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Do It Like a DJ

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

3. Get Jiggy with It: Mixing 101

So now you’ve got your event-appropriate songs ready. If you want the easy way out at this point do a slow fade on song 1 while slowly bringing up the volume from zero of song 2. This is effective but not nearly as impressive as using the mixing feature to move from song 1 to song 2 which, if your volume levels are consistent, should not sound so bad at all.

In our case, we chose “Hands Up” by the AC/DC-esque band Big Business along with rap star 50 Cent’s paean to armed robbery, “Ski Mask Way,” to mix into what we like to call art, and you’d probably call annoyance. To effectively match beats, though, they have to be playing at the same tempo, and the tempo in most songs changes from moment to moment. Toggling up and down to make minute tempo adjustments to the songs’ relative tone and adjusting EQ to taste, you then have to use the cues to mark entry points in the songs that when mixed or played simultaneously have the bass and drum presence falling relatively in synch with each other. This can be quite difficult and while we don’t suggest you try this while DJing a party, it’s tons of fun at home.

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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