So I have finally taken the plunge a couple weeks ago and got the Knotrol S2. I’ve made a couple mixes, and I’m somewhat satisfied with some my my results, however I am in the middle of debating with myself on which method is really the better fit for me.
On the one hand is the Live DJ set. While the S2 is not a pair of SL1200’s, it does give a lot of scratch control over the set. Of course with me being over 12 years rusty in any real DJ gig (and really 15+ years touching vinyl) I get a little disappointed at where I am getting back into a grove. Also being a father with a wife and two kids, time will always be limited to what I can devote to the craft.
On the other hand is the Studio DJ style. I could make some very very tight mixes, and given that I don’t have as much time as I want to put into it, I can simply pick up where I left off and only publish a highly polished mix. However it seems less organic, less visceral than being behind a deck and judging the next song in the set withing a short period of time.
Has anyone dealt with this similar dilemma? What choices did you end up making?
I much prefer listening to a live set though, where I know someone was mixing on the fly, rather than a studio mixdown where someone tweaked things to make them perfect.
The imperfections sometimes give it that realism and character that I really love.
I usually end up recording a live set from Traktor into Ableton, and fixing things up afterwards. I try to keep sets at exactly one hour, so I may need to cut out a few parts, trim it down, or tweak the bass, etc.
It depends on how you’re offering the set, people will understand any sort of mistakes if you advertise it as a “Live Mix”, but if you’re calling it something else like, “GIRL POWER! Workout Mix Vol.01”, people are going to expect perfection. If that makes sense. (And yes, I do have a mix called that, hahaha.)
Quite true. The past couple weeks I have been family free since they are visiting relatives. But soon they will be back and I can imagine my time will be far less available.
The question was along the lines of a studio dj that has switched to live, or live dj that has switched to studio, reasoning behind them, pros, cons, etc.
That would be one way to do it (using both). Right now I have not done any post-editing of a live mix yet. I had been thinking more of a choice between Ableton Live (non Intro) v. S2+TP2 since price wise they are similar. I got the S2, and if anything I have been highly critical of my mixes so far. A miscue here, a total screw-up there (in one mix I was 55 minutes into it when I accidentally loaded a track into my playing deck. Granted it’s been ages since I have done this, but I do demand perfection from myself.
No offence but what are a purpose of “studio mixes”.
Seems way less fun than “live mix” and you can’t use them for demos etc.
If you guys do that sometimes, why ?
(i repeat, no offence intended i’m just curious)
i usually play or listen to tracks daily…in a few days time i have i them sorted in my head…and then put them together in a mix that i try and polish…DJing is like golf and baseball…there aren’t too many, if any, “perfect games”…
name me a Studio DJ that is good at what they do…they would have to be well versed in club life to put together a good mix…
I still don’t understand what you are asking…
(not being a dick…just trying to figure out why you are processing this thought)…(really)…
To me, DJing implies “live” performance.
Mixing clip with the ability to ajust them on the computer, avoinding any mistakes etc, repeating transitions over and over to make sure they are perfect, i dont know, it’s weird to me.
Or maybe i misunderstood what you meant by “studio dj”.
I’m WELL into studio mixes. You can do things in a studio mix that you can’t do live.
BUT - if you’re making studio mixes that sound like, or try to sound like, a DJ set, then you are failing. (Although, a lot of ideas that I have for studio mixes end up as tracks on their own, which CAN be played in a DJ set…)
You have to make the most of your gear. If you’re not using a studio mix to show what can be done, then you’re just using it to cover up the fact that you can’t do live what you can do in a studio mix.
Anyone with half a brain can make an A>B blend mix in Ableton, and knock up a 74min “Studio” mix. I could do it in 10 minutes (and I haven’t even got half a brain…)
Like I said - I’m a BIG fan of (making and listening to) studio mixes. To me they are a more accurate demonstration of what the DJ hears in their head. A LOT of effort goes into studio mixes. A lot of thought and research, etc…
Bottom line for me - a studio mix gives you a much broader overview of the DJ. Live DJ mixes/sets are a snapshot. There’s nothing the DJ can do about what has just happened in the mix (good or bad). But in a studio mix, the DJ has full control of the finished product. If the studio mix doesn’t give a perfect interpretation of the DJ - then the studio mix is not doing what it is supposed to.
I’ve been DJing for quite a long time and I’ve never heard of this concept of ‘studio mixing’. What the hell are you all talking about?! Is it just what people used to call a Pro Tools mix, where you line everything up in a DAW and bounce it down? Sounds like a hella boring way to spend an afternoon to me…
when I do a “studio” mix I basically free style a mix that I like using key bpm energy etc… whilst doing this id usually do a practise session which would mean trying blends I wouldnt really do too often, using fx I wouldnt use live just to see if anything adds too my songs or ruins them then after around an hour give or take a song or too I would take my set list and move it into a program called mix-meister… I would then peice together my mix working out perfect blends for all my songs and mix down… this can be done in about 5 mins for an hour mix… its similar to what shiftee does… he sticks record on then does the same blend over and over till he gets it right then sticks it together in a daw to make one big mix… but occasionally its fun to do a live mix… I always find they loose their energy compaired to playing live though.
I would agree that with a “studio mix” everyone should be seeking perfection. You have a potentially infinite time to research the right mix between not only the songs, but the entire definition of your mix (e.g. the theme). It’s it solely a harmonized mix? Are you mashing up a pair of equally messaged songs while transitioning into another mashed pair? Personally I would expect excellence.
The “live DJ” has more room for error, that is if he/she is not cheating and splices up a few live mixes. That is why I am not sure of the post-editing nature that some mentioned in this thread. Taking a live mix to level out tracks, or clean up some transitions with over-effects, it’s not “cheating” but it is taking that snapshot and altering it somewhat.
As for my OP, I’m still a bit torn. Trying to find time to live DJ with the hopes someday to get good enough (again) to rock a club, or put together a tight ass studio mix but maybe lose that “rawness” of the live mix.
