So after about 2 months of rockin the bedroom dj scene i feel like i've mastered beatmatching. It wasn't that difficult for me because i've been playing keyboards since i was about 9 years old. I've made about 10-12 mixes that i've recorded so far but i'm defintiely a perfectionist. When i listen back to them i notice that the volume's of the tracks don't match up correctly. Sometimes when i listen back to my house or trance sets i notice that the pauses between tracks are too long and i hear that i should've come back in with the new track 8-16 bars sooner. Can anyone offer advice for my volume problems? Also, how do you work out timing to the next track? Do you know exactly how many bars from the cue point to where the track is going to come in. Meaning the main vibe of the track whether it's bassline, melody, whatever. Thanks in advance.

you mix it in out whenever you feel appropaite. some mix it out after the first breakdown when the bass plays by itself for about 32 bars. some wait until near the end of the track. i tend to avoid mixing a track out when the melody is in full swing. when i no its about to end ill raise the volume of the track im bringing in. i use the highs and lows alot when mixing. its all about what feels right for you. every person has a different mixing technique. there is no right or wrong way to mix tracks in and out.

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I should probably add that i'm using a Numark DXM06 Mixer and two CDJ-200's. The volume thing is a huge problem though. I can never seem to get a steady volume throughout the mix.

i tend to keep the gain in all my tracks the same. just use the highs, mids and lows as your volume controls. only adjust the gain if its really necessary. i use a djm600 not familiar with your mixer. its hard to help on this. its jsut a matter of listening and learning.

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quote:

Originally posted by stabmasterflex I should probably add that i'm using a Numark DXM06 Mixer and two CDJ-200's. The volume thing is a huge problem though. I can never seem to get a steady volume throughout the mix.

One of the main things I find hard to master on that mixer is gain control, hence the thread I made a while back. It isn't so friendly with only having 6 dots and blinking lights. But ya know what, master that at home so when you play out you should be alright on almost any mixer as far as keeping the levels on your tracks right. I've been working that mixer since December (I think) and still have a tough time once in a while with the gains. :P

The way I try to keep the volume the same is level the gain so that the lights for the volume thing (you know the green/yellow/red lights, whatever you call em) is always the same for every track. Cause there are some tracks that are louder and some that are not so loud so you have to turn them up.

iirc I usually have it so that the light for +9 barely lights up. it always sounds pretty good this way. of course you have to make sure that you check the volume at a part in the track where its coming through all the way, not like in the intro part of the track.

Put the needle on the loudest part of the track with all of the EQs at 12 o'clock. Match the gains, mainly you want your gains and your master channel peaking at 0db. Use the EQs to keep a tight gain structure. Read about phrase matching. Remember you can mix in anywhere as long as your tracks are phrase matched. Personally a lot of the time I dont let a track play through its breakdown because I think a set that plays every breakdown of every track is boring as hell. See everyone has their own style.

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if the cue track starts off with a massive bass beat going .. then ill tend to bring that up while dropping the bass of the live track .. lettin the mid and treble layers sound out still .. then after that .. when the mid and treble layers of the live track are finished or near finished .. ill straight away bring up mid and treble of the cued track .. i do it smoothly though .. and gradually ..

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You mentioned that sometimes you may be 8 or 16 beats out. I'm not sure what everyone else here would suggest but I usually start on the 32nd beat as most dance music revolves around 32 beat steps. Listen to a few of your records and you'll notice that a different sound may be added or subtracted after 32 or 64 beats.

You also asked if it's important to know off by heart what happens at the end of a track. The answer is a massive YES!! You should know every change in every record back to front and upside down. INHO that is the most important thing you can ever know about mixing. If you know that a track has a very prominant bassline right to the end of the song then you don't want to add another song with a full on bassline as they both clash and the mix will be a shocker. Much better to have a song with more drums to mix into a prominent bassline and then as the bassline in song number one finishes song number twos bassline could come straight in or perhaps just run the drums for a further 32 or 64 beats to build the anticiaption or whatever.

Either way just have fun and learn your records inside out. If you have a couple of tracks which sound good together then just mix with them alone for a while. You can then mix from one to the other and back again and you will hear where the best time to start and end the mix will be. Maybe the transition from one to the other is smoother which is a good sign that you should play them in that order when playing live or when making a mix tape - or cd as it would be now.

quote:

Originally posted by Zild Personally a lot of the time I dont let a track play through its breakdown because I think a set that plays every breakdown of every track is boring as hell.

+1

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huh?

Someone give me some tips on how to stop those annoying mid kicks clashing when mixing psy.

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With practice and knowing your records, you'll be fine. Don't worry about your equipment. Are you mixing with the upfaders or the crossfader? You'll have more volume control using the upfaders.

I played out this past weekend on a Urei 1620... no gains, no level meters, no eq's... and it was pretty simple to mix keeping volumes constant with just your ears.