Do people still beatmatch?

dizzzeejungle

Junglist Down Under..
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Oct 2, 2007
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Perth
Ola,

Last time I mixed had to be about 2010. Seems like every DJ and his dog can nail a double drop these days, even trash DJs like Goldie and TC seem to be doing alright.

What's the deal? Is everything pitch shifted on USB? Should I keep mixing in my headphones? What are most djs mixing on? How come you never here a trainwreck these days?

I don't want to waste my time locking in a track if no one else is doing it...

Cheers
 
Don't worry about other people. Do what you wanna do.

I still mix on vinyl, even though virtually no touring DJ's use it.

I had a mix with a mate recently who had a pair of CDJ's and he was using something called master tempo. I'm not sure how it works, but he didn't touch the pitch the entire time, only the jog wheel so I'm guessing it's a form of sync.

In my opinion beat matching isn't a waste of time. It allows your to become more immersed in what you're doing, instead of spending an hour fiddling with a mixer unnecessarily due to running out of things to do.
 
Depends what mood I am in. If I am playing chilled, or old stuff I play in vinyl mode. If on a quick dance floor jump up vibe I use sync cause I cba.
 
Don't worry about other people. Do what you wanna do.

I still mix on vinyl, even though virtually no touring DJ's use it.

I had a mix with a mate recently who had a pair of CDJ's and he was using something called master tempo. I'm not sure how it works, but he didn't touch the pitch the entire time, only the jog wheel so I'm guessing it's a form of sync.

In my opinion beat matching isn't a waste of time. It allows your to become more immersed in what you're doing, instead of spending an hour fiddling with a mixer unnecessarily due to running out of things to do.
Master Tempo on Pioneer CDJs is for key correction, it has nothing to do with sync. Your friend most likely has Rekordbox set up on his PC so he can create hot cues and beatgrid his tunes in it so its really easy to lock the pitch in.
 
Master Tempo on Pioneer CDJs is for key correction, it has nothing to do with sync. Your friend most likely has Rekordbox set up on his PC so he can create hot cues and beatgrid his tunes in it so its really easy to lock the pitch in.
Fair enough, I'm not sure what setting it was, but he was mixing tunes that were different speeds and didn't touch the pitch once, so there must have been something going on.
 
Fair enough, I'm not sure what setting it was, but he was mixing tunes that were different speeds and didn't touch the pitch once, so there must have been something going on.
Sync button. You set one master bpm and all tunes pitch into the right speed automatically.
You don't even need a laptop for it, just two cdjs linked via usb.
I don't use it, but I love the Master Tempo function.
 
Sync button. You set one master bpm and all tunes pitch into the right speed automatically.
You don't even need a laptop for it, just two cdjs linked via usb.

This.

It would seem that the sync function has rendered beatmatching an obsolete skill, like CDJs did to manual cueing. But I think those who still practise it do have something of an edge over those who don't. Time spent on the turntables means training on the mixer as well, and even using the jog wheels on CDJs trains the fingers in a different way faders, knobs and buttons do.

[rant] Automatization tools generally erode manual skills, from algorythms sorting emails into inbox and spam folder to car drivers taking directions from gps systems instead of reading street signs. Over time the skill is lost. Other examples: handwriting in the era of keyboards, proper typing in the era of swiping smartphones and tablets let alone voice/text interfaces like Alexa and Miri, or simply remembering something in the era of google, or selecting tunes from ear in the era of their bpms and keys being listed on Beatport and in mixing software. One has to make choices for oneself, which skills to practice (hard) & keep and which ones to automate & lose. If everybody just uses all available automating tools, it'll be the Borg in the long run, and only the element of random numbers / random tune "selection" will generate differences between sets and generally output from different people anymore. But it's obviously down to users' personal preferences.[/rant]

A DJ I used to know once argued against the sync function that he wants to hear the DJ mixing, meaning he wants the analogue feel of hearing the small mistakes to appreciate it fully. But he also called the first BSE album "overproduced" when it dropped.

I personally prefer and give more respect to unsynced sets, but I didn't mind A.M.C. syncing throughout most of his 6 decks set. He made up for beatmatching with another skillset from outter space. Turntablists often even suck at beatmatching because they just don't take the time to use headphones, but who cares as long as they juggle and scratch it out proper with bafflingly well-selected tune combinations and play ten records in the time Andy C makes one double-drop.

I will take my hat now.
 
I personally prefer and give more respect to unsynced sets, but I didn't mind A.M.C. syncing throughout most of his 6 decks set.
Pretty sure he was constantly pointing to the pitch shift throughout that set to troll the non believers
Would bet my dinner money on that set being unsynced - not that its even difficult with a bpm reader and a phase meter anyway
 
Pretty sure he was constantly pointing to the pitch shift throughout that set to troll the non believers
Granted A.M.C. did use the pitch fader (briefly) on a handful of tunes in that set and touched the jog wheel on maybe up to a third of the tunes. But on most tunes he didn't have time for beatmatching at all. That perfect cascade of quatruple teases and triple drops would be impossible to achive manually, let alone without hardly ever correcting the speed of the tunes. Maybe I know too little and certainly I'm not good enough to recreate that set even with the tunes synced, but I'm not one for believing what my experience tells me is not humanly possible. I'll only "believe" or rather accept it when I see someone do it on CDJs that are visibly not connected by the evil cable, but in said 6 decks video the decks' backsides are not visible.

Mind you I'm not saying A.M.C. doesn't have skills!
1. he proved he has beatmatching down in his vinyl mixing videos.
2. the selection and arrangement of the tunes in the 6 decks set are evidently the result of many hours of work and years of preceeding practice in putting tunes together.

I do respect him as the new god of DnB mixing and I doubt that Andy C could top him in terms of technical skills.

But the 6 decks set without any syncing? That's "magic". Even this guy or the late grand master DJ Spinbad could not do / have done it:

Further edit: While rewatching the 6 deck video I noticed that there are sequences where the basslines of tunes in the mix are switched via EQ but he doesn't even touch the EQ knobs on the mixer. Notable example: 28:34 min into the video. In a nutshell: Impossible, thus fake.
 
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Granted A.M.C. did use the pitch fader (briefly) on a handful of tunes in that set and touched the jog wheel on maybe up to a third of the tunes. But on most tunes he didn't have time for beatmatching at all.

Further edit: While rewatching the 6 deck video I noticed that there are sequences where the basslines of tunes in the mix are switched via EQ but he doesn't even touch the EQ knobs on the mixer. Notable example: 28:34 min into the video. In a nutshell: Impossible, thus fake.
Ever thought that if he is not using the pitch, that maybe the tune is exacly the same speed as the previous tune?

Going by your reply im not 100% sure if your familar with how you actually "beatmatch" on a cdj NXS setup - syncing is almost more aggro than its worth if your grids are off, which i can assure you not every single tune of his will be that accratley matched in Rekordbox - especially on those older tunes which some have a variable, albeit minor BPM

Regarding the eq, he is using a V10 so will be using the filters, no need to even touch the eq for bassline switches

I beleive he even does cock up at the end while mashing multiple versions of Killers together - but yeah take from it what you want
 
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Ever thought that if he is not using the pitch, that maybe the tune is exacly the same speed as the previous tune?
Sure, maybe with a few odd ones. But with that many tunes (most in the set)? Statistically impossible.

Going by your reply im not 100% sure if your familar with how you actually "beatmatch" on a cdj NXS setup
True, I have never used one. I just figure the pitch fader works like on every other player, regardless of the intricacies of syncing.

Regarding the eq, he is using a V10 so will be using the filters, no need to even touch the eq for bassline switches
I was wondering about that, thanks for the info! (I have never used one of these before either)

As for 28:34 minutes into the video, I relistened the "Represents" C & S remix and realize now the bassline switch is in the tune, so shame on me for not remembering that in first place. I retract the allegation of "fake" and go back to "only synced".
 
Even without sync mode it takes all of about 8 bars to get something locked using modern CDJs / controllers with BPM counters. Particularly with new tracks that are mostly made at very similar BPMs, and are perfectly quantised so the beats never drift once matched.

There is no skill barrier any more. I would expect somebody who has never mixed before to be able to pick it up and mix to an acceptable standard with about 10-20 hours of practice on modern equipment. You just need to learn to identify the first kick drum/cue point, cue it in at the right time and then match the BPMs using the screen.
 
have only ever owned 1210s, so beatmatching is the only option for me! love the feel of getting it right, although how easy that is sometimes depends on how tired i am. am old so i used to get annoyed seeing club 'djs' sitting unenthusiastically at a laptop with a bland tune selection and no discernible skill, but each to his own i guess.

if i was more than a hobbyist i'd have to get on board with the electronic revolution that already happened, but for now i'm good on my analog island!
 
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