DJ Johnny Fantastic

DJcRave, post: 37348, member: 3862 wrote: Beatmatch
simple really.
i also learned about looking at the seconds..
electro-house 128bpm usually “drops” at 1:00 or 1:07 and the second drop is usually around 2:30 (dont really pay attention anymore) how i mix it is i start the second song at the start of the second drop and usually(not all the time) it’ll transition well either from the end of the drop to the beginning of the break down (song 2) or end of the drop to the start of the drop (song 2) depending on the key…
trap and dubstep are a little harder..
but the key thing to remember is beat match.. usually 16 bars/counts then its something different a drop is usually 32 bars
a breakdown is usually 8 bars and intro can be from 32-64 bars…this is house/electro

Basically this if you are doing house/electro. The easiest way to start is by endzone mixing. Most house has a 32 bar intro and a 32 bar outro (roughly 1minute long each). Start the second song at the start of the first songs outro. You can usually even see where it starts/ends by looking at the waveform. I started by doing just endzone mixing. Drop the bass out on the second track and 16 bars in, switch them. It’s not the most “exciting” mixing ever but it gives you a nice feel for how things flow together and to just get the basics of blending two songs together, playing with the eq, effects, etc. After getting proficient with endzone mixing, you can switch to doing new things like dropping during a chorus, during a drop, loop rolls, quick cuts etc.

There is an option in the settings that basically says “analyse and beatgrid when adding to collection” (that’s not exactly what it says but it’s close to that). Check that off, then click the first song in your itunes library in the traktor browser, scroll to the bottom. Hold shift, click the last song so every song is selected. Then right click and hit “add to collection”. This will analyse and add every track to the traktor collection. Will take awhile depending on the amount of songs. Don’t interrupt it or stop it.

The way I organize is I open up traktor. Go down to the itunes browser and then go to the recently added playlist. There is an icon that tells me if it’s been added to my collection or not. I add those not in the collection so they get grided/bpm detected. I then have quickslot playlists set up for MIK 1-12. I add the songs to the appropriate playlist and I’m done. Everything generally organized in about a minute.

2/10

Got a original Hercules RMX used. Took me over 45mins to find the guys place who I was buying it off of. Got home and had no time to try it out as I had to head to work. Got home and spent the next 2 hours trying to get it to work right with VDJ, just couldn’t seem to do it. Eventually shelled the money out for traktor (since the guy I bought it off of suggested I do so). Took me about 2 days to get everything working right.

Run from this if they are insistent on it. I’ve never heard of any club making the artist pay them to play, it’s suppose to be the other way around. They are going to be open any ways so what difference does it makes if it’s you as a DJ or them plugging an iPod in? They are going to make what they are going to make (but yes, you should promote yourself as well. At the start, I almost always got 20-30 of my friends to come out). My first few club gigs, I did for free or for gas money. Usually after my set, they’d throw me a bit extra if I really had the floor going but I wouldn’t take that deal in a million years.

Hercules bag for my rmx2
Laptop bag for laptop, cords, stand, etc.

Usually just put the laptop on my shoulder and carry the controller by the handle of the bag. Been looking at finding a more all-in-one solution but it works for now.

I’m a fan of the Hercules RMX. It has a small footprint but is built tough and doesn’t break the bank ($300 CDN for the RMX2). I just ordered the RMX2 since it has a few more features than the original but same basic design, just waiting for it to arrive but if it’s anything like the original, it should be perfect. You could obviously go the route of the S2 as well, which works perfectly with tracktor software if that’s what you are using. If you have a decent music shop near you, go in and try some out.

I pair mine with a pad midi controller as well so I can remix samples and such on the fly. Been using an old Korg that costs around 50 CDN but will probably change that soon as well.

It all comes down to what you want and where you want to go with being a DJ. I DJ as a hobby, doing parties and the odd club gig so my set-up works for me. It’s easy to transport and takes up a small amount of room (which can be a concern in some clubs and house parties). If I can find somewhere to put a laptop stand then my set-up will fit as well. If I did it more seriously, I’d probably invest in at least an S2 but probably an S4.
My two cents.

I usually avoid this problem by telling the club promoter/manager/whoever is booking me that I use a laptop and controller which is non-negotiable. It helps that I use a Hercules RMX2 (just upped from original) as it has a small footprint. If there is room for a laptop stand, there is room for my controller and that most of the clubs in my city are newerish with big booths.