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Topic: Match beat beginner

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Hey.

I'm having hassle matching the beat up by ear. The main problem is that the beats are getting out of sync in short time eventho they're at the same bpm. I'm also wondering if I'm doing it correctly, my apporach is counting and when i start the second track and if is a little bit of sync i nudge in my the arrow keys to match it up, but like i said be4 eventho is the same bpm is getting out of sync.

I hope it makes sense
 
Posted Sat 02 Jan 10 @ 6:23 am


sounds like the arent at same bpm...

What type of music do you mix?
 
are your SYNC lights lite up?
 
 


no.. because the live bpm is not always the same as the default bpm (zero pitch change).
When you play a track, you most likely speed it up or slow it down a little to match the other deck (change pitch).

But since you show the two images..
What matters it the LIVE BPM and not the default bpm for the file.
In other words, the bpm of both decks IN SKIN view, must be same.. to make sure the 2 tracks stay in sync over time ..

Try hitting the sync button if this is all new to you..
 
@ sahvy.. Im curious.. What genre are you reffering too ? What were the songs you played that you have aliitle trouble with..

Put booth songs on 140.3 or just 140 Bpm. Make sure both have the same identical number..
 

no.. because the live bpm is not always the same as the default bpm (zero pitch change).
When you play a track, you most likely speed it up or slow it down a little to match the other deck (change pitch).

But since you show the two images..
What matters it the LIVE BPM and not the default bpm for the file.
In other words, the bpm of both decks IN SKIN view, must be same.. to make sure the 2 tracks stay in sync over time ..

Try hitting the sync button if this is all new to you..


From what i've heard the sync button dosent work to well and therefore I've been told that it's much better to count the beats.
I'm also still having problem with the sync eventho that they're in same bpm and am i right about that the two tracks should stay in aligned with the waveform if I'm doing it manually?
 
Bump
 
hi shavy, not too sure if this helps but the way i like mix is to load my second track, hit the sync button to match the bpm's "before" i play the track. then mix it in my headphones first to see how things go.. if the mix doesnt sound rite then i use the visual aid of the progress bar to see if the tracks are perfectly in sync if they arent i do several things, but it depends on the situation.

now then, what ive found is a lot of tracks will not mix perfectly and sometimes there is a slight difference in the bass spikes of the 2 tracks, which i personally think is a major part of mixing. if the bass isnt matched then the mix tends to sound pants. if the mid or trebble isnt matched it is easier to hide with a sample if things do go wrong as you will still get the continuas bass. if you look carefully there is a large square then 3 little squares on the progress bar to indicate the 4 beats of each bar.

to get a good sync you need to make sure the large squares are ligned up. if say for instance the track is 1 beat out then you end up getting the double bass effect where instead of getting a clean 1 2 3 4 you get a 11 22 33 44 sound which is totaly annoying and if the beat does this then everyone knows you just effed up..

i used to struggle to get them in sync myself (and still do sometimes) but discovered if i hit sync before i played the track then the bpm's were corect and i just needed to change the pitch and start the track at the right moment. on the 32nd beat of the verse.. or the 8th beat of the 4th bar, to get my tracks to match.

i once read in a dj magazine that to beat match by ear there is 8 beats in a bar and 4 bars in a verse, to create a seemless transition the first beat of the second track should play on the last beat of a verse in the first track. so beat 32 of the verse in track one plays at the same time as the first beat of the verse of track two. ive found this has helped me a lot over the time ive been djaying and is a simple thing to remember.

also you can try spinning the deck manually. on occasion i have found that changing the pitch and hitting sync doesnt work spot on. there is sometimse a fraction of difference. to solve this i just grab the centre pin on my TT and either speed up or slow down the platter to match the other track..check the sync then bring in my new track..

one cheat, erm "aid", ive found in vdj is the keylock. a lot of times you will discover changing the pitch gives you a chipmunk effect on your vocals. hitting the key lock prior to changing the pitch will help avoid your vocals sounding wrong..

as anyone here will tell you there are a million and five things you can do to get 2 tracks to mix which range from changing the pitch to cutting, looping, sampling and scratching..there is a huge amount to learn and untill youve been in the game for like ever then your still going to be learning.

i myself still have a lot to learn, but, thats why i come here. :D

oh and i almost forgot.. bpm's sometimes are so different you will find one track will play at half speed to allow the syncronisation to be successfull.. some spanish techno ive mixed in the past has played at 88bpm when another would play at 156-170 bpm and still mix spot on..strange i know but thats just another part of the learning curve.

hope some of this helps..
 
Good post Blulite

I also find that mixing to a half or double the bpm song allows you to "shift gears" as much as tempo is concerned rather than creeping up or down the bpm laddar.

One other thing you mentioned about the cbg "anchors", these can be off and this is what the locks work on.
Typically the first down beat anchor is one beat late.
This is easily corrected live by striking the bpm button the deck just once on the downbeat.

I find it helpful to set my cue and anchor when the track is first seen in vdj.
 
thanks nick i think thats actually my first "good" post on here.lol. oh actually there was that headphone setup guide i done which was pretty good if i do say so myself..

anyway back to the subject, i never thought of using a lhalf or double bpm track to alter my tempo..think ill play around with that.
 
 
sorry "Rick" lol mistyped and just realised.

@ sahvy, that video doesnt show any mismatched beats. the second track isnt even started so therefore it isnt going to help with illustration.

have you tried using the beatlock to lock down your track before bring in the next one. if your tracks are layered up for a while then you should think about lowering your mix time. if you are trying to keep a full track mix then you need to be thinking about cutting, looping and sampling to help alnog the way. there may be a verse in your second track that you want to play over the first. it may be better if you cut and loop/sample that verse at specific cue points rather that try and play around with matching the 2 tracks consistantly.

please try to get another vid that shows your tracks "both" playing and the beats floating out of sync. it is easy for us to know what is bugging you but fixing it is a lot more difficult due to the sheer amount of options you have to do so.
 
ahhh and one other thing, if you are setting the beats using the beat adjust the chances are one track played at 140 may not match another at 140. there is always a slight difference between tracks and some often need to have a slight off beat to match properly. your second track may need 140.7 bpm to match the 140.0 bpm of your first. its extremely difficult to say more without knowing which tracks you are trying to mix and how long your mix is to be.
 
 
hi sahvy,

first you are 2 beats out or sync. pay attention to the large squares in your waveform display. these are the first beat of a bar. make sure these are ligned up for a good start to your sync. i can see by this video that your second track (the red one) needs to be about 1/5th of a beat ahead of the sync. to do this you can click and drag the red bar in the waveform untill the bass spikes match up. this should be done "before" you bring in the track or you will hear a pause and a scratch.

you can also use your pitch controll and just nudge it up a little although sometimes this alters the waveform and you still end up in the same situation. your best option is to drag it into position. this way you wont loose pitch or bpm. it will be good for the time being untill you get used to mixing such tracks.


 
mate if you look at your video you will see exacly what bullite said.
keep your eye on your mix in that to put it simple match the big blocks to the little blocks.
i think maybe it might be a cue error also.try making you cue points on a beat then sync 2nd song to first on the beat.
when you get this you will see the difference.
i also rely on my sync effect and has done wonders for me and my confidence.
remember beat to beat and have fun
 
I'm probably misunderstanding something, but isn't it true that the beatgrid needs to stay under the spikes? Because to sync the tracks the beatgrid needs to stay under each spikes

Another thing when i drag the waveform the beatgrid stays the same the only thing happening is the song is moving.
 
hi, the track1 beat grid needs to stay aligned with the second beatgrid. hence the reason for the large squares. this makes sure your tracks are mathced not only by beat but by bar also. a track that is not matched by bar, as well as beats, often results in the bass or vocals starting either early or late. thus resulting in a bad mix.

the reason your song is moving when you drag it, is because thats what it is supposed to do. the bpm and the pitch remain the same, the only difference you need to make is to match the beats as they thump. or in this case match the spikes so they are overlaid into one another.

as i mentioned before the slight difference in the beat can sometimes be caused by one track needing to be say 140.7 to match a track thats playing at 140.

if you lock the tracks using the sync button and they remain slightly out of time then drag the song by the wave form to nudge the spikes into alignment. this "will" drag the tracks out of a sync lock, but thats what you need to achieve the mix. "sync isnt always perfect, use it as a guide line and go from there" .

dont worry about the waveform being mis matched. if the beats match then its all good.

as per your vid i can tell without audio that your geting a rapid double bassline and ugly mid and treble trying to both play at once. mix the track by monitor first and be sure those spikes match once you have achieved the correct bpm (dragging the waveform). turn down the mid and treble of your second track and bring it in when you get a flat bass section to avoid overlaying vocals and instrumentals on the first track. just be sure to crank em both up steadily and evenly for maximum effect.
 


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