pre-beat matching records....

[Jay Pace]

Didn't realise quite how many people did thise.

Rife in D&B - just burn a CD with all your tracks sync'd to the same BPM.

Hawtin's done the same for years apparently.

I've never even considered this, and have always prided myself on being tight in the mix, but beatmatching is fast becoming a forgotten skill in the age of ableton sets etc.

I play off final scratch and it would be piss easy to set tracks into groups of 130bpm, 135, 140 etc and then just mix them in together.

It would still have an analogue feel to it as it would still involve slight mis-timings so wouldn't sound quite as clinical as ableton.

Hmmmmm.....

Not sure on this one. Would have spat at the tought of it 5 years ago, but essentially beatmatching isn't exactly an impressive feat, does nothing for the crowd and the less time you spend doing it, the more you can spend on eq, loops, extra tracks to pop in the mix etc

Whaddaya reck? Cheating of the highest order, or the natural progression of digital djing?

[rhythmtech]

do whatever you want to. people will moan no matter what you do. i personally like to use technology to my advantage but sometimes i do like to go back to basics with just dex and mixer.. its all about enjoyin yourself. if you're havin fun then you're doin it right.

[fatcollective]

there would be no fun in mixing if you didnt have to beat match...in fact it would be pretty boring!! actually in fact...if you didnt have to beat match i would probably be mixing on 15 decks...whoo hoooo!!!

[Jay Pace]

Thats the thing though - wouldn't it be more interesting to mix on 15 decks?

More to djing than getting the records in sync.

[Split-Personality]

I heard this about Andy C a month or two back and I do think its a little bit cheeky, proper DJs still using "sources" to mix their tunes through a mixer should NOT be pre mixing their tunes!

How would you like it if you were at the bar ordering your lady a nice cocktail and they pulled out an empty sprite bottle from the fridge with a pre made Cosmopolitan in it?

[dan the acid man]

if you'd have asked me this question last year, i'd have said it's a rip off, if you're not beat matching, then you're not dj'ing, but like you, i now realise, beat matching isn't anything that gets the crowd excited, it's not any difficult skill really, and lets face it, the most enjoyable part of mixing is actually playing records you like, not cueing up a mix.

so from now on, im concentrating on using ableton, but on the days i want to get back to having a spin on vinyl, i will.

Like rythmtech said, do what you want, you can never please everybody, but as long as you're enjoying it, and anyody else who's listening is, then job done.

imo of course

[Jay Pace]

Be very, very suprised to find that Andy C was doing that.

John B does it though, and then spends all the time he would have otherwise spent in the mix "working on other aspects of his performance" - read doing his nails, chatting up girls and signing autographs.

I reckon if it frees up your time to do more interesting things then its a goer.
Not sure if I'm not too lazy to bother though. Still haven't really managed to digitise my vinyl, let alone pre-beat match it.

What would be the easiest way to change a wav's tempo? Ableton always seems to go out after a while, no matter how tight I try and set it.

[loopdon]

i think this can be a good idea. at least the more melodic tracks can be in a certain key which changes when you pitch them up.
(different topic -> mixing in key)

see these links:

http://www.mixedinkey.com/?gclid=CPm...FQoOUgodIxHCwQ

and this

http://www.beatmixing.com/harmonic.html

what works with what (useful for production as well):

http://www.harmonic-mixing.com/charts/keychart.mv

demo is very useful. you can add a little sticker with bpm/key to your records if you like :)

actually i think when i make a track i produce it say at 140 bpm. i may sound stupid but then it is made to play at 140 bpm +/- not at 140. i would have set the sequencer at 145 if i wanted it like that. difficult subject i know because others might like it at 145 bpm or 137 or so.

.. but i don't play out to public so...

[fatcollective]

Thats the thing though - wouldn't it be more interesting to mix on 15 decks?

More to djing than getting the records in sync.

obviously there is more to djing than getting the records in sync??

isnt this the whole thrill of djing, fine tuning the records to work together.....once the mix is in, this is where i get my buzz from, but if it was already the same speed im not sure i would get the same buzz out of djing???

[sleepy]

Thats the thing though - wouldn't it be more interesting to mix on 15 decks?

More to djing than getting the records in sync.

obviously there is more to djing than getting the records in sync??

isnt this the whole thrill of djing, fine tuning the records to work together.....once the mix is in, this is where i get my buzz from, but if it was already the same speed im not sure i would get the same buzz out of djing???

well said i completly agree

[Jay Pace]

Different strokes I suppose

I get more of a buzz out of what you can do with a crowd, or with what you can do with tunes building layers than I get from the act of holding a tricky mix in sync... but I take your point, take away the challenge and you might take away the sense of achievement.

[fatcollective]

Different strokes I suppose

I get more of a buzz out of what you can do with a crowd, or with what you can do with tunes building layers than I get from the act of holding a tricky mix in sync... but I take your point, take away the challenge and you might take away the sense of achievement.

take away the challenge and you might take away the sense of achievement....<<<<< Spot on!! ;)

[robin m]

I think we're all just a bit bitter cos we spent all that time learning to mix and now the next generation don't have to bother...

Youth of today, don't know they're born :lol:

[dirty_bass]

Once you`ve been mixing for long enough, is the simple act of beat syncing 2 tunes with very similar 4x4 beats, in closely matched bpm`s anyway, much of a challenge?
I stopped mixing when it stopped being a challenge.
But surely the tru skill is HOW you mix, and WHEN you mix and WHAT you mix.
Not the mechanical process behind it, which I`ve seen mastered by 10 year olds at DJ training clinics.

Pre matched tunes, who cares? Wouldn`t stop me from jigging about

[Jay Pace]

But surely the tru skill is HOW you mix, and WHEN you mix and WHAT you mix.

This is my current thinking. I can see how personally having it matched might take something away from the experience, but I think it would help my performance to have one less thing taking up time that could be better spent on something else.

And so. The conversion process begins...

[fatcollective]

Once you`ve been mixing for long enough, is the simple act of beat syncing 2 tunes with very similar 4x4 beats, in closely matched bpm`s anyway, much of a challenge?
I stopped mixing when it stopped being a challenge.
But surely the tru skill is HOW you mix, and WHEN you mix and WHAT you mix.
Not the mechanical process behind it, which I`ve seen mastered by 10 year olds at DJ training clinics.

Pre matched tunes, who cares? Wouldn`t stop me from jigging about

mate i have heard the best of Djs fvck up, djing and making a great set is always a challange, but a fun one at that!!!

[dubs]

Part of my enjoyment with mixing is the potential to fail. When you succeed it makes it all the more enjoyable. When i'm mixing on radio or in a club the skill of bringing all necessary aspects together is what keeps it interesting and challenging.

That said i can see the points others are making. But personnally i rather perform and watch dj's flying by their pants.

[rhythmtech]

Part of my enjoyment with mixing is the potential to fail. When you succeed it makes it all the more enjoyable. When i'm mixing on radio or in a club the skill of bringing all necessary aspects together is what keeps it interesting and challenging.

That said i can see the points others are making. But personnally i rather perform and watch dj's flying by their pants.

TBH m8. after 12 years of doing it, the potential to fly by my pants is gone (unless i start adding crack into the set-up). i'd rather focus on the musical side of it. im bored with counting in my head.

[loopdon]

@rythmtech: that's what it boils down to imo. i can see why djs like liebing etc. don't bother about beatmatching (that much) any more :cheese:

[Sunil]

Keep beat matching in.

Re: Liebing - He has become possibly one of the worst DJs going since he ditched playing records. Fancy FX over the same loop for two hours isn't DJ-ing, it's just boring.