MIXVIBES Dj Community old forum

Hello everybody,

in the german forums there is a thread in which we talk about auto beatmatching and syncing tracks. So Rumble recommended to use the auto beatmatch or sync button after you have pitched the tracks with your timecode media (record or CD). This just because sometimes you have pitched the tracks that way that they are in sync for some seconds (~30s) but then one drifts away.
I have tested this feature (auto beatmatch/sync) and was not very satisfied because it moved the tracks that they were totally unsync and I could not make a clean transition. Also the pitch of the deck that I wanted to mix in changed to a very different one so that it sound totally weird.
After that I thought about using keyboard shortcuts for the fine pitch bend. I addressed four keys - two for each deck (+/-). So I started a new try and pitched the tracks with my timecode records. In some transitions it was almost synced but as I mentioned above one track drifted away. So I was using the keyboard shortcuts to grab the track and get it back into synced sound. It works really good so that I will be using this method in the future.

Maybe some of you are interested in this "method" of pitching analog & digital and I could help some of you with this explanation. Keep in mind, that this only works in relative mode (!).

Greetings,

Steve

Another main point is that not all tracks bpm's are precisely analyzed to be accurate enough to 'sync' or lock in in the first place for long periods of time (its close enough for analogue manipulation though)
I have played around with the feature, and its great if you get 'lost' and need a quick beat match, but i still find im using my analogue turntable pitch for this
Might be easier with MIDI control/manipulation instead of vinyl too.

For me, its sort of confusing using a digital and analogue pitch faders at the same time!
Nice work Steve
Cheers

hemskoc wrote:For me, its sort of confusing using a digital and analogue pitch faders at the same time!
Nice work Steve
Cheers

Thanks hemskoc! Of course you are right when you say that it is confusing using both at the same time. In fact I do not use this possibility every transition. Just in that cases when I have to correct the track a bit. To me using the digital pitch bend is cleaner than stopping the turntable with my finger and if I had corrected the track both are in sync for - I guess - 30 seconds again.

The german guys do not understand what I mean, although you can imagine that I can express myself a bit better in german and there the discussion about real pitching/djing and the ability that everybody can mix with the sync button came up. I am leaving this kind of discussion because I often had to say something about it and I am tired of telling poeple what I think of djing and what djing means to me. Let them do their thing, I will do mine...

Greetings,

Steve

This is some interesting information! Back when I first started using MV, I'd just use the pitch faders on my tables since I really didn't know how to make the sync button work *cough*didn'teventhinktouserelativemode*uncough*. Looks like I'll have to set them back up and experiment with this

Blackbrook wrote: To me using the digital pitch bend is cleaner than stopping the turntable with my finger and if I had corrected the track both are in sync for - I guess - 30 seconds again.

i can cheat with my stanton tables if i want, as they have a '+' and '-' pitch bend buttons that does the exactly the same thing, so i dont need the 'software' version aswell !! works awesome too
I tend NOT to use them, as not every turntable i come across at gigs has this feature.

Blackbrook wrote:I am leaving this kind of discussion because I often had to say something about it and I am tired of telling poeple what I think of djing and what djing means to me. Let them do their thing, I will do mine...

I couldn't agree with you more

phadedvision wrote:*cough*didn'teventhinktouserelativemode*uncough*. Looks like I'll have to set them back up and experiment with this

I myself hit the 'sync' button by accident too funny
Cheers

[quote="hemskoc"]
[quote="Blackbrook"]
I am leaving this kind of discussion because I often had to say something about it and I am tired of telling poeple what I think of djing and what djing means to me. Let them do their thing, I will do mine...[/quote]
I couldn't agree with you more [/quote]

I agree with both of you, and here's my two unwarranted cents... People care about music, not what you use. Yes there's skills you've learned after having used vinyl for decades, but we're in a new time now. What happens when you use vinyl, but the person after you uses Cross with all the conveniences of a laptop and pulls off a better mix? How much bigger of a slap in the face is it when you've found out they've been mixing for 19 years less than you have? I'm stretching things quite far, but having been a DJ for X years should mean that you'd want to keep up with the times and use the conveniences to your advantage, not propel yourself back in time. (Unless that's what you're into )

How comes that at track drift while mixing ? It is something I regulary do/test and I can beatmatch 1min30 at least without touching anything.

I have also noticed that a too low latency (if your system can't assume it) tend to do micro dropouts, that you won't necessary hear but that will be enough to loose some data in the stream, making a track suddenly going out of sync.

+1 with Mr VIbes

I only use the deck to control the pitch if i am using TC vinyl or CD... the nudge + / nudge - i do with my fingers ... XXth Century style !

Support@Vibes wrote:How comes that at track drift while mixing ? It is something I regulary do/test and I can beatmatch 1min30 at least without touching anything.

Oh of course this is what I can do, too. But in some transitions you realize after a time of let's say 45s that they start drifting away because one track is at 134.00 and the other one at 133.90 or because of the turntable's natural variation while it is running. So they run some time in sync and start drifting after a time.

Support@Vibes wrote:I have also noticed that a too low latency (if your system can't assume it) tend to do micro dropouts, that you won't necessary hear but that will be enough to loose some data in the stream, making a track suddenly going out of sync.

Important fact to me because I am mixing at a high latency (256 samples). I will have a deeper look at it. Thanks!

Polocorp wrote:I only use the deck to control the pitch if i am using TC vinyl or CD... the nudge + / nudge - i do with my fingers ... XXth Century style !

Oh yes Polocorp, I am doing this since ages and have alway been satisfied with this method. I have mixed with CDJs for some months and the ability to correct small unsync moments with the jog wheel so that no one else except you realizes the correction is an awesome innovation of mixing. After I have changed my equipment and went back to turntables I realized that it is not as easy to correct in transitions as it was with CDJs. This is the only reason for me to look for cleaner correction methods than putting my finger on the turntable.

I can read between the lines in any forum (german and in here) that my aim to do a very clean mix seems to make people thinking that I am a strange guy or someone totally fanatic. Also I can read that a lot do not think the way I am thinking, that a good mix does not mean a clean mix with clean transitions. Of course I know that! But to me a good mix means good tracks, a good build up and clean transitions. The mix has to tell a story and to me it is sad if the story teller stutters.

Finally let me add that I do not want to blame anyone or anything. This is just my point of view that no one else has to share.

Greetings,

Steve

I can read between the lines in any forum (german and in here) that my aim to do a very clean mix seems to make people thinking that I am a strange guy or someone totally fanatic.

Very straaange indeed i might call mulder and scully ! hehe

more seriously, I get what you mean. It took me forever to switcno more vinyl ), but now going back to vinyl is more tricky when i'm out of practice.

Actually if you use master tempo or hybrid mode, you won't here the small manual nudges you make... what you really here with oldschool vinyl (or speed mode) is the variation of the harmonic note, not variation of speed...