Dubstepforum.com

Right Ive been practicing for I don't know how long and seriously still cant mix for shit. I use my decks every single day and Im still no better.

I can beat match fine with other genres but when Im playing dubstep they always sound out.

I know the basics like dropping it on one and mixing the snares on the 3rd beat. But I dont know what Im doing wrong.

I spy the grooves & drop before the breakdowns etc but maybe Im dropping the incoming record an 8 or 16 bar off becuase when Im bringing the 2nd record in it just sounds shit, my mixes are never clean. How do all the dj's do perfect mixes every single time? Obviously practice, but is there something Im missing?

Can anyone help? Ill try and get a recorded mix to make things clearer asap!

Thanks to anyone who can shed some light, Im about to go mad

drum patterns variate quite a lot in dubstep hihat patterns can be asolutely mental... if you wanted to learn to mix i would advise buying like a couple of skreamizms and just mixing the tracks off them together, or similar artists eps then move onto other choons. you might need to listen beyond the drum pattern to the melody or whatever to count bars... basically practice makes perfect same as with anything...

I've always used the initial kick as my point of reference for mixing, and if you can't hear /anticipate where the 4th/8th bar is you should keep practicing & really listening.

Not much advice to give I don't think. Some people mix by counting the beats & measures, but I've never done that. I mix by feeling the music, and being able to determine where the song is in relation to measures by feeling the sounds.

Practice, practice, practice. It felt like it took forever before I could beatmatch, and once I got that down it took a good while before I felt comfortable mixing anything other then a straight 4 to the floor beat.It all just takes time.

Good luck.

ahhhhhh-- this goes back to the root, the absolute root, of dubstep and what got me into it in the first place. All these tunes... and unless yr playing one halfstep wobbler into another, into another, into another, you're dealing with the best part of dubstep:

every tune is really it's own beast. it's around 140bpm but otherwise... kicks/snares/hats all over the place. all these great tunes, with drum parts dancing around the rhythm.

you've gotta mix so that the vibes blend. that's it. yes, you want yr hihats to be matching up nicely and all the other technical bits but overall-- you just want the tunes to kinda LIVE together.

there's that great bit in an interview w/ youngsta where he's talking about the vibe of it all, the feeling like it's a ritual. yeah, sure, you approach that when yr djing in general but w/ dubstep it's the only way to make it work.

so basically-- sing the songs to yourself in your head, imagine what they sound like lying on top of each other, and re-build that. probably 90% of the dubstep tunes out there have a kick on the one (those that have a kick!) so you can start from there, but it's not about making the kicks/snares/etc line up, like in house or techno- you've gotta think on a bigger level and make larger segments work together.

I remember back in 05, having been mixing d&b for a while... it just blew my mind. getting "the goat stare' to mix w/ loe's rmx of "i"... just totally mental.

Trust-- this is a good problem to be having!

Depone wrote:there's no simple magic answer.

Practice. Practice. Practice. (And repeat)

This ^^

and then practice.

it comes to some quicker than others, but eventually you'll get it.

don't always listen for the snare on the 3rd, because it might not be there. Listening to one in the headphones, and moving the other with your body, if your ears aren't in sync with your body, you're not in time

to be fair, dubstep can be harder to mix than other genre's, but it works on all the same principles.

As said above, just practice as much as you can. Then look back and this post and think "shit yea, don't know why I didn't see it before"

knowing the tunes and especially the intros is the KEY. use certain sounds in the intros for cues. remember these cues.

I reckon you defintely have to think of the vibe of each track. There are some tracks that just don't go together, e.g. a high energy wobbler and something more dark and brooding (obviously it's all up to taste/situation). So try and feel what track would lead on from this track. Since you can beat match, the next point is when to start the new track - obviously on the "1" as you said, but also at the start of a 16 part measure, or half way during a 16 part measure, is good.
Most intros are either 8 or 16 measures, and so by starting your new track at the start, or half way through, hopefully this will ensure that there some sort of build up, or marker is happening in both tracks, and this is usually a good time to e.g. take the bass out of the old track and turn up the bass of the new track. (most electronic music has somthing different - a noise, a drum change - at the end of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 measures. This helps start the beat afresh and keep it interesting. You could consider the break a huge marker for the entire track).
anyway, i don't know if that made sense. If you are already doing this, then maybe you should post a sample?

If you prepare before mixing, make sure you know the tracks, ie bring in a 16 bar intro 16 bars before the middle breakdown of the other track, etc.

Thanks for all the advice people!

before learning how to dj dubstep (because it very hard ) i advise you to dj normal flat 44 beats basically any house club trance anything with a flat 44 beat because that's a good start 1st u got then mate ur set 2 go after u learned that u can dj 2 all most anything mate

for me learning on traktor, where you have something to see, rather than just listening. u have to learn how to listen to difference to tracks differently than u do normally.

Brisance wrote:If you prepare before mixing, make sure you know the tracks, ie bring in a 16 bar intro 16 bars before the middle breakdown of the other track, etc.

really? i always feel that looses loads of energy because one track's dropping whilst the other is just like chilling out?

maybe im doing t' wrong?

its w/e u want man

sonar wrote: maybe im doing t' wrong?

Might be me doing it wrong.

Brisance wrote:

sonar wrote: maybe im doing t' wrong?

Might be me doing it wrong.

Surely there is no right and wrong ways of mixing there not only one set out way of mixing. Its about what sounds right and goes.

Everyone has different approaches to mixing and ways so stick to what you think your good at and hopefully the rest will come with practice.