Really Seth Troxler?

In essence I agree with you.

Some considerations I would like to share with our readers are:

1) Even if it’s ok to use a “calculator”, it pays to know how to do it manually. You might not have a calculator handy sometimes, the batteries may have run out or, heaven forbid, the calculator gets it wrong about 20-30% of the time (as happens with bpm/beat grid determination by most DJ software for a variety of tracks). Knowing how to beat match without the tools will give you the full span of control, rather than having to depend on only the tracks the software got right and/or that you prepped correctly in advance.
A practical example is the hand-over from the previous DJ. Fair chance you won’t be able to use sync on his track, so doing a manual beat match (not knowing BPM or anything) is a powerful tool. It will give you great confidence knowing you can do it and also give you peace of mind as you know you won’t be faced with a situation you can’t handle.

2) Manual beat matching, imho, only reaches it’s full potential when you can blindly beat match two unknown tracks on media players that don’t even have bpm read-out. In the vinyl days we’d call them turntables :-P.
At this point you can mix anything with anything that is somewhere in the +/- 5 bpm range. Experience will tell you if you can make the mix or not and it will tell you shortly after you’ve started adjusting the bpm of the incoming track. So, even if you are faced with using your backup CDs on some old set of CD-players and a rickety ole FX-less mixer, you can still get your game going.

3) No matter your technical prowess, it is not the gear nor the (technical) skills that makes the DJ. We have said it here many times before and I’ll gladly repeat it: “The most important skill for a DJ is KNOWING what must come NEXT”. If you learn to master that one skill, everything else becomes secondary at best.

I 100% agree with Vintage here. Especially with point 3.

I also think that knowing manual beatmatching is an extremely valuable skill and I think a DJ should know how to do it blindfolded.

However no matter if you use the sync button or did a manual match… if you do not know how to mix you will trainwreck the whole thing anyways.

I am sorry for mature language in the following video, but I could not say it any better, so here is my friend DJ Iceman’s thoughts on the topic:
https://youtu.be/-7O6KQzHH6s

It’s so easy to learn to beatmatch with digital gear I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t bother. I’ve been in clubs where the dj is using sync and pitch lock and it’s terrible. The songs sound wrong because they’re too fast and the dj is too stupid to realize it. I hate that. I don’t bother him about it but I do keep the club in mind in case I feel like gigging there. Problem is that many gigs come from popularity contests over skill and selection. Either way, to me, sync is wack.

We are not saying you shouldn’t use sync where possible, we say that relying on sync only (because you don’t master the art of manual beatmatching) is not good practice and will limit your options.

Drop me anywhere with a crate of CDs and two CDJs (without displays, see if I care) and I will get a beat-matched set going somehow. No prep, no grid, no sync. Just headphones, a jog wheel and a pitch fader is all that is needed.

Any links to Seth’s comments?