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-- When my beats are just a hair off... Any advice?
When my beats are just a hair off... Any advice?
I've been spinning now for about 3 months but have only actually spun for a total of maybe 15 hours due to my tiny apartment, the neighbors above and below me, and my roommate that sleeps all the time. I think I'm doing pretty good considering these things but the number one issue I have is the ever so slightly kind of beat matching. I can get records to beat match no problem but you know how one will be just a hair off? Well currently I need some advice because when they are just a tad off, in my mind I have not yet gained the ability to know without a shadow of a doubt if the record I'm mixing into is either too slow, or too fast. So for me right now, I have a 50/50 chance. Sometimes I'll get it right but then sometimes especially when it counts, I'll go the wrong way and it will be too late to fix it without it being noticeable.
I think I'm getting better, but I was wondering for all you pros out there if you could offer any tips for this situation. I think I'm learning to associate a certain sound with the record being too slow or too fast but I'm not 100 percent on that yet. Part of the problem I think and correct me if I'm wrong is that I cannot turn up the music very loud at all so my monitor sound is so quiet it offers little help at beat matching.
Finally, is looked down upon or wrong to beat match with the headphones totally so that you can hear both tracks being played together? I have been told to not do that but with my situation and everything having to be so quiet, I keep falling back onto doing that and I hope its not screwing me up more by doing that. Thanks for any help and tips everyone. Sorry if this sounds lame.
I'm not a pro, but what I say is thing most people gonna say, I think.
just practise and practise again, there will come a time you can hear it if you have to speed up your record, or just to slow it down.
about your monitor speakers, do you really need them? you aren't in a huge area, maybe your sound will sound different through the walls, if I was you I just turned my monitor speakers off.
of this thread don't sounds lame, you are here on a forum, the right place to ask such questions
If you can't be loud, why can't you just practice beatmatching with the headphones completely? I usually do this every night. I just pretend I'm doing the transition on the fader and levels, but listen in my headphones to make sure it is clean.
I can only play loudly on the weekends, so my level settings are a little rought, but at least my beatmatching is rock solid.
As for the beats being just a hair off, I had the same problem, but after continuing to practice it wasn't a problem any more. So I guess the answer is to just keep at it.
Your mixer can help you.
There are lights for Channel 1 and 2 that show beat alignment. If one of the lights closer to Channel 1 is displayed, you have to speed up Ch. 1. Otherwise, Ch.2 needs to be sped up.
i try to stay away from using led's to help me beatmatch and mix. i actually covered them up with electrical tape, and after a while i totally forgot about them and i can mix fine.
Thanks everyone for the tips and advice. Now Eugene I'm not sure I totally understand what you mean about using the lights on my mixer. I'm using the Vestax PCV-175. Does it have these lights? Finally, I read somewhere that you can use the dots on the platter to help beatmatch. How is this done? Can someone elaborate on this? Thanks again!
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Eugene Your mixer can help you. There are lights for Channel 1 and 2 that show beat alignment. If one of the lights closer to Channel 1 is displayed, you have to speed up Ch. 1. Otherwise, Ch.2 needs to be sped up. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by DJ Teknique ............thats sooooooooooo gay of u...why would u wonna do that? those lights are not 100% true....they light up for low frequencies...mostly for bass drum...BUT, what if the fucking bassline is as low as the bassdrum.....THEN U ARE FUCKED because they will light up constantly and out of beat....thats not professional eugene... |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by DJ Teknique ............thats sooooooooooo gay of u...why would u wonna do that? those lights are not 100% true....they light up for low frequencies...mostly for bass drum...BUT, what if the fucking bassline is as low as the bassdrum.....THEN U ARE FUCKED because they will light up constantly and out of beat....thats not professional eugene... |
People go way over the top when it comes to knocking earphone mixing. Yes there are mixers out there which you can't do this with but they are few and far between. And almost all new mixers have the feature that alows you to hear through the phones what the actual output is as well as the option of listening to 2 channels at once.
So it is fine to do it, I do it when I am in my house and it hasn't hurt me, just make sure you can adapt if needed to one ear method. Overall I find those who use the phones to mix are far tighter with their beat-matching.
And if it is a hairs width out, well practise my friend and eventually it all becomes clear. But make sure you have the ability to move a record by a hairs width to correct it, pushing the label/touching the dots are rarely accurate enough for this so I would learn manual pitch corrections with the pitch slider!
sorry.. im really busy so i didn't read your actual thread.. but to answer your question in the subject of this thread.. if one track is a "hair" off.. just adjust the pitch slightly to slow it down or speed up which ever track u want.. or just finger it a little to speed it up a knotch (this is if the beat match is correct, they just aren't lined up) or u can kinda hold ur finger on the dots to add a little resistence to the platter to slow it down (again, do this if ur beats are matched, just not in sync).. hopefully im not repeating anything someone already said, but like i mentioned earlier, im really busy so this is my 2 cents!
| quote: |
| Originally posted by hapamoto or just finger it a little to speed it up a knotch (this is if the beat match is correct, they just aren't lined up) |
lay off the hateraide people!
anyhow..
Beatmatching isn't easy, and there's no one right way to do it. do it how you like, whatever makes you feel comfy!
I too have trouble when beats are just slightly off... I'm perfecting three techniques:
a) using the dots to move the platter ahead of behind just a teeny little bit, using the dots to gauge myself
b) pinching the spindle in the center of the record (yea, the little metal piece that keeps the record centered) and applying pressure to slow it down a little.. or giving it a twist to spin it up. watch the dots as you do so to see how much pressure is really needed.
c) applying a little pressure with my finger to the side of the platter to slow it down just a bit. very limited success here.
i find B to be a little less work - because you dont have to touch the pitch... you can leave it where it was as a reference point. i do find that getting the platter to slow down via this trick is not very easy on 1200's, they have too much torque.
personally, the best way to practice beatmatching is with the both low and high EQ's at 1oclock (a little gain) the mid at the center detent, crossfader in the center, and the levels matching. then just start dropping down record after record, beatmatching and doing nothing else...
match record a to record b.. remove record a and and replace with record c.. beatmatch again.. and on.. and on.. and on. this will help your ears adjust to different basslines.
don't forget the highs!!!! you can use the symbols and other high notes to beatmatch with! your ears can distinguish high frequencies better, and on some tracks i find it far easier to just get the bass beats close and match them exactly listening mainly to the really high notes... doesnt work on all tracks, and doenst work on alot of trance... but for house/hardhouse, it's f'in magic sometimes!
don't be afraid to use the headphones, they give you a clearer bassline (if youve got GOOD headphones) than speakers can and will help you, since your ears have not been trained yet... you should learn to beatmatch in adverse conditions... like loudass clubs.. but dont worry about that until your comfortable in better conditions.
if you want to give yourself a challenge to the ears, try turning down the level (trim) on the incoming track quite a bit and try to still beatmatch it - force your ears to hear less and still work out... or try killing the bassline on the incoming track and matching only off the highs or the mid-kick of the drums... it is good to challenge the ears, it helps them learn quicker (but can also result in frustration, headaches, and general annoyances)
also... don't worry so much about what your doing wrong.. not just yet! play around.. practice and practice ! find something that works for you, you can worry about tweaking your style once you feel more comfortable! just remember that the majority of the really successful musicians never followed standards - many highly skilled guitar players never even learned the formal way of playing before them got real good - and alot of DJs never really worried about standard ways of doing things... that's the thing about music - it's CREATIVE!
so dont be hard on yourself and just have fun 
-mer
question: how the hell would you beatmatch without hearing the incoming track with your earphones?!
i think what they mean is to use one side of the headphones and beatmatch against the monitor speakers (program on the monitors, cue in one ear of the headphones)
in loud environments (ie a live gig) headphones wont be loud enough and will distort too much to be of that much use... sometimes it works better to only have the cue in one ear and use the monitors......
-mer
uh, i speed up or slow down the record with my hand. im thinkin this isn't the smartest thing to do(bad for vinyl??) but it is defintely the most accurate way i have to finely tune. i just give it a l'il push or apply some pressure to the actual vinyl.
is this a HORRIBLE thing to do?
it just takes practice 
u can tweak the nipple too 
when you do apply pressure to the vinyl and all thats just a temporary fix though isnt it i mean if your pitch wasnt good to start with there gonna go out of line eventually again anyway right?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Jah when you do apply pressure to the vinyl and all thats just a temporary fix though isnt it i mean if your pitch wasnt good to start with there gonna go out of line eventually again anyway right? |
Well, my advice is keep practicing. 5h/month over three months is hardly enough to get good at beatmatching. I mix in my headphones too and I don't have a problem with it at all. Also why don't you try recording your sets on your computer if you can. This has helped me more than anything because I can listen to my transitions over and over again and listen to what needs to be corrected. It may seem weird, but I've learned much more about mixing by listening to my own transitions over and over again than by actually practicing.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Dj Flesch It may seem weird, but I've learned much more about mixing by listening to my own transitions over and over again than by actually practicing. |
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