Mixing

[chrisj]

I use cd's and have been mixing since the vinyl days. My son has virtual dj on his computer but I have never used it.

[DazzyD]

By far my preferred method

Although I have to say that with Virtual DJ even I can mix.

I use cd's and have been mixing since the vinyl days. My son has virtual dj on his computer but I have never used it.

To be honest, I find it somewhat more difficult to beatmatch by ear with VDJ due to the slight time difference between pressing play on a deck and the music being heard from the speakers. This is due to the extra time it takes for the laptop to decode the file and turn it in to audio output, then the mixer has to do it's thing and then re-route the sound to the speakers - all of which takes time. Where VDJ does come in handy is beatmatching visually (which might sound like a strange concept to older DJs who've learned to mix using vinyl or CDs). By this, I mean mixing using the graphical beats that show in the deck windows. Click Sync once and the decks are pitch-matched. Click Sync again and the tracks are beat-matched if you want to make it really easy! But I often think that this may be a bit too easy for DJs who like to mix properly!!

I mix music purely because I like to mix music. I very rarely use extended mixes as they sometimes just drag the song out a bit too much (depends on track).

But you can set cue points to shorten tracks and still mix the tracks well. I used to use a lot of extended mixes when I was using CDs and the headphones and Cue button were always well used!

[safdiscos]

Thanks for the Replies... I'm glad no one said they mix EVERYTHING! I've found (bare in mind I'm new!) that certain songs I just havent got time to mix together because the vocals clash, but yeah as a few people said, I'l be mixing the commercial dance/trance tunes. I guess really the only time people will really notice the mixing is if its done badly and sounds ! lol

[Daryll]

Better not to mix than mix badly , some tracks I will beat match together , but that is the limit of my ability so far.....

Daryll

[super-hero]

Good points made by everybody.

I have a question for you guys that talk between songs. Do you talk between every song you play?
What do you say between each song?


I had a dj help me at an event a few years ago, and he talked between every song, an it got on my nerves after about 3 songs. Not sure I could stand a whole evening of it.

Just my personal preference.

[Excalibur]

Good points made by everybody.

I have a question for you guys that talk between songs. Do you talk between every song you play?
What do you say between each song?


I had a dj help me at an event a few years ago, and he talked between every song, an it got on my nerves after about 3 songs. Not sure I could stand a whole evening of it.

Just my personal preference.

OK, time to be serious. There was a time when we did talk between almost every song, but I always tried at every gig to do an hour of non-stop music intended to pack the dancefloor. Usually this would be after the crowd had taken sufficient alcohol on board to loosen up their inhibitions, and before the time we slowed it all down for the "cuddly bits"*

Nowadays, things are very very different. Even garrulous types like myself are tending to limit our use of the mic drastically at most functions. The times have changed, and we aren't normally required to be the chatterboxes we once were. I do however abhor silences of any kind, and always fill them with music or speech. If there's no music available, then it's going to be speech.

Every function is different, and there's no hard and fast rule. Even though I say I don't mix, I regularly run the songs together somewhat. Basically, it's a case of judging what each situation needs.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

OK, time to be serious. There was a time when we did talk between almost every song, but I always tried at every gig to do an hour of non-stop music intended to pack the dancefloor. Usually this would be after the crowd had taken sufficient alcohol on board to loosen up their inhibitions, and before the time we slowed it all down for the "cuddly bits"*

Nowadays, things are very very different. Even garrulous types like myself are tending to limit our use of the mic drastically at most functions. The times have changed, and we aren't normally required to be the chatterboxes we once were. I do however abhor silences of any kind, and always fill them with music or speech. If there's no music available, then it's going to be speech.

Every function is different, and there's no hard and fast rule. Even though I say I don't mix, I regularly run the songs together somewhat. Basically, it's a case of judging what each situation needs.

Unfortunately, not everyone has been dragged into the times Peter. I was a guest at a wedding where the DJ insisted on telling us all what each song was, when it was released and how it peaked in the charts...every single song....

Even the older (ahem) guest were thoroughly fed up with him....

I find that most things can ix with a little experimentation with reloops etc... like Plan B's She Said can be mixed with Brown Eyed Girl, and Flow Rida's Low mixes very well with ACDC's Shook Me all Night Long (Dont ask how i figured that out....interesting wedding to say the least).

[musicologydisco]

Ah.. now we're getting into the REAL skills of a Mobile Dj. When to speak, what to say and when to shut up and let them dance. Put that together with knowing what to play and when, and you're starting to separate the good Dj's from the not so good. Very difficult to explain how it's done. I think it comes to you naturally with experience. It's an instinct that the good Dj's have.

[ukpartydj]

But you can set cue points to shorten tracks and still mix the tracks well. I used to use a lot of extended mixes when I was using CDs and the headphones and Cue button were always well used!

That is true, I do this with remixes which are always much longer... I guess it depends on your style and how you like to DJ a bit as to what versions of tracks you get.

I've always been the type of DJ that prefers not to talk too much and have learnt that if people are on the dance floor they don't care for much talking, so I always ask if anybody has any requests or ask the names of the people who request tracks and try and dig information out of them so I have something to say!

[super-hero]

I was djing in a pub several years ago and playing Robin S, Livin Joy, etc and I heard one girl say to her friend, "no he's not mixing, he's just playing a compilation cd"

I almost wanted to stop the music and tell her that it was me doing the mixing. So maybe not everyone appreciates it when you make the effort.


I was unhappy not to get the credit for the work I was doing, but secretly pleased she thought my mixing was good enough to be a compilation cd.