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Mixing vs. Track Selection

In your own opinion, which do you think matters more within a DJ's set: His or Her's mixing or the track selection...


I'm more of a track selection guy. I dont mind too much on the mixing part. I can definitely here if the beats are drifting off and if it was a not so good mix but in the end, the track selection is what matters most to me .

as a dj, I'd have to say both. but in the sense that you have to have a very big and good track selection that you don't have to compromise the mixing to play good track selection. I mix my tracks in scales to make it sound tighter, which at times can limit the track I'm going to play next. for example a track with a root note of B won't sound good, even if the beats are lined up with a track that's in G#. But I can go up a few scales, like a 7th and then get into a track that's in G#, one or 2 tracks later. having a large track selection means you won't have to play a filler to be tighter and play the track that's in a different scale. now with playing cd's I can bring out hundreds of tracks, and burn comp's of just the best tracks... and not compromise the programming to keep tight with the mixing...

my 2 cents.
chris.

You should ask THIS guy

Most average clubbers don't care about mixing, their focus is on the tracks played.

However in my opinion, it's both. A good DJ is one who can not only entertain me with a fantastic track selection but who also has spot-on, creative mixing with as-flawless-as-possible transitions.

I think that there is a lot of energy transferred in a very tight mix. I think the mix is very inportant to maintain the clubbers' confidence in the dj, but most importantly, the track selection makes the crowd what it is.

I don't think a good dj can have one without the other.

You could mix some crap music with some shit that makes your ears bleed, perfectly, but wouldn't definitely please the crowd............

Track selection is way more important, I've seen many guys who can't mix very well but they get the crowd rocking!

quote:

Originally posted by jahnlay Track selection is way more important, I've seen many guys who can't mix very well but they get the crowd rocking!

This should be true. As long as there's at least like... decent mixing.

you can have mediocre mixing and excellent tracks but you cant have excellent mixing and mediocre tracks. so in the end the trackselection is what matters most.

quote:

Originally posted by jahnlay Track selection is way more important, I've seen many guys who can't mix very well but they get the crowd rocking!

i.e. Scot Project

both
a dj is just a dj without beatmatching

great tracks will always compensate for average-to-bad transitions; good mixing can't save a bunch of shit tunes strung together.

most definitely both for me.

I really enjoy listening to songs being combined in ways I haven't heard before. That's part of the thrill, when the DJ drops that track you love except it's laid over another great song. Or how sometimes the dj will give you a little taste of the next song coming on by including maybe just a barely hearable bit of the melody, or a certain beat. For lots of sets it's fun to try and guess the next track that's coming before the main recognizable parts of it hit.

Also, when I'm dancing to a song, I don't want to have to change my tempo or style abrubptly because the DJ did a hardcut or trainwrecked, that just messes with how much i'm feeling it if I'm dancing.

That said, I don't want to hear a bunch of crap, so track selection is important. The DJ needs to know when I need that bangin track that makes everyone go crazy or when everyone needs a rest. Also, I like songs I know, but I also love hearing good music I don't know, it helps me get lost more in the music if it's not a song I know like the back of my hand.

rj

quote:

Originally posted by RapidFire you can have mediocre mixing and excellent tracks but you cant have excellent mixing and mediocre tracks. so in the end the trackselection is what matters most.

Agree.

quote:

Originally posted by jahnlay Track selection is way more important, I've seen many guys who can't mix very well but they get the crowd rocking!

quote:

Originally posted by RapidFire you can have mediocre mixing and excellent tracks but you cant have excellent mixing and mediocre tracks. so in the end the trackselection is what matters most.

+ 1

Track selection and programming is more important than technical mixing, but they go hand in hand. Any hack can go online and get Sasha's tracklistings and play those tracks. A truly good dj will play a unique set with fluid changes in energy and mix cleanly (for the most part). Live sets will often have at least a couple of mistakes, but the more adept dj's mistakes will be less severe and, many times, missed by the crowd altogether. When it's all said and done, the dj's job is to rock the crowd and make people dance. Just mixing tracks and waiting for the outro to mix (intro/outro mixing) works, but energy is often lost and the crowd has to wait for the energy to rebuild. Therefore, timing becomes a very important aspect as well. The last and most neglected point to being a good dj (and I speak from the perspective of a dj and a promoter) is to play the right set for the right venue/slot time. Too many times we book a guy to open our nights at the Church and they come out playing a peak hour set. This is not good and is especially bad if you're opening for a headliner. An opening djs' job is to set the next dj up. True professionals understand this and play accordingly.

I think track selection is the most fundamental. That being said, mixing is what can make a good DJ great. Someone who takes a great selection of tracks and then mixes them in a unique and technically good way is much better than someone who trainwrecks a series of great tracks. Reference the Sasha La Mania set from last year. Great track selection, though I thought the transitions subpar. I still love the set because of the tracklisting, but how much better would it have been if the transitions had been tighter and smoother?

well, im glad to see that most are more towards track selection. I agree, both are very important, but i just think it is quite odd when people get all pissy with Tijs mixing or even a bit worse....paul oakenfold's . Its more the tracks that matter so their mixing is good in my book .

quote:

Originally posted by TaylorR well, im glad to see that most are more towards track selection. I agree, both are very important, but i just think it is quite odd when people get all pissy with Tijs mixing or even a bit worse....paul oakenfold's . Its more the tracks that matter so their mixing is good in my book .

Tijs is a great track selector, but his mixing is sometimes so awful that it counteracts the track selection. Other times, his mixing is spot on. But every dj makes mistakes. The thing about Tijs that I think is worse than Oakie is that Oakie is sometimes inconsistent, but he usually corrects quickly and masks his mistakes. Tiesto train wrecks really hard a lot of times. When you wreck, anyone can hear it. Most of Oakie's mistakes are usually less noticeable. Both Tiesto and Oakie sounded really good their last times in Denver though. Both impressed me and reminded me of their former selves (Pre 2000). Only reason I get annoyed when Tiesto plays a poor technical set, is that I think he's not really trying. When you get paid the money he does, you should play your heart out every night. That's my only real issue.

I have just done this awesome mix by my own hand:

[[ LINK REMOVED ]]


Now do you really think that this shite could be improved by better mixing or beat matching.

I prefer the track selection mostly.....but, the mixing has to be good. I always listen for the perfect time when the next track is to be mixed in and a clean beat match.

quote:

Originally posted by jahnlay Track selection is way more important, I've seen many guys who can't mix very well but they get the crowd rocking!

quote:

Originally posted by djpaulc i.e. Scot Project

+ Steve Porter


...Popularity comes from Track Selection, reputation comes from mixing. I'd say track selection & progression still win out most of the time when it's live. For recorded sets, which is what I hear a lot more of and, thus, serve as the basis on which I decide who I will and will not see live, the boring or poorly placed track isn't nearly as offensive as bad beatmatching, deafening EQing, or an Emergency "I'm trainwrecking!! No more, please!!" slap of the fader.

Also, it depends on the type of music. For more simplistic or energetic stuff, transitions don't matter as much as hearing explosive tracks you like in the right places. For calmer & more complex or advanced stuff, your attention is going towards the intricacies of the music, not to how many people around you are waving their hands or jumping, so poor mixing hits you harder.

well if you ask me

anyone doing anything crazy, the track selection just goes down the drain

check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AIo...&search=enferno

while I'm not saying his trackselection is utter crap, I would definately pay to see this live

quote:

Originally posted by idoru Most average clubbers don't care about mixing, their focus is on the tracks played.

hhihihih.

quote:

Originally posted by alexlosy I think that there is a lot of energy transferred in a very tight mix. I think the mix is very inportant to maintain the clubbers' confidence in the dj, but most importantly, the track selection makes the crowd what it is.

I was just thinking that... it happened to me like 2 weeks ago, too many trainwrecks in the process totally ruined the confidence in the dj, regardless of his track selection.

Track selection is just a tad more important than mixing, but it can't reach a point where a dj will totally forget the basics about mixing.

quote:

Originally posted by RapidFire you can have mediocre mixing and excellent tracks but you cant have excellent mixing and mediocre tracks. so in the end the trackselection is what matters most.

+1

as long as the djs mixing is not super horrible, I dont mind the mixing if the track selection is good.

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