i try not to touch the record. if i'm going to physically touch something that's spinning, i usually use the sides of the platter (on the dots) because I can see the effect on the target light.

I find that touching the record usually screws me up more than it helps me.

I use the platter sides to slow/speed up the record a bit.. to get it somewhat on beat... from there, i use only the pitch control. if I need to just slow the record down a little to get it back on beat, ill drag my finger across the dots lightly and watch the target light for the desired effect... then bump down the pitch control accordingly to keep it there.

i used to use the pitch control only... then i started to notice at parties and clubs, that quite a few experienced DJs tend to use the sides of the platter to thier advantage.. i tried it and it's been a help ever since.

the pitch control is the only real accurate way to make a final adjustment, IMHO - at least with consistency.. touching the platter or record can also result in an undesired effect...

if you have the right fingers, you can also grip the little spindle in the center and twist it a bit, if you want to speed the record up just a little - i find this works better than nudging the sides of the platter forward or touching the record...

best advice... go to parties and watch DJs! most the little tricks ive learned have come from watching DJs in action.

ya know.. here's one thing they should have done with the M3D (im gonna write this here and now because it just came to mind!)

insead of having the button be a pitch reset, why not have that button set the point the green light turns on? i mean... if you have it beatmatched, and you want to keep it at that tempo.. but want to make a positional correction via the pitch control, you could tap the button, then make the change, and move back to where the light comes on and your right back on tempo! that would be far more useful than the pitch zero functionalty that i NEVER use.

-mer

Touching the vinyl really helps me
but I try to use the pitch control when I am playing at clubs...
Touching the vinyl is really risky!
I think you'd better learn to do it with the pitch adj.

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www.andrew-k.com

If you can speed up the song better than you slow it down...
why don't you set your next track to mix a bit slower than the other playing and speed the new one so you get your mix done perfectly.

I presonnaly prefer to slow it down so I put the next song always a bit faster.

I usually just use the pitch slider and sometimes lightly touch the record's label to slow it, and push it a little to make it go faster, then use the pitch slider to adjust.

Best method imo is to not record at all, just use the pitch slider. However, when you are cueing and pushing off then sometimes its necessary to touch the platter or record depending on what you prefer.

quote:

[i][b]insead of having the button be a pitch reset, why not have that button set the point the green light turns on? i mean... if you have it beatmatched, and you want to keep it at that tempo.. but want to make a positional correction via the pitch control, you could tap the button, then make the change, and move back to where the light comes on and your right back on tempo! that would be far more useful than the pitch zero functionalty that i NEVER use. -mer

wow... that's a really good idea... it'd be really hard to implement I'm guessing but that would be a nice feature...

quote:

I find that touching the record usually screws me up more than it helps me.

hmmm, i find that to be easiest, when ever i use the platter i get screwed up . but i think its whatever floats your boat.

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it depends on what you are talking about, if the record is already beat matched and u want to slow it down a bit just to get back on beat or to cue it, i usually speed it up by touching the label of the record (not the actual grooved surface) and to slow down i usually use the side of the platter.. u must use ur pitch to bring it up or down to temp, i only use the sides or label to get the beatmatched tunes in sync.

people should try to avoid touching the plater or the record as much as possible ....try usesing the actual pitch control to adjust slight off beats while mixing what this does it will adjust the beat much smoother and youll have way more control of mixing in the future ...youll be a much better mixer ..... but its hard to learn its practice practice but try to use the pitch as much as possible

If the record needs speeding up, i gently give the record a push, and then increase the pitch accordingly to make sure it doesnt fall out of synch.

If the record needs slowing down, i gently let the dots graze my finger until the beats are matched

[Edit] btw.. this is the method Gielen uses to. I didnt copy his methods, but i once saw some live footage of him at Trance Energy, and was relieved to find that the way i beatmatched was similar to a pro. [/Edit]

Last edited by DJ Mikey Mike on Jul-22-2002 at 14:00

I use everything that's possible, all depending on how precise it must be, and depending on the moment.
I have no problem touching the platter or twisting the spindle when I'm cueing the record, but once it's live, I only use the pitch slider. It's smoother that way, less chance to "slip out" and hear it clearly.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike If the record needs speeding up, i gently give the record a push, and then increase the pitch accordingly to make sure it doesnt fall out of synch. If the record needs slowing down, i gently let the dots graze my finger until the beats are matched

hehe, this is the way I mix aswell