Question about mixing…

I’m still using the Mixtrack Pro 2, and VDJ. No rekordbox for me.

But I have 3 cue-points at my leisure. I set the first one at a calm place, the second at the drop and the third at a smooth place. So I can get the crowd going mental or ease things down a bit at my own pace.

My mixing points are determined by the track that I’m about to mix in. If one has a weak breakdown with vocals and the other has a lush break, I’ll mix them over the breakdown. If a track has a really cool buildup and the other has a huge drop, I’ll simply cut across to the next one just as the build is over.

Of course for this to happen you need to “know your music” well. I’ve heard of DJs simply ripping off tracks from Youtube and just hitting play in front of the crowd without even listening to it once, and calling themselves a “DJ”.

I feel you shouldn’t have a fixed mix-in or mix-out points because it would just limit your options and reduce your creativity. Don’t be afraid o trying something new every time. I learnt this lesson last week 🙂

I’m not saying you need to know a tune inside-out. Once you’re into the music, It will all come naturally to you. You will know precisely when a breakdown is approaching and you’ll be able to predict when a track is going to be dropped. The real fun lies in how a DJ manages to surprise the crowd with these tricks.

As for playing B2B, I haven’t had any experience with that, that’s something new to me as well. Maybe someone more experienced will be able to help us 🙂

That is the downside to using CDJs actually what you are doing.

I simply look at the waveform in Serato, zoom it so I can see where the track does what and then go by feel. If I have songs I play often I have up to 8 color coded cue points and I use the colors to tell me for what it is (red = mix out, blue = mix in,…)
That is why CDJs are a thing of the past.

My two cents (try stopping me LOL).

Yes, knowing MOST of your music for a set intimately helps. In the vinyl days there were no cue points and no serious DJ I know/knew that wrote down stuff like time to mix in or out (if only because TTs had not clock on them 🙂 ).

So, coming from that background, everything modern technology offers you is a bonus. One that should be used as it gives you countless extra possibilities and creative options.

The thing is, modern music is built to pretty exacting formats. And the building blocks are typically all the same length and the same order. Also there are various end-of-track options to use when playing back to back (down to 4-beats of silence and a big drop to start your set with) that will get you out of a “I don’t know the tune this guy is playing” pinch.

So, if you know the general format for tracks and assuming you have no wave forms available, listening and counting and knowing the track you are using to mix in with will get you to where you are going in a professional and relaxed manner.