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Tips for learning to beatmatch vinyl

I've got an absolute ton of tunes. If i'm honest? There's quite a lot of crap ones you can have for free, although I don't want to get rid of the better ones. You in London? If so, you can pop round sometime soon and pick a few. Any preference of style of DnB?

Im actually in surrey, so I'd have to come up...

Im all about the heavy dnb, prspct recordings, black sun empire, killing sheep, all that jazz, but I do realise thats quite particular. Heavy/techy generally.
 
Can you try to learn beat matching on your digital setup? Don't use the sync and just get used to speeding up /down using digital pitch shift
 
I must admit I've found mixing with just the pitch control to be smoother. This may be as a result of not smoking anymore and being better able to concentrate but it really has made a difference. Obviously an emergency push or pull can help but generally it's not necessary.
 
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Well actually, I just need some records, doesn't have to be techno or house.... if anyone sees any dirt cheap job lots on ebay lemme know ;)
if you don't take up the offer above, just look on discogs and hoover up a load of 25p 12"s from the same seller.
 
I reckon I can find you a few bits :)
Awesome...... Let me know when is good and Ill take a day trip to london.... theres an exhibition I want to see soon anyway.

Im confused danski you're saying mix with the pitch controller only? Surely that way you can get them going at the same speed, but the beats may be out of alignment.

One thing I am finding when I've tried before is that on the laptop I've taken a very mathematical approach to mixing, where as on vinyl its much more to do with your sense of hearing.
 
Im confused danski you're saying mix with the pitch controller only? Surely that way you can get them going at the same speed, but the beats may be out of alignment.
He means when the record is a bit slower than it should be and starts to go out of time, instead of making a small adjustment to the pitch then pushing the record to catch up, you push the pitch way higher than it should be so the record catches up on its own. It reduces the audible speed-ups that you can sometimes get when pushing the record manually.

Then once it's caught it, you bring the pitch back down to slightly higher than it was before to stay in time.
 
Awesome...... Let me know when is good and Ill take a day trip to london.... theres an exhibition I want to see soon anyway.

Im confused danski you're saying mix with the pitch controller only? Surely that way you can get them going at the same speed, but the beats may be out of alignment.

One thing I am finding when I've tried before is that on the laptop I've taken a very mathematical approach to mixing, where as on vinyl its much more to do with your sense of hearing.
Wot Fez909 said^^ :)
 
I had literally never thought of that.

One thing that did seem to help me a bit, was a youtube vid saying play the record at top pitch and gradually bring it back until its in time.
 
I had literally never thought of that.

One thing that did seem to help me a bit, was a youtube vid saying play the record at top pitch and gradually bring it back until its in time.
A friend of a friend does the opposite (from the bottom) and I've heard a mix of his where I think he did something ridiculous like 50 or 100 tracks in an hour :eek:
Have only set my decks back up in the last week or so after 18 months of house moving shite so reckon I'll investigate this technique further.
 
Yeah I just need to get my own records and do it do it do it.

At the minute im just using my housemates vinyl when he's out and hoping he doesn't notice. (he's got a few very rare early croydon dubstep presses in there, and of course I don't have a clue what they are..... he's quite protective over them - ive identified two which clearly aren't which I've been using).
 
I had literally never thought of that.

One thing that did seem to help me a bit, was a youtube vid saying play the record at top pitch and gradually bring it back until its in time.
I've tried that (learning too) and I really don't see how it helps. you have so many extra beats fitting in between the first tracks' that I lose track of where the one is and then before i know it the second track is hitting on the off eats etc. I find it easier to put the pitch slider in roughly the right place and take it from there. then once the second starts going out of time I see whether slowing it down makes it worse or better. that way you can tell which way it needs to go. not the fastest way i guess. i've been practising on and off for nine months and only now do i feel I'm beginning to get my head around even simple mixes. :(
 
Also, PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE!!

And... Record all your practice sessions, just bung a tape (lol) on record, then you can listen back and see what works and what doesn't. It really helps. Don't try to make a mix tape, try to forget it's recording, just get in the mix, and however bad or good you may think it'll sound, don't worry about that, just listen back later on.

Good luck, and I look forward to your first vinyl mix on the DJ mixes thread :thumbs::thumbs:

This.

Unless you are particularly gifted, learning a new skill to a decent degree of proficiency takes around 10,000 hours, roughly 10 years (bear in mind that 8 hours a day for a year is 2920 hours, so you are looking at around 2 1/2 - 3 hours every day!).
 
Its good practice to not actually touch the record but 'ride the pitch' and constantly tweak it. You'll zero in on the right speed.

Once you get one particular style sorted, switch to another genre. It will be a leap, but will greatly improve your overall skill and will teach you to listen to different parts of the tune.

Generally in hip hop you will want to do quick mixes where you drop the next tune in, while in techno you will want long seamless where you cut from one to another. Learning the nuances of each style means you will start to mix them up. Genre hopping is really rewarding when you get it right!
This also. I was advised to learn to DJ with one hand behind my back (to stop you touching the platter to trim the pitch)
 
^the 10,000 hours thing is a bit overkill for beat matching.

Has anyone suggested 2 copies of the same record? To beatmatch is to spot which ones quicker/slower, and you'll be able to spot that with the platters and speed in front of you. Perhaps even better, try and find a lazy couplet of remixes by the same person where you can tell they've just done their 'remix formula' (admittedly more common in the 00's, and house...). Once you've got that, everything else will take it's own direction as to what sound you want to explore.

(Apologies not seen the whole thread, apologies if this has been said)
 
I (and everyone tbf!) should preface their advice with "what worked for me was...", so my advice isn't universal.

I learnt on CDJ's and am naturally a pretty numbersy person, so I knew roughly how to speed up (and ow muc hI had speeded up/slowed down) by look at the numbers on the digitised pitch% (though never a beat counter ;) ). When I've tried on vinyl, I had to plant a finger on the pitch (whilst pitch-nudging) to replicate that memory of where I was exactly.

Also, rest assured, one you've learnt on vinyl, to use cdj's will be like driving an automatic ;)
 
I've tried that (learning too) and I really don't see how it helps. you have so many extra beats fitting in between the first tracks' that I lose track of where the one is and then before i know it the second track is hitting on the off eats etc. I find it easier to put the pitch slider in roughly the right place and take it from there. then once the second starts going out of time I see whether slowing it down makes it worse or better. that way you can tell which way it needs to go. not the fastest way i guess. i've been practising on and off for nine months and only now do i feel I'm beginning to get my head around even simple mixes. :(
yeah the start slow/fast thing makes no sense to me either = start on the same number i reckon
and it is hard, i wouldnt feel bad about that, no matter what anyone says who reckons it only takes an afternoon, it definitely took years before it become second nature, and still then under certain club conditions (shitty monitors, delay from the main sound etc etc) its still a serious challenge
 
Dropping the second record in on the 32nd or 64th or 128th beat will often make for a smoother blend, as you'll often find that it's around these points that different aspects of the track change, e.g. the bassline drops or the melody kicks in or whatever.
this is where knowing your tunes is all important - theres all kinds of unexpected quirks out there - tunes that drop where you dont expect, dont start on the one, no drums to mix in, might have little dramatic pause bars that mess up the synchronicity etc etc etc
 
this is where knowing your tunes is all important - theres all kinds of unexpected quirks out there - tunes that drop where you dont expect, dont start on the one, no drums to mix in, might have little dramatic pause bars that mess up the synchronicity etc etc etc
It's almost like the artists don't want you to do a good mix :mad:
 
It's almost like the artists don't want you to do a good mix :mad:
yeah ive wondered about that
this one comes to mind

fades in making it impossible to mix in from the top leaving most people to bring the track in on its own (unmixed) - the start of the VIP mix doesnt fade in :mad:
VIPs...got it too easy....
 
also these tricky spots can come towards the end of tunes - there are some records you can only mix after a certain moment
like on this tune you have to wait till the vocal bit at 4.26 comes in as its an extra couple of bars worth


Know Thy Tunes as Thy Know Thyself - DJ Socrates
 
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I am at bangface this weekend, I imagine I will literally be broken for the weekend after. I've had 3 weekends of doing nothing and now I've got 3 weekends of doing loads. Are you around much next month?
 
^the 10,000 hours thing is a bit overkill for beat matching.

Has anyone suggested 2 copies of the same record? To beatmatch is to spot which ones quicker/slower, and you'll be able to spot that with the platters and speed in front of you. Perhaps even better, try and find a lazy couplet of remixes by the same person where you can tell they've just done their 'remix formula' (admittedly more common in the 00's, and house...). Once you've got that, everything else will take it's own direction as to what sound you want to explore.

(Apologies not seen the whole thread, apologies if this has been said)
I guess I would include other aspects of mixing in the 10,000 hours. For instance choosing the right record and making sure the pitch (not the speed, but the muscial pitch) is correct tonally, the style of music, how to mix from one style to another etc etc.
 
this is where knowing your tunes is all important - theres all kinds of unexpected quirks out there - tunes that drop where you dont expect, dont start on the one, no drums to mix in, might have little dramatic pause bars that mess up the synchronicity etc etc etc
God yes. A 4 or 8 bar insert is the bane of many a DJ :D
 
I guess I would include other aspects of mixing in the 10,000 hours. For instance choosing the right record and making sure the pitch (not the speed, but the muscial pitch) is correct tonally, the style of music, how to mix from one style to another etc etc.
investigating tunes, picking the right ones and really getting to know the music is a lifetime task for sure....djings for life not just for christmas
and when it comes to creating a sequence of tunes any one can jsut put some tunes they think are good on in any old order, do a 5 second crossfade mix, but proper set building is a fine art, especially if you are beat matching and making the two tracks build on each other
 
investigating tunes, picking the right ones and really getting to know the music is a lifetime task for sure....djings for life not just for christmas
and when it comes to creating a sequence of tunes any one can jsut put some tunes they think are good on in any old order, do a 5 second crossfade mix, but proper set building is a fine art, especially if you are beat matching and making the two tracks build on each other
I used to use the term 'jigsaw mixing' when playing tunes that had very very specific mix points, i.e. the mix would fail or be lame if you were a phrase out. Getting two tracks to break or drop together or one break to top out just as a different track dropped was sometimes head-scrathingly difficult but very worthy when it worked. I used to spend hours searching for perfect mixes and them jigsaw them all together.
 
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