DJing with sync, mixing in/handover
So if you did not know how to beatmatch and relied on sync. How do you mix into the previous DJ?
It has only occurred to me recently after all these years that if you rocked up with your controller and only knew how to press the sync button to beatmatch you could not flawlessly mix into the last tune.
Unless you at least knew some rudimentary basics of beatmatching.
So I am a bit confused on how all these DJ’s who rely on sync do this?
I mean you can just see what the current BPM is and then set your track BPM to match it. It’s not that hard to drop the song on the beat.
Right so if the last DJ was using real vinyl what do you do?
Or an old CDJ 1000 MK3 with no accurate BPM readout?
Also there is no quantise between two systems so its highly unlikely you can drop it perfectly on the first beat and not need to fine tune it with some pitch bending of some sort.
You can just cut it out entirely and have an introduction/hype up.
I mean no matter what, the DJ should have prepared for their set by knowing the BPM of their songs. They aren’t gonna go into the booth and have no clue what the BPM is. You can just ask the previous DJ the BPM.
I really don’t think it’s that big of an issue, but I’m just speculating.
Very rarely do the DJs here actually mix seamlessly.
Cut it out? Are you serious?
I agree that DJ’s should be prepared with the BPM of their sets. It is often a common curtesy at the gigs I play at to know beforehand what the previous DJ is expecting to leave the BPM at so you can design the beginning of your set to start at that BPM.
However even then the previous DJ is not going to leave it at an exact BPM and unless they are using software or something like the latest CDJ 2000 are they going to be able to report to you the exact BPM the track is playing at.
At every gig I play, the music is continuous with no breaks and seamless from the beginning of the night to the last tune.
Pretty much every major DJ that has come through my city to play a show has had a hype up/intro mix made. They just kill the opener DJ’s set and then start up the headliner’s intro.
And as far as local DJs, they all digital DJ so that has never been a problem.
I dunno. It just seems like you’re exaggerating the problem. A 0.1-0.2 BPM discrepancy isn’t going to be extremely noticeable especially if they’re doing a very quick transition.
yeah, but there are those that have no idea how to match two tracks manually. at all. i’ve witnessed some guys trying and failing miserably trying to mix into the guy before him. he was so off that they had to fade out which kinda killed the mood the guy before him had going on (sidenote: the guy that had no clue was a regular at one of the clubs in town at that time).
i’d love to see a guy who only use sync, mix their stuff into a guy playing vinyl. And seriously who asks the last DJ the bpm of their last track, that made me laugh.
And unless your the headliner, you do not just cut it out. Even if you think this is the best way, be courteous and let the last dj’s track play out. Rude if you just suddenly cut it half way through.
I mean of course you just don’t cut out their track. You let it play to close then you start up your set.
pull it/fade it, start fresh
You could use one of these techniques…since they do not all rely on seamless beatmatching.
That said…grabbing the mic is the 20 pound sledge hammer of transitions…
Use a BPM tap app on your smart phone.
Hell you can BPM tap in Traktor.
What you could do, is actually learn the basic fundamental skills of DJing, instead of being like a kid who didn’t learn his times tables and went straight on to using a calculator. Just a thought.
^^^^ This
I can’t expect a dj that has never beat matched to be able to pull off a flawless set even with sync..maybe I’m wrong here.
That Said I did beat match for a long while 15 years or so, and now just sync. Usually I just let the other djs song end, and wait a beat or 2 for effect and to reset the vibe , then drop my first tune. If this simply won’t do then I can still match it up, but that’s rare.
shameless brutal crossfade
Yeah dude, learning to beatmatch really isn’t that hard. Get your stuff on beat and ride the pitch control if necessary to keep the beats matched until you’ve entirely faded into your setup. And getting your stuff on beat is so easy with digital files and cue points, much easier than vinyl. All you need is to be relatively beat matched for eight bars.
You could also open your set with a part of a song that’s just a long synth or effect sounding thing that really has no rhythm, fade out from previous dj’s setup to yours before the rhythm kicks in.
But I see no reason to not practice beat matching for when those situations occur.
My question was not because I can’t beatmatch.
Rather I wanted to know the experiences of DJ’s who couldn’t beatmatch and what they did in situations where the mix into the previous DJ.
The question came about because I watched someone attempt that. I knew they couldn’t beatmatch very well as they relied on sync.
^^^Exactly!