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how important is knowing how to be able to use turntables and dj properly. and will i be able to make better mixes on decks than on my computer? just wondering cos im thinking bout learning?

its not important being able to DJ if you only want to make the music.
in my opinion the technical side of mixing records is easy to grasp if you have a sense of rhythm. the hard bit is knowing your records inside out and doing something different to everyone else.

what's Dunedin like for dubstep then? i'm planning to go there when i eventually reach NZ. whats good in the area?

oh yeah, in my honest opinion i think its possible to mix tunes on your computer much better than is possible on turntables. i now do most of my dubstep mixes in fl studio. it takes weeks as opposed to hours but you can get tracks LOCKED, do edits, loops, mashups, whatever. and there will be no danger of trainwrecking it or running out of steam half way through the mix, or someone ringing your phone and fucking up your flow.

get traktor, fl studio or ableton live and have a muck around!!

Each to their own. I wouldn't agree with £10 bag at all:)

Learning to mix proper tight can take a long time. Knowing how to mix is easy to work out but to do it well takes a lot of practice. Take a look at some of the big producers who have been mixing for nearly 10 years and they are quite weak still. Give them a genre they have not mixed before and they would be even more fukt.

If your going get the shit done on a computer it has to be very impressive edits. I dont want to hear a mix done on Ableton that is just one fade to the next. Its all about the edits. Do shit a human cannot. Make me go work that's neat.

£10 Bag wrote: its possible to mix tunes on your computer much better than is possible on turntables.

lacks soul tho

fucking if your a dj?

£10 Bag wrote:its not important being able to DJ if you only want to make the music.
in my opinion the technical side of mixing records is easy to grasp if you have a sense of rhythm. the hard bit is knowing your records inside out and doing something different to everyone else.

what's Dunedin like for dubstep then? i'm planning to go there when i eventually reach NZ. whats good in the area?

oh yeah, in my honest opinion i think its possible to mix tunes on your computer much better than is possible on turntables. i now do most of my dubstep mixes in fl studio. it takes weeks as opposed to hours but you can get tracks LOCKED, do edits, loops, mashups, whatever. and there will be no danger of trainwrecking it or running out of steam half way through the mix, or someone ringing your phone and fucking up your flow.

get traktor, fl studio or ableton live and have a muck around!!

10bag wtf buddy do u just arange them iv arangment view lol thats not a mix if you use ableton inclipp view u can call that mixing but reason cubase logic etc you cant mix in. your just prearanging and click play nothing elce to do lol ie my as well just play a cd

thanks for the responses i have fl studio but i decided i wanna take my music more seriously im gonna start learning the turntables.

"what's Dunedin like for dubstep then? i'm planning to go there when i eventually reach NZ. whats good in the area?"

um its pretty small but theres bath st which usually plays dubstep on thursday nights (and drinks are cheap ) and theres occasionally some gigs on friday and saturdays check the magazine d scene when you get here its free and its got all the info about the clubs nd what there playin etc

Whineo wrote:

£10 Bag wrote: its possible to mix tunes on your computer much better than is possible on turntables.

lacks soul tho

can you elaborate on this? I think you should. and i'll play devils advocate.

another thing is record selection.
if it's vinyl or computer playing the right track at the right time is something that people seem to forget about.
i suppose thats what makes some djs great djs...

i know a guy how is technicaly perfect when mixing records but he can't dj for fuck, if that makes sense.

spencerTron wrote:

Whineo wrote:

£10 Bag wrote: its possible to mix tunes on your computer much better than is possible on turntables.

lacks soul tho

can you elaborate on this? I think you should. and i'll play devils advocate.

When you see a DJ playing records you can hear and feel what he is doing with his hands.

When a computer mixes for you it removes all the small errors that shouldnt be there.

Its the little things that happen by mistake that give a record or a set feeling.

Serox wrote:

spencerTron wrote:

Whineo wrote:

£10 Bag wrote: its possible to mix tunes on your computer much better than is possible on turntables.

lacks soul tho

can you elaborate on this? I think you should. and i'll play devils advocate.

When a computer mixes for you it removes all the small errors that shouldnt be there.

Its the little things that happen by mistake that give a record or a set feeling.

EDIT due to stupidly long post: what i meant to say was, digital perfomers can have the same issues but by the same token can have less boundaries than what a vinyl DJ have commonly imposed on them, more for them.

Sorry fella I have gone over the vinyl vs digital argument too many times on too many forums.

I am a dinosaur and I am into mixing records, thats it.

If your doing something cool then good for you man. I cannot stand to watch people on Ableton/Tracktor mixing from 1 track to another using a auto sync button.

I like to see people using technology to do something impressive but they have to be doing something that is not possible by a human with two hands.

Seriously there is like a 200page fight on Discogs where loads of heavy weight djs and producers who were around in the 80s and still doing it now came in to say there bit.

Serox wrote: I like to see people using technology to do something impressive but they have to be doing something that is not possible by a human with two hands.

but this is going on...Tim Exile/Mat Moldover to name 2. i think Eskmo is up to similar tricks but less granular live edit wise. DSP has come along way

Cool man. Some people use technology to do neat tricks and others look like they are checking their emails behind a laptop.

For me its all about watching som1 playing 12s and thats it now days. I rem the days when 'live' was a bloke with a hardware studio setup jammin, live.

Serox wrote: For me its all about watching som1 playing 12s and thats it now days. I rem the days when 'live' was a bloke with a hardware studio setup jammin, live.

like the guy in quadrophenia, the dad saying "thats not how you play a guitar" when watching pete townsend on 'ready stead go'

ah ok, i thought you we're ruling out computer performers earlier as lacking 'feeling' along with the notion that there' is 'no soul'.

my mistake then

i'm just stating what direction digital performance has taken in the past few years for those unaware.

my mate is a savage dj, like really good. he only uses vinyl and wipes the floor with the more technology based djs everytime...

vinyl for me, i'm sure i've said this before somewhere.

the is an art to djing, an art to picking a bag of records before a gig. it's a little more personal, those records you get to hear are being played because the dj loves them.

dj using a laptop is cheating imo, every record you want and then some. some digital djs sound as if they are sticking on tracks for the sake of it and not for the love of it. i did say some because, as with all things, there is exceptions to the rule.

long live vinyl!

DROKKR wrote:my mate is a savage dj, like really good. he only uses vinyl and wipes the floor with the more technology based djs everytime...

vinyl for me, i'm sure i've said this before somewhere.

the is an art to djing, an art to picking a bag of records before a gig. it's a little more personal, those records you get to hear are being played because the dj loves them.

dj using a laptop is cheating imo, every record you want and then some. some digital djs sound as if they are sticking on tracks for the sake of it and not for the love of it. i did say some because, as with all things, there is exceptions to the rule.

long live vinyl!

hi 5 my friend.
Good taste in music and you know the score;)

I often hear people who have been DJ'ing a year tell me they have it locked. Its never the case. To mix seamlessly for a whole night takes a lot of skill and concentration. I respect any DJ who can even drop a perfect 1 hour mix with no fuckups however small. I can count the amount of DJ's in the dubstep scene who can do that on one hand.

drifterman_ wrote:I often hear people who have been DJ'ing a year tell me they have it locked. Its never the case. To mix seamlessly for a whole night takes a lot of skill and concentration. I respect any DJ who can even drop a perfect 1 hour mix with no fuckups however small. I can count the amount of DJ's in the dubstep scene who can do that on one hand.

word.
When I look at the best DJs around the world they have been doing it 10+ years.

If someone says it takes a few weeks they dont know what good mixing is.

To mix a set of records and make it sound like it was done on a computer takes a lot of practice

drifterman_ wrote:I often hear people who have been DJ'ing a year tell me they have it locked. Its never the case. To mix seamlessly for a whole night takes a lot of skill and concentration. I respect any DJ who can even drop a perfect 1 hour mix with no fuckups however small. I can count the amount of DJ's in the dubstep scene who can do that on one hand.

i think this is because alot of the "bigger" names in dubstep were producers first and have to dj to promote themselves and their releases...

this happens in all genres of music tho'