Submitting my attempts at mixing to the critical masses

TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- DJ Booth
-- Submitting my attempts at mixing to the critical masses

Posted by DamnDirtyApe on Apr-21-2002 19:53:

Submitting my attempts at mixing to the critical masses

Well, here goes...

I've just been getting interested in DJ'ing, but before spending crazy amounts of money on gear I'm trying to hone my skills on the PC. I've tried a few programs, including VTT, Traktor, and AtomixMP3. I liked Traktor the best, but the demo is too limiting. I tried to do real beatmatching with VTT, but got frustrated and gave up. As a result, here are a couple of transitions done with Atomix. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated. (especially what do to with the EQ levels - they were left at normal for these since I really have no idea what to do)

Transition 1

project_medusa_vs_exor-moonshine__exor_mix_part_1 ->
dj_tiesto-in_my_memory_(gabriel_and_dresden_elephant_memory_vocal)

Transition 2

Orinoko-Island-(Thrillseekers_Remix) ->
4 strings - Into the Night (Coast 2 Coast Vocal Mix)

IMHO, the second was better than the first, but I'll let you guys decide things for sure.

Also, please ignore any muffles - that's the sound Atomix makes when I move any of the sliders or EQ's.

Posted by ingentis on Apr-21-2002 21:46:

in the first transition the bass kinda overlapsed itself, finetuning the EQ would fix that and maybe better beat matching, good job

great job on the second transition! sounds really professional

well what do i know, ive only had my tables for like 2 months 1 of which i havent been able to use them...

but if your not sure about taking the multi thousand dollar pluge about buying equipment.. i knew i loved dj'ing, and i knew i loved trance, so i thought, what the hell! if i didnt like it, WHICH WAS UNLIKELY, i could just sell my stuff on ebay and lose maybe $200.

anyways, i love my equipment and i cant wait to start mixing again

good job!!

Posted by Michael Russo on Apr-21-2002 22:13:

I don't have time to listen now, but I have a comment to make:

quote:
Originally posted by ingentis
in the first transition the bass kinda overlapsed itself, finetuning the EQ would fix that and maybe better beat matching, good job

The solution is better beatmatching, not eq'ing (in almost every situation). Usually the effect you get is cancellation. Sometimes the bass may double up, but that will only happen if the beats are absolutely perfectly matched. If this happens, you may have to adjust the eq to avoid too strong of a kick. But in the other situation, its just the two kick drums fighting with each other b/c they aren't completely together.

Posted by JohnSmith on Apr-22-2002 00:46:

1st is a good mix, but just a bit off beat.
it's tough to fix that in tractor.

the second one is nice, 2 awesome tracks, good timing.
the bass was a little clipped, you can fix that with EQs.
hold them both and twist until it sounds good, then mix it.

Posted by DamnDirtyApe on Apr-23-2002 03:39:

Thanks for all the advice!

I've noticed the occasional weirdness with basslines (extra strong or otherwise strange sounding) so I'll just have to fiddle with the EQ's I suppose.

Is it standard to quickly kill/unkill certain EQ levels, or grradually fade in or out?

Posted by Xquisite on Apr-23-2002 03:55:

quote:
I've noticed the occasional weirdness with basslines (extra strong or otherwise strange sounding) so I'll just have to fiddle with the EQ's I suppose.

in some songs, the bass is real strong and in others it's real weak. For example in the first Thrillseeker's song the bass is pretty weak. However comparing it to the In My Memory bass, you can tell the difference. SOme songs are just like that.

as for EQs are concerned, i think most people gradually fade them in and out. I rarely see people kill the channel right away .. but in some instances it might produce a neat effect

Posted by jinxed84 on Apr-24-2002 01:07:

i like transition 2...very smooth

Posted by Dj Flesch on Apr-28-2002 19:53:

On you first transision, it doesn't seem like beat matching is the problem to me. I think that the volume of track 2 is just too loud that it's distorting the base! Make sure that 1. You don't have the volume go much above 0dB and 2. If you do make sure that the original track isn't recorded at a high volume (which quite a lot are). You can tell this by playing it through winamp and seeing if all of the meters peak out all the time. Otherwise, both mixes seem quite good to me, both tracks are in phase, the beatmatching seems fine, and the tracks are all in the same key.

Posted by DamnDirtyApe on Apr-29-2002 04:44:

Thanks so much for all the comments, really appreciated. Now I just have to refine my skills and I'll be on my way to stardom!