First mix - Constructive criticism welcome!

[crckrs]

http://soundcloud.com/crackattack-1/...la-crackattack

Feel free to tell me I'm crap - but tell me why!
Just so I don't get killed - this was made live with Traktor, two midifighters (one for cue points and the other for instant grat.) and my trusty mixtrack pro.
No sync buttons were harmed.

Tell me what you think! Thanks DJTT! I've only gotten this far because of you guys! I can only go up!

[deevey]

The Beatmixing is tight and phrasing is spot on .. only thing i could really pick holes at is the nasty keyclash on the break between firestorm and wake up LA (I always use transpose regardless of what software tells me is the correct key).

I'd also do a customized Intro mix/mashup at the start mix, always better IMHO than a beat beat beat beat intro.

Also I think a 3,1,2 would be a better track order to save the banger for the end and keep the wow factor, I felt that the last track was too "ordainary" for an ender.

Would probably not re-introduce firestorm near the end either. I Didn't notice any real button mashing or crazy effects usage, and IMHO thats a good thing.

Its rather short though for an honest opinion

[crckrs]

Ahh I get you! Something to really grab attention from the get go would have been good. Next mix will hopefully captivate from the get-go!

And regarding the keyclash - I CAN'T UNHEAR IT NOW! Haha! I have no idea what key these songs are even in, I disabled it in Traktor after reading a little about the 'in key vs out of key' debates on here.

Are you able to explain transpose by any chance as well?

And yeah it is short, I had a few more songs planned but for a beginner like me getting this much right was tough! I always do kind of long sets for my turtle in my bedroom (ha) but when it comes to recording a mix I tend to get nervous screw up.

edit: Totally get about the song order. Again, something that will be taken into careful consideration for future mixes!

I really appreciate the feedback.

[deevey]

Theres a Transpose knob in traktor, it adjusts the keys of a song and is best done with a rotary encoder set to very very fine increments of .01

Basically turn the knob up and down until the songs sound like they match perfectly together in key, there actaually wasnt too much in it for those two tracks, less than a semitone I think which software wouldn't pick up anyhow'.

You can use software (mixed in key or keyfinder) which will tell you what key the tracks are in and it works for a great many tracks but in my experience something like 2 synths or a piano and vocal are never perfectly "in key" unless you do it manually by ear there's always a little bit of a difference (few .01's of a tone) off.

Do a search in the forums for harmonic mixing - theres a few threads on it.

And BTW that unsure feeling you get when recording, I still get after 20 yrs spinning and will end up kiling the recording sometimes after 10 mins and then pump out a killer while not recording the best mixes I've done are ones where someone recorded me without telling me while playing out live, stuff I wouldnt have dreamed of doing while mixing alone just "working" on a packed floor.

The problem with bedroom mixes is tending to over-analyze the tiniest of mistakes yourself, ones that no-one else would even notice, if its a human mix there will be mistakes. Take the classic Sasha and Digweed Northern exposure album, It was cut completely out of 16meg samples at a time from each track onto hardware samplers in segments to mix it so perfectly. Not saying they arent amazing DJ's but i've seen the best make rookie mistakes plenty of times.

Have fun with mixing, hit record every time you are spinning for a few hours, and you never know what might come out of it - warts n' all.

[Madigon]

I gave it a listen.

I tend to agree with deevey about the transpose but that's just my personal preference. Lots of reasons to do/do-not transpose on a per-track basis.

However at 1:15 when you mixed in 2 the piano shimmer contrasts with the lack of high end in track 1. Purely subjective here, but you might use a little filtering to remove that shimmer at least until some other time you're wanting that high-end to actually stand out.

Thoughts about track selection: I like 2 and 1 but 3 is a little weak because it's right next to 2. deevey mentioned a 312 but I'd suggest a different track entirely (2 does it better than 3). Go 2-1 then use 1's space and lack of syncopated high end (there's no high-hat) to guide your next track choice. 2's got a better intro for your mix rather than just a beat-down.

Finally: remember to include a tracklist on your mix in case, you know, I want to hunt down track 1 and steal it from you.

[AryanH]

The mix was nice, and although it was only 3 tracks long i can tell u planed out the mix before doing it. The mix itself was nice and clean. Its really hard to tell wat a dj is capable of achieving with a 6 min mix. I think u should get a bit more tracks(20-30) and make an hour mix. Then ill we will b able to c wat ur capable of for long periods of time. If u can do a hour mix as good as u did this 6 min mix then i assure u it will b really good, and much better then wat a 6 min mix is capable of doing.

[crckrs]

The mix was nice, and although it was only 3 tracks long i can tell u planed out the mix before doing it. The mix itself was nice and clean. Its really hard to tell wat a dj is capable of achieving with a 6 min mix. I think u should get a bit more tracks(20-30) and make an hour mix. Then ill we will b able to c wat ur capable of for long periods of time. If u can do a hour mix as good as u did this 6 min mix then i assure u it will b really good, and much better then wat a 6 min mix is capable of doing.

Thanks for the feedback! And yeah it's short but that's something I need to work on. (:
And also, this mix was not prepared to a degree. I was Playing some tunes and recording myself for giggles, and I played these songs just how they were but a little different. I liked it so much, but wasn't keen on the song before or after I used. So I re did the mix usin just these songs and this is what happened! I don't think I could reproduce it tbh