this. beatmatching is nice.. but it isn’t necessary. i learned it a good year After I started DJing. I used sync at first.. and I STILL use sync. I know how to beatmatch as a ‘just in case’… but I use a controller, so there never is a just in case moment for me. I just bring my controller, plug into the booth, and away I go.
Beatmatching is very over rated. It’s a skill that old school DJs harp on because they didn’t learn any other skills. Just my 2 cents. (uh oh, I def opened the anger flood gates on this one). But… its okay… bed room DJs can keep beatmaching in their room. Id rather make my mixes sound clean and enjoyable and be working on clubs and bars.
Phrasing is way more important than beatmatching IMHO.
So you’re saying people who CAN beatmatch DON’T sound ‘clean and enjoyable’?
Beatmatching and phrasing are just as important as eachother.. It’s about knowing your tracks and being able to beatmatch them.
The thing is, beatmatching isn’t an ‘old skool’ thing as you like to put it… It’s still happening everywhere.. NOT just in people’s bedrooms.. And it works in clubs.. And yes.. It sounds clean and enjoyable.
I’d love to see these people who rely on the sync button tremble at the thought of not having it..
no i wasn’t saying that. i didnt say that. Viny DJs have some of the best flows and transitions… but this notion that YOU MUST beat match to be a REAL DJ is so silly. i say beginners should use sync, and learn how to EQ, phrase, and then slowly practice to Beatmatch.
Beatmatching should be the first thing you learn. It is the fundamental skill of DJing.
Yes, you can fade intro’s and outro’s etc, but will that get you a gig? Not so sure.
Will you get any kind of kudo’s from your fellow DJ’s? Not so sure.
I recon that when you beatmatch, you learn to listen to your cue…whilst listening to the monitor.
This is almost like playing piano where each hand does something different.
Without it, your foundation is just not right.
Yes, you CAN do it the way you explained…but personally I feel that it is not the right path.
It is really easy to fall into the Sync trap and not learn to beatmatch. You are losing out on the DJ experience imho.
Yes, it will make you feel that you getting somewhere and egg you on…in your quest…but its SO easy to just rely on it and not move forward skills wise.
then what you are describing is a LAZY PERSON… and a Sync function should not be blamed for poor work ethic. its as simple as that. Don’t blame the machine or a function, blame the lazy person.
Beatmatching is the hardest (and most rewarding) thing you will learn as a DJ. Your brain has to build new pathways, and you have to learn to listen to and distinguish between multiple simultaneous sound sources.
Anyone choosing to do this instead of taking the shortcut (ie - learning to DJ with sync ON from the beginning) is NOT being lazy.
You can tell a DJ apart from a normal person, because beatmatching becomes part of life:
Pull up behind a car with it’s indicators on - you have to get your indicators in sync to the music.
Driving in the rain - sync your wipers to the music that’s playing
Two of my crew of four ONLY sync, vs my mate and I who played timecoded vinyl, and now mostly vinyl + the odd bit of usb stick in a cdj and sometimes tc vinyl.
They’ve been saying they want to get into doing it manually but have never gotten around to doing it. They rely entirely on it, can’t mix without loops and throw tracks out of phase all the time (snare on kick and the like), so for them the whole process that you go through when learning the old fashioned way has been skipped. This is what most DJs with a good handle on the traditional process will imply when turning their nose at sync jockeys - it’s not all about just beatmatching.
This makes for shitty mixes because we will often be forced to mix and match the four of us in limited timeslots, so my mate and I have to ride their traktor pitch faders otherwise it sounds like total arse, effectively holding all of us back technically (this irks me to no end).
In our local scene, the “traditional” style is more and more a mark of credibility, so it’s not just a technical setback there.
no. thats called learning. who in ur right mind do you think you are to say that there is only ONE way to DJ and ONE way to learn.
Pilots dont just jump in an airplane and learn on the fly. NO OTHER profession forces you to jump in and learn everything all at once as you go. There are chapters/sections/courses to everything, and its pathetic that narrow-minded people will look down on a talented DJ just cause he has 4/5s of “being a DJ” down, except he will use Sync to keep his tracks together when needed.
now if he refuses to learn, then he is lazy… but to call people out cause they use sync is fkin retarded. The FOUNDER of this site you are using is a HUGE supporter of sync. I’ve actually had the pleasure of talking to Ean Golden when he came to Drexel in Philly…
so, as I said… you hates can keep praising beatmatching as the end all be all… meanwhile, tons of kids who are working harder and thinking outside of the box are passing you guys by and taking your gigs.
(Note- before all you guys who beatmatch come out with your pitchforks… realize that I knew beatmatching is important… but its not what it used to be 10, or even 5 years ago. And I know how to beat match. it took me less than a week to figure it out. its not rocket science. get off your high horses.)
by the way, heres a pic of A-Traks vine he posted. (an app like instagram if you dont know what it is). its obvious that he is using Sync in traktor. Hes an excellent DJ. hes prolly one of my favorites. hes a legend. he knows how to DJ. he uses vinyl. hes been djings since he was 15. but he uses sync sometimes.
Hahahah - This gem hidden in plain sight with all the other nonsense, is by far the most ridiculous thing you’ve put in you post. You cant honestly be telling me that you think that all the “old school” Dj’s only know how to beatmatch as they have no other skills? In fact the inverse is true. DJ’s back in the day didn’t have a plethora of cue points and FX to ruin..oops.. improve a track with. They made do with excellent record selection, control of of the flow and EQ and creating a vibe. NOT by mashing together multiple tracks/FX/Samples.
There are far too many DJs about now who equate activity with quality. Not EVERY track needs to be layered with 3 others and being hidden behind a blur of FX. Sometimes (often) less is more.
of course im being very general/broad and im lumping in really talented old school DJs. like i said, i know tons of vinyl DJs who have amazing skill and talent. but maybe now you realize how dumb it sounds when u generalize a whole group of DJs that use Sync as lazy and useless.
