Post Your Random Thoughts Thread!

[cyclopian]

got a few vinyl questions.

1) i know it's unavoidable in the long term, but how do you stop pops and crackles from forming or make them form slower? some records i've had only a few weeks already have pops, I'm pretty surprised. does playing records in reverse make it worse? or speeding them up a lot (like 78 rpm + 50% pitch on a 45 rpm record)? should you stop the record before you pick up the needle or does it not matter (assuming you're using the little needle-picker-upper thing, not picking up the tonearm with your hand)?

2) does anyone have like a system for where exactly to put the tempo fader when beatmatching a record that's 138 bpm, 142 bpm, 143 bpm etc? like, i'm thinking about cutting a long sticky note and putting that next to the tempo fader and writing little ticks with 134, 135, 136.... all the way up to 147 next to each tick. anyone got a system like this?

1. keep your records clean. I don't really thinking playing backwards or at the wrong bpm affects the plate negatively. I always just keep the platter spinning when I'm mixing, even when i take records on and off the platter.

2. this doesn't really work well because its a percentage change of the original bpm. For example 5% of 140 is different than 5% of 145. Just practice and you'll get used to it.

[hutyluty]

you mean asbo 01?

bigups!

[DrGatineau]

got a few vinyl questions.

[+] Spoiler

1) i know it's unavoidable in the long term, but how do you stop pops and crackles from forming or make them form slower? some records i've had only a few weeks already have pops, I'm pretty surprised. does playing records in reverse make it worse? or speeding them up a lot (like 78 rpm + 50% pitch on a 45 rpm record)? should you stop the record before you pick up the needle or does it not matter (assuming you're using the little needle-picker-upper thing, not picking up the tonearm with your hand)?

2) does anyone have like a system for where exactly to put the tempo fader when beatmatching a record that's 138 bpm, 142 bpm, 143 bpm etc? like, i'm thinking about cutting a long sticky note and putting that next to the tempo fader and writing little ticks with 134, 135, 136.... all the way up to 147 next to each tick. anyone got a system like this?

1. keep your records clean. I don't really thinking playing backwards or at the wrong bpm affects the plate negatively. I always just keep the platter spinning when I'm mixing, even when i take records on and off the platter.

2. this doesn't really work well because its a percentage change of the original bpm. For example 5% of 140 is different than 5% of 145. Just practice and you'll get used to it.

1) tru dat that's what I thought. although, I read that picking records up as it's spinning can scratch the flip side of the record. i was doing that too until I read it.

2) oh yeah true. more complicated than i first thought.... hmm.

================================================================================

also, was gonna edit these into my original post but other people posted:

3) Anyone know the bpms of any of the following tunes? For all of these, I have a good idea of what they are but I've gotten uneven numbers (eg 139.77) when I try in software or with a tempo counter. Even if you just know one or a few, that's helpful.

Commodo - Fuck Mountain
Distance & Skream - Wise Men
Distance & Skream - Political Warfare
Kromestar - Mere Sher
Kromestar - Flute Song
Mala - Lean Forward
Mala - Learn
Mala - Left Leg Out
Mala - Blue Notez
Digital Mystikz - Coral Reef
Sound Control - Salute the Rockers

4) Anyone able to hook me up with a 320 of Wizzbit - Jam Hot and/or Vybz Kartel - Emergency (Coki remix). I have both on vinyl. Can post pic if wanted.

[chekov]

they're all around 140, does it matter beyond that?

picking the records up when the platters spinning shouldn't make a difference as long as you have a fabric slipmat btw. i guess rubber/plastic slipmats could fuck up your records if you weren't careful but i wouldn't worry

[wolf89]

Picking up needles while records are spinning is more likely to scratch them for sure. Picking the needle up by hand is more likely to as well. However when mixing rather than just listening to records I will do both.

Also you can roughly get an idea of where to move the pitch control for desired tempo difference (or at least I do) as you mix more. Like there's plenty records I know the tempo of well enough that I can basically move the pitch control almost exactly into place to mix between them straight away.

[DrGatineau]

they're all around 140, does it matter beyond that?

i mean, i guess it doesn't, but some are like 142 or 137 or whatever. for Flute Song I got 142.81

picking the records up when the platters spinning shouldn't make a difference as long as you have a fabric slipmat btw. i guess rubber/plastic slipmats could fuck up your records if you weren't careful but i wouldn't worry

yeah mine is felt. i thought it'd be fine but that's what i read. although not everything you read is true obviously.

Picking up needles while records are spinning is more likely to scratch them for sure. Picking the needle up by hand is more likely to as well. However when mixing rather than just listening to records I will do both.

good to know, cause i've been picking up the needle before stopping the record. although i never really do it by hand. rarely i'll put the needle down by hand but i pretty much always use the lever to pick it up.

[chekov]

they're all around 140, does it matter beyond that?

i mean, i guess it doesn't, but some are like 142 or 137 or whatever. for Flute Song I got 142.81

seriously, try and forget about finding out exact bpms. just get a rough idea in your head of whether it's faster or slower and move the pitch up or down accordingly till it sounds right

[DrGatineau]

word, thanks

[chekov]

if you're not worrying about numbers while you're mixing then you can start to get a more natural feeling for tempo and focus more on selection based on other factors

[syrup]

+1

(it's 142.81 because your pitch isn't set to zero sharp)

[DrGatineau]

nah it's 142.81 in traktor software, and i edited the beatgrid as best i could.

[cyclopian]

nah it's 142.81 in traktor software, and i edited the beatgrid as best i could.

because the person that ripped the tune's turntable wasn't set to 0 pitch or isn't calibrated perfectly. See it all the time on vinyl rips.

[CreamLord]

The more you practice mixing the more you'll realise that a few bpm here or there isn't a massive thing as you'll be adjusting the speed of the records anyway. Just spend like an hour or so just mixing random records, you'll get it soon enough

[jrkhnds]

most vinyl records won't be incredibly tight, you almost always encounter slight differences in tempo throughout the plate. that being said, let me try to help you a bit.

first off, try to not tempo-tap all your tunes, as it will fuck with your head. I used to do this a couple of years ago, and for some reason I was convinced tune X was 138bpm, when in fact it was 140, and then found myself wondering why it always sounded off when trying to speed up the plate to match the others.

trust your ears.
the most important thing when learning to mix is learning to trust your ears.

over time, you'll develop a fairly good understanding of how fast 140 feels, and everything slightly off will have you wondering a bit. 138 will feel terribly slow, 143 will feel very fast. I'm convinced everybody experiences these tempo changes, but a lot of people just don't pay attention or aren't aware of their own perception. one of the reasons I rate old Kode9 sets so highly is because he often played all the dubstep stuff closer to 145 than their actual speed, making everything seem much more energetic and "hype".

when mixing, I tend to cue up the second track and let it run for two bars or so to determine which tune is faster, then move the pitch fader in the appropriate direction in little .5% to .8% steps to get a general understanding of where it should sit. sometimes, I put my middle finger on the label, slightly of centre, and just follow the vinyl's rotation, speeding it up a bit when necessary and following every speed-up with small pitch fader movements until the two tunes sync up. then I let it run and "pitch-ride" (adjusting the pitch without touching the platter) it home. of course, if the tune is slower I'll use my middle finger like a bicycle brake on the pladder's rim (not on the vinyl though, as the plate is likely to stop if you touch it at the edge).
when running out of time I'll usually just put it at +3% or -3%, respectively, and go from there.

regarding the pops & crackles: try to always clean your plates with a carbon brush before playing. not only will you look busier, but it helps with a lot of the unwanted sounds. playing a record in rewind isn't very recommended, since the anti-skidding spring will apply additional pressure to force the stylus against the grooves... unless you've set your anti-skid thingy to specifically play records on rewind, in which case it should be on 0 (Icicle recommended setting it to 0 for people who rewind a lot aswell; wouldn't know about that). however, I doubt that'll "eat your records away" in any amount of time significant enough to panic over it. just make sure your needles are in good condition, and refrain from using elliptical / hi-fi styli since they're fairly sensible and will destroy your records when not set up properly (which they never are when in the hands of a DJ who does a bit more than gently putting the needle on the plate and pressing play).


I hope this shit was somehow comprehensible lol

[Harkat]

creamlord you should upload a mix somwhere I wanna hear it

[cyclopian]

This tune I found the other day that I really really enjoy uses the exact same vocal sample that I used in a tune. Subconsciously makes me feel like my own tune is about to come in when I mix it haha

[dickman69]

2) does anyone have like a system for where exactly to put the tempo fader when beatmatching a record

[Phigure]

#classicdubunked

youd go nuts trying to remember the tempo of every track in your collection and then trying to calculate -5%, +3%, etc in your head while in the mix lol

[faultier]

finding your tunes collection bpm (99% of dubstep is ~140 anyway) < finding your tunes collection root keys imo

i keep finding sick blends i wouldnt have thought of with this method anyway

[DrGatineau]

i mean that is how i've been mixing since i got my tt lol (ears + knowing the bpm and having an idea of which way/how far to move the fader, but not knowing exactly which tick to put it on). i have headphones btw and i use them, lol. it's not like i won't have a mix unless i got all the percentages and shit down on a spreadsheet or something lol. i got a bunch of little sticker label things and put them on some of the sleeves (the ones that aren't 140 obv) and write something like:

A: 138
B: 142

on them. I just thought maybe there could be a better way for placing the fader but yeah now i see it's really not feasible. however, it definitely does help me when i see on the sleeve it says "138" and then know to push the fader up a lil bit.

this stuff is important to have a long blend btw (and that's how i like to mix, i always try to use 3 or 4 decks if possible and do blends, double drops, etc). i've found when i got two songs matched perfectly, a minute later, they're completely out of sync, either cause the fader tempos are like .01 off or (and i've had this theory for quite a while) because the bpm of a record changes as a function of the distance between the needle and the center of the record - ie, the bpm changes slightly as the song plays - this is why vinyl rips are so fucked up imo, unless someones moving the pitch fader just a little bit over the course of the song just to fuck with you.


part of the reason I even started thinking about this is because I know some DJs (like, sorta famous ones that you've heard of) will only take a gig if Technics are provided, and I'm like why? what difference does it make if you're using technics or audio-technica or stanton? i thought maybe it was because they knew exactly where to put the tempo fader for certain transitions and using a different tt with a different scale for the tempos would fuck up their entire set. cause i mean, i couldn't think of any other reason why they'd only use technics. they all look and function pretty much the exact same. YA SEE MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT HERE PHIGURE????

edit: actually, i've never used a technic so i can't speak for that but there's almost no different between audio-technica & stanton