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When to mix no noob
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| 996vtwin |
When to mix? I have been djing for about a year now beatmatching is great, mixing in phrase even harmonically mixing.
I recently looked at Sander Van Doorn live and up close and noticed he was doing fast bass swaps after the mini break, he was mixing some tech house or songs with fat bass.
I have been trying to do this but it has been difficult. He was triggering or hitting play on the fly and he was getting it dead on with the upfaders up.
My technique of mixing is usually waiting until after the mini break at the crash or first beat of phrase, I would hit play make sure the beats are aligned then slowly bring up the up faders with the eq's pretty much at 9 o clock. I would then slowly swap bass then mids in phrase and then highs.
The thing I want to do is trigger the incoming track immediately after the break and was wondering what were some of your techniques of doing this.
Do you trigger the outgoing track whilst the break is going on so that when the crash comes you swap bass or even mids immediately. Or do you have the upfaders up and trigger the track on the fly.
I know there is no set way of mixing just wondering how to bring on a song abruptly right after the break.
Also do any of you start mixing mids first then maybe slam the base on with a kill or quick turn of the eq knob. |
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| AnomalyConcept |
I usually don't touch the mids on my mixer (Ecler Nuo4; the midrange is so wide you could drive a bus through it), unless things get out-of-hand. Upfaders work fine, after mixing in/out highs and lows.
Being able to start a track in time comes from practice. It's actually fairly easy to do, once you can anticipate how your decks will respond, eg. delay from when you hit play (or cue, if that's your thing) to when the audio actually starts. Personally, I press and hold the cue (CDJ-800), so if it's not aligned, I can either correct it really quickly or give up and drop the track later. Hitting play when it's playing via cue will put the deck into play mode, so you don't have to hold cue anymore.
Alternative to dropping a track with the upfaders up is to know your tracks well, and you can beatmatch/start playing the track with the channel fader down during the outgoing track's breakdown, and then do a pseudo-faderslam to get the same effect.
It basically comes down to practice and your confidence. Paraphrased from somewhere (most likely DJ Recess's excellent tutorials), but if the bass is supposed to be DOOF DOOF, don't wimp out and bring it in slowly. =) |
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| 996vtwin |
| hmm ok so when you do a fader slam or hit play while upfaders are up where are your bass knobs are they all the way up at 12 o clock. Do you find mixing trance favours smooth transitions or slamming? |
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| saltytheseagull |
| quote: | Originally posted by AnomalyConcept
I usually don't touch the mids on my mixer (Ecler Nuo4; the midrange is so wide you could drive a bus through it) |
+1
and I'm at Purdue too. |
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| AnomalyConcept |
I prefer smooth transitions, but slams are nice sometimes for energy lifts, preferably with a thick bass line. Fader slams of the 2nd variety (where your beatmatch goes to pieces and getting worse..) generally are to be avoided at all cost. =P
@saltytheseagull: I think I remember talking to you at the beginning of last semester; you have a Nuo4 as well, correct? |
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| starboy |
| Well besides the fact that someone with as much experience as SvD knows exactly when, why, what, how, and where to mix just about anything... every mix is unique, and usually the music itself makes the most impact, its just up to the dj's technical skills to bring out the most of each individual song and mix. What i do is practice eq'ing through the moniters so i can hear my eq and make sure im not overlaping/clashing, i like to change energy with my transitions, i dont like them to last forever.. i think for the most part it sounds like ass when you overlap melodies, even when the keys are compatable. i mainly mix with the lows and gains, im still learning but my theory about mixing is that you just have to listen to whats going on during the mix and adjust/level/eq acordingly. |
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| SPAWNmaster |
yea bear in mind SvD has been in it for years so hes got that on you. now with that said you need to realize 2 things. first of all sometimes huge PA systems or stadium speakers and club setups afford such a huge reverberated low end that a lot of time you have some leeway for slightly off kicks. there have been times where i played in really echo settings and i couldnt even tell if i was off whitout monitors. the other thing is you said youve been practicing phrasing but it sounds like you dont really have it down if your not sure when to bring in tracks etc. work out a feel for yourself and develop your style, everyone has a preference in how they mix and its a very individual thing which is why there are so many distinct mixing styles out there. so practice PHRASING and get it down you wont have to worry about when to hit cue or play (btw its a great idea what the guy said above about hitting cue and holding it down so if your off you just align and then put it in play mode...ive always done the same thing).
good luck man |
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| Rippey64 |
| quote: | Originally posted by 996vtwin
I know there is no set way of mixing just wondering how to bring on a song abruptly right after the break.
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you have to beatmatch it during the break, the second song have to sound more like a tek one if you dont want to have strange sound. A good thing to do is to have 2 break running on the same time and be perfect beatmatch to finish at the same time.
im playing a lot of tek tracks in my set to can do think like that, now im trying to scratch cause i like to have some scratch then a BIG bass which make body move :)
If you dont know what to do, try to look eddie halliwell for some technical mixes or listen some armin ableton mix for smooth mix with damn speed. |
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| OMNIFEX |
| quote: | Originally posted by 996vtwin
I have been trying to do this but it has been difficult. He was triggering or hitting play on the fly and he was getting it dead on with the upfaders up.
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That's timing. He cues the CD Player to the point of hearing the first syllable. Then he hits the play when the time is right. |
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| Lunar Phase 7 |
SVD aint that great at mixing is he?
Wasn't amazing last I saw him anyways. |
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| Chris Allen |
Markus Schulz, MIKE and Dumonde all mix with the upfaders nearly up, but if you watch them (SVD included) they cue like crazy up to that point during the song, so they know it's bang on.
They also EQ quite a bit with the bass levels. Don't just watch the cueing, watch their EQing as well. |
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| 996vtwin |
| I know I have seen them up close. Thing is when they slam the cue where are their eq's at? Bass mids etc. |
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