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Topic: I was about to sleep, but... - Page: 1

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DJ RazPRO InfinityMember since 2004
Then I saw this thread:
http://www.virtualdj.com/forum/display.html?topic=8050

In which WirelessDJ and DJBambi mock DJ's that use the beatlock function. I've also read this thread in the past:

http://www.virtualdj.com/forum/display.html?topic=2763

in which CanadaDan belittles users of VirtualDJ for using beatlock.

My question to you guys, what are you doing mocking a product you not only purchased, but are supporting since you are posting on these boards. Plus, what kicks do you get out of belittling other users of this software.

And more importantly, if you think beatmatching is what makes a DJ, wake up.

So the following is for anyone who has ever or will ever be bullied, talked down to or mocked by other DJs, wanna be DJs or trainspotters about using the beatlock function.

I) The role of a DJ

The role of the DJ is to make the crowd dance and let them escape reality for a couple of hours. We try to make them lose themselves in the music we play.

II) How does the DJ achieve his goal?


1) By his music selection
2) By playing the chosen songs in way that allows the crowd to lose themselves and be at one with the music.
(from now on referred to as "Creating a buzz for the crowd)

Each part is equally important.
Music selection comes down to personal taste, research, knowing your music and knowing how to read the crowd.

Creating a buzz for the crowd comes down to properly sequencing the songs in order to build up the crowd and creating seamless mixes to keep the crowd "in the zone"

Let's focus on creating seamless mixes:
This has a lot of parts to it:

A) Matching Gains
B) Matching BPMs
C) Getting the beats to be in phase
D) Playing with the EQs to make the mix sound good
E) Timing to achieve mixes that sound good (e.g.: having both songs playing when the vocals are going on both is generally not a good idea)
F) Optional: Timing to achieve the ultimate buzz during the mix (e.g.: getting a key vocal in song 2 to be heard at a key point while exiting song 1)
G) Optional: Using tricks such as looping, sampling, scratching, beat-juggling, etc... to creating an even bigger buzz.

Up until recently, DJs had to train themselves to be able to match gains and bpms manually.

So VDJ comes along and offers to match both beats and gains for the DJ, so that he/she can have more time to focus on reading the crowd, song seleciton, timing the mixes, playing with EQs and using tricks, and also practically eliminates the risk of having two songs be out of synch.

So is this where I'm supposed to say "Damn you VDJ for making my life simpler and allowing me to deliver a better product for the dancing crowd" ?

No.

This is where I say "Word".
Thank you virtual DJ and all of it's developers, testers and supporters,

This is where I tell people that mock me:

Sure, matching bpms requires a lot of practice. But matching beats sure as hell does not make you a DJ. All it makes you is someone that can match beats. You're only fooling yourself if you're convinced of the contrary.

And anyone who needs to belittle another DJ over this or anything is doing it for one or more of the following reasons:

- They spent so much time practicing something that has now become obsolete, and this is how they are venting their frustrations. Well my advice to you is, things change, the world evolves, get used to it.

- They are insecure with their abilities to get the crowd dancing and feel threatend by the fact that software such as VDJ will allow a lot more people to give DJing a try, which means more competition for them. Well personally I ain't afraid of a little (or a lot) of competition. I actually welcome it and think it'll keep me motivated. If you can't handle the competition then perhaps you're in the wrong line of work?

-They think beatmatching makes them look cool. Well,
it doesn't. If you want to be cool, just be yourself and stop focusing on other people's opinion of you.

- They have associated beatmatching with DJing. To that I say, just re-read this post.


Raz.

P.S.: I'll still be posting my guide on how I've got VDJ set up. Just need a couple more days :-)
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 11:02 am
djjbPRO InfinityMember since 2004
well.....
let them do there thing and you do yours.
both are happy.

mixing is more than playing beatmatching....as long as the people are on the dancefloor with a smile. than its ok
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 11:53 am
Lighten up man -- I was kidding around; I hope you didn't take it seriously.

What I have noticed over the years as technology gets better, I get lazier. The program does the work for me. I dont have to count bpms, manually align the beats, and keep the beats in time. the program does it for me. Hell, VDJ even automixes it for me -- I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE THERE!

My point is to NOT lose touch with the basics. Turn off the beat lock, turn off the match and mix once a while just to keep your skills shap. Hook up two xp10's and mix some tracks up for fun.

I feel beat matching is critical in a night club environment.

When you slam songs in or simply fade them, it interrupts the beat or the continuity of the energy in the room.

When you beat match, the music flows together seamless, the crowd has no idea where one song starts and the other ends, it is much smoother.

I call this dance floor dynamics -or- crowd dynamics

my number one priority is to keep them dancing cause when they are dancing they are happy (or really drunk). VDJ, my music and all my equipment allows me to do this with ease

Stay in touch with the basics
WirelessDJ
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 12:41 pm
Man-TkPRO InfinityMember since 2004
auto beatmatch it's NO GOOD IF you are a REAL DJ

if you are a REAL DJ you can BEATMATCH 2 songs in 30 seconds without help

ALWAYS you can do what you want ....if you are happy with auto beatmatch it's OK
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 12:53 pm
exactly! A experienced DJ does not need to count bpms. years of practice let's you feel what will mix with what. It's almost like using the Force Luke! ;-)

I learned how to beat match from a DJ from Cameron Paul. Most people don't remember him, but he had a record label called MixxIt Records http://www.mixxit.com and put some really kick ass remixes of songs back in the 90's.
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:06 pm
Man-TkPRO InfinityMember since 2004
if there are many dj's that are using Auto Beat Match
it is better for who are true professionals -

What happens if VDJ Crash ?? Can you Beat Match 2 songs with CD or Vinyl ?? REal dj can Beat match with CD ...Vinyl ...Cassette , and of course with VDJ
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:15 pm
yes, because I started on CD and Vinyl. There is nothing wrong with auto beat match. I use it all the time to just temporary align the beats. That's why the XP10s are so great. it brings back the HANDS ON FEEL of vinyl, the old days where the DJ had mechanical control of the music.
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:19 pm
Man-TkPRO InfinityMember since 2004
Well ....for me the old days COME BACK .....I'm using Time coded Vinyl !!
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:22 pm
yeah baby! that is the most hands on you can get. I haven't tried TCV yet but I am sure it is good.
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:25 pm
does the auto beat match, master tempo, and beat lock work with TCV?
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:38 pm
Man-TkPRO InfinityMember since 2004
autobeat match : yes
Master tempo : NO
auto beat lock : yes
I think Master Tempo isn't good , (BAD sound )
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:43 pm
hey DJ Raz...

there IS a difference in users saying that they dont like the use of beatLOCK, and saying anything about beatMATCH

beatLOCK and beatMATCH is not the same thing....

I would never use beatLOCK because I feel it kinda restrain my creativity, and kinda gets in the way.. My personal opinion of course.

That does not mean that I dont sync beats, match beats and beatmix... I just dont use the beatLOCK function. I would rather controll that myself, by matching the beats, and nudging them to stay in sync etc.. because thats the way I'm used to work.

When someone said that beatLOCK was "no good", I dont think they where saying anything bad about users that use the function, but only that they dont like to use the function themselves. And I'm one for sure not using the LOCK feature..

just a few thoughts ;)
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:45 pm
VDJ beat lock isn't as accurate as beat match. I can do a better job by hand just by watching the wave form; it always seem a bit off. I hardly use it.

I use VDJ beat match (like the old PCDJ Red). The match gets it aligned in the beginning and I will keep it in time. This works because 90% of most DJ's MIX at the beginning of a song where there are no tempo changes.

VDJ master tempo does sound that great compared to traktor DJ 2.53 on the highest quality setting. But it isn't bad compared to BPM Studio which is terrible after +/-4%
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 1:49 pm
DJ RazPRO InfinityMember since 2004
Ok....
Maybe I got misunderstood ...

1) Matching the beats is essential to making mixes sound seamless. There is no question about that.
Especially in a night club, you NEED to match the beats, like Wireless DJ said.

2) Whether you do it manually, or with the full or partial assistance of VDJ, it doesn't matter. The point is just to get the beats matched :-). So to each his own :-)

3) I have nothing agasint people that dont-use beatLOCK to match the beats. I actually think it's a good skill to have to be able to beatmatch manually!

My post was not targetting people who have that skill, but rather people who mock users of VDJ's beatlock function and who call them "fake DJs".

Personnaly I use auto-beatlock because a) it saves me 15-30 seconds per song, b) it guarantees there is no screwing up, c) it allows perfect beatjuggling.

(and by the way, if you've made sure previously that your files we're at the right bpm, and the beats properly aligned, VDJ gets it right everytime.)

But anyways...

Man-Tk: Yes I agree. I don't use Master-Tempo either because it sounds bad.

However, being able to beat match manually doest not make you a pro dj. Being a pro DJ is evertyhing combined. Yeah, if your laptop dies for the night, you're in trboule, and it would be a plus is you could beatmatch manually. (however you'd still have no music to play since it's all on your crashed system! Unless you bring all you vinyls with you each time too?
I prefer to just bring one of my pre-made mixes in case something happens)

WirelessDJ: No hards feelings. :-) (and I apologize, I hadn't read the rest of the thread where you said you were kidding around). However, I disagree when you say "I dont have to be there anymore"... Yeah VDJ does automixing if you want, but if you want profesionnal sounding mixes you need to be there to play with the EQs and time everything properly.


This said, there is still a bad image associated with
DJ's that use this software. And there shouldn't be.

Best way to shed this image, is just to do what we do best and show the naysayers we do an equal if not better job than mixing without it.
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 6:39 pm
I dont think there is a bad image associated with DJ's that use this software. It just takes people some time to accept that DJ'ing like all other music has moved into the next century
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 10:17 pm
hmmmm interesting thread:Beat lock is awsome i use it all the time with every song and i dj 4 to 5 nights in da club.I always cue up with it on and then turn off.
I started mixing with 8 track tapes....lol so for me vdj is where djing is at in 2005...simple
Now we have so much time in between songs.We have time to entertain the chicks....hmm good concept
We have time to select any one of thousands of songs not just 500 records or 400 cd's.The records and cds are still at the bar but i just dont bother anymore,I use the vinyl for show and scratch with.Cds are my vdj back up..(which i might add i havent used since halloween...)
i will order TCV soon and maybe xp10's (if they were made out of metal)
Thank you VDJ....thank you thank you thank you.........
good night Raz you can sleep now!

Andre
 

Posted Thu 11 Nov 04 @ 11:35 pm
mp3jrickPRO InfinityHonorary MemberMember since 2003
Andre,
I don't know how many realize this but I renamed my mix button to the space bar (thanks Jason) and renamed my beat lock to "B" on the keyboard (just above the space bar) and set it to "momentary".
So when I cue and mix to the next song, I stab the spacebar and stab the "B" a couple of times during the 4S fade to make sure it is aligned perfectly prior to the fade completion.
This way the beat lock isn't really locked, it just kicks the anchors into align with a couple of pokes.

Just can't miss doing it this way.
 

Posted Sun 14 Nov 04 @ 8:59 pm
djbambiPRO InfinityMember since 2003
Raz> I stand by everything I said in the other thread, I don't think I was mocking anybody and in fact I chose my words carefully:

"Oh, about beatlock use, I have to give my 2 cents while trying not to be insulting to anyone. How about:
IF YOU CANNOT MIX TWO TRACKS WITHOUT BEATLOCK ON, YOU'RE A VIRTUAL DJ
fair enough? hence VDJ will stand, depending on who uses it, for eitheir "Virtual Disk"-Jockey, or for virtual-"Disk Jockey". Everybody will have fun and get the job done with it, but the first category will also get the job done without it :)
I'm not being elitist, just realistic"

"You were about to sleep, but..." next time please do so before starting something, taking words out of context, and naming names.
 

Posted Sun 14 Nov 04 @ 9:33 pm
DachPRO InfinityMember since 2004
It was stated herein that any good DJ can beatmatch any 2 selections in 30 seconds without help. Well, I can do that (barely). I was able to beatmatch 2 songs from CD in about 25 seconds. Good? Bad? You decide. BUT, I am able to beatmatch the same 2 songs in about 5 seconds in VDJ. And that is without really using Beatlock. Kinda.
Typically. when I load a track for beatmixing. I wait until it loads, then I click on Beatlock, and once its BPM matches the other track, I unclick Beatlock. Then, I just mix them manually.
I have found that most people who would consider laptop DJ's cheaters would consider them cheaters regardless of how they use their computers. They don't care if you use Beatlock or not. Some old-schoolers even consider using CD decks cheating. So, where do you draw the line? I don't. I see the computer as a timesaver, that's all. It lets me beatmatch in 20% of the time, but I still need to know which songs will work together, and keep the mood going.
 

Posted Sun 14 Nov 04 @ 10:48 pm
DJ RazPRO InfinityMember since 2004
DJBambi:
Not trying to start a fight here but:

"I have to give my 2 cents while trying not to be insulting to anyone"

Well ok, thanks for "not trying", but I still found it insulting.
Hence my post.

And yeah, those who can beatmatch withouth VDJ's assistance can get the job done without it.

But really, who cares?

We're here because we all bought VDJ to use in our work.
We bought VDJ because we came to the conclusion that it would be a better tool than using turntables or CD players.

So the fact that someone that doesn't use VDJ can beatmatch withouth it, just isnt a concern to me (and shoulnd't be to anyone that uses the software) Even if my laptop dies for the night, whether i have 0 beatmatching skills or I am a beatmaching master, it doesnt matter since I won't have any records to play :-)

And if someone who uses the software chooses not to use beatlock but instead spend 30 seconds getting song 2 to match the bpm of song 1 manually, well then more power to them if it makes them happy.

Pesonally, I'll be using those 30 seconds to deliver better sounding mixes by focusing on timing and on tuning the EQ apporiately.


 

Posted Mon 15 Nov 04 @ 5:33 am
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