I know guys on this board…as well as myself…who play 4 decks…and mix in key some of the time…and can bump between cues and drop samples and FX intelligently…without making it sound SHYTE.
So while i do tend to agree with you that there are MANY out there that sync and leave it there…there are many who do push the envelope…correctly without fucking about.
You just gotta find them.
They are few and far between…mostly still bedroom.
But wait…they will RISE!
I am the only guy i know who plays Psy with a Controller here in SA.
Its not big here…but its getting there.
It will weed out the COP outs…and elevate the envelope pushers…
Junk will fall to the side lines…like it usually does.
it depends on your gear, how serious you want to be about DJing, and what kind of events you’re playing. if you are a bedroom DJ or you want to DJ some weddings and bar mitzvas with a controller, i wouldn’t say it’s a necessary skill.
i know how to beatmatch but the way my controller is mapped i don’t have a tempo fader so i just use sync. i may never need to beatmatch again but i like knowing that i can do it.
[edit] not knocking bedroom DJs btw… just making the point that if nobody is watching, nobody will know.
When I was in school I learned to do math with a pencil and paper. These days I use a calculator. Nevertheless, having learned with pencil and paper means I understand a lot more about what’s going on when I need to do math, and I can do it in my head when I need to if a calculator isn’t available. Same with beatmatching (which, frankly, is just math – simple math at that). I learned on turntables and vinyl and have done it that way for years; I can still do it that way when I need to (and often do it just for fun). But pressing sync is like using a calculator - it saves time and energy to concentrate on other things (not just messing with effects, which I try to keep to a minimum, but more basic things like song selection and phrasing).
And by the way if you’re using traktor and you’re looking at the screen, you’re not really beatmatching, not by ear anyway. If you’re looking at the phase meter and the BPM value you don’t need to use your ears. In fact try beatmatching without even listening to the songs – you can do it right every time without the sync button and without your ears just by looking at the visual cues. Sync is just another tool that puts it all together for you. If you don’t like using it, fine, but it doesn’t make you a better DJ or even a better beatmatcher.
dnb and breaks are almost always 4/4. I really can’t think of any tracks that aren’t. And they generally sound fine when beatmatched correctly – sure, you can mess it up if the drum patterns are radically different but it’s not a question of different time signatures. When dealing with vinyl where I haven’t clocked the BPM I actually find it easier to beatmatch dnb than house sometimes, since the tempo and phrasing of dnb tends to vary a lot less than much house music. I find dnb extremely predictable musically.
this, why on earth people can’t use ye olde search function I will never know, as for the question i love sync it makes me feel wonderful, I was beatmatching back in the late 80’s and I can still do it now, thankfull i don’t have to
I dont see the big deal really. I think the only point turntable vinyl guys can bring up is beatmatching cuz thats all they can say. now a days technology makes digital dj’s alot more portable and easy to setup, i just think they need to stop holding on to beatmatching like its some sacred treasure or something. Now ive learned to beat match and beat match all my tracks in. no sync. i do use syne to keep them in time tho. this is after ive got the two tracks working together. I do this cuz i like to do long blends and the sync helps keep them locked together. I only think u should use sync if ur doing stuff like ean golden. even he sometimes doesnt use it.
I see your point chris, and tend to agree that beatmatching is a useful skill to have in your arsenal. However i have to disagree on a couple of points.
Firstly, since a club is equally as likely to book you either on the strength of a mix tape or even your online popularity, i doubt they’re going to hand you some vinyl and give you a beatmatching exam first.
Secondly, what are you going to be playing on the club system? Not having to burn and carry around a big book of CDs is part of the advantage of digital DJing. One or two CDs in case of a crash maybe, but it doesn’t take that long to restart.
Also, another one of the big advantage of the digital revolution is that it opens up DJing to a wide range of people without the need for an expensive pair of Decks/CDJs and mixer. These days I would go so far as to say that beatmatching by ear is not by any means the first skill you need to learn as a new DJ, more of an additional bonus once you’ve got the hang of the other basics.
true, digital djing offers so many possibilities. i just think that people take to much advantage of it.
learning digital doesnt give you the full experience as you would learn on vinyl or cds.
i’ve seen many people who haver never in their life even touched vinyl but their all digital.
my prefered setup at a club is bringing my laptop and 2 vinyls. all i need. the club has an audio 8 and a very good mixer, as well as turntables.
timecode and play
edit: i also always bring cd’s with me whenever i go to any show.
digital may have more possibilities but it also has a chance of crashing.
thats why i think people should know how to beatmatch.
if something happens and you need to use the cdj’s you have experience
see thats ur setup. i dont have to touch vinyl at all, but i have. dont see what the full experience is. just cuz ive never driven a original ferrari, i cant go out and buy i new one with more features and is easier to drive?
unless the ‘bad transitions’ are severe double beating train wrecks, 99% of people in the crowd dont notice. it’s only the dj’s in the crowd that would pick up on it. so unless everyone in Duluth, Minnesota is a dj i can’t see it being that big of a deal.
if i had a dollar for the each time i’ve been out with friends and pointed out ‘bad transitions’ to them and they just shrug and say they didnt notice… i’d have paid cash for a murcielago
energy is lost by dropping your next track in the wrong part of the structure, or by not reading your crowd and dropping the wrong track.
beatmatching is a required skill in any dj’s asenal as you never know when you’ll need to use it (gear fail/mixing into previous dj’s set) - but knowing your tracks IS a must.
Sorry to bang on about this, but isn’t that like saying sure, iPods are great, but people should really be using CD walkmans? or only loading their iPods with 1 album at a time to truly emulate the hardships of when CDs were the only way? Why not take full advantage of everything digital systems have to offer!
I honestly don’t see a problem with that. I’ll avoid using the iPod/walkman analogy again but really why should people have to learn vinyl? Beatmatching doesn’t necessarily have to be on vinyl, and there is a reason they don’t make 1200s any more - the technology is antiquated.
As I said earlier, I do like vinyl and enjoy playing it, but that’s all it is: it’s fun for me. I don’t think new DJs should feel a duty to learn on vinyl.
EDIT just re read that and you did mention CDJs as well, yes I agree people should know at least the basics of how to use one.
as for taking advantage of something.
i cant think of an analogy. but what i mean is, using to much of something that pretty much does all the work for you, then when you need to do something that doesn’t do all the work for you, you’ll be lost and confused.
i just feel that every club dj should have experience with some sort of vinyl or cd in case something goes wrong.
i’m just the kind of person that may come off rude, but i’ve dealt with some pretty huge dicks when i started out. and i want people to learn that in the music industry you cant take the easy way out all the time.
yes i will admit sync can be useful. but you should be able to beatmatch without it.
That stuff is expensive. I can see in ten years clubs not having gear in the booth because the DJ’s bring their own kit or have riders and the clubs have to rent the kit.
It’s like when it switched from film to digital. You learned so much about exposure and composition developing and cropping your own film that it went a long way to making you a better photographer. “Real” photographers told the new kids to learn how to develop your film because it’ll make you a better photographer. blah, blah, blah been there done that and it’s completely irrelevant in photography now and will be in the future for DJ’ing.
