Digital and analog DJing may employ very different tools, but they all are aimed at the same goal: blending finished songs together into a continuous mix. Effectively accomplishing that with any tool requires the same fundamental knowledge of music, song structure and frequency behavior. Because new technology now lets people enter the world of DJing much easier, it seems appropriate to go back to the basics and cover some fundamental principles of DJing which everyone, new and old, can always use.
SONIC SOUP
As his or her most fundamental job, a DJ keeps the volume of the set consistent and even. Volume is perceived as energy, so erratic changes in sound levels will confuse and frustrate your dancefloor. Even if you do nothing else other than play one song after the next without mixing, it’s critical that each song has the same perceived volume. Later on you can use volume as a tool to create excitement intentionally but everyone must learn to walk before running.
Problem: Uneven recording levels. Although every producer tries to turn up his or her final mixes to 11, many songs come out of the music plant with different volumes. If you play a sequence of songs back to back, chances are high that they will vary wildly in volume.
Solution: Use the meters. Every decent DJ mixer and almost all DJ software show you a visual level of each channel’s volume levels through LED meters. Using your Gain knob, adjust each track until both channels’ meters match just about perfectly. That means they are peaking at the same level and demonstrate a similar movement when the beats hit.
Take note: Programs such as Serato Scratch and Native Instruments Traktor offer auto-gain features that will solve this problem very accurately without any thought from you. It’s a good idea, however, to practice mixing with this feature off so you can get the hang of it on your own.
Problem: 1 + 1 = 2. If you add two songs together at full volume, your loudness will be almost doubled, but when the mix is over, the energy will fall back again.
Solution: Always mix in equal parts. As you bring a track in, the other song’s level should be brought down in equal amounts. This way the sonic power of one track is always replacing the other’s, so theoretically, volume levels will stay the same before, during and after the mix. Some people choose to mix with crossfaders because they can perform this function in one motion, equally fading out one track as the other comes in. The crossfader is rarely a perfect solution, however, because the exact blend of each track is never 50/50, so many DJs prefer to use the input faders instead, adjusting the precise mix by ear.
Take note: It’s inadvisable to have both fader levels higher than 90 percent at the same time because that gives you nowhere to go, and the master volume will rise and fall with each mix.
THE BALANCING ACT
Once you get the hang of carefully blending each song together and keeping your overall level even, it’s time to move on to the next technique.
Problem: Not all songs were created equal. Let’s be honest, some tracks bump and some tracks don’t. There is nothing more depressing than going from a big anthem to a track that just does not have enough oomph.
Solution: Add EQ to taste. Unfortunately, most DJ equipment does not allow you to visually monitor the frequency range of a song. Instead, you must rely on a good pair of headphones and your better judgment to fix things by ear. Need more bump? Add some extra low frequency, but be careful not to crank it up too much or it will drown out everything else. Perhaps the track sounds dull? Add a healthy amount of high-end zip. If you have a hard time understanding the words, put some extra mid-range in the mix.
Take note: There is a well-known engineering technique most DJs aren’t aware of. Instead of boosting frequencies, try taking away the competing ones. For example, if you need some more kick drum, cut out some mid frequencies, boost the highs just a touch and bring up that channel’s gain a few decibels. Result: more kick without a muddy mix.
Problem: Track levels are equal, but the energy gets lost. The ear picks up on patterns in the music and slowly shifts our attention from the outgoing to the incoming patterns. Sometimes both patterns work well together, and even though you need to make room sonically, you don’t want to lose the parts that are keeping the energy up.
Solution one: Cut out the old track’s low end entirely. You can think of each mix as having an overall frequency budget of 100. In a balanced mix, each track is allotted 50 units of that budget between the frequency ranges. If you don’t want to turn down a song but need to make room for a new song, then cut out the frequency band that eats up most of your budget — the low end. This technique should be used if the old song has a vocal or synth line that you want to keep present in the mix while allowing the new song room to take over the primary rhythm.
Solution two: Cut out the high and the low frequencies entirely. Oftentimes two songs sound great together, but when the mix is over, the energy drops big time. Sometimes that is not because of gain in-balance, but rather the older song just had a much better kick. So set a loop at the end of a song where there is no bass line, cut out all the other frequencies and keep that kick loop running for as long as possible under the new track.
Take note: Dramatically cutting frequencies to make your mixes work is a good tool, but you shouldn’t rely on it entirely; it can make the songs sound unnatural and bring attention to your mixing when you want the mix to remain transparent. Some of the most effective mixes are those during which full-frequency tracks are gently brought in and out of the mix. In fact, many of the world’s famous DJs swear by the old Urei mixers, which didn’t have any EQ adjustments at all.
For more digital dj basics check out this article which talks about song structure and making songs work together musically.
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Good article, one question..
On the part where you said to make sure both faders are not above 90% at the same so you have somewhere to go, would altering the gains on the main track in play (bringing it down 10% instead, have the same affect as simply dropping the fader by 10% or does this have a different affect on cutting the dynamics?) would be very happy to get a good reply to this it’s been budding me. thx
Happened to be looking at some of there older blogs and found this interesting. The comments on mixer settings was also interesting. This could be a whole new article in it’s self. I have talked to a lot of seasoned DJ’s, who are not semi-mastering their tracks or don’t know about it. These are ultra lounge DJs, where profection is assumed. Below is a list of topics that come under this:
Clipping – how to fix it and what happens if you don’t
Track Gain – the difference between Gain and Volume, how to set each correctly.
Unity – What it is on your mixer and how to set-up your pre-amp sound.
Amplifiers – why under powered is worse than over powered
These are just a few subjects that could be cover, school of hard knocks is hell.
“tetm” term I ment
[quote comment=””]I’m about to start djing and it would be great that you could explain all this terms in an easier tetm for people like me that are new at this[/quote]
I’m about to start djing and it would be great that you could explain all this terms in an easier tetm for people like me that are new at this
I found it very interesting.
Very good website you have here.
Wunderful Tips…
As usual, excellent article Ean.
Keep up the good work.
I too hope that this is the first in a series of article for all of us new to Djing.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Cheers!
beat match.
loop new track.
cut lows & cut back on highs on new track.
bring new track in at a drop or double beat.
switch lows & highs.
release loop.
fade out old track as the new track builds toward a break or drop.
Thats basically how I do it, just with a few little tricks that i've come up with thrown in as well. Basically DJing 101 – digital or analog.
My understanding and implementation is to turn the gain down on the incoming track when you first bring it in, and then as you turn the gain up on the new track turn it down in equal amounts on the outgoing track. it sounds really good if you do it right. very smooth.[/quote]
Ok that helped my understanding, thanks man, i'll give it a go.
[quote comment="16812"]i never even thought of things like the gain knobs. I'm confused though I tried using these techniques after like using the gain knobs to match up the LED's but I always ended up killing the energy of my mix because I had to turn down the gain know to bring in the new track. Is the trick to just use the gain on the incoming track, and not the current track, and once the new track is brought in, then bring the gain down on the other track. Thanks for all your sites help[/quote]
My understanding and implementation is to turn the gain down on the incoming track when you first bring it in, and then as you turn the gain up on the new track turn it down in equal amounts on the outgoing track. it sounds really good if you do it right. very smooth.
i never even thought of things like the gain knobs. I'm confused though I tried using these techniques after like using the gain knobs to match up the LED's but I always ended up killing the energy of my mix because I had to turn down the gain know to bring in the new track. Is the trick to just use the gain on the incoming track, and not the current track, and once the new track is brought in, then bring the gain down on the other track. Thanks for all your sites help
Cheers Ian, interesting read and of course great points for people just jumping aboard the dj train :>
Thanks! I wish this article were available when I started learning. Some of these were pretty intuitive to learn and others took a while to identify and resolve the hard way. EQ mixing will be getting more practice.
I hope you make this first in a series of articles.
I'll also spew for a bit about this site overall. First, thanks for skipping the prerequisite elitist attitude that plagues the DJ community. Second, it's great that you consider any tool that can be applied to the task of DJing, not just entrenched brands and traditional components. Finally, you guys can actually write concise explanations of concepts that some talented DJ can't verbalize. Very helpful and well done site. Thanks!
It might work as well if you can add a compressor or a limiter after the master out. A physical one or a virtual one. So the theory of superposition of in-phase sound wave will not build up to become 2 as in your eqation of 1+1=2. (Was that what you were trying to point out? But I see many people here explains that the amplitude will go up by 3db)(In regards to your article of the rule of bringing down equal parts in the eq) That way we can have more headroom whist in the mix, w/o worrying abt boosting too much.
Nice topic covering basics – good work as usual Ean – I would suggest that an article covering the correct use of levels / gain would be useful too. It's essential for correct sound reproduction to use the gain to set the levels to hover around 0. Most people that start off have no idea where these levels should be and what the effects are of not having them set correctly.
[quote comment="16769"]Nice article!
1 point of of critique:
"Problem: 1 + 1 = 2. If you add two songs together at full volume, your loudness will be almost doubled"
Nope.
If you double the sound output the meter will go up 3DB, not the double amount.[/quote]
um… not to nitpick – the level on your mixer won't double, because it's a db meter, but db is a logarithmic unit… and a 3db increase is actually a doubling of power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel
btw, nice article Ean. I'd love to see you do a "fundamentals of audio gain structure and signal flow" article. I DJ and produce, but I also run sound. As someone who has worked for years installing, configuring and running sound-systems (nightclubs, concerts, and mobile) I've found that DJs can be a sound guy's worst nightmare — and not just noobs either!!
I don't think DJs should be expected to understand all the math on that wikipedia page (I certainly don't) but there are some basics that are really helpful for avoiding sound-system damage (not clipping channels, not overdriving d/a's, being conscious of amplitude spikes caused by high resonance filters, understanding nominal levels, etc.)
[quote comment=""]Nice article!
1 point of of critique:
"Problem: 1 + 1 = 2. If you add two songs together at full volume, your loudness will be almost doubled"
Nope.
If you double the sound output the meter will go up 3DB, not the double amount.[/quote]
its not the loudness that doubles, but the fullness of sound. all the eqs are in well mastered songs used throughout the range, thats why you have to make place to avoid a mashy sound. as you have the full eq range doubled…
Nice article!
1 point of of critique:
"Problem: 1 + 1 = 2. If you add two songs together at full volume, your loudness will be almost doubled"
Nope.
If you double the sound output the meter will go up 3DB, not the double amount.
Yeah, agree with this, great for beginers…
I'd say the next step after understanding volume and frequency energy in a mix, is understanding timing. A songs tempo, frase and song structure.
Understanding how a song is made up of frases, of x number of beats and bars, for each part, intro, verse and chorus etc. Knowing your down beat from your up and off beat will help mix timing.
Although many DJ software can do much of the timing for you having this understanding will help improve your timing for bringing in a mix, setting loops, cue points etc.
Then you can move into the world of harmonic mixing…
Nice story!
i feel like i've read this before..
thx
[quote comment=""]
Unfortunately for me though my EQ knobs are plastic and sooo light they fly all over the place… maybe i should dip them in bronze or something? Ean, any ideas for how i can solve that?[/quote]
a piece of paper or tissue helps alot for faders, never tried it on knobs. however you should have a look at the ecler mixers. the have huge chunky knobs !
Personally, I keep my volume faders up 100% and probably never touch them (nor the crossfader). I just mix the two tracks in and out with the eq's.
Another great tip is to switch the bass EQ's round every 2 or 4 bars (ie: cut one completely and boost the other, then using both hands, suddenly reverse), that way you get the next songs energy in, but suddenly bring the old one back in, out, in, out, makes for some nice changing energy without suddenly and completely losing the flow of things.
I just feel like EQ gives more precision and control over things, and I can pretty much mix forever just with EQ's.
Unfortunately for me though my EQ knobs are plastic and sooo light they fly all over the place… maybe i should dip them in bronze or something? Ean, any ideas for how i can solve that?
Great Article, a lot more like these are needed
what do you think about that?
this seems to be a mixing 101 🙂
well probably not bad for the beginners here
Yo I agree with everything you just said ean.
I am the prime-definition of a digital dj newb and I had to learn all these lessons the hard-way.
I basically figured out how to do these things and why they are so important. But I never realized I was doing this until you had mentioned it.
Thanks for pointing out what I was doing and explaining how important it was
YEAH!!!!
more basic tutorialssssssss please!!1
i agree with trying to mix many type of genres. i use to practice by having my friends pick songs for me. so so many was to transition songs.
for just a few is.
the quick duckout
the slow crossfade blend.
the take out pieces of the eq.
cuttoff filter
the backspin(i refuse to do that because it is overplayed by bad djs)
or the lazy let the track ride it self out.
Thanks Ean, more of these articles would be great for the beginners. Well done!
Great!, thanks Ean
if you know all of your tracks inside out, the above tips are priceless
[quote]Take note: It’s inadvisable to have both fader levels higher than 90 percent at the same time because that gives you nowhere to go, and the master volume will rise and fall with each mix.[/quote]
Absolutely!! Many mixers are designed with "Unity" sitting around 75% on those fader levels.
[quoteTake note: It’s inadvisable to have both fader levels higher than 90 percent at the same time because that gives you nowhere to go, and the master volume will rise and fall with each mix.[/quote]
Absolutely!! Many mixers are designed with "Unity" sitting around 75% on those fader levels.
great article Ean, let me add a thing which helped me a lot and clear up another. First, its perfectly fine to have both faders at 100% if you regulate the noise through the eq. this doesnt mean you should mix into a song through the eq knobs, but if you make a transition and start with a new song where for example th elow end is completely cut out, it is usually necessary to have it in (faderwise) at 100%. when you then kick in the low eq you have to ensure to take out the low eq on the other deck, to make the necessary room. i hope you get what i mean 🙂 Straight techno is a very nice medium to practice eq mixing, because somehow it seems that this rather fast minimal beat is build just with a bass a synth and kicks 🙂
another thing which improved my mixing immensely was to play as much different genres as possible. there are different mixing techniques with which you do transition in different genres. you get the hand rather fast that your hiphop mixing technique doesnt work very well with for example dubstep. when learning these new techniques you will notice that in some cases you can apply mixing techniques you learned in antoher genre for a specific genre where you would usually never come up with these tehcniques. hope you get the point 🙂
Thanks for those articles about djing fundamentals.
they are very useful for newbies like me!
keep up the good work.