i don't have a preferred volume.. if i'm having a concentration problem and i can't quite pick out the beat in my headphones (cos i usually only have one cup on an ear and the other cup is just around my neck i guess) then i turn the volume up.. if i decide that its too loud and distracting, then i lower the volume.. but i think you should just go with what is comfortable to you.. you're the only person that really knows what is best for you!

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Originally posted by Great Outdoors Someone's changing allegiances.

Hahaha!

I use pretty shitty cans and I'm still a newcomer. I can match and mix most of the tracks I drop on a good day but I'm not yet at the point where I would feel comfortable making CD's and such. At any rate, the reason I posted is because I think I've developed a bad habit. The way my decks are setup in my room, my monitor is actually my stereo speakers (which get loud) and they are directly behind me, so in order to hear what I am doing, I'll listen in one ear to cue up the record I'm bringing in, but then once I release it I throw on both cups, jack up the volume on my headphones, and bring my cue pan to the middle to hear if the beats are matched or drifting. I've seen Sasha do this, or at least wear both cups, for almost an entire night, so I'm not sure if it's just not the cool thing to do or if it makes it harder. What do you guys think?

Also, while I'm discussing it, in terms of adjusting the pitch, once you guys release the cued record and you realize you need to bring the pitch either up or down, do you take a stab at about how far it needs to be adjusted, bring it back to the original point, and release again and see, and so on and so fourth? Or, do you let the record run (assuming you've got time on the record to do so), and adjust the pitch on the fly and then manipulate the vinyl to lineup the beats again and then see if it drifts or matches?


Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by shompton I use pretty shitty cans and I'm still a newcomer. I can match and mix most of the tracks I drop on a good day but I'm not yet at the point where I would feel comfortable making CD's and such. At any rate, the reason I posted is because I think I've developed a bad habit. The way my decks are setup in my room, my monitor is actually my stereo speakers (which get loud) and they are directly behind me, so in order to hear what I am doing, I'll listen in one ear to cue up the record I'm bringing in, but then once I release it I throw on both cups, jack up the volume on my headphones, and bring my cue pan to the middle to hear if the beats are matched or drifting. I've seen Sasha do this, or at least wear both cups, for almost an entire night, so I'm not sure if it's just not the cool thing to do or if it makes it harder. What do you guys think? Also, while I'm discussing it, in terms of adjusting the pitch, once you guys release the cued record and you realize you need to bring the pitch either up or down, do you take a stab at about how far it needs to be adjusted, bring it back to the original point, and release again and see, and so on and so fourth? Or, do you let the record run (assuming you've got time on the record to do so), and adjust the pitch on the fly and then manipulate the vinyl to lineup the beats again and then see if it drifts or matches? Thanks.

Well to try and answer your first question (I'm sort of a newbie myself ), I can only say that over-reliance on the cue pan should be the real bad habit that needs to be corrected because if you're gonna get shitty mixers that doesn't have this function in club or something you're really going to get screwed. When DJ-ing it's always best to just do the basics and get good at it rather than rely on technology.
What I do is try and beatmatch on the fly when I'm in the middle of a transition and I sense something is wrong. My personal bad habit is pushing or stopping the outgoing record label, but the correct way should be just to adjust the pitch control on either the incoming or the outgoing, depending on your preference. I think the correct way goes like this: If the beats are slowly galloping away, push the pitch slider a little bit upwards (a little bit more than the diatance you would normally push it to align the tracks), wait for a while for beats to settle in and then push it back to the original position. Sounds confusing and tedious? That's why lazy me always end up just touching the record label.

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