one on the cdx it can be very wayward.

I have 1 cdx and while the bpm counter does come in handy for reference, I could'nt or would'nt want to have to depend on it (We all pay alot of cash for our headphone so we should use em). When mixing I'll usually take a look at the bpm counter to give me a rough idea of what speed my mix is at and then when I come round to cueing up my next track on it I can move the pitch till the bpm is roughly the same and this will give me a rough idea of where the pitch needs to be, afetr that its down to you to give the pitch slider the final nudges it needs to match it perfectly.

If you match the bpm's before by eye and drop the tune your cueing and its way out then your counter is reading wrong (different beats extra hats and other stuff can make yr bpm counter read some strange speeds) there is a tap button feature and if you are very accurate (tap 8 times to the beat) you should get a more accurate reading of what bpm your tune is at.

As for touching the paltter, I use my cdx as I do my decks I think it is great. You can be as rugged as you want as there will be no skipping like you would get from a needle and the motor is more than adequate to hold the speen of the platter.

I think alot of people vary on their methods of how to speed up/slow down the record, I tend to touch the center of the record (the label part) others gently touch the edge of the platter (this will only work effectively for slowing down tracks tho) others use the pitch slider and some use the spindle in the center. Everyone is different and uses which method they find easiest keep practising and you will find your best way hope this helps.

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