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mixing breaks

first of all, how do you mix breaks? Seems as though you couldn't mix them because they are, well, "breaks."

also, have any of you tried a full breaks set? Wondering how well a complete breaks set would be received. Or maybe started a set off with breaks?

What is generally the best received mix? prog-epic-breaks? etc.

it should be easy. hmm its like the same with a 4/4 track. just listen to the clap.

I've mixed many all breaks sets. I love many of the tunes that are coming out in that style at the moment. Everything is in 4/4 there are usually shorter breakdowns than in trance music. Just match the snares like its hip-hop or DnB. I don't know why you can't mix them because there is a steady beat throughout. Just match the beats.

I have yet to actually mix any breaks. I have a lot of breaks on order though.

I'm getting very interested in breaks. Especially that Lucky 7 mix of Greece!

Odd enough I have that track. Just listen to the snare coming in on the 2 and 4 beats and pay attention to the hi-hats to get a feel for the general tempo. If you can mix trance you can mix breaks.

i <3 breaks


download my set for a nice mix of 4.4 and breaks

im a Breaks DJ and around here people are partial to it...

but in Florida.... DIFFERENT STORY, breaks are the thing there...
thats where they are big, and as well as Atlanta, but they are moving away and going back to DnB

but the important part about spinning Breaks is your beats have to be AIR TIGHT... or else shit starts to get out of hand... so really work on your beat matching, but the cool think about Breaks though is it sounds good with a bit of scratching, and some fast cuts, as well as some random samples in there or voice overs, so you can really get creative, but not so much as like mixing 4 tracks together like Techno, or Progressive House... but you can really have fun with it

quote:

Originally posted by Cosmic Realm im a Breaks DJ and around here people are partial to it... but in Florida.... DIFFERENT STORY, breaks are the thing there... thats where they are big, and as well as Atlanta, but they are moving away and going back to DnB but the important part about spinning Breaks is your beats have to be AIR TIGHT... or else shit starts to get out of hand... so really work on your beat matching, but the cool think about Breaks though is it sounds good with a bit of scratching, and some fast cuts, as well as some random samples in there or voice overs, so you can really get creative, but not so much as like mixing 4 tracks together like Techno, or Progressive House... but you can really have fun with it

heh...im trying to mix just 2 tracks together. I have yet to really see how to mix in a third or 4th? I guess I'm just a nub.

he is just in the stage where he still counts, and its beats, sounds, kicks and snares to him.

trust me man, eventually, it will just be music. you will mix some new tunes without even thinking about breaks or 4/4.

now, until you get there, a little tip that REALLY helped me out:
count your 1,2,3,4s on the breaks track. there should be a sound that falls exactly on one of the 'numbers'. it will vary depending on your break pattern. commonly, you'll find a sound, like a kick will happen on 2, or 3. the point is, grab any sound you are comfortable with.

in other words, you have your breaks track going nuts, you count, 1,2,3,4. on '2', you heard a sound that happened on the exact beat. so grab your vinyl (or set the cue point on your CD player) and cue it. instead of releasing on '1', as you normally would, release it on the number you chose, in this case, 2.

so instead of moving my vinyl back and forth, and letting go on '1', i'll get the sound, and let go on its respective number. it may be a little hard to grasp at first, but read this with your decks next to you, and try it.

this will help you a lot for mixing a breaks track IN. mixing out of one should prove harder, and there is no real tip for it. just try to get tunes that have very defined basslines that give the track rhythm. then, forget about kicks, and numbers, just match it up by how it should sound. if it sounds 'right', it probably is. if it sounds wrong, it probably is. and if you can't tell, then it means it's not really sounding 'right', so you've done something wrong as well

click below to hear mah mix yo!!!! seriously, the first four tracks are an example on how to mix breaks, and then mix breaks into your regular 4/4.

what i do, is straight up cut the kick out using your eq. just listen to the hats and the snare and match it up thataway. then while still cued, turn the bass back up... and if it's all matched correctly, the kicks from the playing track and the cued track should just sound... "right"... i'll post a sample in a little while.

quote:

Originally posted by Inertia just try to get tunes that have very defined basslines that give the track rhythm. then, forget about kicks, and numbers, just match it up by how it should sound. if it sounds 'right', it probably is. if it sounds wrong, it probably is. and if you can't tell, then it means it's not really sounding 'right', so you've done something wrong as well

i just realized we both said about the same exact thing

Yeah when you mix breaks or drum n bass you do have to a little more accurate then you would when you mix trance etc. Its just those highs are really noticable when they are off. THe best advice would probably be learn how to match high hat. Matching basslines doesnt give you an accurate read as the hats do.

quote:

Originally posted by Street_Soldier Yeah when you mix breaks or drum n bass you do have to a little more accurate then you would when you mix trance etc.

not necessarily true.....

with a 3 minute trance mix even a slight drift on the kicks can be noticable on a good system

quote:

Originally posted by dinoXpress not necessarily true..... with a 3 minute trance mix even a slight drift on the kicks can be noticable on a good system

i was talking in general. I m not going to argue over something so subjective. just know that i can probably say the same thing you just said but replace trance with breaks.

quote:

Originally posted by Nou ROFL you can be totally off on drum and bass half the time and it sounds fine... at least in my experience... DnB is probably one of the easiest genres to mix.

and one of the hardest to produce imo

quote:

Originally posted by Street_Soldier i was talking in general. I m not going to argue over something so subjective. just know that i can probably say the same thing you just said but replace trance with breaks.

my point exactly

quote:

Originally posted by Nou ROFL you can be totally off on drum and bass half the time and it sounds fine... at least in my experience... DnB is probably one of the easiest genres to mix.

Well from my experience it just requires a little more accuracy. but you are right though most people (non djs) wont even notice if you screw up which is the same with trance, house and every other genre.

let me add what i say is totally my opinion.
bottom line breaks is just like spinning trance just pay attention to the highs and no so much the bass.

quote:

Originally posted by dinoXpress my point exactly

sorry i m lost...

quote:

Originally posted by Street_Soldier sorry i m lost...

my point was at the highest level all genres are challenging to mix

quote:

Originally posted by dinoXpress my point was at the highest level all genres are challenging to mix

really i must have totally missed it becasue i dont recall even talking about that. Don't get me wrong I do agree with you though. I was saying something completely different. I was saying that from my own personal experiences that i find mixing breaks a little different than trance as even the slightest mistake is a tad more noticable.

right click "save as"

here's a quick sample i made of me mixing a 4/4 track into a breaks track. i just opened up both the channels to emulate what it would sound like in your headphones if the breaks track was cued and the 4/4 track was playing. the steps i took were simple..

1. drop track at any phrase, as long as the phrase matches.
2. kill the bass and beatmatch.
3. re-cue and wait for a drop point.
4. drop track.

hope this helped

quote:

Originally posted by Street_Soldier Yeah when you mix breaks or drum n bass you do have to a little more accurate then you would when you mix trance etc. Its just those highs are really noticable when they are off. THe best advice would probably be learn how to match high hat. Matching basslines doesnt give you an accurate read as the hats do.

quote:

Originally posted by Street_Soldier really i must have totally missed it becasue i dont recall even talking about that. Don't get me wrong I do agree with you though. I was saying something completely different. I was saying that from my own personal experiences that i find mixing breaks a little different than trance as even the slightest mistake is a tad more noticable.

and i was disagreeing with you. nicely of course, just a difference of opinion

quote:

Originally posted by Street_Soldier I m not going to argue over something so subjective.

You're no fun

practice.. practice, did I mention practice some more..

so when going from a 4/4 to a breaks track you should kill the bass on the breaks track and just listen to the hats? Then when ready, you can bring the bass back and drop the track?

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