Debate over syncing vs beatmatching

I think this debate is going to be a long one as really there are so many different aspects to djing nowadays compared to the two decks and a mixer era…. with the explosion in genre’s and tech its impractical to judge one type of performance the same way as another… part of what we are trying to achieve with our concept of the AUDIOLYMPICS is to challenge peoples perceptions of performance by running several specialist competititions and events for people from different styles and tech backgrounds as well as hardcore decathalon multi discipline dj events, with each aspect of the competition judged in different ways for different setups and styles…
I think that its in every DJ’s best interests to diversify and embrace all available techniques, but if you specialise and do one thing creatively and flawlessly with your own piece of kit your own way that’s cool too…just dont stop evolving.
If you take professional skateboarding for example…There are a few pro skateboarders at the top of their food chain that have never even entered a competition- such as mike V – but carved out a career by having their own style and attitude.
There’s nothing wrong with playing a slightly different game than everyone else or even the same, as long as you try to make it your own and take what you do to the next level without losing the dancefloor element of djing..

Haroon K, post: 5167 wrote: Just to play devil’s advocate, surely is beatmatching all that much of a skill when it can be replicated with a click of a button? :p

Anyhow, when all is said and done, surely its the music that matters and whether people are having fun no?

Sorry if this comes across as overly contrary, but Beatmatching IS a skill, and as such there are different levels to that skill…. yes beatmatching by ear is achievable by almost anyone with practice, but in a club environment when mixing powerfully between records of different tempo with long blends in a short space of time, thrown in with taking and returning to sleeves etc… there really is only a TINY window of opportunity to get a mix perfect, as if you miss the crunch point when you need to throw in the first beat you’ve missed it with no going back…you can throw it in 16 or 32 beats later and the records can still be beatmatched and in key and sound passable but the one perfect joining of two tunes to make a third wont be there and the impact wont be the same on the dancefloor… Being able to beatmatch quickly and accurately in those situations using only your ear when playing in difficult situations like having duff monitors and cramped workspace is a skill, and you have to know your records really well to pull it off without any cue points to save your bacon….
By always using the sync button, you are doing yourself a disservice, as you’ll never even understand what you can be capable of when you learn to hone your instincts, and how much fun it is when you improve to the point you don’t think as much as feel the mix…. the process of seesawing your pitch fader to find the balance point, the tactile sensation of fingers brushing the side of the turntable to trim speed, and curling your fingers around the spindle to twist speed up all becomes part of a dance with the music to the point you dont actually have to beatmatch you can just keep records in time by getting into a rhythm of adjustments…. If you don’t do all just this JUST gently enough, you get thumps coming through the system as you touch the vinyl surface, needle skips and harsh pitch changes, all of which are audible to the clubbers….. and believe it or not, most dj’s start off as clubbers, only a very few start out by buying a load of gear and programs to do it as a business, and very few of those get even a fraction of the respect that frankie knuckles gained by doing things the hard way.
“Why on earth would you not want to use something that makes your life easy?
Why would anybody question a tool that enhances and improves a DJs performance?”
I’m all about the sync button – love it.

It allows me to mke a decision in a spilt second and drop the track i want to.
It releases me from the pressure of ‘riding’ the mix (tho’ i still have to on the odd occasion – stuff does drift – you DO need to have the basic skills still – this is vital)”

Surely you mean it removes the pleasure from riding the mix?
The reason I chose to go for traktor scratch pro was the advantage of saving those few seconds of swapping records etc without any risk of damage and the ability to play music I couldn’t get on vinyl and mess around with it in new ways using cue points, chuck in the extra advantage of playlists and fx at your fingertips and I think that makes life easy enough really don’t you?
As for whether clubbers care? Of course they do, to suggest otherwise is just making an excuse to not push yourself musically and insulting their intelligence and taste. True, a lot of people in a club ARE more concerned with who they’re going home with and necking beer etc, but they generally just follow the people who know the difference to where they are going and dance to whatever’s playing…they aren’t the only people you need to impress.
Regardless of if you use ableton clips, dvs or controllers to do your job, Try your hardest at what you do and people will one day be stood watching what you are doing, trust me, and that day will feel so much sweeter knowing you did it using mainly using your own brain, talent and imagination rather than letting a computer do All the work…

Is it really necessary to have ANOTHER thread about this? Soon we will be doing the vinyl vs cd vs laptop argument.