Is this progress? Or bad mixing

The only pet hate I have is the sync button. I use the wave forms on Traktor to get an idea of where I am in the tune in a hurry, but the point I want to make is that even with the visual aids you still need to learn to beat match by ear simply because this technology can fail, and beat grids and bpm counters are known to lie to us. Besides, staring at your laptop all night just isn’t cool.

I will as politely as I can announce that you’re talking complete bollocks. You see, beat matching by ear is completely necessary because beat grids fail, as do bpm counters. When I say fail, I mean that they tell us the wrong information and the mix then sounds like a pair of trainers in a tumble dryer. What you’re talking about is a complete system fail, like the laptop exploding. Even so, some of us take our job seriously enough to have back up in the form of a usb stick or some cds to get us out of jail free, so to speak. In that situation, using your ears to continue entertaining will be quite useful I would imagine.

Well said Dj Hane K, a lot of djs stare at their computer screens now a days. It no different then have cdjs with the bpm counter, time elapsed, time left, song’s info and key on it. If Stazbumpa thinks starting at a laptop all night isn’t cool then maybe he/she should consider not using traktor or a laptop at all, problem solved.

Beat matching by ear isn’t just for “just in case” scenarios when your carefully selected digital kit goes tits up. Beat matching teachings you something fundamental, a sense of rhythm. Beat matching using your ears will let you get into the flow of your music selection far better than staring at a screen ever will. Keeping time musically is always best done with your ears, musicians may have a sheet of the notes in front of them but its their ears that keep them in time with the rest of the band.
And speaking of staring at screens all night, it’s a laptop and not a portal to another universe. It displays information that you need to see once or twice. I stare at mine for a long as it takes to find my next track and then a couple of glances to see where I am a bit further into the tune. The rest of the time a DJ should be focussing on the crowd. If you can’t mix without looking at a screen then in my honest opinion you’re doing something wrong at a basic level.

I think there is truth in both opinions. Learning the basic manual skills is your “get out of jail free”-card. Sync doesn’t work 100% of the time. And it would be limiting to your musical selection proces if you can only pick the songs that sync well.

Preparing a gig is all well and fine but has two downsides in my opinion:

• Preparing in advance you don’t know the mood of the room and can’t anticipate it
• In many settings (especially mobile DJs) need way more flexibility

I do believe that if you decide to use the (in this case the sync) tool, you have to do it wholeheartedly and prepare your tracks properly. Trying to use sync without having done any prep work on the grid, droppoint and such is not a very professional way to go about doing your thing.
Greetinx,
C.

Im still learning , practicing on my controller (i hide bpm counters). I use waveforms just to set the cue , but occasionally im setting my cue by ear, just to get the idea. I think its usefull to learn to match by ear. Last weekend i went to my local dj store (im taking a course there), first time ive seen cdj’s but i did beatmatch the tracks OK. (not super perfect, but im still learning 😛 ). At the end of the day , the way i see it , it really doesnt matter how you do it , if you get the job done. But as a backup plan it is a good idea to learn to do it manually.

Chuck van Eekelen, post: 44690, member: 2756 wrote: I think there is truth in both opinions. Learning the basic manual skills is your “get out of jail free”-card. Sync doesn’t work 100% of the time. And it would be limiting to your musical selection proces if you can only pick the songs that sync well.

Preparing a gig is all well and fine but has two downsides in my opinion:

• Preparing in advance you don’t know the mood of the room and can’t anticipate it
• In many settings (especially mobile DJs) need way more flexibility

I do believe that if you decide to use the (in this case the sync) tool, you have to do it wholeheartedly and prepare your tracks properly. Trying to use sync without having done any prep work on the grid, droppoint and such is not a very professional way to go about doing your thing.

Greetinx,
C.

I agree with what you are saying. Depending on the style of music you play a proper cut is more effective than a smooth crossfade in my experience. Great way to build escitement.

…except for, you know, missing your cue, sliding the crossfader over before the manually beatmatched mix is in in sync, then frantically fumbling with the pitch controls to regain some form of control over the mix… Really, I thought this forum was all about embracing the new technology and the possibilities brought with it – and all of the sudden we’re having an argument on why people should learn to do things the old skool way just because it’s a “get out of jail free” card? Really? How many times has the scenario put forth in a previous post (“an eldery gentleman comes to you with a CD, “Hey man your set is tite, but can you play this “Dancing Queen” for me ?” (with 2 100 dolla slip in)” happened to you? And would you really accept the request if it did, or tell the gentleman in question to go bugger himself with his ABBA cd? Do you take iPhones too, hook ’em up to your mixer and play a track off YouTube if some douche with a couple of hundies asks you to?

I understand the situation is different with mobile/wedding DJs, but playing a club/bar/etc scene? No way. Again, I’m not saying it’s not a nice skill to have… But I maintain it’s really a rather unnecessary one. Why not spend your time mastering more important stuff, like good transitions, live remixing, creative use of effects and remix decks (if using Traktor) etc? If you’ll allow an analogy, if you know how to code Java, is it really necessary to lean Assembly? I would think it’s high time to let go of these burdens of the past and start focusing on things that will be relevant in the future.