The state of DJ'ing nowadays...

[ian saunders remix]

I just play the record until it finishes, then start the next the one. Minimal effort, and if the tunes are good, it sounds amazing. Then again, I don't get any DJ work :D

I remember a story of when when Mark E. Smith (from The Fall) was booked to do some DJing. He turned up with his records in a carrier bag, and as the set started the DJ asked him which tune he wanted on next in mix, to which Smith replied "Just turn this one over and play the B-side"

[dj jedi]

Oldskool is a pain sometimes because things aren't always paint by numbers or off beat. I know I hate pads with beats at the end of records. Can throw things out of key real quick.

For me that is what makes old skool hardcore the best music to mix. You really need to know the tunes. Tracks from 92 can be anything from 130bpm right up to 165bpm, and there are countless tracks that like you say have odd numbers of bars, fade out at the end, don't conform to a standard structure etc. Any capable DJ could pick up almost any two D&B/house/techno/trance records they've never heard before, and do a reasonable mix. That is just not possible for the vast majority of 91-93 hardcore tracks. They did start to get a bit more formulaic by 93-94, but then still nothing like as boring as the composition of modern house or D&B.

[BrianBadonde]

"Pitch Chase" DJs do seem to be very 'holier than thou' im my experience.

Oh good lord you mustn't touch the platter!

Bollocks IMO. Do whatever you need to, to make it work. I can never leave things alone, always fiddling. I only really use the chase method when a mix is going out and there is no way a cheeky finger slide on the platter or push on the inside of the record will go un noticed...

I must admit though, nothing quite puts the horrors up you as a 10" record with a loose centre hole when 'pushing' it forward a tad...

[eazyflow]

"Pitch Chase" DJs do seem to be very 'holier than thou' im my experience.

Oh good lord you mustn't touch the platter!

Bollocks IMO. Do whatever you need to, to make it work.

This.

I have friends who only got into mixing post Andy C so touching the platter is something that they just do not do.

They are very good at it... far better than me... but when it goes wrong for them it can go really wrong, and I'll often be left thinking "it's taking far too long for you to sort this out" when a simple platter adjustment could solve the problem in an instant

[dj jedi]

but when it goes wrong for them it can go really wrong, and I'll often be left thinking "it's taking far too long for you to sort this out" when a simple platter adjustment could solve the problem in an instant

That's exactly it, if it goes anywhere near a beat out, it takes seconds for pitch chasing to get it back in time even on +8, and then you're never going to get it back near where you had it. Great technique if you're amazing at it, otherwise asking for trouble.

[RonWellsJS]

This.

I have friends who only got into mixing post Andy C so touching the platter is something that they just do not do.

They are very good at it... far better than me... but when it goes wrong for them it can go really wrong, and I'll often be left thinking "it's taking far too long for you to sort this out" when a simple platter adjustment could solve the problem in an instant

Makes sense that... nobody messed too much with the pitch in my day (sounding like an old git).

In everything I do, I always look for max efficiency (because I'm lazy) and there has to be circumstances where a slight platter or spindle touch is the most efficient correction method.

I absolutely appreciate the skill of pitch only, but I don't get the 'let's make my life more difficult that it needs to be' element of it.

I still think great choice of tracks is the most important - provided that the mixing doesn't resemble the 2:30 at Chepstow.

[The_Ruffneck]

I still buy some acid techno and it's easy to mix because the tunes are maybe 145 -/+ 2-3bpm even mixing a 10 year old track with a fresh one theres very little variation.Compare this to 1991/1992/1993 stuff where you can't mix differing years together much of the time and in many cases can't even mix an early 92 tune with a late 92 tune due to BPM difference.

Really, with modern stuff you shouldn't need sync!

[dj jedi]

Yep, I have a couple of mates who still make upfront hardcore and they make every track at 175 bpm so that when they DJ, they don't need to change the pitch to mix. One of them does this so he can scratch more, the other because he's lazy :)

[BrianBadonde]

Also if you need to correct and doing so will totally show up.. a deft bit of choppage with the fader (again if you can get away with that) can be a millisecond godsend of inaudible space to work...

If you understand how to mix / beat match then you can also pitch chase... same principles of knowledge how to get the same end result.

I personally like to hear the little touches/pushes... you know the DJ is working at it and probably shitting it :)

[lixx]

Agree with Badonde there^ A little push or shift takes the listener off autopilot into the realization there is an actual person doing the work. My old DJ mate who's gone totally digital made fun of me for posting my last mix on soundcloud, saying "I heard you're slip up there it wasn't tight" I'm like are you fucking daft? I make a decent mix and you're critiquing me on the one or two slips you heard when you're on constant autosync with DJ'ing?. I'd like to see you make a 2 hour mix using vinyl!

I do this for sheer joy and fun- eff the beard scratching massive.

[The_Ruffneck]

Knew a guy that swore by vertical fader mixing (crossfader in the middle the whole time), what are your opinions on vertical fader mixing vs crossfader mixing?

[dj jedi]

Knew a guy that swore by vertical fader mixing (crossfader in the middle the whole time), what are your opinions on vertical fader mixing vs crossfader mixing?

Pretty much every DJ I've seen play a 4/4 style in recent years just use the up faders, cross fading seems to be a thing of the past. But it's essential for mixing breakbeat music IMO.

[Restless]

Knew a guy that swore by vertical fader mixing (crossfader in the middle the whole time), what are your opinions on vertical fader mixing vs crossfader mixing?

I'm all for it. It's the only way I mix.

If you've got a standard mixer, bringing it in the fader as opposed to channel is just too loud.

And on Pioneer mixers (I've used them for 11 years straight now) I find that it's still the same thing regardless.

With the channel there's more of an actual "fade", as with a crossfader it's just not as subtle.

I don't think using a crossfader is "Essential" for mixing breakbeat.

I mix both new breaks and oldskool breaks and the fader is good for tricks, not much else IMO.

[dj jedi]

It's much harder to chop/cut well using up faders, as you have to move both at the same time, and as you say they usually have a much more gentle curve so it often doesn't sound as sharp. Not impossible, but much harder.

Although 'blend' mixing works well for some styles and tunes, it sounds wank if the track has a piano or bassline etc intro, so dropping it straight in is really the only way to do it well.

[dj jedi]

That reminds me, years ago I played at a club that usually hosted snooty house events, and the sound engineer had wired up the Allen & Heath mixer so that there were 2 channels (left and right) for each deck! So you had to use 4 sets of faders/EQs for two tracks/decks. I assume they thought they were ultra cool being able to alter the volume or EQ on separate stereo channels