learning to mix

Former Member · December 2007

how cheaply could i get started at mixing?
i have a shitload of cd albums and quite a few mp3s, so cdjs or some way of mixing mp3s is what im after.
a couple of basic cdjs? and speakers? anything else i may need? the most basic should do, its only for me to mess about with occasionally. i reckon i could use the speakers ive use for my stereo atm.

i wish i got into mixing more 6/7 years ago now. im nearly 24, but ive always wanted to get into this....
i have used computer mixing programs, and have done some sick mixes and mashups, but at the end of the day, although my tune selection and set structure is good (if i do say so myself), a pc does the majority of the beatmatching and i want to learn to do it myself.

i love messing about on my mates decks, but they all have different tastes to me, and very limited vinyl. Plus its hard to practice at a party when everyone wants some decent tunes on, and im there trying to perfect a mix by rewinding it 5 times.

how cheaply could i get started? any recommendations?
pioneers cdj-100s? a good place to start? or cdj-200?
or a different brand?

even proper decks to use with serato (or similar) is an option.
(using vinyl is not an option. ive spent 10 years and 1000's of pounds on my music collection already, and i dont want and cant afford a load of vinyl too.)
would proper decks be a cheaper option?

thanks

Former Member · December 2007

http://www.numark.com/totalcontrol

this is about 175 quid. would this be appropiate?

Former Member · December 2007

Well, I've always been interested in my house music. My interest started back in the mid 1990s, when I got my first radio for Christmas. I used to listen to Radio 1 on Friday nights, and heard of something called The Essential Selection. They played this music that I'd never heard before, and I was hooked straight away. Okay, so I admit some people might consider Pete Tong to be chessier than a Stilton factory, but it doesn't matter to me - he's pretty much the man who introduced this sound to me. Within a few years, I got myself a double-decker radio casette player and started "mixing" tunes via the very technical means of playing two tapes at the same time. Most of the mixes I made sounded terrible, admittedly, but you've got to start somewhere!

Just under three years ago, a mate of mine showed me her turntables. She had this pretty big collection of records, some of which I recognised from the years gone by. She taught me about beat-matching and about the other basics of mixing on vinyl. It went fairly well, although I haven't had much practice on the ones and twos since. Nowadays, I do just about all my mixing via MP3s. I use a program called Virtual DJ. (see www.virtualdj.com for more) I first downloaded a trial version of it, and was so impressed, I bought the full version. It's perfect for what I need - and you can hook up equipment to your laptop, and it will work fine with them. I've had no problems so far. However, I suspect that, if you've been doing this for a few years now, you'll want something slightly more advanced. I'll give you some suggestions for that a little later.

My experience of using equipment is very limited. I'd advise that you visit the DJMag forums (click here to see them) and look around the "DJ Technology" section. The people in there are far more knowledgeable about that than I ever will be! One other tip - take a look around eBay. I'm not suggesting that you buy equipment from that website, but you can often find a lot of feedback on there from users about how good the particular product is.

Former Member · December 2007

thanks.
I've actually been using virtualdj for a while now, and quite like it. (although ive not tried any alternative).

Basically, I want to mess about a little further, and have some knobs and buttons to use instead of moving a mouse. I want to learn to beatmatch by ear, and not use the auto-bpm counter.
I narrowing it down a bit...

1) a cd mixing kit like this: http://www.djkit.co.uk/package.php?id=PKG-197-326&cat=202

2) an mp3 mixer like this: http://www.decks.co.uk/products/dj_production/numark/total_control or this http://www.decks.co.uk/products/mp3players/behringer/bcd3000 or this http://www.djkit.co.uk/product.php?id=3517&cat=141

would i need to get a new sound card? how cheap are these?

Former Member · December 2007

drumbeat wrote: »

thanks. I've actually been using virtualdj for a while now, and quite like it. (although ive not tried any alternative).

You chose wisely! I tried out quite a few before settling for Virtual DJ. I found most of them extremely cumbersome. If it's good enough for Carl Cox, it's good enough for me!

1) a cd mixing kit like this: http://www.djkit.co.uk/package.php?id=PKG-197-326&cat=202
2) an mp3 mixer like this: http://www.decks.co.uk/products/dj_production/numark/total_control or this http://www.decks.co.uk/products/mp3players/behringer/bcd3000 or this http://www.djkit.co.uk/product.php?id=3517&cat=141

I like what I see. But I'll have to take a closer look before recommending anything. I've asked a mate about this, and I'm waiting for his reply. He usually knows his stuff!

would i need to get a new sound card? how cheap are these?

Not really. If your computer is very old, it might be worth getting one. Otherwise, the benefits of a new sound card would, at best, be minimal.

Former Member · December 2007

I've been mixing vinyl for about 2 years now i guess, finally starting to get somewhere with it now as well!

I could rabbit on and on and on about what to get but what i'd say is if you spend just that little bit more its worth it. For turntables i bought some Numark TT-200, they were great for what i needed at the time but looking back on it i should really have saved abit more money and bought some industry standard Technics.

Now im at the stage where i want to buy some cd decks. I've played on the Pioneer CD-J's 1000 and they are so good to use, best out there i reckon. Buuut looking at the price .. about £700 for ONE cd-j. Now what im looking at getting is the Pioneer CMX 3000, which you can get second hand for about £350 if you look around. Basically its got pretty much all the features of the CD-J 1000 but its scaled down into a dual unit. My mate at uni has them and ive used them and there really good to use.

I've never been a big fan of using laptops and what not to mix for you, takes away the whole point of it all. Look around and decide how much your willing to spend. Spend ages reading reviews on equipment, don't just jump in straight away

Former Member · December 2007

it really depends on the quality. with CDjs i would go for the pioneer 200's but i would also use a laptop (mac if possible), but if not get a cheap 4/8 channel desk (try to find one with an inbuilt effects unit, normaly i would advise against these but when Djing these are actually a better idea than outboard gear). you need mid quality monitors, go for some bose if i were you (and if you are getting a sub, mid, tweeters then you'll need a crossover, and you will need amps as well), you may want to get a graphic EQ as well.

does that help?

Former Member · December 2007

GoodFella wrote: »

I've never been a big fan of using laptops and what not to mix for you, takes away the whole point of it all.

Indeed. A few months ago, I heard of the launch of a website called MixAlbum.com. Basically, you could buy records and have them all mixed by the computer before you downloaded them. Having heard some of the mixing it can do, I've got to admit it's quite professional. It sounds like many of the CDs which you can buy. Unfortunately, that comes with its downside - there's a lack of personality to it. If you listen to a set by, say, Eddie Halliwell, you know that it's him on the mix. And when there's so many DJs trying to "make it big", you need everything you've got to stand out!

(BTW, if you're ever on that website and you fancy a laugh, try confusing the software. I once told it to mix out of Binary Finary '1998' into the TV Rock & Dirty South remix of Wink 'Higher State of Consciousness'. Hilarious when drunk)

Former Member · December 2007

Ha yeah there certainly isn't a lack of personality in an Eddie set ....

Former Member · December 2007

Not much to add here, but to say that my experiences with mixing software gave me a better understanding of beat-matching to then try it with proper hardware. The software also got me an ear for BPM which is an essential early tool for mixing.

The programs I used were Mixmeister (which was more engineered mixing), then PCDJ Red (which was very much real time mixing).

Former Member · December 2007

Monserrat wrote: »

my experiences with mixing software gave me a better understanding of beat-matching to then try it with proper hardware. The software also got me an ear for BPM which is an essential early tool for mixing.

yeah same here. i have become quite good at track selection and structuring a mix....but without being able to beatmatch by ear i feel im missing a big part of it. bring on the proper hardware!

GoodFella wrote: »

I've never been a big fan of using laptops and what not to mix for you, takes away the whole point of it all. Look around and decide how much your willing to spend. Spend ages reading reviews on equipment, don't just jump in straight away

thats why im keen to get a little more physical with mixing.
i never rush inot buying anything really. i always research it for ages and make sure its what i want. i probably do it way too much!

Former Member · December 2007

only problem with beatmatching with CDj's- don't bother with anything live, cos using the BMP thing you are never going to even get it close...works fine if you are doing stuff without live drums, or with an incredibly rigid drummer but normally only good with electronic stuff unless you can beatmatch by ear

Former Member · December 2007

twisted_trinity wrote: »

only problem with beatmatching with CDj's- don't bother with anything live, cos using the BMP thing you are never going to even get it close...works fine if you are doing stuff without live drums, or with an incredibly rigid drummer but normally only good with electronic stuff unless you can beatmatch by ear

well thats what i aim to do. auto-bpm counters are not always acurate, you sometimes need to multiply by 5 quarters, 3 quarters, 4 thirds...etc etc, becuase it picks out the wrong bass or drumhit.

ive think ive decided to get the behringer bcd3000, for about £145 and see how i go with that. i may add a set of turntables and some timecoded vinyl at a later date.

thanks

Former Member · January 2008

Nice idea J with the two soundcards. I did at one point have 2 x SB Lives but the config produced an IRQ conflict. However, that was 5 years back when I was still working on Windows 98. I might try this set-up again because I believe that Microsoft have done away with IRQ conflicts in XP?

Former Member · January 2008

J wrote: »

If you've got a tower PC (rather than a laptop) you could add a second sound card (A cheapy will do) and then if you have good enough software (PCDJ I know has this option) you can route each of the 2 virtual decks to one or the other of the sound cards, then connect each sound card to an external mixer so you can mix between the two virtual decks on your pc. Of course, if you want to run a return so you can record your mix you'll probably need another sound card to provide a record in channel. That is unless you have an 16 channel sound card like me, then you can run it into a 16 track mix down desk and have the beginings of a production studio...

i can do that now with virtualdj.
apart from the external mixer.....which ive just decided to buy the behringer bcd3000.

or am i missing something?

Former Member · January 2008

Any luck mate?

learning to mix

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