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-- How far ahead do you plan your set?

How far ahead do you plan your set?

During live gigs, I've started to plan my set out almost entirely just before I get on. I spin techno, spending no more than 3 mins on each record, so I find that if I don't do this I run out of time... I am very indecisive and try to find the perfect record each time so it will take me a long time to sort through my record box. Beat-matching is not the problem as I can do that in about 20 secs or mix in and adjust the pitch within the first phase. Like how do DJs like Jeff Mills who mix in a new record every minute manage to do this?? How do you guys go about it?

experience?

nice one mate...now do fuck off.

well,people like him,know their records top and bottom,the bpm,when all the breaks come in. If people spin hardstyle or hardcore or gabber...its more simple,since theres more of the kick going on than trance and techno has. So its jsut simple to switch off. It really matters what youre playing i guess. If the two mixing tracks match very well then you could just do a switch off by spinning the other track off to do the whirly scratch effect. Thats what i do alot..

quote:

Originally posted by bass.exe nice one mate...now do fuck off.

hey, what the fuck did i do to u. obviously if u have that kind of experience it will get easier and just happen like natural, so chill.






damn.

quote:

Originally posted by bass.exe nice one mate...now do fuck off.

yea dude DinoXpress is right, it comes down to experience and knowing the tracks really well. No need for that attitude.

actually, i don't think it's much about experience. you just have to be aware of what records you have in your bag. like when youre just browsing, checking what to play, you find a record thats right, but youre like "oh, right, i have this, this will work". you should be mixing in a track and saying "shit, this record will go great with this other one" right off the bat.

just keep listening to your collection, and memorizing the names, itll sort you out.

Alot of techno djs that mix "a record a minute" really dont plan ahead that much, they just sort of wing it.

Thats the great thing about techno.

true, but unless you really know your records, are aware of which goes with which, trying to go all out on 3 decks with a record a minute can get ugly.

quote:

Originally posted by Inertia actually, i don't think it's much about experience. you just have to be aware of what records you have in your bag. like when youre just browsing, checking what to play, you find a record thats right, but youre like "oh, right, i have this, this will work". you should be mixing in a track and saying "shit, this record will go great with this other one" right off the bat. just keep listening to your collection, and memorizing the names, itll sort you out.

I think you just explained a part of what experience is.

this is the point in time where I am at in mixing...finding what tracks go together, i spin trance so its kind of harder to find what will sound sweet when you do the transition

I prefer to create mix sets. I killed off my short term memory in college so I don't always remember what every track sounds like. Sometimes when I'm drunk I like randomly grabbing vinyl out of my crate. It usually sounds pretty good, but the transitions don't sound as good as they could if I would sit down and practice them out.

quote:

Originally posted by Boomer187 I think you just explained a part of what experience is.

technically, yes, but you could just as well be a trainspotter with an amazing collection of techno records and know them by heart, and while having never touched a deck, you'd be great at selecting what to go with what.

but it would be difficult to properly mix and understand how one goes on top of another without the experience on decks or cds, dont u agree?

quote:

Originally posted by dinoXpress but it would be difficult to properly mix and understand how one goes on top of another without the experience on decks or cds, dont u agree?

hmm. kind of goes without saying. he was just saying that ONLY knowing your records isnt 'experience'. you need to know your records inside and out and how to beat/phrase/harmonically match tracks within seconds. that is experience... doing this over and over again until it becomes a second nature. the more you practice the more you'll realize how much easier it is. thats when you start experimenting with shorter mixes, sampling, etc etc. let your creative juices flow, and try to not be restricted by a pre-determined setlist. (especially if playing live- if the crowd isnt feelin it, youd have to adapt)

so now go listen to some records and enjoy

razzi.

I dont plan out my sets but I have all the BPMs and Keys on my records. That way my sets are always in key but I don't have a specific order I like to play my records in.

Experience, yes definately.
Be aware though that a lot of techno DJs will have pre rehearsed tricks that they put in their sets at different places but on the whole a lot of the stuff is fairly random.

Techno is more forgiving in terms of keys etc as it's mainly rythm based and the same may not work for trance. You do have to know your records well to pull this off though.

What you will realise is that eventually everything you do is pre-planned to a certain degree, once you get to the point were you pick out what you want to bring in your record bag.

Once you understand the rules of music you will find this easier. Again with techno, the phrases are less obvious so it's another thing that you don't have to be paying as much attention to as perhaps other tracks.

Different genres present different challenges which greatly depends on your own interpretation of how you think it should sound when you play it.

Cheers
Nem

quote:

Originally posted by dinoXpress but it would be difficult to properly mix and understand how one goes on top of another without the experience on decks or cds, dont u agree?

of course, but thats irrelevant, as i believe our topic starter is having trouble with picking what record to go next, not with mixing it, which is why he plans his set out beforehand in order to be able to think about things. so it's not really technical ability which is on topic here, it's track selection.

furthermore, i have friends who can make amazing track selections, without having ever spun themselves, due to the fact that they know so much music and listen to so many DJ sets (listening to a techno track mixed in a set with 2 others playing, and then listening to them seperately gives you a great idea of how it is mixed) that they know what is a great track to mix with what. me and my friends do that a lot, when one of them has a bunch of CDs or vinyls that they use for listening, they give them to us that spin, and give us suggestions of what tracks to play from them.

I know a few big name djs that spin that style (one min or less a song) get there records cut to the same bpm. This way they set each table at the same speed and grab any track they want... ever get to see them do it they will not even touch the pitch. this is not everyone as it would cost some $$$$ but that is one way some do it.

^^ sure, some do it, but what is the fun in that? it'd be like work. all you do is cue up, release, cut in, cut out, cue up, release, cut in...

^^^ total agree with you on this... i just know that some do. sellout move if you ask me.

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