Hey guys,
I guess this is probably a somewhat redundant place to post my article (since all of us accept digital DJing), but I wanted to share my article.
Any feedback, input, criticism, etc. is really appreciated (especially if you do it on my blog and make it look like people actually read it! - and I’ve just transfered hosts so there are only the most recent posts for now).
Note: This is not an attack towards vinyl or CDJ users. I am not arguing that digital is better than either. This is for those of you who believe you are above digital DJs because you use vinyl, that a SYNC button is cheating, and that using software is killing the art form.
Read your article, and agree with it for the most part.
But I think it comes down to something else too. It’s learn to walk before you can run in a sense. That’s how I see it at least. A lot of the vinyl guys have more respect for someone who uses “sync” but also has the ability to spin on CDJ’s or Vinyl. It’s more of a choice, and less of a “crutch” how they see it.
That being said, that’s how I see it somewhat as well. Not that I dislike the sync button, but I feel that learning something starting from the bottom up generally gives you better results in the end. I mean hell, that’s why they teach us all that useless math in HS (IMO - Unless you are going into a mathematical profession I have not found it helpful in the least).
It’s just a difference in opinion really, and change being what it is.
Ok, read it and disagree with the implication that ‘learning how to hit sync means you don’t have to spend years learning to beatmatch’ - I play lots of old funk and soul, and stuff based on it, the beat is wandering all over the shop, so you have to learn to listen and adjust. If you’re solely played EDM with a totally quantised beat them what you’re saying is true, but I don’t think it’s a dividing line between ‘us and them’.
Think the point about ‘technology moving on’ is appropriate though - some vinyl DJs remind me of the critics of the original cars, whilst they’re sat in a coach and horses …
(coming from someone currently learning the vagueries of playing vinyl on decks as the first step to learning how to scratch properly - the idea of using vinyl as a control surface with a VCI/X1 to control FX & cue points and decks C&D for samples and loops being where I want to end up I think)
Interesting read mate. Good stuff! To be fair i’ve met a lot of traktor dj’s who still cant mix for shit even with gridded and synced tunes. In fact some of them are pretty clueless. This is where some vinyl or cdj experience will pay off, not only with beat matching, but also actual mixing, eq’s, levels etc. Beatmatching is only a small part of the job in my opinion phrasing and smooth eqing are a lot more important.
I also know a few old vinyl dinosaurs but i don’t have any arguments with them, nothing but respect actually. Live and let live i say. Let your mixing speak for itself
But I think respect amongst peers (Fellow DJ’s) is also important.
They recommend you for gigs…and are part of your network.
If you are not respected there…you gonna find it tough to get ahead.
Sure…you get the odd HATED person who makes it big…but its usually cuz the feeling to their peers is one of cop-out.
Was just saying to a mate…i personally would respect a DJ more …if he knows all the ins and outs. Goes without saying.
If you have only DJed digitally using sync and do it in its most basic form…I say you have missed the WHOLE DJ experience.
This person’s passion needs to shine through…if they had passion…they would WANT the experience and would learn the other forms too.
Look at me…i have been at it for a good few years…and am STILL wanting to learn to scratch as it is a facet of DJing.
I get this - there’s a bunch of bodies that I get on with really well as mates in and around Bristol, they play the same sort of stuff as me, but the head honcho has ‘vinyl only’ rules for his main nights. The other guys use Serato on other nights but not on their main one. Fucking irrititating is what it is …
That article isnt a “A Wake Up Call For All You Vinyl Snobs” at all.
Its a basic argument that you hear all the time. Vinyl snobs will always be vinyl snobs.
You cant talk them round. Its pointless. Digital snobs will always hate on ‘traditionalists’.
Mac vc PC / Serato vs Traktor / Vinyl vs Digital.
May as well argue the Red is nicer than Blue… pointless.
Do what you do and don’t worry about anyone else. If they don’t like it then fuck em. If you don’t like what they do then fuck you, do it differently and shut up.
One of the things I think about when it comes to the technological advancement of music gear is this.
When I record for my band, I can sit at home and do a thousand takes until I am satisfied, and generally improve my skills in the process. And after that I can use all my mixing knowledge and “skills” to make that sound even better. However once upon a time this was not the case and acts like the Beatles or the Temptations would record accapella on 1-3 takes. There is something special about analogue skills when displayed, it’s obvious to the spectator. In the uprising of digital technology, there are some serious skills on display, but it seems to me it’s more subtle to an audience. It doesn’t have to be, but once the convenience of technology is embraced, personally I find it difficult to “showcase” my skills as I might without the convenience.
I’m a drummer as well, but I can program better sounding music than I can play drums. I got mad drum programming skills. When I push a play button, and mash up my beats, it sounds great coming out of the PA, and I have fun playing synths and shit over it. People come to shows and they love it. HOWEVER, if I were doing it on a drum set, there is no doubt people would think I was a total badass and they would tell everyone about it. I would surly get more respect from my musician peers, even if my drums were hooked up to digital gear.
Same goes for DJing. Because I “can” make my gear help me perform a badass mix, does not cheapen my skills, but it does make it easy for me to hide them from the viewer.
Thanks for the feedback all. I appreciate everything.
@ BigC & Teiresias: I was using the idea of the “SYNC button as replacing years of practicing” in more of a critical sense that vinyl users would suggest. It was an over-simplification to make a point.
I definitely agree in the learning to “walk before you run” philosophy. An abstract painter who first learned the fundamentals and classical techniques will have much more credibility and respect than someone who just jumped into it.
Although, (this is just a thought I have for you all and myself) if the end product is the same, does credibility really matter? Respect among peers is always important, but if only doing it for their sake, what’s the point?
Karlos, thanks for your feedback. But I have to say I completely disagree with you. First off (and maybe I’m clueless here, so correct me if I am), but I haven’t heard of digital snobs hating on traditionalists (if there are, they’re idiots in the first place).
I don’t think it’s “Vinyl vs. Digital” at all. I mix digitally. I’m not at all against vinyl (in fact I’m learning right now an absolutely loving it). I guess if you’re taking the example of “snobs only of all types”,your argument works, but that’s not my point.
Andy Warhol wasn’t “against” classical artists. And I highly doubt he thought he was “better” than them. I’d bet the same if the process could be reversed.
In the end, what I’m arguing for is that there are all types of different art forms, in painting and in DJing. Let traditionalists (vinyl users) be traditionalists (vinyl users) and modernists (digital) be modernists (digital). Sure, one’s embraced technology while another has not (technique vs concept vs end result), but the point is they are both valid. They can both exist without one needing to replace the other.
I guess I could have written this article on the reverse as well (“digital only kids”), but I haven’t had to deal with that myself.
There’s a whole slew of digital snobs. I think the only difference is that they have a little more respect for the vinyl guys. There’s more vinyl guys that have no respect at all for the digital guys which I guess makes them worse. But the digital snobs harp on the fact that vinyl is dead and digital is the superior way.
Yeah I agree with you on the point you made. Sometimes if the end result is the same, it doesn’t matter if you can “walk before you can run” really. But that only works for very FEW people. Most people honestly need the background behind it, and a lot will take off running without learning it.
I guess I have yet to meet digital snobs. Sound like complete idiots though. Maybe I’m just lucky, but for the most part, most digital DJs I meet would love to learn to use turntables.
. When I push a play button, and mash up my beats, it sounds great coming out of the PA, and I have fun playing synths and shit over it. People come to shows and they love it. HOWEVER, if I were doing it on a drum set, there is no doubt people would think I was a total badass and they would tell everyone about it. I would surly get more respect from my musician peers, even if my drums were hooked up to digital gear.