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Mixing with CDJ-800s

Ive been spinning with Pioneer CDJ-800s for some time now...I used to spin on vinyl. I had a question concerning beatmatching on the CDJs.

It used to be that when spinning vinyl once I got the records at the same speed they would stay together the length of the entire track without any adjustment. It would almost be like magic. I'm not talking about records that are the same BPM either. It was like you could set the records together and then forget about it.

In the year and a half or so that I've been using CDJs, I dont believe this has occured once to me unless the records were the same BPM. After getting my CDs at about the same speed, I will have to move the pitch to readjust them every couple of bars or so.

So my question is: Why cant I get my cds to stay together the length of a track like I used to get my vinyls to? Is it me or my CDJs? Do CDJs come in 'matched' pairs thus like some needles do making them ideal for one another? If so, that is not the case with mine as I bought them entirely independent of one another.

Thanks for any help.

vinyl turntables are analog, so that means if you touch the pitch slider just a tiny tiny little bit, that would make a tiny tiny little bit of a pitch change to the track. where as the digital goes by steps. in your case you have the cdj 800 which means you could only do increments of .05% which really isn't too bad that you'd need to adjust every couple of bars. it may not always be perfect for the entire track, but it should be good enough.

if you're concerned with one of your cdj's being off, why don't you burn the same track twice and pop them both in. play them both at the same exact time and slide them up to say +5.0% and see if the timing still holds. if it doesn't then there is obviously an issue with your cdjs.

Re: Mixing with CDJ-800s

quote:

Originally posted by djkoifloor It used to be that when spinning vinyl once I got the records at the same speed they would stay together the length of the entire track without any adjustment. It would almost be like magic.

Seriously, it must be like magic, because no one I've ever known, pro or otherwise, could beatmatch on an analogue setup perfectly without needing at least a hint of manipulation at some way in.

In fact, theoretically, a turntable with an analogue pitch slider, and therefore infinite positions, is less likely to be perfectly beatmatched but more likely to be closer to being perfect - if that makes any sense.

Stick with the 800s. You'll start noticing little things about the pitch readings, like how a lot of tracks that play at +1.60% will match beatmatch perfectly with a track at +3.20%. Of course a lot of tracks match at the same pitch as each other too. Exploit this knowledge and develop from it.

quote:

Originally posted by JD8180 vinyl turntables are analog, so that means if you touch the pitch slider just a tiny tiny little bit, that would make a tiny tiny little bit of a pitch change to the track. where as the digital goes by steps. in your case you have the cdj 800 which means you could only do increments of .05% which really isn't too bad that you'd need to adjust every couple of bars. it may not always be perfect for the entire track, but it should be good enough. if you're concerned with one of your cdj's being off, why don't you burn the same track twice and pop them both in. play them both at the same exact time and slide them up to say +5.0% and see if the timing still holds. if it doesn't then there is obviously an issue with your cdjs.

^ exactly what he said

The terminology here is "pitch resolution". Your CDJs can change pitch, but only in certain increments (.05% in this case). But if you're adjusting every few bars, either you're not beatmatching well or something is wrong, I think.

When I beatmatch manually on Traktor or on my old CDJ-700s at .1% pitch resolution I have to adjust it every few bars or a little more, but that's kinda to be expected at such a low res.

quote:

Originally posted by JD8180 digital goes by steps. in your case you have the cdj 800 which means you could only do increments of .05%

So just to clarify, I cannot adjust the pitch within these .05% increments? For example, between .05% and 1.0% there doesnt exist a .07%? I was always kind of under the impression that small adjustments within the .05% increments made a difference!

quote:

Originally posted by djkoifloor So just to clarify, I cannot adjust the pitch within these .05% increments? For example, between .05% and 1.0% there doesnt exist a .07%? I was always kind of under the impression that small adjustments within the .05% increments made a difference!

I think you mean between ".05% and .10%", right? If that's the case, you are correct. If it's that big of a deal, you might want to look into some CDJ-1000's -- they have finer pitch resolution.

quote:

Originally posted by DiscoStew I think you mean between ".05% and .10%", right?

haha yes you are correct, ty.

quote:

Originally posted by DiscoStew you might want to look into some CDJ-1000's -- they have finer pitch resolution.

that's all there is to it. case closed lol
i wanted finer pitch rsolution and bought 1000mk3's and i'm really satisfied with them.

quote:

Originally posted by djkoifloor So just to clarify, I cannot adjust the pitch within these .05% increments? For example, between .05% and 1.0% there doesnt exist a .07%? I was always kind of under the impression that small adjustments within the .05% increments made a difference!

That's the thing, there are no adjustments within the .05% increments. .05% is the smallest amount of adjustment you can make at once...hence the term "increments".

ive been watching a few videos of people spinning on the 800's, they seem to be adjusting the beat a lot, but ive also noticed that they werent very good. Im looking for a pair of mk1s but wonder if im better off with the 200s, all i really care about is the pitch. havent tried the 800s but ive tried the 200s a couple times, pitch is great but the jog wheel im not too thrilled about.

oh and koif welcome to the digital age

quote:

Originally posted by msz ive been watching a few videos of people spinning on the 800's, they seem to be adjusting the beat a lot, but ive also noticed that they werent very good. Im looking for a pair of mk1s but wonder if im better off with the 200s, all i really care about is the pitch. havent tried the 800s but ive tried the 200s a couple times, pitch is great but the jog wheel im not too thrilled about. oh and koif welcome to the digital age

if you're gonna go 800s, definitely go with the mk2s. i've heard of a lot of issues with the mk1s. I have mk2 and have never had any problem with them. This whole beatmatching issue is with the users IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by miamitranceman if you're gonna go 800s, definitely go with the mk2s. i've heard of a lot of issues with the mk1s. I have mk2 and have never had any problem with them. This whole beatmatching issue is with the users IMO.

yea i read some dreaded stories about jumping cue points and such. I kinda figured the beat adjusting was due to the poor djing, thanks for the heads up.

Maybe im strange but... I find it easier to mix with .05 than .02... 0.5 is perfect for me, if youre used to .02 and at a gig youre force to mix on crappy nufukinmarks with .2 youll be fucked!

Using the 800's with 0.05% increments just means using the jog wheel more often. I've found that riding the pitch doesn't really help too much on the 800's, as it's finicky enough even when trying to move it +/- 0.05%.

Where are you getting your tunes from?

Don't play downloaded mp3s unless you're absolutely sure of the quality. Many tunes are terribly ripped and will slide.

As well, even a lot of tunes you get from beatport and whatnot will slightly slip, though this is getting more rare.

Practice more. You should be able to lock tracks for a very, very long time with .05% pitch precision.

And it would be magic to keep two 1200's locked for the entire track length without correction, except once in a while when you get VERY lucky.

Although they have theoretically infinite pitch, I defy you to move a 1200's pitch slider in even an "equivalent" .05% increment.

Try using a DVS, even a tiny push of the 1200's slider (like a millimeter or less) usually causes more like a .1 to .2 change in pitch, which is why people ride the pitch on 1200's (and yes, the good DVS's can resolve pitch VERY well, with my CDJ's they detect even the CDJ's .02 changes).

The 1000's do have a finer pitch resolution but if your still having a problem with the 800's i don't think there would be much need to upgrade . I think you should try and figure whats going wrong whether its yourself or a problem with the 800's and then maybe upgrade to 1000's. Personally i'm keen on the 800's and wouldnt want to upgrade

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