How did you learn to mix?

[chrisj]

On a Citronic Thames in the early 80's twin deck unit, yes 7" and 12" discs. My friend Steve http://www.stevespahire.co.uk/data/s...Index?OpenForm used to do a disco at Gt Yarmouth, rollerdisco,and on his way home most Fridays, called in to see me at the club where I worked. He always did a mix session and I listened and watched and then tried myself. After many attempts I got it right and really do miss mixing vynil, it was great.
Must call in and see him again as he lives just up the raod from me but is seldom home due to his work at concerts with 45Kw pa system.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

I learnt to mix on dual rack mount citronics first...with the aid of a beat counter.

I learned to mix on 1210s in a pub/club as i was using them and under the guidance of a older and wiser house dj....

[DeckstarDeluxe]

One thing I have to say is I found it so much easier to mix in a club that in the living room.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

One thing I have to say is I found it so much easier to mix in a club that in the living room.

With regards to the fact that in a club, there would be equipment and in a living room would be sofas and occasional tables...?

[Spirits High]

As some members probably remember when I was leaving the Army a couple of years ago now I went to the DJ Academy down in Worcester and spent a week there.

I had one to one tuition from 10am - 4pm for 5 days from DJ Tanz.

Using Mk3 CDJ1000's. Was really good, admittedly not cheap at £750 but well worth it.

Wasn't just about mixing it went into mixing in Key, mic techniques etc. At the end of the week I had to do a mixing "Exam" to a couple of the DJ Academy tutors.

Still enjoy the odd mix here and there now. Came in particularly useful a few weddings ago when I did the 1hr 40 Trance set

[Larry B Entertainment]

On a couple of belt drive decks and a numark 2 ch mixer in my bedroom about 15 years ago. I felt special in those days to get a pair of belt drives lol. How things have moved on.

Yeah, but that's the 'where' and 'when'.... not the HOW

Sorry, missed out some detail in my post, so better correct it (only 5 years, 9 months, 26 days late )

I must have only been 14 when I started messing about with a couple of cassette players and a Tandy Realistic mixer in my bedroom (It was basic but back then I thought it was fantastic). After hearing the likes of Pete Tongs Essential Selection on the radio, I became intrigued with how he was merging tracks together with no breaks in the music. I got used to phase mixing on the cassette decks then my dad bought me one of those 2 turntables and mixer in a wooden box jobs, which I proceeded to blew up the same day after putting the wrong sort of fuse in it.

I then got some Sound Lab belt drive decks and that felt like a real upgrade compared to tape decks. I raided my dads vinyl collections and tried to beat match whatever "dancey" records I could find, sometimes not very successfully. I then used to trawl round the car boot sales looking for vinyl to mix and the first one I bought for myself was David Morales "Needin U" followed by Gusto's "Disco Revenge" and then I got on the Hard House tip and then my BPM tastes got faster and faster moving me up to Happy Hardcore. I eventually made the upgrade to Direct Drive decks but it felt like starting again and I had trouble getting used to less lag when letting go of the record.
It was after spending many hours in my bedroom mixing and learning the craft and trying to emulate mix tapes that I decided I wanted to do it for a living so when I went to music college, I also started the discos and went on from there really and then moved to CD's (And had to pretty much learn again)
I actually ended up with quite a decent vinyl collection at one time that I let go for peanuts because I was young and didn't know any better. I didn't recognize the value in them back then.

I still enjoy hearing the traditional DJing techniques. Today's mixes are just too perfect compared to the M.O.S tape packs I used to play. I love hearing a bit of vinyl drift, its what gives the music feeling and the sense of a human element.