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How long does it take to get good?

How long, in your experience, does it take for you to develop skills to mix a nice set with no major problems? How often do you need to practice?

I've been practicing a few times a week, and although I'm making a little progress (compared to what I could do months ago), the mixing is still pretty bad...

I have read (from these forums, no less) that we should take anything from 6 months to 2 years to get good. I'm a little over 6 months and I still suck.

What about the rest? How long did it take for you to finally piece together a decent set of about 60 to 70 minutes with minimal error?

it took me 2 years. However, i started at the end of grade 10 and school is really busy, so i dont really get to practice until the weekend, may be 1 hour during the week.

The definitive answer, it takes as long as it takes. Thats it!

For me it was around 6 months, I was pretty good after 4 months but had to really sit down and work out a set if it was to work. Now I can just grab 2 records and make a good mix of them, to make a sensational mix you really need to have tried it before and know whats happening with the tunes!

Just practise, practise, practise, keep the faith and you will make it!

It's also a case of natural aptitude.
Some people will become better than others quicker, for no apparent reason.
I someone has an ear for music, and not necessarily in the literal sense (I never liked music as a child), it will be easier for them to progress.

But practice is good, and having someone who is good show you, is better. Picking up and utilising little techniques from others, makes you a unique and better mixer.

took me about 2 years to before i could say "Hey Im better then him"

yea im still learning though

When I got my dex in November I played on em 4 about 8 hours a day, serious, more on weekends, within 2 months or so, I came 3rd in the TA mix comp 1, I am still improving, but I have bad days and worse days.

i have only been mixing for a bout a week, so i still suck, but sometimes i can get a good mix (i think :P). i find that beatmatching is so much easier if you just rock the cued record back an forth over the kick in time with the playing record. then i just adjust pitch a bit, maybe nudge record, and usually it sounds medicore. but i still have to work on making the mixes cleaner, so they don't sound so bad, even tho the beats are sorta in line with each other.

my friend has been mixing for about 3 months, and all he does is fiddle with pitch, and he can do some amzing transitions.

we should have a n00b dj party or thing. that would kickass

quote:

Originally posted by DJ LIQUID took me about 2 years to before i could say "Hey Im better then him"

same here, lol.
I've said it before, when I started mixing I didn't give one of my mixes to any of my friends until over a year after I started. When you are really new, you don't need other people to notice your mistakes. Just record it and you will hear them when listening. I get kind of angry when someone sends me his "first mix ever" and wants me to analyze it. It's always crap....

quote:

Originally posted by Project T When I got my dex in November I played on em 4 about 8 hours a day

Man that's farking insane!

hello,
i am back in the forums peeps. Answering the question just adding my info so that you can get the average. I started 7 or so months ago and i am going good. You just need to take your time getting it right. I have this mate who has been going for way longer than me, he tries to go too quick, and i haven't heard one mix that he hasn't stuffed up in. And when i say mix i don't mean 1 mistake per set, one change. Yeah i deffinatly reckon you should take your time. You will get better faster that way. =) i can do sets now and only make minute mistakes. But yeah...

quote:

Originally posted by Great Outdoors Man that's farking insane!

If u enjoy it, why worry

BTW, wb Voidet

I'm mixing for two years now, have always used cd's.
But I got my first turntable last week (other one is coming real soon...) and I must say that my mixing improved a whole lot.

My cd-player just sucks (and can't even hold a tempo for more than 2 sec...), so I had a bit of false start.

If I had a good turntable/cd-player right away, I think I would heave learnt it a lot faster.

So I can't really say that it took me 2 years. Let's make it one and a half...

quote:

Originally posted by djxtension I'm mixing for two years now, have always used cd's. But I got my first turntable last week (other one is coming real soon...) and I must say that my mixing improved a whole lot. My cd-player just sucks (and can't even hold a tempo for more than 2 sec...), so I had a bit of false start. If I had a good turntable/cd-player right away, I think I would heave learnt it a lot faster. So I can't really say that it took me 2 years. Let's make it one and a half...

It has been said before that if you practise on inferior equipment you can become better quicker. It might not be entirely true but think how much more someone will apprecieate direct drive decks if they have been using belts for the past few years!

But belts don't really improve beatmatching, doesn't it. It just frustrates you because it's nothing like direct driven ones so you're going to be thrown a steep learning curve again when you're using direct ones. So belt ones are really a waste of time IMHO.

i've been spinning since sept 2001, and i can do hip hop / trance pretty good. I can probably do a hip hop gig if i had more records, but trance i've been practicing alot and i can probably do a full 2+ hour set if asked to on the spot. I'm using Stanton STR8-80s too. They're not as good as Technics, but the fundamentals are there.

i played my first party 2 months after buying my first record...
i shit you not

however, i'm learning new stuff every day

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Shockwav i played my first party 2 months after buying my first record... i shit you not however, i'm learning new stuff every day

No shit, I was still trying to perfect my beatmatch 2 months into learning.

quote:

Originally posted by Great Outdoors How long did it take for you to finally piece together a decent set of about 60 to 70 minutes with minimal error?

About a month

No shit, after a month I made my first mix CD, which was actually pretty good. And I used a pair of SoundLab DLP1600's to mix it with as well, which as anyone will tell you are the worst decks that have ever actually been made anywhere in the world. Belt drive, of course.

But not to be complacent or anything, after about a year I know I still have so much to learn. I have played a couple of parties and in front of a small crowd (about 150) but I have yet to properly play in a club environment, so I still have to learn about reading the crowd and track selection etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Great Outdoors No shit, I was still trying to perfect my beatmatch 2 months into learning.

im still perfecting mine and im 5 years into it

quote:

Originally posted by DJ LIQUID im still perfecting mine and im 5 years into it

wow!

quote:

Originally posted by Eugene wow!

i look at it this way. you can never be perfect, there is always something to learn, always a way to make it easier.....or sound better

its a life long journey

I started early March. Practiced everyday. Sucked really bad and then one day, after a PvD party in NYC, something just clicked. After that I've gotten a lot better. Good enough to spin at small raves and parties.

It's a combination of knowing my music and knowing my tables and the pitch control. I found out how fast a little push of the pitch makes the record spin so I can fine tune beatmatching.

I have ways to go but for all those wondering, one day it'll just click. It's like learning how to ride a bicycle. You fail alot in the beginning and then one day you just keep going and never fall.

Finally got my decks!@

well, with 2 days of mixing under my belt all I can say it takes more then I've done

Got mine at xmas and as some peeps on here would tell u (prob Luke ) im not bad on me dex still learning evryday, but i only spend about a few hours a week on them atm due to school commitments but when i done my exams im gonna practice like about a million hrs a day and im gonna be well good!

As for other people, yes it takes as long as it takes. Some people pick it up instantly and others take a number of years, just keep at it

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