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Posted by tristan_vdv on Jan-10-2003 06:53:

bass when mixing?

Hey,
when i try mixing songs (im still very new at DJing btw), i put the bass on the cued track down to zero and as i do my mix from the current song to the cue song i slowly bring up the cued bass, while reducing the current track's bass but this rarley sounds good because the current track tends to have a bass line that suddenly sounds shitty when i turn the bass down.

How should I switch between bass on the tracks? should I continue to do it the way i am and just practise more? or should i try and switch bass between a beat or something?
How do you guys do it?

Thanks
Tristan

Posted by Arsalan on Jan-10-2003 08:36:

well if your doing everything allright, i guess you need more practice... but one thing that will help you alot is if you listen to other djs and see how they do it.

Play around with your EQs while mixing and see what works, you gotta create your own style.

Posted by Tony Morello on Jan-10-2003 08:38:

just do what comes natural
feel the music
and keep practicing

sorry, but there really isn't a set method of eq work when mixing
just keep on practicing, try new things, develop your style

Posted by Dj Flesch on Jan-10-2003 12:42:

Whether you use the crossfader or the channel volume sliders to mix, I personally leave the bass on the cue track at full and when I start increasing the volume on the cue track, bring the bass of the live track slightly down (not that much though--a couple of notches on the eq knob at most).

Think of it this way, when you change the eq knob, you aren't just perfectly eliminating the bass beat, as you found out. You are eliminating a whole frequency range in the bass and mid-bass area. Killing the bass completely usually does make the track sound like crap because it was ment to have those frequency ranges being played. If your tracks are beatmatched and your volume levels are set okay, then you won't have the problem of overbassing. If you do, then you need to turn your bass down on the track you are mixing out of just a little bit more.

It's kind of a miracle to me that it seems to work out perfectly all the time, even when I think that I should hear overbassing (both beats creating a really loud bass beat). Just give it a try, and record your transitions, then listen to them and bingo, you can learn from your mistakes, or revel in your success!

Posted by JohnSmith on Jan-10-2003 19:04:

it also depends on your mixer. on my vestax PCV275, the bass frequency is VERY wide, so, you have to be super gentle with the bass knobs. one little tweak of a few notches and the song is twice as loud! and vice versa, turning the bass of on a song pretty much takes out the whole track except the high hats and snares.

i have mixed on other mixers, numark, pioneer, stanton, gemini, and they all seem to not have such a wide bass frequency.

Posted by DJ Mikey Mike on Jan-10-2003 19:44:

i would also like to know how to do a successful bass change over. Is it all very sudden? From 0 to full, etc.? Or bringing it in gradually. Im not to sure What works best?

Posted by JohnSmith on Jan-10-2003 21:33:

?! what the fuck are you talking about mikey, you won the last TA dj mix comp, you know how to mix! i have your mix, the bass is perfect, you should be teaching people!

Posted by MERiDiAN5i2 on Jan-10-2003 21:41:

first off.. your EQ movements should be linked to the movement of the music. try not to make EQ changes in the middle of bars and phrases. make your changes at change points in the tracks. quick, accurate adjustments are best, although slow adjustments can work too.. really depends on the specific track.

it *really* depends on the transition you want to make. there is no one way to work the EQs, no one method, no one way to sound good. how you work the EQs is dependent on: your mixing hardware, your style, the genre you spin, and how agressive or smooth you want your fade to be.

I could go over a number of ways to work the EQs.. but i dont spin trance so they probably wouldnt do you any good. what helps more, is knowing the tracks your playing and how they mesh properly. play around!

just keep in mind that major EQ adjustments should be made at "breakspoints", or where the music itself changes. if your phrases are matched, these change points will happen on both tracks at the same time.. so the music changes at the same time, when the ears expect it, and you add some EQ action on top of this..

and since it's on a breakpoint of some sort, the ears EXPECT to hear some sort of change, so it sounds more natural.

also, dont forget, aside from the EQs, at change points, you can also adjust the main level of the channels to bring a track more into the foreground or background.