Debate over syncing vs beatmatching

I can only echo what other people have said. Beatmatching is a skill you should have as a DJ, but it doesn’t mean you have to do it.

There is more to DJing that beatmatching.

Yup.. I had a Vinyl junkie in my grill at the weekend over this :

I was using the Lenovo and the Numark omnicontrol.
I got the tired old “You just press a button and it mixes where is the fun”..
I didnt try and counter argue, i just smiled sweetly and carried on.

I did let him have qo after the set, i gave him half a chance and left smart play on, and tried to give him a few pointers – Id devised a set in a folder where all the tunes “fit” and were within 128 to 134 bpm so it was just like digging in a mates record bag- so the tunes all should have worked together
All he produced was train wreck after train wreck- even after i heard enough and hit my Beatlock shortcut for him. In the end i turned off everything and let him make a total fool of himself.

Odd really, as i’d be the first to admit that mixing vinyl is a far greater skill, so if you can mix that, a well set up digital systems should be a walk in the park – and at one point it was set up as the mythical “press a button and it mixes” –

Right at the end of the night the wife of one of the best (vinyl) DJ’s we play with asked for a go, a total newbie and her husband is about to teach her with the vinyl so this for her was from scratch.. A vague framework of an idea of what to do but no practice at all.
I talked her right through it showed her how to count the bars, and pointed at what eq needed to to be tweaked at what ever point and she pulled off 3 of the sweetest transitions in a row! everyone’s jaw dropped!
The difference was there was no preconception or arrogance and she was willing to listen and learn

I told her to let her hubby get her up to a point where she can hold her own on beatmatching the vinyl first, and ill take the gear over to their house for her to play with.

Adam Sharizman, post: 1492 wrote: I was watching this ellaskins video earlier and reading the comments, I found there is a huge-ish battle going on about a guy who uses the sync button and everyone else who beatmatches by ear.

The video was about tenminmix. The guy who uses the sync button argues that it is what the mix sounds like that will be judged, not how the mix is done. Apparently he is giving this “I can only beatmatch with the sync button” vibe which is not a good vibe overall especially when you argue with analogue users.

So, I’d like to see the opinions of the forum. I reckon quote a number of you guys are using controllers while the rest are probably using analogue or semi analogue. What is your stance on the sync button? In a gig, would you rather use the sync button or would you beatmatch by ear? Assuming the software has a perfect beatmatch and everything would turn out like if you would beatmatch by ear. Also that you have about 30 seconds left before transition to next song. Which would you do?

I personally would beatmatch manually, It gives me something to do rather than stand blankly. It also gives this werd satisfaction than if I just pressed a button.

Personally I wont knock another guys hustle…….but at the same time learn to do it by ear man.If for anyones benefit for yours,because theres gonna come a gig where its just a pair of decks and no laptop.Then what you gonna do,trainwreck all night? I do concentrate on the sound rather than how its done but when that laptopless gig comes and your not prepared you rep is finished for that year

I learned how to DJ on Numark CDN88 players that had a SYNC NOW button. For a long time, I was frustrated because things I’d always wanted to put together would fit only to fall apart 4-8 bars later (or faster). Part of the problem was they have a weird automatic feature that sometimes made its own decisions about how to read BPM even if you’d tapped it in. Until I started working shows for real on mobile rigs and at a club, I had no concept of manually beatmatching things. All our mobile rigs had CDN 25 players without any effects whatsoever. The Wild West room I worked had two different CD players: one had a good pitch lock but a terrible wheel and the other had a great wheel but no pitchlock. The year and a half I spent basically practicing in a mostly-empty side room was the best thing that ever happened to me – otherwise I don’t know when I’d have broken the beatmatch addiction. It was like someone throwing you in a pool without those floaties you think you need.

The rig I have has a pair of CDN 90s with a sync button I haven’t used in years. It’s got the same auto feature issue that I don’t even remember how to turn off. The D2 DDS controller I have works exactly like a pair of Numark CD players. There’s a BPM tapper on both sides and the software will use a combination of its librarian index (the Librarian makes BPM tables) and user input, but there’s no sync option.

My stance is that beatmatching will make you a better person :D. Quitting SYNC NOW was like dropping a smoking habit.

I use sync

to wash dishes…

No really.

I use sync all the time. As long as the beat marker is off to the right start I usually don’t run into problems with it. However, I do see a high important for jog wheels in this situation to correct any beat grid problems.

I mean the big deal about beatmatching isn’t the actually process of beatmatching thats important its the ability to notice the slightest of pitch variations. You can still develop that skill while the sync button is used you just have to use your ears.

If you fail to do the proper prep work with sync or without sync its going to be a disaster no matter how you look at it.

Its not about Djing a perfect set, its about being competent in your mixing. You can make 100 mistakes as long as you know how to correct them the right way.

It is Fine to Mess with the Pitch (Wheel?); I Understand that; but what happens when the Crowd can Hear the Tracks Drifting and you (or Anyone else) are Frantically Speeding Up/Slowing Down the Track and it just isn’t Happening ?
I Personally Spend Hours in Preparation so I Know what Tracks ‘Won’t Drift’; but what Happens in a ‘Live Situation’ and Due To A Crowd Request (or a Quick Download from iTunes) you (or Anyone Else) are Not Absolutely Familiar with the 2 Tracks ?

If I can’t figure out which one needs wheel attention well enough to fix it? I abort into the next song with a fadeout (or a hard slam if it’s sounding too awful.) You don’t have to be absolutely familiar, just able to zero in on either your waveform or a sound on both (snares, the singer’s cadence, a weird distinct sample) that you keep lined up.

Personally, I don’t trust the sync button. Hence, I never use it.

Beatmatching is about ear and not eye.

I use a DVS system, and I still beatmatch by ear. I’ve seen DJs who have learned the craft by using all kinds of DJ software, rely on the beatgrids of their laptop screens. Yes, It is easier, but what if the DJ playing before you, is using vinyl? There will be no beatgrids and/or the BPM of the track he is playing. In the end, it will still all come down to the basics of this craft.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with learning through software. But there will come a time in certain situations, that you have no choice but to beatmatch manually.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Cheers!