Learning 2 mix, is dubstep going 2 be tricky place to start?

docdoom · Post by **docdoom** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 5:28 pm

And does anyone know of any good dj tutorials etc online somewhere? Or have any special tips they would like to impart!

elgato · Post by **elgato** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 5:41 pm

Dubstep is probably more challenging than some, but as good a place as any to start...the most important thing is practice, so its important to be inspired by the music you're mixing. Thats my best advice really, just keep practicing, beatmatching is easy enough with time...once you're a competent beatmatcher its then about timing and understanding the structure of tunes so you know when/how to drop them for best effect. But you cant really deal with that kind of stuff until you can hold the records in time comfortably. Just practice practice practice until it becomes intuitive

grafik · Post by **grafik** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 5:42 pm

i would say yes, dubstep will be a bit tricky to learn to mix with. the fact that there is a lot of "space" in the tracks makes it a bit more difficult to hear what to mix. also, a lot of the intros are quiet and/or sporatic which can also cause problems, same goes for dnb. i believe any kind of breakbeat is going to be more difficult to learn with than something with a straight 4x4 beat like house or techno.

on the other hand, once you learn how to mix dubstep or dnb, you'll be able to mix any other kind of music with ease. it might take you six months or more to get decent at matching beats/quing/eqing etc. but if you put a lot of time and practice into it you'll be rewarded.

good luck with it bro

ps - even if you do catch on pretty quick, don't be too hastey to play in front of an audience...wait till you're 100% confident with your skills, then wait another 6 months till you try to play out.

product · Post by **product** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:48 pm

easiest thing might be to buy 3 or 4 techno or house records out of a clearance bin somewhere and just toy around with those, then when you're confident buy some serious records.

but i reckon there's a few tunes out right now you might want to go ahead and secure

docdoom · Post by **docdoom** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 7:34 pm

Thanks for the advice and encouragement all.

Ive got a choice selection of about 20 dubstep 12"s that i would have got just to listen to anyway, as it were. usual suspects; skream, dmz, skull disco etc. So yes i am very passionate about dubstep, it is what has inspired me to want to mix, even after five years as a massive hiphop fan that never convinced me to buy decks - four months of dubstep and ive now got some turntables!!

It kinda hit me when i had then in front of me that i really new very little about the technical side of tings! Obviously i understand about how the mixer works etc, but what should i be aiming for, the ability to alter the pitch of the records so they are in time? (ie beatmatch).

Do you guys find where you want a record to start, hold it, start the platter and then release it when the other tune is at the right moment? Or have it playing in yr phones, beatmatch it and then slowly bring it in with the cross-fade? I guess 'both' is probably the answer.

So many questions!!...

autonomic · Post by **autonomic** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:25 pm

this is a good site for tips and things http://www.djforums.com/forums/

i'd been away from turntables for about 10 years when i started up again with dubstep and it wasn't the easiest style to jump into. with all that space i'm a little bad with my drops, but it's coming along well.

bushby · Post by **bushby** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:37 pm

It also helps if you try and mix 2 copies of the same record together, that's when it clicked for me.

the great boo · Post by **the great boo** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:31 am

a very good book on the subject is "how to dj (properly)" the author of which i canny remember

same guy that wrote "last night a dj saved my life"

i learned how to beatmatch properly in about a month or two using that book.

that was three years ago and ive still not played out

and mind - mixing is the least important part of the skill - tune selection and programming are what you should be worrying about...

good luck!!!!

cogent · Post by **cogent** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 9:29 am

I've only been mixing since xmas, played my first set out last weekend at a party..it went ok and i got a good response .. a few iffy mixes, but no major fuck ups..

I'd still say i've got a little way to go, its just all about practice and knowing your records...

dubstep might be harder to mix than other genres, but fuck it throw yourself in the deep end mate.. you get to learn your tunes by doing so..

but then what do i know, i ain't no dj.. enough people on here will give you good advice...

Watch this space for Cogent mix 1... soon come !!!!!!!!

grafik · Post by **grafik** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 6:40 am

The Great Boo wrote: and mind - mixing is the least important part of the skill - tune selection and programming are what you should be worrying about...

VERY bad advice. you could have the best records ever made and if you trainwreck every other mix you'll sound like a twat.

jackquinox · Post by **jackquinox** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 10:21 am

All you have to remember when djing is:

1)Know your records.

2)If in doubt pull out - if your mix is ploughing into oblivion and your not sure why dont stand there for 40 seconds killing your audience by trying to correct it just cut it.

3)Have fun, the first time i played out was a bit fruity the monitor was gash and the room acoustically was awful so half the time even a good mix sounded bad but you cant let these things faze you get in a groove and relax about the minor glithces the next mix will be perfect.

j_j · Post by **j_j** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 11:19 am

^^^^
and number..

4) WEAR A CONDOM ..

logos · Post by **logos** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 12:15 pm

grafik wrote:
The Great Boo wrote: and mind - mixing is the least important part of the skill - tune selection and programming are what you should be worrying about...
VERY bad advice. you could have the best records ever made and if you trainwreck every other mix you'll sound like a twat.

No its the best advice in the world! Being technically competant is important, but relatively less important than the other elements.

ufo over easy · Post by **ufo over easy** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 12:54 pm

Yep. Unless your mix flows well, what's the point?

For example... two good tunes beatmatched perfectly, but in completely different keys will still sound horrible. You'll make two good tunes sound like one shit tune.

auralassassin · Post by **auralassassin** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 2:49 pm

bushby wrote:It also helps if you try and mix 2 copies of the same record together, that's when it clicked for me.

I also subscribe to this school of thought.

Best place to start is with a genre that you won't grow tired of... because you are going to wear out those 2 pieces of vinyl learning to match beats. Once you have that down, it's all just a matter of experience.

Record every practice session you do, and go back and listen to it. It'll be painful at first, but you'll be glad you did. I still record pretty much everytime I practice, and a few of them I release, just because sometimes you kick ass when you least expect it.

alex bk-bk · Post by **alex bk-bk** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 4:16 pm

na go for it. practice with anything and you;ll get better, long as you have love for your selection

docdoom · Post by **docdoom** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 4:18 pm

Thanks for all the tips people, much appreciated!

I guess the garridge-y beats of the hatcha school are going to be easier than stuff like shackleton and appleblim.

Think ill have a dig in some chazzas for some techno with a real steady 4/4 beat to get involved. It all seems a bit mind-bogglingly hard at the moment haha!

Seems like you can kinda 'cheat mix' and just drop tunes in quite bits of the other tune without a beat? But obviously thar excludes the possibility of ever doing nice long blends.

I need to get some phones too. I have some but they arent really suitably. Anybody got any advice for a cheapish pair that will do the trick?

I also didn't realise there was so much variation in terms of 45/33 speeds!! E.g. skreamism having a disc with each side pressed at different speeds. And most dont have the speeds on them too!

What is a good method of counting the bpm of a tune, just counting for 20 seconds on a watch then x3?

Thanks again for the input.

logos · Post by **logos** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:43 pm

docdoom wrote:
What is a good method of counting the bpm of a tune, just counting for 20 seconds on a watch then x3?

Forget about BPMs and all that rubbish - learn to judge things intuitively. When you start playing out you won't have the time to calculate bpms let alone look at your watch

. After a bit of practice with a couple of simple house tunes (I'd reccommend you get some old house or US garage tunes with simple arrangements, the old hatcha style garage is tough because the beats are so swung. )...you will get the hang of pitching a tune so its roughly at the same speed as the one already on deck and then fine tuning as you go along.

docdoom · Post by **docdoom** » Mon May 01, 2006 11:51 am

What exactly do you mean by the beats being 'swung'?

logos · Post by **logos** » Mon May 01, 2006 3:25 pm

docdoom wrote:What exactly do you mean by the beats being 'swung'?

Compare the beats in 2-step to standard US house - in 2-step certain snares, hi hats, sometimes kicks are moved off the normal tight positions on the 4th, 8th, and 16th bar divisions by a small amount (helps if you can visualise a sequencer grid here - if not don't worry)...

This gives garage that skippy, bouncy feel. Its still in 4/4 like US house but by varying degrees is 'swung'.

Compare a 2-step record with a standard house track and ask yourself which sounds more 'solid' or tighter.

Learning 2 mix, is dubstep going 2 be tricky place to start?

Learning 2 mix, is dubstep going 2 be tricky place to start?

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