Basic Dj question on beat matching/sync

[pappo1982pl]

Hi all!

I am relatively new to playing music as a Dj and I have a very basic question about beat matching/synchronizing beats. Apologies if this question was asked already before but I could not find any detailed explanation and I would need some advice on this.

First of all, I just want to say that my beat matching skills are quite bad to be honest but I would like to play music by using USB stick on CDJ-900 nexus.

Usually, when I want to mix in a song to a currently playing song , it is very easy to understand if you pressed the start button of the new track a bit too early as it was supposed to be or a bit too late. If you pressed early you need to adjust by pushing forward the jog wheel and if you pressed late you need to push backward. On Serato Dj it is very easy to align the beats because you can look a the tiny marks in between the two tracks and adjust in the correct direction to make them in sync.


However, when I want to play by using USB everything has to be done by hearing.
However, most of the time when I hear that the beats are not in sync I am not so sure in which direction I need to push the jog wheel because I am not sure if I pressed late or too early and I don't know which song is lagging behind, if the one it is playing or the one I want to mix in.

Does anybody have any advice/trick to give on this matter? Also, if you know any you tube video tutorial please let me know.

Thanks a lot!

[SirReal]

Always adjust the incoming track against the currently playing track. Use your headphones to confirm they're in sync before bringing in the new track to the main speakers.

[pappo1982pl]

Yes, I know, sorry, I did not explain it but in my post I meant adjusting the incoming track, not the currently playing in the speaker, of course...then I use the headphones to hear if the Beats are in sync, but I don’t know to do that very well, I can switch on both CUE buttons on the mixer and hear if they are in sync for instance, correct? But even if I do that and I find that they are not in sync I don’t know if I need to adjust the incoming track by pushing forward or backward

[SirReal]

Not sure what else to tell you then, other than, practice, practice, practice. Know your tracks. Beatmatching by ear is something all of us older DJ's HAD to do. I respect the fact that you want to do it but it's not an instant thing. It takes time and practice listening. Just keep at it.