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-- I was wondering..

I was wondering..

I was watching a couple DJ Qbert clips on youtube... and I couldn't help but notice that his bread and butter is scratching.

I know this sounds really stupid (considering he's one of the greatest DJ's around--as far as I know) but, do you think it would be difficult for turntablists such as him have a hard time beatmatching and keeping songs in sync for quite amount of time... like how most EDM DJ's do?

I ask cause I've never seen him ACTUALLY mixing two songs together other than giving the Fader a quick slide to change into another song.

Like i mentioned earlier, i'm just curious to know...

i wouldnt know but i'm quite sure that judging buy his (advanced) skills he would be able to achieve near perfect beatmatching with ease

quote:

Originally posted by Spoonz i wouldnt know but i'm quite sure that judging buy his (advanced) skills he would be able to achieve near perfect beatmatching with ease

i was thinking the same thing

I'm sure he can, maybe even better than many other famous EDM DJ's

Beatmatching ain't THAT hard

He probably can, but not necessarily. And I doubt he's as practiced at it as most EDM dj's.

They're very different things...turntablism and mixing.

I don't know about Q-Bert but I've seen some scratch djs that can't mix for crap. Let alone track selection.

quote:

Originally posted by nerdgrl416 I don't know about Q-Bert but I've seen some scratch djs that can't mix for crap. Let alone track selection.

+1.... I've seen it too. They concentrate too much in the scratching.

Qbert is on another level all together vs. EDM DJs. His use of 2 decks and a mixer to create music is untouchable vs. 99% of EDM DJs, sans maybe JZ.

Track selection? Guys like Shadow or Premier or Qbert or any of the turntablists dig through record stores for years to find some of their stuff. None of this Beatport shit we are spoiled with. There is still an art to finding tunes in EDM but again we are spoiled with digital music.

Assuming Qbert cannot beatmatch is laughable. He is a true "DJ" in every sense of the word. He's absolutely brilliant and one of the hardest working DJs on the planet. He is a pioneer... give respect where respect is due.

Its probably an apples to oranges thing, comparing EDM DJs to turntablists, but what the hell.

Q'Bert is an amazing DJ. No doubt about that one. But I have seen other scratch DJ's that can't match. That's all I meant.

I can't speak for Q'Bert but the majority of Turntablists can't beat match the same way your average EDM DJ does it.
You aren't comparing like for like. Hip Hop generally doesn't lend itself to long blends due to the structure of the music. Most can't read the crowd the same way either, but then why would they it's not what the music is about for Hip Hop fans.

Beat matching used to be more prominent in Hip Hop many years ago but things have advanced and these days it's all about mad skillz.

Often if you look at a log of Hip Hop skills, some of them are really hard to do but sound really shit and are not pleasing to the ear. Take beat Juggling, it's often the more simplistic stuff that sounds better. Beat Juggling is a hard skill to master though, so I have mad respect for anyone who can do it well.

The music styles and skill sets are so different that there isn't really a comparison if you look at it a little closer.

But Hip Hop DJs are not the only people who have been digging in the second hand record stores you know. A lot of people on this forum where DJs long before AJ and Beatport and some of us have even been DJs longer than the Internet was available so none of this listening to tracks online stuff. Imagine actually leaving the house to buy music

Cheers
Nem

Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oiB2VRxfOA

quote:

Originally posted by DjWoody Q'Bert is an amazing DJ. No doubt about that one. But I have seen other scratch DJ's that can't match. That's all I meant.

+1
Q-Bert is amazing. There are some scratch djs that attempted to do a trance mix and it sounded like crap. That's what I was referring to.

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 Hip Hop generally doesn't lend itself to long blends due to the structure of the music. Most can't read the crowd the same way either, but then why would they it's not what the music is about for Hip Hop fans.

Oh boy! I have to disagree with you. I know of many DJ's that do long blends to hip hop and it sounds dope! I know, I'm one of them. I do it all the time to hype up the crowd and it works perfect. Also, to be a good successful DJ, you have to learn how to read the crowd to any genre you play. Just because a song is hip hop, it doesn't mean people will dance to it. Trust me. Many hip hop songs will clear the dance floor. Being able to read the crowd is a major KEY to any successful DJ.

quote:

Originally posted by Watts Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oiB2VRxfOA

amazing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPasebVMIW4 lol

quote:

Originally posted by DjWoody Oh boy! I have to disagree with you. I know of many DJ's that do long blends to hip hop and it sounds dope! I know, I'm one of them. I do it all the time to hype up the crowd and it works perfect. Also, to be a good successful DJ, you have to learn how to read the crowd to any genre you play. Just because a song is hip hop, it doesn't mean people will dance to it. Trust me. Many hip hop songs will clear the dance floor. Being able to read the crowd is a major KEY to any successful DJ.

Hey Woody,

I hear what you are saying, when I was talking about reading the crowd I didn't mean that Hip Hop DJs can't read the crowd, I meant that they don't do it in the same way. As I'm sure you know whilst the fundamentals may be similar, the actual range and variations and even tempo variations in Hip Hop differ far more than in trance. In that respect Hip Hop is both more interesting and perhaps even more challenging than trance in terms of piecing together a set.

The thing I found from my day of mixing Hip Hop is that the reaction you get from different tracks is amazing. You can have a reasonably fast Hip Hop track with people bobbing their heads nicely, then you drop a slower track in the same ilk as Simon Says or something like that and the place goes nuts even if it's slower. Hip Hop conveys energy so differently to EDM.

I have yet to see a Hip Hop Dj from my part of the world that blends well but I respect your opinions so I will take your word on this matter.

Cheers
Nem

Scratch Perverts have blown me away in recent times with there mixing ablity, I've never personally found Q-bert to be that great, but I haven't ever seen him mix, just his scratching it gets old after too long.

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