I know this gay ass DJ who uses the BPM counter all the time, and he still cant mix right. I think you would have to fully master beatmatching in order to benefit from the BPM counter. I use BPM counter just to see how fast im going....that's about it. I rather trust my ears than a machine.....expect for calculators

A good friend of mine used one when she was starting out. Between me showing her what to listen for and how to mix and using a beatcounter she was able to learn a bit quicker.

The problem arose when she played out at her first party. She was so used to using the beat counter as a crutch that she couldn't mix confidently without it and ended up playing a pretty awful set.

Take it as you may, but the only thing you'll ever be able to rely on is your own ability to mix, not a machine.

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Music is a moral law, it gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. -Plato

Skipping to learn beatmatching also makes you vulnerable in other
parts of the mixing. Practicing beatmatching has taught me one thing
and that is to train my memory on how certain tunes sound, how hard
the beat is and how the beat sounds so I more easily can deceide
what tunes to line up after to fit the set better.

Beatmatching isnt only frustrating and occupies alot of time, it
teaches you a great lot of the music you are listening to, learning
you to notice the small details that you need to know, the small
details that you wont miss after having trainwrecked the same tune
over and over again.

Dammit, this is what makes mixing so fun, learning and becoming your
own DJ by learning and creating your own style!
Not by looking at a counter and trying to line up the tunes like
a robot just to "look cool" and "be popular".

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- webbie

dam azareal, I wuz listening to some trance singles, but after reading your post, I went and put in a mix cd! Reading these posts makes me want to learn to mix so ridiculously bad. Its crazy, I thot about a bpm counter a while ago, on my own (since I've only seen 1 dj mix live without one), and I thot that owuld be pretty gay. But I guess they are indeed used sometimes.

i never used BPM counters, but i find it hard to believe that the resolution ( no decimals ) is enough for the _exact_ tempo. + you have to count or "feel" the beat anyways ( start at the 1st beat and not the 3rd in 4/4 tempo and so on)

If I'm in a club and see a DJ with a DJM500 or 600 and he's using it to mix all his vinyls, he does not get my respect. Really DJing comes down to how much respect you get from the audience, especially ones in the know about this sort of thing. You COULD bring your laptop and use PCDJ, and you COULD even play the files through Windows Media Player, but let me tell you, you'll be FLAMED to high heaven (or hell!)

Nothing impresses more than someone doing the classic vinyl mix, which is why we DJs still do it. It's not like vinyl is current with technology, but it's just about the respect, the quality of the albums, and the experience for us!

So in other words, don't use a BPM counter at a club if you want to be respected fully for your skillz. Use it if you need to quick mixes (like if you are doing announcing, especially over the radio )

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if djs used bpm counters they would be able to spend thier time planning the transition and choosing new songs instead of beat matching

yes it is important, but who cares how its done , ITS NOT MAKING THE MIX FOR HIM

Being a breaks lover, it's quite useless to have the beat counter anyway. They aren't smart enough to detect the beginning and end of a 4/4 beat if you don't have a constant bassdrum-snare-bassdrum-snare beat scheme.

It'll throw you way off if you have a bassdrum-bassdrum-snare-bassdrum-bassdrum-bassdrum-snare scheme.

i wouldnt say using the bpm is cheating, but if you choose to use it, you would definitely be cheating yourself. if you were to adopt its usage, practice day in day out, therefore becoming reliant and dependent on it, what happens one day if a mixer without a bpm counter crossed ur path, or what happens on a day u accidently left ur bpm counter at home. ur utterly screwed. best tools in the business are your ears. you can trust them, so use them.

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"Stupido is the hot chick that fooled us!"

quote:

JohnnyBravo "....using a beatcounter she was able to learn a bit quicker. The problem arose when she played out at her first party. She was so used to using the beat counter as a crutch that she couldn't mix confidently without it and ended up playing a pretty awful set. Take it as you may, but the only thing you'll ever be able to rely on is your own ability to mix, not a machine."

quote:

webbie "Dammit, this is what makes mixing so fun, learning and becoming your own DJ by learning and creating your own style!"

have to agree with both of you's there.

quote:

Flec "if djs used bpm counters they would be able to spend thier time planning the transition and choosing new songs instead of beat matching yes it is important, but who cares how its done , ITS NOT MAKING THE MIX FOR HIM"

beatmatching takes you only less then 30seconds, (if your a club dj, 30seconds is enought time) so no problems finding a tune
as you said it doesn't mix for u, so yes a beatcounter can be used, it helps doesn't it? so if it does make your life much easier USE IT! there is no problem with that.
yet dont rely on it too much, as you know not everywhere you go, has a pretty nice BC waiting for you.

Johnnybravo gave an good example why you shouldn't rely on a BC too much.
you rely on it too much it will mess you up!

there is nothing wrong with using a BC but dont be silly and skip the most important part of dj'ing - PLEASE LEARN THE BASICS!
it will help and it will help only you! not anyone else.

*THAT IS ALL from me about this topic ah beatcounters* 2pages
ok, nomore
cheers
*Dj Champs

Let's say you learn how to beatmatch on your mixer with a counter... you get a gig at your local club, and... they have a mixer w/o a counter. What kind of thoughts and emotions are going through your head now?

I don't object to using a BPM counter as a leanring tool but that's all it is, a tool. Kind of like traning wheels on your bike.

(I did learn beatmatching w/o a BMP counter and I am glad I went through the frustrating times)

I learnt to mix on a piece of shit mixer, 2 turntables which didnt hold pitch and NO BPM counters... Now, I can beatmatch almost perfectly every time within 30sec... I don't think that I'm some amazing DJ with a freak talent, but I believe that if you learn on shit equipment, and can mix well on that, then, once you get good equipment, you're going to be better than you would be if you started with BPM counters...

Anyway, I'm using a DJM-600 at the moment, and I keep the BPM counters turned off, because IMO they dont work anything near as well as the human ear.. They just put me off and make me doubt my ability to match ("I'm sure this is matched perfectly, but the BPM counters say otherwise") ..