dj's showing up with thumb drives.

[metalboxproducts]

yeah but DJing should be 50/50 on selection AND skill, what skill does it take to mix on a laptop? press the synch button.

I'm sure tho with more and more people using laptop sets it's the punters who are losing out, think how fat it is when someones tearing it up on the decks, you can hear the sick mixing and see them sifting through their record box, cueing up etc. it's live!

Kind of fed up with the idea that watching some one in the act looking through they're records and then playing then is interesting. It simplie is not. Thats like saying watching Hendrix change axes is as exciting as watching him and perform . It is not. What the person/dj does beyond that is interesting ie they're gestures, facial expression and general body movement.

[dj wonder]

I started on decks, then went on to final scratch but couldnt take the hassle of setting up so i moved onto my laptop with traktor 3 and a midi controller which was a move that works out best for me.

Even though traktor has a sync button it doesnt always mean that its going to keep it in the mix, im always having to nudge and change the tempo especially with tracks that i have bought on vinyl then recorded onto my laptop. I can hold a mix on decks, but with a lot of concentration, using a program like traktor helps me concentrate on other things like looping, beat mashing and other effects traktor has.

I like when i see dj's like youngsta or geeneus, in there own zone in a middle of a mix, but doesnt mean someone mixing using a laptop is not in the same zone.

Using programs like traktor does not make you any less of a dj then some one playing vinyl or dubs.

A lot of people are saying anyone can walk into a club and play mp3's, there right, but can they go and smash it.

In my personal opinion when you are a booked as dj to go and play somewhere, you are booked to go and deliver a performance, and what ever tools you use to deliver that performance, should not matter, as long as you keep the ravers ravin and the bassline rolling.

[dirty]

Some people seem to think it is real easy to sync tracks in software, fair enough but if you are using software like torq, serato etc with vinyl control you still have to beat match.

Dubs are cool but not everyone is in a position to get them cut, the software allows you the freedom of an extensive librabry with the 'feel' of vinyl.

And there is a huge difference in what serato and ableton offer.

Down to personal opinion.

[spherix]

I started on decks, then went on to final scratch but couldnt take the hassle of setting up so i moved onto my laptop with traktor 3 and a midi controller which was a move that works out best for me.

Even though traktor has a sync button it doesnt always mean that its going to keep it in the mix, im always having to nudge and change the tempo especially with tracks that i have bought on vinyl then recorded onto my laptop. I can hold a mix on decks, but with a lot of concentration, using a program like traktor helps me concentrate on other things like looping, beat mashing and other effects traktor has.

I like when i see dj's like youngsta or geeneus, in there own zone in a middle of a mix, but doesnt mean someone mixing using a laptop is not in the same zone.

Using programs like traktor does not make you any less of a dj then some one playing vinyl or dubs.

A lot of people are saying anyone can walk into a club and play mp3's, there right, but can they go and smash it.

In my personal opinion when you are a booked as dj to go and play somewhere, you are booked to go and deliver a performance, and what ever tools you use to deliver that performance, should not matter, as long as you keep the ravers ravin and the bassline rolling.

agreed, its a performance, who cares how you do it.

[djshiva]

"I was talking to a guy the other day who was trying to convince me that CDs were better than vinyl because they had no surface noise.
And I said "listen mate, life has surface noise."

-John Peel

LOL.

You also get analog eq's and fader curves which make a difference imo, along with the bonus that you can play any record you own in any order simply by sticking it pon deck rather than finding the folder, opening the file, waiting for it to load, warping it etc. thats just long. Also my pc sticks constantly.

true enough. it DOES take a lot more preparation than just tossing some plates in a bag and runnin' out the door for sure. but if you do all that preparation as you get new tunes, they are all warped and looped and EQed (or whatever) before the fact, and you just set up a cue channel and pick your tunes as you go!

another thing i LOVE about it, is being able to make your own custom edits of tunes. if i don't like the phrasing on a tune, or i think there need to be more intro/outro beats...BAM! done. i found this great tune the other day that would have made me nuts on vinyl, cuz the beat after the break comes in offtime. would have wreaked havoc had i not known it was coming (and i tend to buy records and play them that night with little to no chance to really listen all the way through). i just fixed it in ableton, exported it and rewarped it. done. no problems. no weirdness.

i also like to make loops of the beats in tunes so i have more mix time (as a longtime techno dj, i just can't help myself when it comes to long mixes). not all dubstep adheres to the intro/outro beat formula like more 4 to the floor stuff does. not that it's a bad thing at all, but i like to have some time to really let the tracks mesh together and become something different. i know i know...i still mix like a techno dj, but i just can't help myself.

i guess i should qualify this by letting y'all know that i am a n a l retentive when it comes to mixing, too. in case you could not already tell.

all this, and i still can't wait to set up the pitch control on one of the sliders on my controller so that i can mix into and out of vinyl. THAT is when shit is gonna get interesting!

[dj $hy]

Ahhh man this thread is giving me proper jokes

How can ppl on here (and some who really should know) think that just cos you mix mp3's its synced for ya. Its an insult to anyone using the next stage of mixing software to be told that anyone could do it. Sadly I cannot afford to cut the amount of dubs I get a week that I wanna play. I'd be spending £100's a week. I'll cut to play in clubs but I'm on radio every week and this is how I'm bringing new artist tracks to my show.

Serato has no sync button, just deck one and two and a file browser....

[b-lam]

Ahhh man this thread is giving me proper jokes

How can ppl on here (and some who really should know) think that just cos you mix mp3's its synced for ya.

cus if u use ableton it is

[furiouz]

Lets forget the sound issue here.

Programs like Traktor are waste. If you can use your eyes instead of your ears and hit the sync button then whats the point, anyone can do it.

And in conjuction with the beatmatching doesn't account for a lot statements, I might aswell send my little sister out to do bookings for me, just load up a usb pen with exclusve mp3s and send her out in a chef mask.

Seriously, you might aswell fuck of the dj and just a fully automated system or instead of flying to europe I could just email a tracklist and winzip file with tracks and traktor settings to the club.

[dj $hy]

Yes m8 but isnt ableton used for taking "parts" of your track and mixing them together?

So how would say me be able to do that if I didnt make the track I'm playing, I just have an mp3...

When ppl on this thread say MP3 I assume they mean Serato or Tracktor, not some creative software PRODUCERS use to mix up the parts of their productions. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I just get the impression that ppl who dont know (and should) say oh its easy, not beat matching involved. That’s just ignorant and in this day and ages ppl should know the technology that is supporting their scene!

If ppl use ableton to mix other ppls tracks then that’s just sad, where is the skill involved in pushing a button... I bought Serato cos I wanted to mix my MP3's but without losing the record and mixing feel, they were my ONLY reasons for buying it, not cos it has a sync button. Been mixing 15yrs, I can beat match fine thanks!

[dj $hy]

Lets forget the sound issue here.

Programs like Traktor are waste. If you can use your eyes instead of your ears and hit the sync button then whats the point, anyone can do it.

And in conjuction with the beatmatching doesn't account for a lot statements, I might aswell send my little sister out to do bookings for me, just load up a usb pen with exclusve mp3s and send her out in a chef mask.

Seriously, you might aswell fuck of the dj and just a fully automated system or instead of flying to europe I could just email a tracklist and winzip file with tracks and traktor settings to the club.

Joker

[shonky]

The majority of folks at a dance couldn't honestly give a fuck though could they. I know ravers that have been bored shitless by seamless mixing and unnecessary turntablism and then gone mad to tunes played start to end off a laptop, no mixing involved. It's selection innit and if there's tools available to make it easier to get down the mix in your head, then I don't have a problem with it. It's the ends not the means surely

Should we also say that you shouldn't be able to create music unless you played all the instruments yourself, cause it's somehow cheating.

Even with beat sync on Ableton, it's still down to the dj to keep people moving, might even free them up to do more interesting things with the tunes whilst they're playing.

Starting to think that this is probably the same argument that happened when drum machines and then samplers arrived.

[digital]

It's about how the music is best accessible to a DJ. As has been said, many of us aren't in a position financially or geographically to get dubs cut every week so software like Serato, Torq and Traktor provide the best of both worlds for a lot of people.

I honestly don't care how or what people use to mix as long as its a heavy set.

[forensix (mcr)]

[dogbytes]

This is another example of people resisting advances in technology, because the way they have been doing things is becoming obsolete. Times move on whether you like it or not. All I'm seeing here is that DJing is being made more accessible to everyone.
Who cares how it's done. It's the end mix that people are interested in.
Or do some people actually go to clubs to watch the DJ ??

[pompende]

yeah, it is interesting that this argument isnt about sound quality this time.

firstly i dont really like ableton in the mix coz dont you have to have the entire set planned out in advance?

secondly, it is all about having the background in vinyl coz people will fuck around and start matching up basslines without listening to drums and start dropping tunes all willy nilly when they get to the digital free range.

thirdly, none of the blogariddims (which are all fucking sick) done on computer have beatmatching as good as ben ufo's quantum lines (that is crazy you cant drive a car!), or youngsta on allstars 2, or that one mix my friend did at his house, etc etc.

fourthly, if you think beatmatching is cake walk your are taking the piss. if youve only spent an hour learning how to do it you are shit at it.

fively, vinyl is fucking fun.
i like using traktor some but its not as fun and it feels cheap.

sixthly, cdjs, serato, etc, is the way forward coz i dont have money for dubs. also, the midi input for torq is going to be incredible (maybe nod will post the link?).

in conclusion, respect for vinyl has always been an important aspect of the dubstep scene so i dont think its going anywhere.

[pompende]

Or do some people actually go to clubs to watch the DJ ??

yep, i watch the dj. music is more than air to me.

sorry for going on so long folks.

[vonboyage]

I watch the DJ aswell.. i like to see what he's doin to the mix.

anything else but vinyl is boring.. id rather watch Emmerdale.

[ramadanman]

if i could afford serato / cutting dubs then i'd do it.

but i cant, so i use CDs mostly.

also, if djs wanted to, they could edit the tempo of the tracks that producers send them so that they're all the same, then cut the dubs so that every track is at the same tempo! not saying anyone does that, just saying that it's possible to 'cheat' as such on pretty much any format!

[cody]

as far as djs turning up with thumb drives...

my first thought would be, 'wheres your records, maaaaan?'

but I hear what wonder (welcome) is saying in that as long as they keep the dance vybzing then its all good.

personally i dont think mp3 has as big a sound range as vinyl, both high and low end. even 320s come up a little short. i like the feel of vinyl, the physical presence of it. even buying a record to me although im spending money, i feel a lot happier than just dowloading a file.

digital mixing definately requires skill though. perhaps becasue the sound of the actual tune is not the quality as it would be were it on vinyl, the djs have to push themselves in other areas a bit more, like effects and fresh selections...

still, tho can you pull up mp3? do the programs have a BUMBAWHEEL button. if not, that would be a heavy addition eh?

[jim]

firstly i dont really like ableton in the mix coz dont you have to have the entire set planned out in advance?

No, you don't. If that was the case I'd be hating on it!