DJs: long or short intros?

mudfoot))) · Post by **mudfoot)))** » Fri May 18, 2007 7:20 pm

I've noticed that some dubstep tunes have long intros before the bass drops, and others have really short intros. For all you DJs out there, which do you prefer?

audit · Post by **audit** » Fri May 18, 2007 8:24 pm

short intros please! this is one thing that can make a track real boring, unless the intro is building some momentum. but even 16 bars is good for me, nice quick mix and drop it in, keeps sets nice and rolling. its always easy to make two versions as well, one short intro, one long. as it can be nice to ride the mix for a while, so actually i guess i like both.......

thehovsep · Post by **thehovsep** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:20 pm

yeah, i like quick cuts (tracks usually don't stay more than a minute and a half... maybe two and a half minutes if it's REALLY good) and it's too bad when a track is really slow to build up

unless it's Tauhid by Boxcutter... that track is all about it's slow pace!

loki · Post by **loki** » Fri May 18, 2007 10:14 pm

I like a variety myself. Long intros you can do super long blends with which I like on certain tracks

parson · Post by **parson** » Fri May 18, 2007 10:28 pm

long intros really suck when they get rewound

Sub Shifter · Post by **Sub Shifter** » Sat May 19, 2007 7:18 pm

Parson wrote:long intros really suck when they get rewound

2nd that nothing worse

future one · Post by **future one** » Sat May 19, 2007 7:35 pm

short to medium is good

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Sun May 20, 2007 3:27 pm

Absolute best thing for me is a track that starts with a break, or AT LEAST put hats and shit in the intro so that you can beatmatch.

dvnt · Post by **dvnt** » Sun May 20, 2007 6:58 pm

blaze wrote:
Parson wrote:long intros really suck when they get rewound
2nd that nothing worse

sorry but rewinds in general suck

imo, completely kills the vibe of the night. I don't appreciate the rewind sound to only have some guy going, brap brap reload for da... etc...

rewinds in techno a'la dave clarke work cause the music is going and they are done creatively.

always hated rewinds in dnb/jungle.

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Mon May 21, 2007 3:31 am

Here in Pittsburgh, rewinds aren't a part of our culture. When it is called, it's a rare thing and I am happy to oblige.

The fact that long intros are not expected in dubstep is liberating for me as a producer. Get the formalities out of the way and get right into the meat of the tune. All in all I like the whole tune to be short. In and out before listeners get bored. I have been clocking my tunes under 5 minutes lately.

blip · Post by **blip** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:28 am

dvnt wrote:
blaze wrote:
Parson wrote:long intros really suck when they get rewound
2nd that nothing worse
sorry but rewinds in general suck

imo, completely kills the vibe of the night. I don't appreciate the rewind sound to only have some guy going, brap brap reload for da... etc...

rewinds in techno a'la dave clarke work cause the music is going and they are done creatively.

always hated rewinds in dnb/jungle.

In my way of thinking, rewinds are a great thing misused. They should be for those one of a kind tunes, exclusives being played for the first time, a track the dj is really excited about, things like that. And then happen twice a night, or so. Rewinds and double rewinds every four tunes, blagh.

blip · Post by **blip** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:49 am

Loki wrote:I like a variety myself. Long intros you can do super long blends with which I like on certain tracks

Agree on that. It should be whatever fits the track.

staas · Post by **staas** » Mon May 21, 2007 10:28 am

nothing wrong with a long intro as a dj, when you're just don't cue the record from the start, but as a listener, blech, only some tunes need them, if they're just filling space cut the shit

mudfoot))) · Post by **mudfoot)))** » Mon May 21, 2007 11:47 pm

Thanks for all the thoughtful opinions here! I guess I should have known there's no clear consensus on this issue (or any issue on this forum), but definitely interesting to talk about:

Long intros you can do super long blends with which I like on certain tracks

I agree, but I think there's good and bad intros in terms of blending. Certain tunes in my crate seem to blend in perfectly when they're coming up in the mix - Bury Da Bwoy comes to mind. It seems to add something to the previous song. Some intros don't mix well with the previous song. I guess if you have a good intro going, make it a long one! I'd also like to hear opinions on what makes a good intro.

long intros really suck when they get rewound

I agree with this as well. Sometimes if the crowd/MC calls for a rewind, I'll drop the needle a few bars before the drop so the crowd doesn't have to sit through the whole intro again. I don't take the time to cue it up exactly on the one, but people don't seem to mind.

Absolute best thing for me is a track that starts with a break, or AT LEAST put hats and shit in the intro so that you can beatmatch.

100% agreed. I have tunes with long ambient intros that I have NEVER HEARD, because I always cue it up to where the beat starts.

The fact that long intros are not expected in dubstep is liberating for me as a producer.

This is partly why I started the thread. I noticed that compared to DnB, a lot of dubstep tracks are shorter with short intros. Kode 9's "Find My Way" is an example - the intro's not too short, but the song is. When I'm DJing, I need to remember to hurry on that one or it will run out while I'm mixing. But I LIKE that - why make a song longer just to fill minutes? I'm in favor of the 'art' of songwriting, applied to dubstep and other dance genres. A song should take you somewhere, not just go through the motions. I'm doing tracks at about 5 minutes these days, but back when I was making DnB they were clocking in at 6 or 7 minutes. Hard to fill so much time without being repetitive!

sorry but rewinds in general suck

I have to disagree with you here, dvnt. I do get a little annoyed when MCs over-reach and incite the crowd to call for rewinds after every track, but I think well-placed rewinds are crucial to the development of the music - they elevate the best and most innovative tracks and let people know what they are. That's the least the DJ could do, especially if they're getting the tracks for free from the producer. Rewinds also rile the crowd up, and get them interacting with the DJ. Imagine a rock concert where nobody looked at the band, and there was never any opportunity to stop and applaud... it would be pretty lame. If you're not going to acknowledge the DJ's role or an exceptional track, why not just play a mix CD and not have a DJ at all? Of course, DJs need to know when to take control and not rewind, or it gets ridiculous. But I've heard some DJs rewind a tune and drop a different tune entirely. That's a good solution. And look, if there's 10 huge dubstep tunes in a row, and they all get rewinds, maybe it's just because the music is THAT GOOD!!!! That's why I got into it in the first place.

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:37 am

People put thier lighters up and shit, then yeah for sure.
If the MC is saying "put your lighters up" "who wants a rewind" again and again, then I don't know... can wreck the continuity if overdone!!

AFL · Post by **AFL** » Wed May 23, 2007 1:34 am

decklyn wrote:Absolute best thing for me is a track that starts with a break, or AT LEAST put hats and shit in the intro so that you can beatmatch.

you don't need percussion to beatmatch my friend. Even if it only has a synth line you can follow along to the tempo.

thomas edison · Post by **thomas edison** » Wed May 23, 2007 9:49 am

AFL wrote:
decklyn wrote:Absolute best thing for me is a track that starts with a break, or AT LEAST put hats and shit in the intro so that you can beatmatch.
you don't need percussion to beatmatch my friend. Even if it only has a synth line you can follow along to the tempo.

i was gonna say that, and if the melodies or synthlines are awkward: know your tunes!

i thought i was never gonna be able to beatmatch without beat, always trying to fish out the snare and placing it on the other, lol

no i just start tunes and mix, and only taking melodies and mixing those is the best, and offcourse dropping the whole tune eventually

Steve AC23 · Post by **Steve AC23** » Wed May 23, 2007 9:53 am

if u have trouble mixing with just synth or syncopated background noise.

cue from where the first kick comes and match then. pull it off
go back to start. drop and shud be right or within range to ride the pitch.

-----

long or short intros, who cares, aslong as it sounds heavy and suites.

moody g · Post by **moody g** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:45 pm

On the rewind issue: LUCKILY (IMO) for us here in Italy there isn't a rewind culture, in the sense that yes, headz do ask for them, but it's not demanded by an overbearing MC every 10 minutes. I feel that ruins the flow of a night and a DJs ability to mix n' blend (how can you really understand how good a DJ mixes if he never has the chance to put over 4 tunes together??). Personally when I used to DJ D'n'B I'd have a word with the MC first to let him know to watch what the crowd wanted pulled and only to request on that basis...max 2 an hour (yeah, a bit anal, but hell, its my mix too). In Dubstep I think you can possibly wheel a bit more, due to the less frantic pace of mixing, but I still gotta say, keep that business under control.

On the Intro: both are good. I like tunes that drop all of a sudden like some of Coki's stuff, but on the other hand, as Dubstep is a less formulaic genre, there is room for both experimentation and changes of pace. If you are going to do an intro though, make it worthwhile, make it transfer some sort of emotion to the listeners. If you can't, don't bother. It's true that they can be boring, but this is by poor choice on the producers part. Not every tune needs a drop after 30 seconds. We like to have tunes that progress up to a climax 3/4 to the end of a track, but that's just us. That said, just as long as producers keep choosing to do both intro and immediate break business, DJs will be able to select, and we'll all be happy.....or not...

blk plague · Post by **blk plague** » Sun May 27, 2007 11:18 pm

moderate intros with some element to help with beat matching. i only do rewinds when i can barely hear the music over the crowd. otherwise, keep the tunes rolling. get me?!

DJs: long or short intros?

DJs: long or short intros?

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