If possible, try to use two different vinyls. That's how I initially started learning. Different tracks have different types of sounds in them, including the kick, or beat, and over time you'll be able to distinguish which track to speed up or slow down based on the different kicks.

Of course, if you try this and don't feel very comfortable with it, try vinyls of the same track and then move on.

Cheers and good luck mate

if you ahve ever read www.recess.co.uk. It recommends that you start out with two of the same songs. I tried this and never really found it effective. IT was impossible to figure out which sound corresponded to which deck. I found learning with two different tracks that you know well alot easier

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Breaks/Prog Mix 3-15-04

I learned with two differant vinyls, that were very, very differant. I image the easiest way would've been with two differant, yet similar, vinyls.

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its not a bad idea at all... i also started by mixing both of the same tracks, just dont record them and show it as ur mix tape or cd.. lol.

good idea, however i never tried to beatmatch this way.

i just started out the old fashion way.

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i learned with 2 different vinyls. the first mix that i could actually hold off the entire tracks on were with:

Mavi - Fallen (Side A) [Regress] <--- a simple, yet amazing track. B side is kickass too. what else to expect from Yunus Guvenen.

Fortunato & Montresor - Imagine (Chris Fortier Dub) [Bedrock] <--- love this track to death, simple, deep and mesmorizing.

i had Fallen spinning, and when i let go of the Imagine vinyl, and noticed it was in time, and needed no correction, i was in disbelif, and tried correcting, which lead to it going wrong, which i corrected by giving it a nudge the other way. then i turned it up, and even though one record would go into a break while the other was still full on (since they were not phrased) but still were in beat when it came back, i was damn happy with myself

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check out my guest mix for OndaSonora Podcast (aug.2009)

I think using 2 of the same records is cool to use. It lets you hear what a trainwreck sounds like and what a 'beatmatched' mix sounds like.

I actually recommend using two songs that you know very well and have heard mixed together by a DJ at the club or something.
When you try the saem mix at home, you will be able to study the sound of the tracks being layed over each other. You ears will then start to get trained and you will be able to separate the sounds so that you can mentally hear the two tracks layed over each other.

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my xbox is -->MICRSFTSUX (xbconnect.com).....

i found it easier using to diffent records.. but maybe try to stick to simple ones..

Jay

two different because i read that if you use two same records the sounds will cancel out and it will sound weird.

I'm still in the learning stage and I think it's a preferance. I tried using different records, but I couldn't hear the beats, or what sounded right or wrong. Using 2 of the same records isn't a bad idea. It's kinda like wading into the ocean instead of jumping right into it and trying to swim. After you can match the beats at the same speed, with the pitch set at 0 (that should only take a couple of hours really) then set one at a different speed and try and match the other one. So let one play at +2% and the other one stay at 0. Let the one with +2% play and cue up the normal one and try and match normally, until the beats go out of sync (very quickly). Then adjust 0 pitch record to around +2%. Since you don't know if the pitch is at 2.1 or 2.9, they still may be off. That's where hearing the difference comes in, since you'll need to make minor adjustments to make them fit perfectly. It's basically the beginner version of beatmatching because as soon as you get the beats correctly, they won't slip out again since they're exactly the same BPM.

I'm still working on this aspect, and then I'll basically just try and mix from the one song to a new song. For me it works because it trains the ear to hear what you need to know. I personally felt that trying to mix 2 songs of different BPM's right away felt overwhelming. It's a good thing to start with, but challenge yourself too, thats what makes you better