How many of you digital DJs never learned to use CDJs or TTs and can't beatmatch?

View Poll Results: Did you learn to beatmatch on CDJs and or TTs and could you DJ a set with them alone?

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  • I have limited to no experience with beatmatching on CDJs/TTs

    57 39.04%
  • I am comfortable DJing and beatmatching with CDJs/TTs alone

    89 60.96%
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  1. #1
    RGAS Guru Xonetacular's Avatar
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    Default How many of you digital DJs never learned to use CDJs or TTs and can't beatmatch?

    This came up in another thread and I am not looking for a thread discussing why beatmatching is a waste of time and how you can do much more with your mixing by letting software take care of it. We have all heard it before and if we're on here we use controllers and we get it. I am simply wondering with the recent rise in shear number of digital DJing programs and controllers that have popped up in the past year alone, let alone the past two, how it has affected the way DJs learn.

    I am looking to get an honest number of how many digital DJs couldn't DJ a set with CDJs or vinyl because they lack the experience. BE HONEST please.


  2. #2
    Tech Mentor
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    I learned on turntables and can beatmatch. However, can I dj a set with cds/vinyl in a noisy club with mental amounts of bass and non-existant lighting while being half drunk out of my mind? no.

  3. #3
    RGAS Guru Xonetacular's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by n2hf1st View Post
    I learned on turntables and can beatmatch. However, can I dj a set with cds/vinyl in a noisy club with mental amounts of bass and non-existant lighting while being half drunk out of my mind? no.
    That's a very fair and honest assessment.

    I'l save my opinion on the subject for later since I don't want to steer this thread off course yet (someone will probably beat me to it).


  4. #4
    Tech Mentor Mr.Nicklebe's Avatar
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    I can't beat match to save my life. I've had a go with traktor and my vci but it didn't go well I don't play out alot though so i get to avoid the potential abuse that comes with using the snyc button.

    I guess i'd like to learn to beat match properly but it will probs never happen unless i come across a pile of cash to buy a couple of CDJ's and a mixer
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  5. #5
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    I've spun with tables before. I haven't had enough experience with them using records I owned and knew to trust myself thru an entire set with them. Just messing around on friend's setups seeing if I could do it. I didn't have any issue getting beats synched and could feather a track ahead or back to keep it locked in.

    The way I REALLY figured out how to beat match was by listening to a track in winamp and matching it blindly with traktor running simultaneously.

    When I first started using Traktor I didn't know what beatgrids were or how to use them. I never knew how to setup beatgrids and never bothered. This obviously made it harder to line up tracks. It made the sync function more of an obstacle than something useful. I think this helped me train my ears in the same way I would have to if I was using vinyl. By the time I was out of the woods with Traktor figuring it out, I saw too many advantages to keep me from ever investing in a set of turntables.

    I have no problem beatmatching to the set before me (where somebody is using tables) in a club if it's not like 170 vs 140. Sometimes i'll just keep a 32 bar loop going until I match it to their track. I do this because since I don't know their track, I wanna make sure mine doesn't kick in before theirs is finished.

    Sometimes I still beatmatch in traktor, but it's a bit foolproof since (like cdjs) I can see the bpm in the gui. I still cue with headphones because I can't be arsed to get a beatgrid perfect for every track. You'll never see the sync button lit up when I play out. I have it double macrod with "play" and it's set to "hold" and not "toggle". I don't like relying on a beatgrid I may have been too stoned to set properly to keep things in order. I would rather trust my ears at the moment.
    Last edited by epsy; 01-01-2010 at 10:19 PM.

  6. #6
    Tech Guru narrah's Avatar
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    As I am only a begginer, I cannot beatmatch, saying that, Within the first day Of having my VCI i tried to manually beatmatch for a couple of hours, I watched demo's on Youtube with cdj's. Its definantly something that Is a priority in learning. Why? well for the obvious reasons as some have mentioned here, mixing in and out of someone elses set, Plus I really want to be able to use CDJ's, all my friends at home that are Dj's use them, And this time ill be getting some personal lessons. Yes later when I have the skill of being able to beatmatch, I might choose to use it seldomly, but to learn it is only an advantage, its definantly not what i would call a timewaster. I dont know if I would be able to refer to my self as a DJ without possesing the skill. Im not arguing the use or implementation of it, Just the ability to do it.
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  7. #7
    Tech Guru DJZILCH's Avatar
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    i mixed on vinyl for 5 years+ (with 1000+ collection of vinyl ) so i actually feel weird if i dont beatmatch!
    i then briefly moved on to cdjs, and then serato + vinyl timecode, and now i also got traktor scratch pro + timecode

    i will always use vinyl turntables tho or at least cdjs (prefer vinyl) - the only reason i use dvs is for tune organizing - i cant live without real decks
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  8. #8
    Tech Guru Lambox's Avatar
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    I've never even touched real TT's or even a CDJ.
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  9. #9
    Tech Guru josh@firestorm's Avatar
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    self taught on the turntables about 10 years ago after many hours watching dj's... jumping in the deep end without any help probably took me a little longer to know what im doing but im grateful for it!

  10. #10
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    I can beatmatch on cdj's.... I just kinda suck at phrasematching? I've only played around with cdj's on occasion, and while I could get the tracks synced up, my drop points were never really right, (where as I can do it in traktor cause o handy old beatjump).

    Beatmatching with a vci is kinda impossible (if you are not looking at the phase meter, or bpm readout). the pitch faders just are not good enough. at all.

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