3 deck mixing.

Ferryman · Post by **Ferryman** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:47 pm

Using purely vinyl; I've just started after 4.5 years of mixing on the conventional 2 decks. It's a bit of a head fuck - but loads of fun and very satisfying when it works.

Anyone else here regularly mix out on 3 decks. Any tips for a newbie to it?

Cheeeeeers

sephek · Post by **sephek** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:25 pm

gotta be proper careful with the track selection, cant just go boshing anything into the mix, working the eq's is the key too, especially when theres loads going on ! oh and practise

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:15 am

no real advice as i'm in the stages of finally organising a 2 cdj 1 vinyl setup.. but listening to quests deep medi mix for mixmag, could sort of give you an idea for a smoothe and subtle transition into 3 deck mixing.. i'm not sure what he was using, but i have a feeling it wasn't 3 vinyl.
Soundcloud
incase you missed it.

i guess that's the best i could do, focus on listening to 3 input mixes and you'll get the vibe more as it goes, personally can't wait to start experimenting even more with mixing and throwing an extra deck or so in.
best of luck!

PinUp · Post by **PinUp** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:47 am

Listen to T_! he can pull of 3 decks like it was nothing!

TopManLurka · Post by **TopManLurka** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:48 am

listen to

/

T_macabre · Post by **T_macabre** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:56 am

www.soundcloud.com/t_macabre most on there are 3 decks, ones a 4..

tips for 3 decking-
tune selection- paramount. beatmatching 3 decks is the easy bit, its getting them to sound cohesive and work.
eqing all 3 when together is of huge importance.. so it doesnt sound harsh. use mid to accentuate bits of other tunes over prominent high hats or a second, and the bass of a third. Play about, possibilities are limitless
when your working between 3, always know which is your "lead tune" in the mix, so rather than confusing yourself, you mentally assign a lead tune, then keep an eye on the pitch of the other 2 to match with the lead one, rather than trying to adjust all 3 and getting confused.. then when that one has mixed out mentally assign next lead tune, then so on..

same applies really when adding 4th or more..

good luck, its great fun

Ferryman · Post by **Ferryman** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:56 pm

T_! wrote:http://www.soundcloud.com/t_macabre most on there are 3 decks, ones a 4..

tips for 3 decking-
tune selection- paramount. beatmatching 3 decks is the easy bit, its getting them to sound cohesive and work.
eqing all 3 when together is of huge importance.. so it doesnt sound harsh. use mid to accentuate bits of other tunes over prominent high hats or a second, and the bass of a third. Play about, possibilities are limitless
when your working between 3, always know which is your "lead tune" in the mix, so rather than confusing yourself, you mentally assign a lead tune, then keep an eye on the pitch of the other 2 to match with the lead one, rather than trying to adjust all 3 and getting confused.. then when that one has mixed out mentally assign next lead tune, then so on..

same applies really when adding 4th or more..

good luck, its great fun

Nice one T.

Yeaaa the beat matching bit seems pretty straightforward, aside from the odd 'WTF' moment. I've had a good stab with liquid d'n'b and it seems to work really nicely with stuff like that, and the more minimal half-time stuff like Indigo & Synkro's Exit Records stuff etc.

It's really renewed my excitement for DJing, 4.5 years of just 2 decks was starting to bore me out a little. If people on here have the means (live with another DJ or something) then I strongly recommend giving it a go. So satisfying when it works

Back to the decks...!

Keep the pointers coming though - all input appreciated.

Caski · Post by **Caski** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:06 pm

i've been sayin it for a couple years now...but someone PLEASE book T_! at a DMZ/SYSTEM

TheTornado · Post by **TheTornado** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 4:41 pm

T_! is ridiculous, Chef is a don on 3 decks, as is N Type and obviously Yunx. I utilize 3 decks a lot when I play drum & bass, but with dubstep it's a bit different for me because the whole point of the music is for there to be space. It can be done, just takes a lot more skill IMO. I've been messing around with it, but haven't done anything I would be comfortable posting online.

PinUp · Post by **PinUp** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 4:48 pm

Caski wrote:i've been sayin it for a couple years now...but someone PLEASE book T_! at a DMZ/SYSTEM

__________ · Post by **__________** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:14 pm

The first time I tried 3 deck mixing at a night it was a disaster. I'd only 3-deck mixed once before, at someone else's place, and just thought I'd give it a go on the spur of the moment in front of an audience.
I ended up adjusting the pitch for all 3 tracks (two of which were Mala - it was hard to tell which was which) trying to keep them all in time, and it sounded like a bag of shit. I didn't really think the EQ through in advance either.

The second time was fine because I'd decided which tunes to bring the third deck in for in advance. I knew I was gonna drop "CCTV" on the 3rd deck over "Blue Notez" at some point, so when I was mixing Blue Notez in to X tune, I knew I had to get CCTV ready to mix in.

I've only three deck mixed in front of an audience with 2x 1210s and one CDJ though. I'm sure with 3x CDJs it'd be a piece of piss!
Make sure to think the EQ through in advance. I find it much easier when I completely cut the treble from at least one tune.

leyenda · Post by **leyenda** » Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:52 pm

Soundcloud

Probably a bit intense for most in the final 15 mins but top notch mixing throughout

Riddles · Post by **Riddles** » Fri Oct 03, 2014 1:09 pm

T_! is a badman DJ and seeing him in amsterdam 3 deck mixing was a fucking treat.

2dark · Post by **2dark** » Sun Oct 05, 2014 2:47 pm

http://dj2dark.podomatic.com/entry/2014 ... 4_13-07_00

Here's a 3deck mix I did live on Flex FM using CDJs. I recommend learning your tracks inside out and having a few combination mixes that always work well. Watch that master output too, I don't ever touch the mid or high knobs when I mix but it's up to you how you want to do it.

_cheef_ · Post by **_cheef_** » Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:57 pm

there are times I wouldn't mind a 3rd deck, but 3 deck mixing takes some effort...would rather lock up a couple tunes in a mix so I can go take a piss, wash some dishes, etc

lylo · Post by **lylo** » Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:08 pm

2dark wrote:http://dj2dark.podomatic.com/entry/2014 ... 4_13-07_00

Here's a 3deck mix I did live on Flex FM using CDJs. I recommend learning your tracks inside out and having a few combination mixes that always work well. Watch that master output too, I don't ever touch the mid or high knobs when I mix but it's up to you how you want to do it.

first of all big up. ive heard ya show its decent!
anyway when your mixing with just 2 decks do you not touch the mids and highs too? and if not why??

2dark · Post by **2dark** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 1:11 am

lylo wrote:
2dark wrote:http://dj2dark.podomatic.com/entry/2014 ... 4_13-07_00

Here's a 3deck mix I did live on Flex FM using CDJs. I recommend learning your tracks inside out and having a few combination mixes that always work well. Watch that master output too, I don't ever touch the mid or high knobs when I mix but it's up to you how you want to do it.
first of all big up. ive heard ya show its decent!
anyway when your mixing with just 2 decks do you not touch the mids and highs too? and if not why??

Big up, thanks for the feedback too. Sorry for my long post. Tbh I don't touch the Mid/High EQs, I only use the Bass EQ and adjust the volumes. I find when mixing it's easier to match the song volumes when the EQs are flat and identical to each other, most music nowadays has been mastered professionally by experts. A lot of DJs underestimate volume/gain when mixing. It can have a drastic effect on the sync of your mix. If the Mids/Highs are not prominent enough, majority of the time I will adjust the volume instead of a single EQ. This way the dynamics of the track aren't lost when mixing and everything seems to sit better in the mix when you cut the Bass of said track. A lot of the time my channel faders are at different heights too. I read some articles years back on Subtractive EQing that made me understand things better. I will resort to adjusting the Mid/High if I think a song is mastered badly, but that is rare.

GAIN
( / ) ( I )

( I ) ( / )
HIGH
( \ ) ( I )
MID
( I ) ( / )
BASS

I hope you can decipher this! If you imagine the ilustration above is the EQs on a mixer. Although each channel has different EQ settings, in this instance they are both giving the same result if you compensate with the Gain. It's hard to explain, but some of you guys will understand.

lylo · Post by **lylo** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:54 pm

@2dark
ill be honest that diagram isnt make any sense to me but what you said is.. generally i match the tunes with the gain too but only after bringing them in with the eqs. id be tempted to try what your saying though, but i play loads of old stuff which is mastered a lot differently to what tunes sound like today, so wouldn't want to get into that habit of just using the volume/gain ya know?

thanks for getting back to us though

2dark · Post by **2dark** » Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:18 pm

Lol, I knew that diagram was a bit much! There's no right or wrong way, that's just the way I do it. I hear you about the older tracks, they are considerably different compared to the masters of today, obviously not affected by the loudness wars of todays music.
Big up

2dark · Post by **2dark** » Mon May 04, 2015 2:14 am

Bumping this thread with another 3 deck mix from me recorded a while back on Flex FM. One of my favourite recordings, there's rarely a moment where the songs are not in a mix. Thanks for listening

http://dj2dark.podomatic.com/entry/2014 ... 5_36-08_00

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