The 'Sync' button – ADE Conference 2011 Discussion.

DJ GRE, post: 9254 wrote: I agree, but with hip hop DJs it seems it is just so embedded in their culture that they are having the hardest time adjusting to the change in the DJ culture as a whole. I was listening to a DJ the other night and she was (yes, SHE) was going hard! – great song choices, VERY smooth transitions – NO scratching even though she was using Pioneer CDJs w/ Serato timecode. Anyway, another DJ was standing next to me and I mentioned that she is doing great and his response was – “yeah but she’s just playing music, I like to actually DJ.” – emphasis on the DJ portion like what she was doing wasn’t actually DJing. I know the guy and he is a very scratch heavy DJ and labels everything (house, dubstep, trance etc.) “techno” – so I feel that once they put themselves in the hip hop category there is a heavy tendency to write everything else off.

Now i tend to lump different genres together as well,but im not in denail about my ignorance. i just never took the time to try to figure out the diffrence between dnb,trance,techno,industrial,deep house and dubstep,so i label it all as edm. but i am a 30 year hip hop dj so for 30 years ive been going through the same thing,meaning that most people just consider rap as being”hip hop” but a lot of people dont realize that the roots are much deeper and run to this day with regggae,soul,rock,pop,and jazz, but to be on subject hiphop djs are too set in their ways to fully embrace change till they have to.digital djing will catch on but it will be slow going like the acceptance of the cdj.

eros, post: 9276 wrote: @D-Jam How did the 15 min sets go the other night ? What did you end up doing ?

It was ok. My buddy tied together three setups. One was two 1200s, two American DJ CD players, and a Vestax Mixstick. Our guest DJs set up Scratch Live on it. His second setup was two 1200s, two American DJ CD players, and a 10″ Numark mixer…which he set up Torq on. The third was another laptop running Torq with an Xponent.

You can see why you can’t sync in this. His whole idea was a lot of quick mixing and tag team DJing, so you were mixing off one another, thus sync is useless. I’m actually going to get a photo he took of the setup and use it when I write a blog on the sync issue, and point this out as to why a DJ should be able to manually beatmatch as well as effectively use sync.

You can hear the sets on http://www.themovement.fm I’ll be honest while I love seeing the “gang” and sharing some laughs, I just think most modern EDM isn’t built to be quick-mixed like people did in the 90s. I don’t care how ADHD the crowd is because more and more I see producers literally arranging their music so you can’t get out of it quickly, yet then I see DJs re-edit everything so you can.

I never was a quick-mixer except for a short period in the 90s when I used a 4-track recorder to make edit mixes. Now I like letting things play out and flow. I didn’t even bring any modern music since the tech house, deep house, and trance I like to play isn’t built to be quick-mixed. I honestly thought the whole day sounds discombobulated, but that’s my opinion. I got through that day, but it’s not how I like DJing, and I’ll decline when guys like my buddy invite me to play 15-30 min sets at some party that’s overbooked with DJs.

DJ Hessler, post: 9309 wrote: Personly I think beatmatching is a skill that you shall be able to do by hand otherwise you are not a DJ in my eyes.

Here in sweden in general a lot of new so called DJs bought a cheap laptops and a cheap china made controller and plays for nothing or very little money and free beer. That keeps us “real” DJs out of jobbs as we do not work for free.
There are many that can not read the dancefloor and has absolutely no skills, they push autosync button and playes
their downloaded MP3s that sounds like crap on their downloaded copy of Traktor on their PC full of viruses that crashes at least two times per night! And then in best case the owner do not understand why people stops comming to the club.
So I do not play clubs in Guthenburg any more as the pay in general is less than it was in 1980!

Now that is the main thing that I do not like about Digital DJing.

If this is the evolution that everyone speaks so well about I rest my case!

//DJ Hessler

You have indeed some valid points for everyone to consider. But lets take a guy with honest intentions, honestly trying to be a good DJ – no cheating, no easy workarounds. Now consider the money needed for that guy 10 – 15 years ago…He probably needed a decent mixer and two turntables and at least two records just to practise on. Make the math and figure out the cost……Now take the same guy and make the math today, needing a decent laptop, soundcard and software. See where Im going with this? With all due respect to old school DJs the truth is that this profession had become an “elitistic” one (as most of arts in the past) due to great amounts of money being required. Digital and software brought “democracy” to arts and that to my eyes is a great and welcome evolution, of course with the cost of the side-effects you mentioned.

But then again, I would prefer if you didn’t choose to generalise so much when referring to digital DJing – imagine if I had said:
“all vinyl DJs are spoilt rich kids who had a lot of money to spend on equipment and records, their rich dads had connections with clubs and thats why they became good….they had the money to….and they are snobs and musically-uneducated. Lets face it not only God is NOT a DJ, but the DJ isnt even a God and they just react to digital because they know that their fraud and fake image will be exposed”
…wouldnt that seem too biased? 😉

In the end, the guys you mentioned screw up don’t they? If their laptop crashes twice a night, if they can’t read the audience, if they sound like crap, how do they really get YOUR job? 😉

DJ Hessler, post: 9309 wrote: Personly I think beatmatching is a skill that you shall be able to do by hand otherwise you are not a DJ in my eyes.

Here in sweden in general a lot of new so called DJs bought a cheap laptops and a cheap china made controller and plays for nothing or very little money and free beer. That keeps us “real” DJs out of jobbs as we do not work for free.
There are many that can not read the dancefloor and has absolutely no skills, they push autosync button and playes
their downloaded MP3s that sounds like crap on their downloaded copy of Traktor on their PC full of viruses that crashes at least two times per night! And then in best case the owner do not understand why people stops comming to the club.
So I do not play clubs in Guthenburg any more as the pay in general is less than it was in 1980!

Now that is the main thing that I do not like about Digital DJing.

If this is the evolution that everyone speaks so well about I rest my case!

//DJ Hessler

I don’t necessarily believe this. No club owner/promoter worth their salt would put a DJ on in a peak slot without listening to a mix or two, and then putting them in a warmup/cooldown slot to test their skills and what they play. If it really is the case, then those club owners deserve to loose their money.

DJ Hessler, post: 9329 wrote:
A Macbook Pro, Traktor Pro, A real Conrtroller (Denon MC6000, NI S4, Numark NS6 or some Pio controller)
The rest of the computers, and controllers is not pro IMO they are bedroom gear.

Really? Really?

I played my first gig with the Novation Twitch recently and I can say that it’s a pretty nice piece of kit, especially on the move. I think Phil has played a few gigs with it as well, so he’s more experienced in its use than I am.

All those controllers you listed weigh a tonne or are really big and annoying to cart around. Fine if you’ve got a permanent set up, but for a mobile person like me its just an issue. Smaller, more powerful controllers are fantastic in this aspect. Easy to cary, easy to set up, and take up very little space. Stuff like the VCI series comes to mind as well, widely used by “pro” DJ’s.

Also, I use a windows PC. Damn sight better than my old MPB.

DJ Hessler, post: 9329 wrote: A Macbook Pro

Really!? Care to explain why?

*Lol* I knew you would be upset by my statment.
That is why I waited this long to post it.

But my true oppinion on this matter stays unchanged.
If you are a pro DJ you should play wirth pro gear IMO!
A carpenter does not use 3rd quality cheep stuff at least not here, so why should a DJ
be satisfied with that?

I have tried those cheap controllers and it took me abut 10 sek to bash them all.
They have 2nd or 3rd quality buttons and hardware. It feels and looks like a toy!
Try setting a Denon or Pio product beside one of them and feel all the buttons and knobs
then you know what I mean.

That is why I waited till the Denon MC6000 before I even thoght about digital DJ’ing
It is the first controller worth paying for IMO.

I know that there is some of you that does think different but it will not change my oppinion.

I have been a DJ since 1980 and has always played on top quality gear on giggs.
//DJ Hessler