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Secrets of a good bass changeover?
anyone have any tips? This is definitely my greatest weakness. I get both tracks nicely matched, and i bring in the second track on a kick so that both tracks are playing at full volume on the main speakers. I may even turn down the mid of the track im bringing in to reduce clashes. Ok so all is running smoothly, and all i got left to do is swap the basses and fade out the first track. But this is where i fuck up. I like to go for that subtle bass change over, but i cant seem to pull it off. One trick ive been taught by a friend is to totally remove the bass 4 beats before a kick, and then on the kick bring in the bass full on the new track. This can sound mint if pulled of correctly, and is very aggressive yet effective, but only works for certain tracks that are full of energy and pace..
So pls share any tips u may hav on how to do a good bass change over 
the suggestion from your friend is a really good idea, it can sound really good. One thing before you practice your bass switches, make sure you know how hard or soft they are. It is really crappy if you do a fast switch from a hard bass to a very soft one.
There are lots of techniques, using kill switches for ultra fast switches can sound great. I like to bring in a track with the bass cut, and then not fully switch them but put each tracks bass at half, and then just keep it like that until I feel it needs a change. If you are also mixing more energetic fast stuff, you can use kill switches so that you bring in the track with full bass, killing the playing tracks bass as soon as the other track is brought in.
Just play around with it. there are loads of ways.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by mikefasssy I like to bring in a track with the bass cut, and then not fully switch them but put each tracks bass at half, and then just keep it like that until I feel it needs a change. |
izzy! you came over!
BTW, the way i like to do my bass swaps is to bring in the incoming tracks kick drum right when the other tracks kick drum starts, after a long breakdown or quiet part or something. so, both are starting at the same time. then it makes the mix sound seamless, because you can't contrast the sounds of one VS both, because they started together. i usually turn down the bass on the outgoing track right before i do the mix in this case, so it's not overpoweringly loud.
Some really neat ideas and what your friend said is really good but like mikefasssy mentioned check the bass so your not switching from a hard bass to a soft bass, you can check this method by listening to some tiesto said because he uses this method an awful lot.
another way you can do is by bring in the other track while the bass is very low and slowling bringing the bass so track B(cue track) is receonizable( i cant spell) and then at a certain point swtich bass. This method will kill track A and Track B starts, for this method to work you need perfect timing (Armin uses this effect sometimes and Ferry for almost every transition)!
Another method is to bring track B in as if it's kinda taking over Track A and then once the bass are at the same level, slowley killing Track A's BASS, im not really sure how to explain.
What Izzy said is true also "its more like a 'feel' as you describe"
Maybe you can listen to some DJ's and listen to how they actually mix maybe will give you a couple of pointers.\
i recommend Alex Gold - Xtravaganza mix, most of the mixes are flawless and he uses the really long mix method, really nice.
But remember that you should develop your own style and should create something YOU enjoy.
Good luck and practice
p.s. i still haven't fully taught myself the art of flawless mixing.
i wonder which friend told u that 
i generally do that when picking up the pace of the set or when the tracks aren't perfectly in sync so u can concentrate on holding them together rather than swapping the basses as it allows u to do it with 1 hand free to correct.
every track is different though, and you should use all 3 (if you have them, and 4 if u have them!) to make the tracks merge together as perfect as you can, DJing is not a science but it is nice to know what to do, but don't get too stuck up in technique.
But for a general rule, try this, I just have this transition memorised in my head for some reason lol. This is for Eon - Pocket Damage to Gouryella - Tenshi...
The is a little break b4 the melody kicks in again at the end of Pocket Damage, get Tenshi ready to throw in, and when the beat comes in throw Tenshi in. Make sure you use the channel faders to do this. Now i'll do this bit in bullet points so it's easier to understand...
� Turn the bass EQ fully down on Tenshi, and the treble between 1/3 and a 1/2 down, and the mid about 1/4 down
� Now you have a choice here... either fade Tenshi up gradually during the Pocket Damage melody or slam it in at about 7/8 on the channel fader
� Gently fade the treble accross so that Tenshi treble is now reset to 0 and Pocket Damage treble is down to roughly where Tenshi's was previously. Also fade Tenshi up to 10 on the channel fader.
� On the next crash following the melody, swap the mids over quite harsly and bring Pocket Damage down to 9
� Now on the next crash, swap the basses over, either like your friend told u to 
or however you want to.
� Finally you have a choice how to take Pocket Damage out, either way Pocket Damage finishes when the Tenshi build melody kicks in (I'm 95% sure on this, not 100%) You can either fade Pocket Damage slowly down to 0 on the channel fader or you can bring it down to the 5 mark which, the latter will give a more distinguished end to the transition. Either is fine and is up to personal preference and the speed you are playing at and where it is in your set
Hoped that helped Mike lol
Luke 
Good job, Project T! The smoothess way to mix is it use all your EQs; highs, mids, and lows.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Bryant Good job, Project T! The smoothess way to mix is it use all your EQs; highs, mids, and lows. |
become one with the music
feel it flow through you young jedi
when you become one with the music you can do no wrong
unless it just sounds like shit
then you just need more practice
P
R
A
C
T
I
C
E
I normally would put the bass a little lower than half way down of where i'd normally play it at while mixing in. Once the cue track starts the channel fader is set at 9/10 and the cross fader slowly moves in while also moving the channel fader up. After 32 beats the channel fader is all the way up and the track on main is moved down a little. Now if the track has not too long of an intro the next 32 beats is where i move the bass up slowly and when it starts to get overload i move the bass of the main track down a little as well as the channel fader and keep doign this until the last 4 beats of this 32 beats where i'd fade the main track's bass all the way down and finally when the crash comes i would have the cue's bass up full where i want and the main track's bass set at where the cue's track bass was when i started to mix it in i.e. half way down. Sort of like the way PvD mixes if you listen to him and try to picture how he mixes.
I also fool around with the mid and high during the process. It works well most of the time too! The mid is mixed in first(at the first 32 beats) and the high (treble) last(at last 32 beats). The whole mixes normally takes place in 128 beats unless we've got a long intro tunes.
cheers for all the advice guys. ive been trying out various techniques as mentioned above and am learing to make it more smooth than what i could so before shall keep practising.
I never totally remove the incoming bassline because, for me, that just makes it that much harder to make sure things are beatmatched and harder to make a seamless transition. I use the channel sliders to mix, not the crossfader. As I start to increase the volume on the cue track, I raise it up to about 6 or so, then as I increase it to 8, I lower the bass volume on the live track one or two notches. Then as I increase the cue track to 10, I lower the live track to 8, 7, 6 etc until I fade out.
The key thing to remember is to always make a move in-phrase. I slide the cue track volume up pretty quickly right on beat 1, then each of my volume adjustments go along with the beat. It is very possible that you won't have a "seamless" transition, but it will still be a good transition because everything is moving to the flow and beat of the music as you adjust each of the volumes.
Just remember, as the Dj, you know what both tracks sound like and so it is very easy for you to pick out which instruments are from which track. The whole key is to make the transition so that others cannot tell which is which!
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Dj Flesch I never totally remove the incoming bassline because, for me, that just makes it that much harder to make sure things are beatmatched and harder to make a seamless transition. |
). Mix with the treble, especially useful when mixing breaks, it also eliminates the error when there is no bass, it gives a much tighter lock because perc samples are tighter and shorter than kickdrums
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Project T you should always take the bass out as much as possible, even if there is no bass because 2 kickdrums hitting together sounds nasty on a proper system and deafens the listeners. and clashing bass aint really noticeable on a loud system but not really ideal especially as it sounds absolutely wank on anything under 60Db. Another tip, especially if you struggle with the beatmatching (you should have it beatmatched b4 u make the transition ). Mix with the treble, especially useful when mixing breaks, it also eliminates the error when there is no bass, it gives a much tighter lock because perc samples are tighter and shorter than kickdrums |
nice tip
project t, good job!
i do simular what you do
but without, the bass fully cut
i usually leave 25% bass open on incomming (90% of the time, when i mix)
sometimes full 100% bass cut on incomming
Re: Secrets of a good bass changeover?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike anyone have any tips? This is definitely my greatest weakness. I get both tracks nicely matched, and i bring in the second track on a kick so that both tracks are playing at full volume on the main speakers. I may even turn down the mid of the track im bringing in to reduce clashes. Ok so all is running smoothly, and all i got left to do is swap the basses and fade out the first track. But this is where i fuck up. I like to go for that subtle bass change over, but i cant seem to pull it off. One trick ive been taught by a friend is to totally remove the bass 4 beats before a kick, and then on the kick bring in the bass full on the new track. This can sound mint if pulled of correctly, and is very aggressive yet effective, but only works for certain tracks that are full of energy and pace.. So pls share any tips u may hav on how to do a good bass change over |
id agree it helps if the 2 tracks sound kinda similar but doesnt always have to be the case as long as you can either be
A) creative when mixing
B) decent at mixing OR
C) me 
| quote: |
| Originally posted by big dave id agree it helps if the 2 tracks sound kinda similar but doesnt always have to be the case as long as you can either be A) creative when mixing B) decent at mixing OR C) me |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Project T you should always take the bass out as much as possible, even if there is no bass because 2 kickdrums hitting together sounds nasty on a proper system and deafens the listeners. and clashing bass aint really noticeable on a loud system but not really ideal especially as it sounds absolutely wank on anything under 60Db. Another tip, especially if you struggle with the beatmatching (you should have it beatmatched b4 u make the transition ). Mix with the treble, especially useful when mixing breaks, it also eliminates the error when there is no bass, it gives a much tighter lock because perc samples are tighter and shorter than kickdrums |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Project T i wonder which friend told u that i generally do that when picking up the pace of the set or when the tracks aren't perfectly in sync so u can concentrate on holding them together rather than swapping the basses as it allows u to do it with 1 hand free to correct. every track is different though, and you should use all 3 (if you have them, and 4 if u have them!) to make the tracks merge together as perfect as you can, DJing is not a science but it is nice to know what to do, but don't get too stuck up in technique. But for a general rule, try this, I just have this transition memorised in my head for some reason lol. This is for Eon - Pocket Damage to Gouryella - Tenshi... The is a little break b4 the melody kicks in again at the end of Pocket Damage, get Tenshi ready to throw in, and when the beat comes in throw Tenshi in. Make sure you use the channel faders to do this. Now i'll do this bit in bullet points so it's easier to understand... � Turn the bass EQ fully down on Tenshi, and the treble between 1/3 and a 1/2 down, and the mid about 1/4 down � Now you have a choice here... either fade Tenshi up gradually during the Pocket Damage melody or slam it in at about 7/8 on the channel fader � Gently fade the treble accross so that Tenshi treble is now reset to 0 and Pocket Damage treble is down to roughly where Tenshi's was previously. Also fade Tenshi up to 10 on the channel fader. � On the next crash following the melody, swap the mids over quite harsly and bring Pocket Damage down to 9 � Now on the next crash, swap the basses over, either like your friend told u to or however you want to.� Finally you have a choice how to take Pocket Damage out, either way Pocket Damage finishes when the Tenshi build melody kicks in (I'm 95% sure on this, not 100%) You can either fade Pocket Damage slowly down to 0 on the channel fader or you can bring it down to the 5 mark which, the latter will give a more distinguished end to the transition. Either is fine and is up to personal preference and the speed you are playing at and where it is in your set Hoped that helped Mike lol Luke |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Bryant Good job, Project T! The smoothess way to mix is it use all your EQs; highs, mids, and lows. |
yea i am too tired to look through all the replys so if its been said then forgive me. Try phrase matching. its the only way to make a smooth transition. when a new phrase or hell even every 8 beats bring in the bass a bit more. it won't go like this every time but practice phrase matching.
also most importantly just because you found a way to do a smooth transition doesn't mean you use it every time you mix in a new song. the crowd usually loves the dj when he is risky or unpredictable. what sucks though is that if you screw up live they remember your mess ups more than your amazing transitions so do be carefull!
Some good posts in here, very refreshing to know that im teaching myself the right moves when eq'ing
Please feel free to elaborate on this.
Depends on the tracks you're mixing. I found it also depends on the mixer you are using. Some mixers have different eq curves...umm yep thats all I have to say bout' that
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