So you think you can beat match?......

Sanchez · 21 Apr 2006 at 23:54

Well I can't. I'm crap.

I've got a set of decks that I bought around 18 months ago with the intention of learing to DJ. Sadly, like most people's they've just sat there gathering dust/ been used as expensive place mats/taking up space/looking cool and I think it's about time I put them to good use.

I've got a set of Gemini decks (don't laugh! Thery're direct drive you know

) and a couple of records and I really want to get my teeth into it. Can anyone give me any useful tips/tutorials or point me in the right direction as I really need some help. I'm not going to ask you to teach me to DJ because I know that's not possible but if anyone can help me with the basics I'd be really grateful.

Thanks.

Vandle · 21 Apr 2006 at 23:59

Hehe , I reckon the belt drives are better tbh.
I had sound labs belts then moved to 1200's.

Anyway , try using 2 of the same record at first.
Dont matter what it is , buy 2 copies and play them both at the same speed , then try and match it.

Then set one to a random spedd then try and match it again.

Then step up to different records.

Its the same as anything fella , practice , practice , practice.

Fusion · 22 Apr 2006 at 09:38

Try some progressive house/trance tracks, that are really lengthy. Nothing like a 3 minute intro to give you time to practice. Oh, and a couple of records are no good. Splash some cash and get yourself a dozen or so, otherwise you'll quickly become fed up.

I really don't think you can tutor someone over the internet. Practice, practice and more practice. Ah, yes. That bits already been mentioned

marc2003 · 22 Apr 2006 at 11:59

it's not hard at all. i used to have some decks and used to let all my mates have a go and they could beat mix a few tunes after a couple of hours messing about. of course the trick is to do it consistently on every mix. something even some overpaid "superstar" djs still can't do nowdays.... :rolleyes:

Sutters · 22 Apr 2006 at 17:37

Honestly, I had belt drives for about 3 years and was barely able to beat match, I got some 1210's and after a year or two on them could do it fairly well, after about 10 - 12 years I was actually fairly confident in my ability to mix. So I started to learn to scratch instead. Did that for a year or two, then left the decks to rust in the corner.

I mean, I thought I was good at 2/3 years, but when I look back, I was rubbish..

Edit: a lot depends on what music your mixing though, I think almost anyone could mix house. I started on 300bpm + techno, and later on D'n'B.

StixxUK · 22 Apr 2006 at 17:42

Sutters said:
I started on 300bpm + techno,

Breaks is quite good to learn to mix on and sounds better than ghey house

Some DnB is good too, find something with a straightforward 2-step beat.

Grrrrr · 22 Apr 2006 at 18:16

Sutters said:
Edit: a lot depends on what music your mixing though, I think almost anyone could mix house. I started on 300bpm + techno, and later on D'n'B.

Techno is barely even half that speed, hell i don't even think gabber is that quick!! I might be wrong here because i don't mix but surely at those kind of speeds it's easier to beatmatch?

Chronos-X · 22 Apr 2006 at 19:25

From a musical perspective, a 150 bpm song will fit perfectly into a 300 - its all about getting the divisions right. Then the DJ speeds up or down as appropriate to fit - piece of ****

Fusion · 22 Apr 2006 at 19:36

Grrrrr said:
Techno is barely even half that speed

'Techno' is quite a wide genre. Some see it as being trance speed (about 140 bpm), others refer to Hardcore Techno, or even Gabba. Fast stuff isn't necessarily easier to beat match, but you don't have to get the other record smack on to as fine a tolerance, if you get what I mean. You can get away with it a little, especially as with Hardcore and derivatives if the kick drums are distorted to ****.

Sanchez · 22 Apr 2006 at 20:31

Fusion said:
Splash some cash and get yourself a dozen or so, otherwise you'll quickly become fed up.

Sorry I perhaps should have been a bit less vague. Yes I have a few records maybe 20 or so. I have bought a few record since I got my decks.

Thanks for all the tips by the way I'm sure they'll come in useful! I'll just have to get practicing a lot I guess and get myself a copy couple of copies a trance tune.

Again thanks for all the tips, next I'll just have to learn the techniques behind mixing!!!!

Fusion · 22 Apr 2006 at 20:37

Some stuff on the Subliminal label would be good to try if you fancy mixing house. It's easily obtained, too- I see you're from Chesterfield, Hudson's will stock a few bits and bobs. It's not the most comprehensive record store, but they have a half decent stock of vinyl, or at least they used to. I've not been in for some time.

Raze · 22 Apr 2006 at 21:21

Practise practise practise.

Thats all you can do, you wont turn into a superstar DJ overnight, you will mess up, sometimes shockingly badly, but rewind and try again, only move on to the next record when you can mix two perfectly.

Someone earlier suggested using two of the same record, use that to practise your 'cueing' up so you can start the vinyl correctly everytime!

Oh and practise, practise, practise

Good luck.

TriedandTested · 23 Apr 2006 at 20:45

http://music.hyperreal.org/dj/AVH/

krooton · 24 Apr 2006 at 11:56

Sadly, a craftsman can blame his tools in this kind of a situation.

I started on Gemini XL 500s, then moved to Numark TT1650s, and it wasn't til I got my 1210s that I became decent.

4 years I was crap, and it was mainly down to my poor decks.

IceAx · 24 Apr 2006 at 16:04

krooton said:
Sadly, a craftsman can blame his tools in this kind of a situation.

I started on Gemini XL 500s, then moved to Numark TT1650s, and it wasn't til I got my 1210s that I became decent.

4 years I was crap, and it was mainly down to my poor decks.

Agreed, not that you were crap

Belt drives never have a true speed, they constanly need adjusting and
tweaking even through the length of a track you will need to adjust.

I have a set of each i prefer the "feel" of belts but its easier to
get a good mix on Directs

Andy

Sutters · 24 Apr 2006 at 22:07

By 300+ bpm techno I actually meant hard techno, aka gabba. Early to mid nineties sort of time. It was all pretty much called techno back then.

WillyNelson · 24 Apr 2006 at 22:26

you need to train the two halves of your brain to be able to listen to two beats at once. Try listening to the left deck in your right ear and vise versa.

And practice, practice and then practice some more.

Fusion · 25 Apr 2006 at 08:50

Sutters said:
By 300+ bpm techno I actually meant hard techno, aka gabba. Early to mid nineties sort of time. It was all pretty much called techno back then.

Back when we used to play 33 rpm records on 45 :cool:

Sutters · 25 Apr 2006 at 10:33

Fusion said:
Back when we used to play 33 rpm records on 45

I opened up my original decks (dodgy belt drives) and changed them to +16 instead of +8 so i could get my decks to bang it out that bit faster...