DJ Tips?

[Johnlenham]

Ok so I was chatting with Riddles and he suggested I make a thread.

So really in the grand scheme of things, I know fuck all about the technical side of mixing. Sure I understand the purpose of beat matching (yet cant properly )
but there are some things I just cant seem to get my head around, or atleast think Ive come to understand well.

Things like EQs, So I mix a non vocal into a vocal, I knock the mids down on the non vocal right? but what about the highs?
Generally speaking, outside of cutting the bass on the 2nd tune, I have no idea what im doing with them.

Is pulling the previous tune out literally just a feeling in the end? like I find myself mixing things like grime for over 32 bars and it going ok and other times swearing out loud because had I cut the last tune off a bar ago instead of riding it longer It would have been sick etc

I do make mixes, well recordings of everything I do and if I like bits I give them stupid names and pass them on to friends, they ask me to make more but they dont really know what makes a mix "good" as they are just normal folk so I find it super hard to get constructive feedback on what Im doing, how I can improve and so on.

Heres the most recent as an example.
http://www46.zippyshare.com/v/19143794/file.html
It goes to hell at 20+ but Im like, I like it but is it actually "Good"

Anyone have any general tips for mixing as well? or any habits you have that help you out?

[DJoe]

I've found that you develop an instinct for these sorts of things the more you do it.
When I listen back to a mix of mine im always overcritical of myself. generally when someone listens to a mix for the first time the little slips and transitions at the wrong parts of the tunes arent very noticeable.
I think confidence is really important. a djs confidence actually comes throuhg in a mix.A mix may not be perfect but if it sounds confident like the dj wants stuff to happen in it even if it does technically sound a biit odd, the mix will still sound good.

that reads a bit retardedly but you can tell when a dj sounds confident or when he/she sounds nervous.

with the structure thing i find counting bars difficult and not that useful
i have a few rules which usually work when trying new records and find looking at the density of the grooves in the vinyl or waveforms if youre that way inclined useful

with most songs the best place to start the new track is the first bar of the new section after the 2nd chorus(or climax if its house or whatever)

with garage and especially vocal if you want to avoid a clash in vocals again after the 2nd chorus
if you want a quick mix and both tracks are vocal then start in the second section of the 1st chorus
if only ones vocal then you can get some nice double drops going.

if the vinyl looks like this

.......IIIIIIIIIII I I I I I I........IIIIIIIIIII i i i i i i I ETC.
.............!...!
start the mix here or here for short mixing vocals
or here for long mixing wit vocals
.........................................!....!

With house the the start of the outro or the start of or halfway through the last chorus/climax is usually the best place

with grime i find a lot of tunes are different but as long as you start at the start of a section it should be fine

the most important thing is to know your tunes.
e.g know what tune has the vocal buildup before the chorus that sounds weird if you cut out the chorus
e.g. know which tunes have a beatless bit which is hard to keep in time and where so you can avoid it

with the eqing bit you should worry about that once the other stuff is in place.
but you get an ear for it. every song is different. generally never have two tunes with the bass playing at the same time unless youre cutting but thats quite bait. with the highs i find that tunes with very different hihats clash but cutting the highs on one a little can help
when theres vocals on the track mixing out turn the high down a little sometimes sounds good. the more you do it the better you get.

I find a lot of stuff sounds unnatural to you the dj as you mix but to the listener it doesnt

Keeping a song playing for too long after youve mixed a new one in can sound bad if the high eq is full


i found knowing when to cut out the song mixing out difficult for ages but eventually you just grow an ear for when to do it.

listening to other ppls mixes helps

i dont think ive ever had one piece of constructive feedback on a mix lol i wish i have

If you still havent got beat matching on lock my best advice is to avoid touching the platter at all and to only beat match wiht the pitch fader. It makes keeping the records in sync a lot easier
only use the platter for massive adjustments

theres a few tips of the top of my head. theyre all subjective and many of them could be wrong lol

[DJoe]

the mix sounds good only listened briefly but yeah.
its best not to worry about clashes and just keep practicing
if you cant mix a tune give it a few weeks then come back to it

[ezza]

just double drop it

[DJoe]

exactly

[Lye_Form]

Good thread, yeah i'm working on my mixing too (cdjs - not a tru head) i tend to batter the cue button (Distance style) to phase match and play tunes i know their bpm, only really tweaking/riding the pitch when mixing in and keeping the mixes short before they go too out of time.

EQ is babylon too. no idea what people spend ages making small adjustments for....

Biggest problem i have is beat-matching in different environments, everything can get a bit muddy and mixing stuff where snares arent ever going to align can get a bit end up just beat matching using hhs

[jaydot]

Tease "Harlem Shake" into anything.

[DJoe]

yeah im so used to the accoustics of my room that when i dj in a club i havent played in before im completely thrown off for the first few so i always make my first two tunes records i know well and have mixed hundreds of times

different environments can be a fuckery

[Reese_Liar]

1) Go with your gut. If it sounds good, it's probably good (leaving out maxing all EQs at +6dB and stupid stuff like that).

2) In terms of EQ, for me at least, the most important thing is to get a feel for the mixer. They vary from model to model, but I'm just talking basic understanding of frequencies here. Some of it is practice, but you need to know what parts of the tune you're 'removing' by turning down a specific knob. Once you get the hang of that you can basically consider the two tunes you're mixing as made up of building blocks - 3 (4 on some mixers) blocks in each tune. By using the EQ properly you can even use half blocks by only turning a knob a little down/up. This is something that comes with practice but the most important tenet is to know the frequency spectrum.

3) Seeing as most dance music is made up of 16/32 bar blocks it's actually easy to know when to pull the previous tune a lot of the time. Usually there will be a small breakdown at the end of one (or two) block - this is a good time to fade out the previous tune. Obviously this depends on tunes, genre, what you're going for, etc. but it's a good basic lesson.

4) KNOW YOUR TUNES. This should probably have been at the top since it's the most important. Once you know your tunes you know what to expect, you can anticipate breakdowns and time when to cue the next track, all that stuff.

I'm about to go have a couple of beers now but I can come back tomorrow and write some more words if you'd like

[Reese_Liar]

Also, keep in mind that all these rules and tips are meant to be learned, then BROKEN!

[RIZLATEEF]

Just bare practice makes you ready for any environment, and putting echo/delay on when mixing a tune out sounds good as well, whether you rewind it, or echo a vocal for example etc.

Plus harmonic mixing is always a winner

[Johnlenham]

Harmonic mixing is basically what stops my mixes from sounding horrendous. Big up traktor for sorting by Key
Its funny you jumped in Riz as I nearly FB messaged you asking for advice haha

Big up DJoe and Reese! I was expecting 2 pages of wonga style posts! It does very much feel like a confidence thing and I guess maybe focusing on the EQ isnt as big a deal as I thought. In my head EQ is Bass- Vocally bits- High hats etc which may not be the case at all.

the mix sounds good only listened briefly but yeah.
its best not to worry about clashes and just keep practicing
if you cant mix a tune give it a few weeks then come back to it

Thanks. I mean I guess on the plus side I can at least tell when its gone to hell, except I still ride it out in hopes it might suddently become amazing instead of pulling it

[RKM]

gonna need to sit down and read this all tomorrow, got a few questions too, think i realised that my whole technique is complete shit when i last had decks

[mks]

EQ is babylon too. no idea what people spend ages making small adjustments for....

Nah man, I mix just as much with the EQ as with the faders. It was often big adjustments.

Many small and medium ones too

I pretty much rode those EQ's throughout the mix.

[test_recordings]

The best advice I've indirectly acquired was some homeless ex-junglist overhearing my friend talking about getting turntables then telling my friend to try and mix the same two tracks over and over in to each other until you've got it on lock.

I did that for about two weeks everyday and could beatmatch with some confidence. You have to put the effort in or you'll never get it.

[Lye_Form]

EQ is babylon too. no idea what people spend ages making small adjustments for....

Nah man, I mix just as much with the EQ as with the faders. It was often big adjustments.

Many small and medium ones too

I pretty much rode those EQ's throughout the mix.

Nah man equing to blend in a tune and the other one out is Zion, its when you see guys clearly moving it like 3 degrees in a way like they are landing the mars rover or something, or with that little flick away after they move it. It sometimes seems like equing is what many djs do to look busy when they have some free time.

[mks]

Yeah, that is Babylon.

[syrup]

I am babylon i think

[dickman69]

I never understand what's so hard for ppl to get about EQ

Just dont clash lows, small adjustments for highs

[gwa]

i rarely use the EQs bar the bass for switching

i think just concentrate on getting very tight at matching.. the rest will come naturally and as said above, your instincts will kick in