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Topic: Best way to mix old disco (70 & 80's)

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kaboemPRO InfinityMember since 2003
Hello,

What's the best way to mix old disco, with or without eq fader


Best regards
 
Posted Wed 11 Aug 04 @ 3:22 pm
Practice practice practice the problem with old disco is the drum track,in those days we used a real drummer so there is no full proof way of mixing old disco unless u use old technics 1100's the reaction time is perfect for old songs.Learn your music it will be easier to mix.i remixed "i wanna dance"Kat Mandu in the 90's and we corrected that problem we were having with the song.You have to learn your classics,"born to be alive,Hot Stuff/bad Girls,Love is in the air..." etc all will give you headaches if you dont learn when the kick drum speeds up or slows down......Good Luck its a long process but with a bit of patience you will notice the constant pitch adjustement.There are only a handfull of DJs that are able to work this music.Find a dj in your area and go listen how he works the breaks.Old disco has an enormous break,just make sure not to mix MELODIES together only DRUMS.

HAPPY MIXING
 
Posted Tue 17 Aug 04 @ 3:12 pm
djejPRO InfinityMember since 2004
Landry is right on. Old Disco is "unfortunately" my passion. Make sure you work hard to get the BPMs right and work the breaks. They did at least provide breaks in these songs even if the drums change :) You have to ride the pitch constantly. There is no beatmatching and walking away like in house/trance/etc.. You can on some songs kill the bass if you want to ride longer or if you want to do a blend. But a lot of tunes, probably because of the recording quality sound crappy when you play with eq's. I don't know if you like these songs but you can hear some of my blends with old school at my cheesy website. Sense of Purpose, Release Yourself and Just an Illusion. AudioRetro.com. These are blends I did with House Music and old club classics. I had to ride the pitch constantly. It just takes time to learn the songs, know the beat changes and know when to mix. In Just an Illusion for example when the break first starts the beat changes. Where you would normally mix in at the climax before the break you can't (or you have to release the song on a new beat so you can't loop it prior to release). Those are the strange things you have to learn about the music. Happy Mixing.
 
Posted Sun 09 Jan 05 @ 11:22 pm
for "newbie" help/aid... the beatLOCK feature where made for disco (live drummer...)
it will adjust the pitch constantly to keep to songs in beat
 
Posted Mon 10 Jan 05 @ 6:42 pm
djejPRO InfinityMember since 2004
Norway all I mix is old classics and I don't see that happening. Beatlock and BPMs rarely work. I wish I was into new music since that's a piece of cake. Maybe if I check my other post I can finally get the CBG adjustment figured out and then it will match. Thanks.
 
Posted Wed 12 Jan 05 @ 1:13 am
How about that "track warping" thingy of Abelton Live?
--> http://www.nu-gems.co.uk/Ableton/How_To_Warp_a_Track.html

It's designed for those tracks that have 'sloppy' drummers.

Now, I don't use Ableton Live so I don't know if:
- it actually works (looks like it though)
- it can be saved as a mp3 that can be used with other programmes (like virtual dj)

Maybe that's a solution for those disco tracks ...
 
Posted Wed 12 Jan 05 @ 12:14 pm
@djej

for beatlock to work, you need to have the correct bpm/cbg for a track (and even cbg's aligned to beats)

Try reanalyze those tracks, or try to find it manually...

If they do not have a steady beat (like new "computer" aided music), its a bit tricky to make them stay in beat. Best tip would be to have your finger on the jogwheel (console, or timecode vinyl/CD) to speed up/down continuesly to make them stay in beat. This is the way "old school" dj's work :)
 
Posted Wed 12 Jan 05 @ 6:37 pm
djejPRO InfinityMember since 2004
Thanks Norway. I'll have to check my CBG post as even after your advice I haven't been able to make CBG Adjustment work with shortcuts. Can't wait for TCV's to be available, pitch reading with an arrow key just isn't cutting it.
 
Posted Thu 13 Jan 05 @ 8:53 pm
CBGs are a grat way to see what song is running off beat so the correction is minimal but necessary
Beatlock does not function with old disco only matches a little you need to follow the music and manually adjust the speed... pitch bend is the fastest way ( i think)
Andre
 
Posted Fri 14 Jan 05 @ 10:03 am
for old school disco some songs have a constant loop of beats although for those that have a variation of beats (kind of like Hip Hop) its easier to mix the highs together instead of the drum pattern. This includes sometimes to lower or cut the bass off one track to make it sound just right.

Best of luck

DJ White Devil
 
Posted Wed 09 Feb 05 @ 2:10 am
udeenHome userMember since 2005
i would be very please if u tell me how to down
wnload virtualdj.
 
Posted Tue 08 Mar 05 @ 8:00 am
 
Posted Tue 08 Mar 05 @ 8:11 am


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