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Do It Like a DJ

Posted 08/21/2007 at 7:45:17pm | by Eugene Robinson

2. Get This Party Started Right

Before you start waving people over, there are a few things you must do after choosing the songs you’re going to mix.

First, set your equalizers (EQ): These are filters that let you boost certain frequencies. In general, party people are partial to bass signals, so it’s OK to boost these. Keep in mind, however, that most modern music is already so well mixed that a light touch should be used when setting your EQ. You’d probably be fine zeroing out your EQ too.

Next, set your volume using the sliders between the two virtual turntables. We suspect that the output on these is +15 dB, but don’t try to have any sort of mix be this loud even if the newbie temptation is just to keep cranking it. Yes, up to 11 (for you Spinal Tap fans) might seem cool, but it will bleach the color from your mix if all you do is play it loud.

The last step is to set your tempo and pitch. Changing the tempo of the music is essentially stretching or sinking the time the music plays, which also changes the pitch. Shrinking the time the music plays in causes the pitch to rise (think The Chipmunks), while stretching it makes it go lower (think Darth Vader). What you want to do with your party affects what you do here. Our advice though is to leave them be. It might be “art” that you’re making, but it may not make people want to dance.

COMMENTS: 4

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i agree with that guy's
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2007-08-24 13:33

i agree with that guy's comment... computer DJs are the worse. it's terrible. it's bad. i don't get why they're even called djs if they're not using discs anymore.. blargh.

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Do It Like a DJ
Submitted by Retro Bob (not verified) on Tue, 2007-09-04 09:28

Hey! What about http://www.dj1800.com ?
That's a full-featured playback & mixing program.
AND you get FOUR playback decks, not 2.
Uses your existing iTunes library.
And NO, I don't work for this company or related company,
I'm just another DJ who's been around longer than dirt.

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Are you kidding me with this
Submitted by Get Real (not verified) on Thu, 2007-09-06 08:29

Are you kidding me with this negative feedback? Of course it's a toy emulating how a DJ works. I mean, it's free, right? To sit here and complain about how this is disrespecting DJs worldwide is absolutely silly.

It's made to entertain - for you to be taking this so seriously leads me to two conclusions.
a) you like slapping people regardless of how illogically angry you are ove4r nothingness
b) you need a second hobby

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I agree that it's just not
Submitted by DJ Reverend Rob (not verified) on Fri, 2007-09-07 12:10

I agree that it's just not that easy for anyone to truly do what a DJ does. It takes a good ear, programming savvy, mixing skills, the ability to intuitively anticipate the crowd, and a good working knowledge of music theory and history.In that respect, I disagree with the article. I WILL, however, come down against those that say a computer DJ isn't a DJ. I've been DJ'ing for 21 years, & I've used pretty much every medium short of reel-to-reel or 8-track. I have, for the past year, been exclusively computer-based, and can say I'm just as good as I was when I was spinning vinyl or CDs. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been able to mix like I could with physical media, but I can lay down a house or hip-hop mix just as tight as when I used vinyl, with the added extra that all of my music now fits on a hard drive in a small aluminum box, as opposed to several heavy crates of 12-inches or CDs. Have a couple cases of CD's stolen on you and you'll see how that convenience comes in handy. Substance over style. Marshal McLuhan was wrong: the medium is NOT the message, although the "vinyl junkies" would have you believe otherwise

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