need advice in mixing technique

hey guys, so i've been messing around with traktor and my traktor kontrol s2 for over a year now.. i DJ exclusively EDM and only ever done it as a hobby, in my free time, in the privacy of my own home.. i feel like i'm still not where i want to be at, in terms of mixing technique.. and i'm perplexed that there aren't many tutorials on the simple basics of DJing..

i have all the fundamentals down.. beatgridding, beatmatching and how to count bars so that everything's "in-sync"..

i still feel like i can't find a nice middle ground for when it comes to mixing 2 tracks..


-just for sake of ease, let's say that TRACK A is playing, volume at 100% and all EQs set to +0%
-i prepare TRACK B in the other deck, make sure BPM's are matched and the tracks are lined up (in terms of bars)..

now here is where i find difficulty in how i should approach bringing in TRACK B..

-i usually turn the LOW's from TRACK B, all the way down.. turn the MIDs to about 10o'clock and the HIGHs to about 11o'clock
-i pull the volume slider for TRACK B, to about 80%

now i'm ready to bring in TRACK B, and exit TRACK A..

-making sure that all tracks are in SYNC and bars lined up, i hit PLAY on TRACK B
-i slowly increase the MIDs to 100% and move the MIDs for TRACK A to about 11o'clock
-now is when i'll bring the volume slider for TRACK B to about 100%
-next bring in the HIGHs and lastly the LOWs

so really, i feel like there's no rhyme or reason to this technique and i can never get really "clean" mixes between tracks, like u would hear at a nightclub..

can anyone direct me to a helpful video tutorial which gives you step-by-step instructions on utilizing volume sliders, and EQs when transitioning from one dance music track to another? i know that there's nothing "set-in-stone" when it comes to DJing, as all music is different, but i feel like each DJ has to have SOME TECHNIQUE that he finds himself repeating over, and over again when it comes to transitioning between tracks..

any help would be massively appreciated! thanks guys!

There's loads of ways to mix tracks. One thing to note, though, there's no real need to boost any EQs past 0 on modern tracks. It's useful for older, less compressed music, sometimes.

One trick for mixing with Traktor, set your first two bars (8 beats) in a loop before you mix it in, then just bring it in as you want. Another trick I do is to have track A playing as normal, and whack the bass dial on track B down as much as possible, and once you've brought it in, swap the basslines.

EDIT: Also, different mixes work better with different tracks. Play around with fading track B up in different ways. I'd say, though, that you should try and make sure that the music playing out is as consistently level as possible. IE don't leave a track playing low before bringing in the other one.

is there any reason why i would want to keep both volume sliders kept at the same level for the entire time and mix with EQs solely? i just feel like i can't find that "natural sounding" level when transitioning 2 tracks, without it sounding like a "wimpy" version of track B is coming in

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Originally Posted by happydan

There's loads of ways to mix tracks. One thing to note, though, there's no real need to boost any EQs past 0 on modern tracks. It's useful for older, less compressed music, sometimes.

One trick for mixing with Traktor, set your first two bars (8 beats) in a loop before you mix it in, then just bring it in as you want. Another trick I do is to have track A playing as normal, and whack the bass dial on track B down as much as possible, and once you've brought it in, swap the basslines.

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It's about using the energy of the new track at the right time. Sometimes, teasing the track and using elements of it workas effectively as in-your-face A2Bing.

Listen to the last mix I uploaded on my mixcloud. It's old, but shows what I mean.

+1 for swapping basslines. And remember that the basslines are the energy of the track.

Don't play two basslines over each other at 12 o'clock bass knobs. It rarely works.

>

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Originally Posted by happydan

It's about using the energy of the new track at the right time.

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Totally agree with this. If you throw in track B with all Low's cut (which indeed sounds wimpy) at the right time and it blends nicely, then who cares if it sounds wimpy. I actually mix more using throws, rarely will I gradually fade in a song, unless there is no percussion/vocals or something. You can do the opposite too. Track A is about to come to a break with no beat, right when it goes in, throw in track B (no EQ) and cut the low's on Track A.

Finding the right time to throw in and fade out stuff is what it's all about, this is where the energy of your mix is at. I always advice to use EQ to remove conflicts. If the next track will blend in nicely with no EQ, why bother then? Are those two tracks going to have issues with their kicks? Cut the lows. Listen & Think before you touch a button/knob.

Just experiment and do what sounds good. I think what makes DJ-ing so cool is that considering the tools we have at our disposal, we all find our own ways for doing things.

i think i might know what your problem is here lip5016
and i say this because i have to thank you in fully describing HOW you approach the "hands on" part of your mixing / layering.

The only thing you DIDNT note is the timing of your Track B start compared to how much time "ruffly" is left on Track A
and this is VERY important.
Youll notice in similar music styles / genres the:
Bridge
corus
fill
build
intro
outro

basically ALL the needed parts of the song, are about the same length as eachother.

My guess is that you havent quite gotten down the timing of the tracks against eachother and
not to make it harder for you but this does change a bit (not much ) between tracks

While on some tracks you can run Track A til it has about 1:30 minutes left and you start B
let that run til there is about 45 seconds left on A, and you switch your bass eqs and fully raise the B fader to 100%
Now you are riding OVER A while B is prominent in the output.

Like i said, this is VERY general at 1:30 minutes left on the track

you can even do this with 2:00 left on Track A but track B would have to be a LONG one.


See if what you are doing matches this at all and let us know

Yeah experiment with different tracks, and keep in mind that when you know your tracks, the mix will ALWAYS sound less "seamless" to you than it will to your listeners. You know exactly when one track is coming in, which sounds are new, etc., so you will hear the differences and they may sound awkward. I'd suggest record a few mixes and then listen to them again in a week after moving on to other tracks in your mixing. That lets you listen with a "fresh" ear and you may find you're better than you think.

In terms of the technical mixing practices, it probably depends on the sounds you're mixing. I generally use both the EQs (well in my case, filters) to sculpt the mix but the volume faders to bring the track in. In other words, the EQs are about fitting the sounds together, not managing loudness. That may seem obvious, but sometimes track B is recorded at a much lower level than track A, so you need to use your gains to get the volumes to a similar level, and the EQs to keep sounds from clashing. You can mix with both tracks at 100% on the volume faders and just use the gains and EQs if you want; I generally use the volume faders as well - bringing in just the highs from track B for example and fading the volume up to 100% over 4 bars, bringing the track A volume down ever so slightly as B reaches 100%, and then bringing down the volume fader on track A at the same time as I bring up the bass and mids on track B -- again over 4-8 bars to make the transition seem smoother. But that's just one technique; swapping out basslines is another that can work really well IF the basslines work with what is going on in the other track. It's not going to work for every mix, by any means. Yet another trick I like is to bring one sound in at a time - use the volume faders up and down on beat to add just the hi hat, or a vocal sample, from track B, bit by bit -- four beats at 25% volume, four beats at 50% volume, four beats at 75% volume, then four at 100%, then leave the volume up as you swap the basslines in and pull the volume on track A right at the drop on track B. Again, it won't work for everything, but it's something worth trying out as you get more comfortable mixing.

It's quite fascinating reading all of this advice. You forget sometimes exactly what you are doing. To me after all these years, this is all instinct now and comes naturally. But to quantify it as it's said here I am starting to realise why some people (non djs) look at you perplexed as to 'what the heck is he dong with those little knobs?'
To put some advice in here, try to listen to all of your tracks inside and out without trying to mix them. This is when you will see the Bassy parts, good parts to loop to mix from a-b and familiarity of the tracks structure to then use the eq's more effectively.
For me as I said its all instinct now but I think once you have mastered it it's the same 'eureka' moment as to when I mixed my first piece of vinyl. You then only get better and better with practice.

OP...

short of coming to your house, you just got a life time of perspective and instruction in less than eight hours...

go forth and don't be afraid...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIEsO-J-9mA

watch this through part 4.

having a keen ear and knowledge of your songs helps alot with eqing. you cant expect your method to work for all tracks.

Loops, Filter, loops and more loops... I pretty much always set the track that I want to mix out on a say, 8 bar loop, (I always have the track I want to bring in next looping on 4 or 8 bars, bring it in, add some filter to the one you want to mix OUT, works nicely, add some delay and slowly bring down the lows and mids, it depends what style of tracks are playing.

Get two tracks, set them on a 8 bar loop, and play about mixing them together. See what techniques you find and like.

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Originally Posted by Superfreak

Loops, Filter, loops and more loops... I pretty much always set the track that I want to mix out on a say, 8 bar loop, (I always have the track I want to bring in next looping on 4 or 8 bars, bring it in, add some filter to the one you want to mix OUT, works nicely, add some delay and slowly bring down the lows and mids, it depends what style of tracks are playing.

Get two tracks, set them on a 8 bar loop, and play about mixing them together. See what techniques you find and like.

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^ just remember that if the loops aren't perfectly set you will never be able to beatmatch them. They will drift off every 8 beats.

I wouldn't worry about loops right now. DJ's were beatmatching on vinyl without loops for decades.

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Originally Posted by loverocket

DJ's were beatmatching on vinyl without loops for decades.

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Its funny but this is the part that drives me as a new DJ. decades ago there was no youtube (Shocking, I know), no internet forums, blogs, thousands of tutorials or insane amounts of technology. Those dudes just had an idea and practiced it over and over and over until it became what we know today as DJing. Fast forward to today, we have thousands of youtube videos, tutorials, web blogs and all kinds of tech to make DJing, compared to back in the day, really easy yet a lot of us struggle with it.

Now dont get me wrong, im in the same situation as lip, only I have been at it about 3 months but still feel like I have gotten NOWHERE.

The one thing I have realized within the past month is for me, its good to sit online and look at all kinds of tutorials and read about techniques on doing different things, etc, etc but there comes a time that you have to just sit in front of your rig and fuck up and make God awful noises until something starts to sound good. You can have all the technical information in the world in your head but without physically doing it no good sound will manifest.

Again, I apply that to myself. I spent the first couple months online for HOURS a day. Probably close to 4 hours a day, 7 days a week for the past 2 months. I have read every ableton DJing tutorial online, a good amount of them twice. I have watched damn near every ableton DJing video I can get my hands on, most of the good ones 10+ times, etc. I can tell you all kinds of technical stuff about DJing that I have learned over the past few months yet I can not blend a track good to save my life. Why? Because With all those hours reading and watching videos over the past 2 months I have only spent a total of about 4 hours in front of my rig trying to mix. Yea, pathetic, I know.

So I guess if you take anything from my short experience so far it is this, unplug your WIFI so you are not tempted to surf the net, lock yourself in your lab and make noise. Eventually it will start sounding good. Just remember all those people who didnt have much help at all, Had to do EVERYTHING the long and hard way but became legends.

Sorry for the long post. I just felt like I connected with the OP and the paragraphs above are what I have been feeling. Time to go mix...

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Originally Posted by William Gibson

Its funny but this is the part that drives me as a new DJ. decades ago there was no youtube (Shocking, I know), no internet forums, blogs, thousands of tutorials or insane amounts of technology. Those dudes just had an idea and practiced it over and over and over until it became what we know today as DJing. Fast forward to today, we have thousands of youtube videos, tutorials, web blogs and all kinds of tech to make DJing, compared to back in the day, really easy yet a lot of us struggle with it.

Now dont get me wrong, im in the same situation as lip, only I have been at it about 3 months but still feel like I have gotten NOWHERE.

The one thing I have realized within the past month is for me, its good to sit online and look at all kinds of tutorials and read about techniques on doing different things, etc, etc but there comes a time that you have to just sit in front of your rig and fuck up and make God awful noises until something starts to sound good. You can have all the technical information in the world in your head but without physically doing it no good sound will manifest.

Again, I apply that to myself. I spent the first couple months online for HOURS a day. Probably close to 4 hours a day, 7 days a week for the past 2 months. I have read every ableton DJing tutorial online, a good amount of them twice. I have watched damn near every ableton DJing video I can get my hands on, most of the good ones 10+ times, etc. I can tell you all kinds of technical stuff about DJing that I have learned over the past few months yet I can not blend a track good to save my life. Why? Because With all those hours reading and watching videos over the past 2 months I have only spent a total of about 4 hours in front of my rig trying to mix. Yea, pathetic, I know.

So I guess if you take anything from my short experience so far it is this, unplug your WIFI so you are not tempted to surf the net, lock yourself in your lab and make noise. Eventually it will start sounding good. Just remember all those people who didnt have much help at all, Had to do EVERYTHING the long and hard way but became legends.

Sorry for the long post. I just felt like I connected with the OP and the paragraphs above are what I have been feeling. Time to go mix...

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You are trying to beatmatch with Ableton?

Never heard of that. I heard that you have to pre-warp your tracks and then they just mix. Never heard of pitch bending and adjustments on the fly with Ableton.

>

I didnt say I was trying to beat match. Atleast I dont think I did...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by William Gibson

I can tell you all kinds of technical stuff about DJing that I have learned over the past few months yet I can not blend a track good to save my life. Why? Because With all those hours reading and watching videos over the past 2 months I have only spent a total of about 4 hours in front of my rig trying to mix. Yea, pathetic, I know.

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This part ^

You are correct, you do warp in ableton but just beacause you warp dosnt mean "then they just mix". Which part of song A gets mixed into part B, how much of an overlap, EqIng in and out, just because ableton keeps everything locked in beat dosnt mean the whole mix just happens for you.

Yes, anyone can take 2 warped tracks in the same key and BPM, One with a long outro, one with a long intro and fade them together in ableton. Its when everything isnt perfect and you want to do more then the basics.

My .02

Didnt mean to hijack the OPs thread.

Ok, this is a noob helping a noob but... something that's really helped me:

watch people who AREN'T good on youtube. search for some of those "10minmix" videos that are everywhere. yes, a lot of the music will be horrible and the people annoying, but their mixing is going to be simple, deliberate and obvious and you can tell exactly what's going on, what they're doing, what works and doesn't work

i made the mistake of starting out watching, for example, laidback luke on djsounds mixing 4 decks and using every feature on the mixer. too overwhelming for anyone to learn anything.

when i started watching vids of other amateurs i realized, not only can i do exactly what he/she is doing but maybe i can do it even better!

just my 0.02

It was stated in another thread, stop spending time watching vids and practice mixing. Record your practice sessions. Don't be afraid to fuck up. You'll learn more spending a few hours mixing and listening back to your mixes than you will watching a bunch of videos and never actually DJing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SirReal

It was stated in another thread, stop spending time watching vids and practice mixing. Record your practice sessions. Don't be afraid to fuck up. You'll learn more spending a few hours mixing and listening back to your mixes than you will watching a bunch of videos and never actually DJing.

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This piece of advice will help me a lot. Thanks SirReal!

I spend far too much time watching and listening to other people mixing, when I should be practicing... I think many will be guilty of this!