New to dj’ing? Then let leading decksmeister John ‘00’ Fleming be your guide to mastering the turntables. This time: things to watch out for as you’re cueing up your next tune
Last time we covered the basics of beat mixing, and presumably you’ve spent the intervening month practising how to get two records in time with each other. Is it getting easier? Good, because this month I’m going to move things on a bit and look at other things you should consider beyond simply lining up beats.
Firstly, and I can’t stress this enough: you need to purchase a decent pair of headphones. A workman is only as good as his tools, and you’re working with music so you need to hear it properly! Cueing up the record is the most important stage of the mix: this can dictate if the mix goes right or horribly wrong, so spend a little extra and get some professional quality headphones. You won’t regret it.
Before mixing in your next track you have to prepare it and plan ahead for the mix, and there are many things to take into consideration at this stage. Firstly remember that pressings of vinyl can vary, and the last thing you want is to lift the fader and the record blast out at twice the volume of the one currently playing! I always set the volume of the new track in my headphones. I do this by skipping simultaneously between the two tracks using the cue on the mixer. I then adjust the trim setting until I’m happy they’re at the same level. Depending on what mixer you are using you can also monitor this by reading the LED’s on the display.
Once you’re happy that you have the correct volume you must listen to make sure there are no offending frequencies. For instance, the new track may have a weaker kick drum than the one playing. If you simply mixed without planning, the new track would sound weak and empty compared to the big powerful track you’ve just been playing – and this could kill your dancefloor. So you slowly cut the bass of the current track playing as you’re mixing, to compensate for the weaker track coming in.
Also listen for clashing high frequencies like percussion: these can be controlled by cutting the hi-end EQ, making for a smoother mix. It’s also important to make sure that the two tracks won’t clash musically (in key). Some musical notes simply won’t go together and it sounds bloody awful when they don’t! Again, listen in your headphones to make sure this doesn’t happen. Imagine trying to do this in a club with a booming sound system – this is where you’ll be thankful for those professional headphones!
The most important advice I can give, though, is to learn your records. Get to know what happens and when. This will make your life easier when you’re actually mixing. Think of it as reading a map: you’ll know where to go if you have one, without you’ll get lost! The last thing you want is something jumping out when you weren’t expecting it, like two vocals or riffs clashing at the same time. They’re your records so learn them. And if you’re unsure of the structure of a track you’ve only recently picked up, simply skip through it to refresh yourself before you play it live and work out your mix in and out points.
There are no rules to how you mix: it’s part of what makes every DJ’s character. Some like smooth mixing, whilst others may chop and scratch a mix. Some DJs use the cross-fader whilst others simply use the faders. See what suits you. Just remember to respect the controls on the mixer. Don’t turn all the gains up on the mixer until the levels are in the red. Red means danger! You’re actually driving the levels too hard in the mixer and distorting the sound that is going to the sound system.
When faced with dodgy sound when they play out, many people blame the club’s set-up and don’t actually realise that it is them that are killing the sound. Most clubs have professional companies or an in-house sound engineer to set up the sound system, The rig will be set up perfectly with the mixer’s controls set to a neutral level. For some reason, some DJs will then tweak up the EQs to get more volume out of the soundsystem. This will sound awful out on the dancefloor, and not only that, this is also where you get that terrible ringing in your ears from too many high frequencies. You’re actually damaging your ears, so avoid doing this!
Well, that should give you a few things to think about as you continue to get your beatmatching nailed. Keep practising and next month we’ll look at a few little tricks to give your set that added boost!
John '00' Fleming
Source: I-DJ Mag
