Debate over syncing vs beatmatching

Hello Adam :);
Another Great Question :);
We can only give our Personal Opinions here; but mine is this;
The ‘Reason’ I don’t use ‘DJ Dedicated Software’ anymore is Because of the ‘Sync Button’;
I Don’t like it; and I Don’t Trust it;
I may have learned (due to my Age) to DJ on Pioneer CDDJ’s; but Never Once did I use the ‘Sync’ or ‘Master’ Buttons or whatever they have; I Always Beatmatch by Ear – and I Trust my Ear – and if a Track doesn’t Work; I Accept it doesn’t Work and Move On;
I Use Ableton 8; and although there is a Facility to Warp Tracks so that they will ‘Fit’; if my Master Tempo is 128BPM (already decided by myself before I make a Set); and I have Tracks of 122BPM; 120BPM; 135BPM; and I Want to use them; I Make them Fit; through ‘Technique’ Not by using any ‘Tools’ that make things ‘Easier’ (Boring I call it); I have been using Ableton since Ableton 5 and so have a Lot of Experience now (although I am still Learning Daily) with this Programme; and I have Techniques that allow me to Mix ‘Very Different Tempo’s’ if I So Wish;
I Agree that there is a Debate over ‘Beatmatch’ or ‘Sync’; as there is a Debate over ‘Digital/Laptop’ and Vinyl;
Nobody will Ever ‘Win’ the Argument – not that I see there is any Argument to ‘Win’; as it is just ‘Individual Choice’ 🙂
I Love ‘Ellaskins; I have to say; (not Literally); but if there there was a man who made DJ Tutorials ‘Fun’ it is Him;
I don’t actually have a Dedicated Controller; but have 16/24 Buttons/Sliders/Dials on my Keyboard;
The Key (I Feel); to when a Track has just 30 Seconds left; is to ‘Know’ the next Track you are going to Mix in; this can be ‘Pre-Planned’; or if ‘Guided’ by the Audience; with a ‘Knowledge’ of our Tracks we ‘Know’ what will ‘Fit’ next and what Won’t;
To Some Degree DJ’ing is like ‘Chess’; we have to know (or at least have Thought of or Planned Our ‘Next Move’ – and even have a Number of ‘Back up’ Moves); but if the other Player (like the Audience) makes a Move we did not Anticipate; then this is where the ‘Knowledge’ of our Tunes comes in;
And Yes; Once More I Agree; Thinking On The Spot is ‘Invigorating’ and also ‘Challenging’; and Keeps Us Busy 🙂 🙂

For me it depends on the software. Not sure how common this is but I used the sync button a ton in traktor. I never use it in itch. My ear plus waveridding seems to give better results and I can bend the individual tracks as needed. I use itch 90% of the time but as soon as I’m back in traktor I start hitting that sync button. 🙂

I think that the sync button is misunderstood – If you have taken the time to properly beatgrid your tracks it can be a lifesaver, I never use it with tracks ive never beatgridded. I use it sometimes but when I do, it’s between two tracks that I personally have beatgridded. But usually I will beatmatch by ear it’s just kind of fun and sometimes you happen upon an interesting rhythm that wouldn’t have come up with perfectly synced beats. otherwise, it’s a tool to be used but can be readily ignored if you choose to.

Phil Morse, post: 1562 wrote: But add another deck or two in and suddenly beatgridding and syncing makes lots of sense. It allows you to be more creative.

This. Sync is invaluable for live mashups, but most of the time I find it easier to beatmatch by ear. As in, genuinely easier than trying to beatgrid my tunes.

That being said, I don’t actually have an issue with people using the sync button exclusively. I think there’s value in learning how to beatmatch by ear, but it’s not the sum total of what being a DJ is. Ask Larry Levan.

I have mixed feelings… I taught myself to beatmatch over 20 years ago (scary…) and your ears become that tuned to it that you can do it very quickly. Before I got my DDJ I thought sync was cheating and even when I first got it I refused to use Sync, but I have found that I beatmatch the tracks and the BPM display shows what it would in sync anyway (OK, sometimes it a percentage of a bpm out!) so I question the point of doing it manually…

What I do think is important is monitoring the incoming track before mixing it in, manual beat matching forced you to do this and it’s very valuable in terms of reminding you what happens when in the track, plus you get an idea of how the harmonics sit next to each other. Back in the day there would be many a record that I thought would sound great in my head but then I aborted while monitoring / beatmatching because it was apparent that it wouldn’t work.

Currently I do a bit of both, but if the computer ever gets it wrong, or I had to play vinyl I’m confident that it wouldn’t be a problem.

I personally think that the time spent beatgridding and sync-ing the tunes is a lot of wasted time. Because any person that can beatmatch and that are good at it can tell you they will be able to beatmatch in about 10-15 seconds maximum.

So any person who turns round and says ‘why beatmatch when you can auto-sync and do more creative stuff in that time’ i personally think is speaking crap as it probably takes just as much time beatmatching as it does auto syncing and lets face it, theres not too much effects and stuff you can throw down in 10-15 seconds.

Liambo, post: 1644 wrote: I personally think that the time spent beatgridding and sync-ing the tunes is a lot of wasted time. Because any person that can beatmatch and that are good at it can tell you they will be able to beatmatch in about 10-15 seconds maximum.

You need to beatgrid your tracks if you want to use tempo-synched effects though, don’t you?

Lew, post: 1649 wrote: You need to beatgrid your tracks if you want to use tempo-synched effects though, don’t you?

I don’t know to be honest because i have TSP but i hardly use it, so im not sure on the ins and outs of beatgridding and effects and stuff. Im still used to just the effects on the DJM series mixers. Also i’m 90% CDJ/Vinyl, I have nothing against auto-sync because i can accept thats where DJ’n is going.