DJ

Absolutely. I’ve been recording all my practice sessions in the evenings then putting them to my ipod to listen to on the way to and from work the next day. I’ve realized that while you’re in the mix, you’re mindset is so much different from when you’re just listening to music. It’s eye-opening to hear what you did the night before in a completely different environment. What you thought was the most innovative mix comes across as awkward and stilted, and that time you screwed up all the EQs is barely noticeable.

Recording everything also puts some pressure on you like in a performance situation. If you mess something up, you can’t just scratch it all back and try again, you have to scramble your way out of it and move on.

You can’t get growth without reflection.

I can’t speak to the 4Trak, but I’ve had the N4 for a good while now and I’ve loved every second of it. I needed 4 deck control as well and the N4 came out just as I was looking for a new controller. The Numark website has a mapping for Traktor Pro 2 so after loading that I haven’t had any problems with Traktor.

If you haven’t seen it yet, this is just about spot on with my experience with the N4 http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2012/01/review-video-numark-n4-dj-controller-mixer/

My only issues (and they’re not even as bad as you’d think) with it has been the pitch faders like the DDT review mentions, and the EQ kills. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to hit the Pitch Range button which gets rid of the pitch fader problem for all effective purposes so that solves that but when I’m using Traktor, the EQs don’t seem to kill 100% no matter what EQ settings I use in the preferences menu. I imagine it is just a mapping problem however, as the EQs do kill 100% when using either Virtual DJ or Serato DJ Intro.

Ultimately, from what I’ve read of it, I would prefer the 4Trak but that’s because I’m greedy (who wouldn’t prefer a $1000 controller over a $500?). The N4 was a great purchase and I’d recommend it to anyone needing decently priced 4 deck control.

I’m in the same boat and have been having trouble with it as well. I’m learning that, for the most part, you need to abandon the long (meaning longer than probably two bars) mixes that come so naturally with EDM. Hard cuts (with some added effects for style points) are the way to go, otherwise things quickly fall apart as I imagine you’ve discovered. That djtechtools link has some good info as well. I’m interested to hear any other tips.

I imagine everyone has a little different interpretation about bootlegs and edits and they probably depend on where you’re from. Here’s how I know them though:

A bootleg is a remix that was made by using only the original track in its entirety. The remixer did not have access to the original track’s stems (melody, vocals, bassline, etc.). When a remix is released officially, it is almost never a bootleg because the original artist gives the stems to the remixer to work with. I know many people refer to any unofficial remix as a bootleg as well though, which I can understand because it most likely is.

An edit is not really a remix in that it is merely altered for time or content. For example, in Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance albums, many of the tracks used are named “Track Name (Original Mix Edit).” This means that although the original track was used, it was altered (I imagine most likely a break or something similar was cut out for time’s sake) in order for it to better fit in the mix. It’s the same thing when you hear “Radio Edit” or “Vocal Edit.” It is the same original track, just edited for time/content so it can play on the radio, or with vocals added, respectively.

A VIP track stands for Variation In Production and is a remix done by the same artist who made the original (hence the variation in its production).

I’m still not too sure about “Dub” though. I’ve heard so many definitions of it I’m not sure if anyone knows what it means anymore.

Indirectly related to your question, but something that confused me as well was the difference between a remix and a mash-up. A remix is a version of an original track to which the remixer has added his/her own production (synths, melodies, breakdowns, etc.) whereas a mash-up is two (or more) tracks “mashed” together, meaning the tracks are more or less played on top of each other, creating what sounds like a new track in itself. So basically, if original material is added to the track, it’s a remix. If one original track is combined with another original track, it’s a mash-up.

I know this isn’t what you were asking, but it’s something that gave me trouble.