Hey guys, I hope anyone can give a clear answer on a question about a matter I’m dealing with. It’s quite a story, but it’s to give you guys a clear, exact view on what situation I’m dealing with. People not wanting to read it, start at the -->
So, an explanation of my situation:
2 years ago I got into DJing, and bought a Numark NS7 as I disliked CDJs and wanted to have the turntable feeling together with the digital possibilities. This seemed to be the perfect option, however I’m not completely happy with it. Why not? Because the easy available option to sync wrecks any challenge for me to even start mixing. Everywhere you look, you see markers and tools to instantly sync tracks, and when that’s done, what’s left? I got no FX or anything Even at gigs, quite often I’m just bored by having nothing to do anymore (also feeling restricted), let alone that I don’t even care to touch my gear at home. I miss the fun of DJing
I’ve been looking into many digital setup options to create more features to do next to mixing (read: syncing) such as sampling and live beatmaking, but something tells me that it’s the syncing that takes away all the fun, and that I can’t simply redeem that fun factor by fooling around with some button bashing. I’m not into production at all either, haven’t got the patience for it.
→ So here comes the interest for a DVS setup. One downside: using software still gives you the possibility to sync tracks, so doesn’t necessarily solve my problem of missing the fun of mixing. So, my question is: with a DVS setup, how large is the tendency to sync tracks? Is it easily available, or is it more natural to beatmatch by ear, doing it the oldschool way (and just using the laptop for your music collection)?
I hope I made my problem understandable for you guys, and that you can help me with this. I want to do more with my love for DJing, but this matter certainly blocks me at the moment!
Even if the software you use has a sync function, you can always ignore and not use it. I’ve been using TSP for almost 2 years now and I have never touched that sync button.
[QUOTE=Nicadraus;407946]Even if the software you use has a sync function, you can always ignore and not use it. I’ve been using TSP for almost 2 years now and I have never touched that sync button.
Me either. I love the DVS experience because you can move the physical position of a cue point on a record around with dvs. It is wicked. Load times are unreal. The record never comes off the platter, but the song gets switched INSTANTLY. You have access to effects that you wouldn’t otherwise have. You only have to move the needle once every 12 or so minutes. It’s awesome!
If you’re tempted by the sync I don’t think it matters if you’re on a controller or dvs. You just need to ignore it for a bit and rely on your ears and knowledge of your tracks.
Saying you’re bored though makes me wonder how much attention you’re paying to what you’re playing. If anything going manual will make you focus more on the tracks you’re mixing and once you get good at it, you’ll have a better ear for what you can do next (fx, samples, live beat making, etc).
Don’t do it if you’re planning on selling your NS7, and don’t blame me if you can’t sell it if you take this as a piece of advice, but…………
Have you considered physically breaking the sync buttons on the NS7? Or if it’s out of warranty, have you considered taking it apart and disconnecting the sync buttons (or having an electronics repair shop do it for you)?
That also takes away the option without forcing you to buy a bunch of gear.
Also…Serato and I never got along all that well (I bought and sold it twice), but it doesn’t have a sync button…so you could go that route for your DVS if you really want to avoid sync.
Interesting statement. Fact is, when DJing, I feel like I’m on too much distance from the music I’m playing. When doing a gig, I’m mostly just loading in a new track, sync it, place a loop, trying to trick around (but nothing much interesting can be done without any filters/FX), and mix the new track in and the old one out. Been there, done that.
I’m missing the challenge in this workflow. So it’s either syncing and creating more options to trick around with FX/sampling/beatmaking/whatever, or going back all the way to the beginning, working harder to mix those two tracks in the first place (by using turntables). As DJing vinyl only is getting quite impossible and already having a good laptop, it would become a DVS.
Nope, but I will now. Even though it sounds a bit…weird to wreck your own gear on purpose
I mean…at my last job, they used PCs (like most businesses). And the keyboard kept screwing with me because of the num lock key, which doesn’t exist on my keyboard. I’d be entering data and all of a sudden delete half what I was working on because I’d bumped it.
So, it wound up in the trash and all was well. That and the caps lock key, because in OS X you can reassign the modifiers and I kept hitting it when I wanted to hit ctrl.
Think of it as the world’s easiest mod.
Just be careful you don’t actually do serious damage to your gear.
I was strongly against DVS until I realized YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SYNC. The main reason I ended up going with a DVS is because of the availability of tunes. I scour about 25-30 tracks a week. On vinyl, that would have taken about two months. I never get bored. I am constantly listening to tunes and placing cue points. I have had TSP for 6 months and have never used sync. To keep it interesting, I still buy vinyl and mix it in with my digital tunes. If it is too tempting to use, simply unmap the function or embrace it. The end is result is all that matters.
Does the Numark actually force you to use the sync feature? Or can you just ignore it?
I agree with others that say you should look at what else you’re doing if you’re bored. Beatmatching itself is not DJing, and really it’s just math. I’m not saying beatmatching itself isn’t fun and interesting, but if the entirety of the fun of DJing is in doing the math, there might be some other problem there.
Pretty much this. Beatmatching is not the be all and end all of DJing. When it boils down to it, as long as your mix sounds awesome and the dance floor is pumping, it doesn’t matter what techniques you use.
That said, as a skill, it is very useful to have, and all it takes is about 2 hours to learn to do.
As a sidenote, I can already beatmatch. So it’s not that I’m thinking about a DVS for learning it
I’m just trying to find a way to make it more fun again, as I never tend to even start up my gear at home anymore. I’m always searching for new music and I love looking for DJ gear, but the DJing itself doesn’t really interest me anymore at the moment. I guess it’s just a creativity block I’m dealing with…
It is obvious the music you are playing is the reason you are bored. My DJing experience is well beyond 20 years. The only time I am bored mixing is when the music is not my cup of tea.
Maybe I’m just slow but it took me a lot longer than that even to hear the difference between the two songs on the different records. I’ve been DJing over 20 years and beatmatching for most of that but I did not learn it in 2 hours. That may be all it took to understand the principle of it but actually physically mastering it - ears, hands, and perception all together - took weeks, if not months.
As a rather new DJ myself, I initially felt your pain. However, I have been using CDJs, and I want to let you know that your problem does not sound like it is with using the sync button. Initially, I was simply letting song A play all the way through, beatmatching song B in at about the last 30 seconds, and then transitioning to song B. And it was SO BORING. I then realized that there is a whole level of creativity involved with DJing, such as individual parts of songs to blend into, swap out drops, etc. I realized that techniques such as beatmatching, cutting, etc. were all tools of DJing rather than DJing itself, and that there is a difference between creating a mix and transitioning between songs.
If the music is right for the night and there are other people listening and enjoying it, yes.
If it’s just me…I get bored very quickly if I’m not a huge fan of the tools I’m using. Traktor is getting boring to me, and controllerism is not the answer (for me).
Maybe going back to decks is…I’ll have to find out. But the answer might actually be just not spinning at home anymore.
