Mixing tunes of different BPM

[reverend]

Hit 'automix' in VDJ

[DJ Crackle]

Wtf is everyone talking about, if the tracks are different tempos (good chance) you match em using your pitch fader.
There are other ways to do it though, definitely if the difference is more than 10 %.

I think the implication was that if they were pretty far off, like different genres.

[Mushroom Buttons]

Yeah, I'm talking about different genres. Anyway, cool replies! Yeah the best way seems to be when there's ambient parts.

[serox]

Not sure if this is the right forum or if there's any similar thread.

But anyway, what kind of techniques do u guys use to mix songs of different tempo when djing/making mixes? i know theres the tape delay effect, the abrupt switch, and a few more. But would love to hear some crazy ideas.

why mix records that dont fit together? you should try to aim and get records that sound similar so you can get a decent flow. Having records that sound very different to each other will just make things unnecessary harder and wont really sound good.

[Basic A]

Not sure if this is the right forum or if there's any similar thread.

But anyway, what kind of techniques do u guys use to mix songs of different tempo when djing/making mixes? i know theres the tape delay effect, the abrupt switch, and a few more. But would love to hear some crazy ideas.

why mix records that dont fit together? you should try to aim and get records that sound similar so you can get a decent flow. Having records that sound very different to each other will just make things unnecessary harder and wont really sound good.

well, records at different tempo's can still have similar vibes, granted its going to add to your difficulty level mixing the stuff, its not to rule it out completely, homage to Bambaataa n all that

[serox]

well, records at different tempo's can still have similar vibes, granted its going to add to your difficulty level mixing the stuff, its not to rule it out completely, homage to Bambaataa n all that

Yeh there are no rules but generally I think it sounds better when you keep things around the same tempo. If you have two records playing at totally different pitches (one at +4 and the other at -4) to try and match the tempos it sounds weird and its hard to lock them imo. I also like to try and get the same kind of drum patterns going in the tracks so they fit nice.

[Dreadfunk]

Sticking to one tempo is boring. Good DJs can go all over the place and make it sound good.

[Ldizzy]

sometimes agressive pitch bends can do the trick ahahah,

my favs are dropping a tune at the same time you press the play pause button on ur mk2s.. so it does that abrupt pitch down you hear in a lot of hip hop vocals these days...

ultimate fav : turning the turntable off so the song itself pitches down until it stops... and dropping the other one somewhere in the middle of that, on its intro ... or while something not too ryhtmic is going on... it works wonders... old hiphop trick ahah

mentally it does the same thing then a pullup does imo.. it kinda builds expectation at the same time then providing a break...

[frank grimes jr.]

Songs come in bpm's now?

[Ldizzy]

^honestly, i kno some people who drop songs from potential mixes cause they have a different bpm...

[Herbimore]

Bump for interest.

Some good advice in here, anyone got anything else? I'm toying with the idea of saving for a roland space echo for my mixes especially as I enjoy Reggae a lot...reckon it would work in Dubstep?

[Ldizzy]

could be cool

if u have a really good mixer sometimes they come with fx included...

i love the fx in my friends rane 68

[Herbimore]

I've got a vestax pcv 275 that has an effects loop in it. I used to have a kaoss pad mixer that had all the effects built in but it was pretty shit in build quality!

[lettabeats]

I've got a vestax pcv 275 that has an effects loop in it. I used to have a kaoss pad mixer that had all the effects built in but it was pretty shit in build quality!

Curious, what problems did you have with the Kaoss Pad? I have a KP3 and I actually really like it, it's pretty versatile and while it may not be the best of every effect, it covers a pretty wide range of patches... Though, nice choice with the PCV, how are the stock effects on that?

[Herbimore]

The pcv 275 doesn't have built in effects. It has an effects loop, basically you can plug a chain of external effects such as the tape echo or reverb or a kaoss pad into the mixer.

Then each channel has a switch to switch on the effects unit, so you could set up your echo and then catch it just on the snare on a reggae track or a vocal hook....

The kaoss pad part of the mixer was great it was the fact that the crossfader was shit and got knackered. I basically wore out a £100 second hand mixer in 6 months, hopefully my new Vestax (£80) will be good for a bit longer although it's got a couple of minor-ish problems. One channel seems a little louder than the other, but I just adjust the gain and leave it. The other problem is that for some reason the LED's that show how loud the track you're cueing seems to bear no relevance to the LED's for overall volume!

Was thinking I could possibly use my kaoss mixer in the effects loop but then it's just getting a bit too bulky to fit on my table...

[drake89]

im new to djing with my cdj's (coming from VDJ) so I'll get all the songs I want to play, and put them in a VDJ playlist. Then I'll sort them by bpm from low to high, so I'll play the slow songs first and the fastest ones last. For the bpms that are similar like 120, 140, and 145 I sort by Key. Then I'll put them all in an excel spreadsheet with the pitch bend between each one I need to pitch. It worked, though obviously if I was really good I could beatmatch by ear. Not there yet.

[Shum]

Vestax empty out your pockets when you need spare parts. I used to run with a 275 as well, good mixer.