DJing back to back - questions...?

DJ Gear & Hardware CDJ & Vinyl DJing
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1

DJing back to back - questions…?

Hi,

I’ve recently switched from using a Numark Mixtrack Pro II to buying Pioneer CDJ 850’s and a Pioneer mixer. I want to start getting gigs soon but I noticed a lot of the smaller gigs in my area which would be ideal for a first gig normally have two guys playing b2b (I mainly play trance btw).

Couple of questions about playing back to back…

  1. Since you don’t know what the other guy is going to play, how do you know when to start mixing out of his track - especially if you may never have heard that song before?

  2. Is it normally better to play one track each / two tracks each then swap or how does it ‘normally’ work?

Any other tips and suggestions about a back to back set would be appreciated :slight_smile:

2

When I play with my friend, we usually do 2-3 tracks each. I quite like it, as it gives you time to have a good think about which songs you want to play next. We usually play from the same playlist though and send each other new tracks beforehand.

Alternatively at parties, one of us has had too much to drink (generally him) so gets sidelined to choosing songs and playing with effects whilst I mix.

3

Listen to the tune, you should be able to anticipate starts/ends of phrases (i have no clue about trance as i don’t listen to/play it, but normally it’s all 16bars)

yeah, 1,2,3 all works depends on how you want to play, 1by1 works best for an ‘all out’ bangers set or b2b2b2b2b2b, 2 is good, but if you have want to get in your zone a bit and have some transitions in mind 3 is better. i wouldn’t go past 3 though.

4

Ideally you b2b with someone who you know..

For real fun use three decks, you each get one end table and swap the middle.

5

Yeah, you should probably have a quick discussion before you start. All the above are acceptable. Even doing 15 minute or longer intervals. Find your zone and someone you are comfortable with. It will all work out in the end!

6

I used to do this a lot with another DJ in my area. All the advice above is great. When we first started, we would talk about what we were going to play before hand and play 3 or 4 tracks a piece before switching.

After doing enough of these for awhile, we both kind of had a feel for what the other was going to do, so we didn’t really talk much about it before hand.

7

Regarding “never heard that track before how do I know…” it’s part of the fun, just make sure your partner warns you if something unexpected happens towards the end of the track!