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DJ Modernsound I am Haitian. I live In New York. I love technology since I was little. I am a digital DJ. I dj Konpa, Zouk, Reggae, Soca, Hip-pop & R&B. I also mix Haitian carnival songs a great deal which Haitian DJ usually touch only during carnival season In Haiti. I am Married with a baby on the way! |
Sun 21 Sep 08 @ 1:37 pm
This Month will talk about Speaker Placement
Speaker Placement
Before shopping for speakers, try to imagine where you're going to put them in your room. Speakers can be placed on floor stands, hung on wall brackets, or placed on furniture. Subwoofers typically sound best in room corners or near the left- or right-front speakers.
The front three--left, center, and right--speakers usually sound best when positioned with their tweeters elevated to the same height as a seated listener's ears. In any case, try to keep the center speaker near the same height as the left and right speakers.
You can place speakers on shelves or on/in a low cabinet or entertainment center. Some speakers are better suited to this arrangement than others. "Acoustic suspension" sealed satellites are the most appropriate. Next best are ported speakers--as long as the ports are located on the front of the cabinet. However, speakers with rear-mounted ports won't perform at their peak when placed inside a piece of furniture.
As for the rear-channel surround speakers, they usually sound best when positioned three or more feet higher than the front speakers. However, high-fidelity DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD music will sound best when surround speakers are placed at the same height (ear level) as the front speakers.
DJ Mixing Method for using DJ Modernsound DNS1200 mapper
http://www.virtualdj.com/addons/4820/Denon_DN-S1200_midi_mapper.html
1--load the first song and press the cue button to start the first song from the pre-programmed cue button
2--with either the cross fader on the side with the active song playing or the cross fader in the middle with the active deck channel fader up and the song being cued on the other deck with the channel fader all the way down.
3--With headphone on load the other deck with the song planned to be mixed into.
4--press the Echo/Loop button to Synch the Cue song with the actual song being played on the PA system, and press the A2 button.
5--Now you are ready to play the cued song with the fader still being down, hit the cue button at this point.---(if song is not totally synch either hit the Echo/lop button to automatically synch the two songs together or hit the cue button again several times til you get the 2 songs to synch.
5--At this point you may choose to count either 4 beat in your head or 8 or 16 beat and hit the B button to loop the Cued song (or the new song) you are about to mix into.
6--Using the eq button and other tricks your new song Is now playing. Do not forget to either turn down the channel fader of the old song that you are fading out of or move the Cross fader all the way to the other side of the new song you are mixing into.
7---Press the Flanger button to bring the normal pitch of the button to Zero
8-- Follow the process again for another song!!
Screw and Chop
so here it is....get 2 identical tracks, one playing on each deck...use your instant doubles feature to get the songs instantly in sync with each other...lets say the crossfader is to the left and the left deck is playing through the speakers....on the right deck, push the record forward lightly until the song on the right is playing exatly 1 beat ahead of the record on the left...im thinking in 4/4 time...if the right song is 1 beat ahead it should read like this while playing at the same time....
left 1234 1234 1234 1234
right 2341 2341 2341 2341
...once you got it lined up its time to chop...basically, you just throw the crossfader from the left deck to the right and then throw it right back to the left...
...what you want to try and do is catch the "next note"...remember that the song on the left is now 1 beat behind the song on the right...so when beat 4 is playing on the left, beat 1 of the very next line is already playing on the right deck...if on beat for you throw the fader from left to right, you will skip beat 4 and go straight to beat 1 of the next line...thats just a sneak preview of the next line...
**recap...we threw the fader from left to right and skipped beat 4 on the left deck and went to beat 1 of the next line on the right deck...
...now, on beat 2 on the right deck, throw the fader back over to the left deck, and you will bounc back to the same beat one you had just played on the right deck...thats basically it...
...this effect works great at the beginning of a verse...on snare drums....
if a song went....drum,drum,drum,snare...drum,drum,drum,snare...
a chop could make it go...drum,drum,snare,snare...
Jay-Z........99 problems
chopped......9-99 problems and a chop aint one, hit me
Thats the chop...the "screw" part, is nothing more than a tempo/pitch adjustment...some love it, some hate it...i usually go with like -12...love it...but the chopping is a cool effect either way...
aight...so yeah, holla back if you got questions...
1. Digital DJ Mixers Infos
# older music (such as soul, rare groove etc) or music recorded live will be very difficult to beat match well. This is purely because the drum beats are often produced by a human and not produced by a drum machine or synchronised using a computer sequencer, and hence aren't perfectly in rhythm.
# To get started your mixer needs to have a minimum of two channels so you can adjust the volume of the music playing on either turntable. A cross fader to cut quickly between the two channels and we would also recommend that you go for a mixer that has an EQ with 3 bands per channel - hi, mid and low.
# The hi frequency band can be used to decrease or increase the amount of high frequencies that are let through the mixer, hi hats, cymbals and percussion generally sit in these frequencies. Mid range frequencies are where the vocals sit and low frequencies hold the bass, which is where the low frequency parts of the drums and bass lines live.
# the human ear becomes accustomed to a certain frequency spectrum. So, avoid the trap of equalizing everything too sharp. If you see (you won't hear it) that your equalizing is completely out of balance fix it slowly. In fact not that many (modern) songs need equalizing anymore.
# Some DJ's like to turn their three equalizer buttons completely to the right when they play. This should not be done because it modifies the sound and often removes critical information from the music. Normally the sound is unmodified if all equalizers are set to 0, not to +15dB.
# Once you understand the principles, go stand behind a DJ and watch; see how well you can follow the correspondence between what the hands do and what you hear. Watch when a new record is coming in (typically the bass gets shut down and the high hats come in first, much less likely to be obnoxious if it slips off), listen as the sync gets fixed, think what you would do to it.
# never play to track with both basses all the way up.
# Most dance tracks have an "intro" (where you mix into it) and a break and/or "outro" (where you mix out of it). An"outro" area on a track is often the final opportunity to mix out of the song; while a "break" may be an earlier opportunity to mix out of a song. A song can have more than one break, but will have only one outro.
# When the mix is finished, be sure that the new song's volume is exactly at the volume of the previous song. Even if the new song seems as loud as the one being played, watch the bass or high-end volume (of the song you're "bringing in") to make sure that you don't muddle-distort the mix. You should be aware that not all songs are recorded at the same volume level.
# As you listen to the song being played (song one) on the dance floor, cue the song that you want to beat match (song two) through your headphones on the other turntable or CD player. When song one "breaks" to end in its outro section, start the new song at the first beat of its "intro" (thus, you're matching the "intro" of song two with the "break" or outro segment of song one). As you match the drum beats, place your hand on the turntable or CD player's pitch adjust to gradually adjust the speed. As one hand adjusts speed, place the other hand on the mixer and gradually slide the crossfader so that song one's volume declines and song two's volume increases.
2. The different Types of Scratches
# Baby Scratch, which is just pulling the record forward and backwards. That's the most basic scratch and that's what you really gotta' learn if you wanna' ever start scratching - you can't run before you walk.
# The Military Scratch this is a scratch which incorporates the cross-fader and the Baby Scratch. So what I'm doing here is I'm clicking the fader once, in and out, while I'm doing the Baby Scratch.
# A good thing to do when you're scratching is to mark the record so you know exactly where the scratch begins, so you don't have to be all lost. You just look at the record, look at the point where it starts and that way you'll know where you're at, at all times.
get a little piece of tape and put it on the middle of the record. You can just look at the middle of the record and you know where you're at.
# The flare It's an imaginary scratch because it sounds faster than I really am. When you scratch you start with start with the fader off. So right now you don't hear me moving the record. But here, you hear me moving the record. With this scratch I start with the fader on, I don't start with it off. I do the same as I was doing but I start with the fader on... that's why it's called an illusion scratch.
# The Crab This is one scratch I don't recommend you learn first. If you try to run before you can walk, you're gonna fall. What I'm basically doing is snapping all my fingers on my thumb. So it's like - the pinky, the other finger, the middle finger and the pointer finger, but I'm snapping them all on the fader. So what I do with the cut is move it forward and backwards. When I'm doing the crab all I'm doing is applying a little pressure on my thumb. And like I said, you snap your fingers on the fader.
3. The dues and Don' ts about Digital DJs
# You should learn how to mix before you start scratching. You need to have a good knowledge of your records and you need to listen to a lot of music to understand what goes with what, because a lot of stuff doesn't work. That's the problem with a lot of kids today they head towards technical scratching before they learn the basics - like the basics of mixing and listening to music and learning from other DJs
# Another important part of mixing is the breakdown, especially for drum & bass, house music or whatever you're into. The break down is the key. This is how you control the crowd. Wait for it to mix and once it goes into the breakdown you can be playing with EQ's right now, making it more interesting when you're mixing.
Take out the bass and when the breakdown comes in, turn up the bass. There's a lot that goes into mixing, a lot that goes into controlling the crowd and these are good ways. So when the breakdown comes in, just turn up the bass... and you'll smash it!
4. S.O.S Critical Digital DJ Infos
# Whether you have CD's, vinyl or mp3's, have an index at hand, sorted by style, annotate with the BPM and marked with the 'sound-color'. This list should contain cross references between styles: 'switch to this style using this song'. On top of this style list, also have a full index by name available every time you play.
Creating such a list takes time, a lot of time. You can easily spend months to create it, but when you have such a list it is your treasure. This will be half the money you make with DJ'ing. So never give this away.
# - Play every song between 2.0 - 2.5 minutes. If you play songs longer people will find it boring. If you play songs too short people will become irritated. Of course, a mistake in the 'short' direction is not that bad.
- Minimum 4 songs of the same style in a row.
- Work your tempo down until you reach a suitable tempo for a slow.
- Always play two slows. After the first not everybody has the girl/the boy he/she wants. After a slow, kick in a beat again. No point in messing around with a 'good' build-up. Some (lonely) people are waiting to dance, and the people slowing will leave the floor anyway when you switch to a non-slow.
- In the beginning of the night choose your end style of music. After 3:00, 4:00 o'clock people go home when you switch style, so stay to the same style after that.
5. Specialist section: Beatmatching
Seeing as beatmatching is such a big deal to DJs heres a special beatmatching only section for you beatmatching fanatics.
* It's really easy once you get the hang of it. On my right turntable I have one beat and on my left turntable I have another beat.
First I'll start off by playing the left beat. Okay, so I've got that beat, in my headphones I'll be queuing up the other record, looking for it and where it starts. The other beat is playing and I'll throw it in on the four. What you're trying to do here is make both the snares match up.
If you give it a little push and you adjust the pitch to make it go a little faster it can match up with the other snare on the left turntable. So once you get that sorted out, you bring the right turntable back to the beginning and you just count a couple bars until you feel you're ready.
It's almost never gonna be perfect so you gotta give it a little push with your hands and keep adjusting the pitch. Once the two snares are perfectly matched you have a mix.
1. Place the volume slider of channel B to zero
2. Set the gain of channel B to zero
3. Push the PFL button of channel B. Be sure that the PFL of channel A is off.
4. Change the gain until we have maximum signal without clipping. Do not touch the volume slider. If you do this the audience will hear what you are planning to play.
5. Now change the equalizing if necessary. For most songs not much equalizing is needed, unless you are playing very old songs of course. Don't equalize everything too sharp. It is quite easy to hear nothing at all if you don't boost the high frequencies. Don't do this. Change the volume of the headphones or increase the gain if possible.
6. After equalizing, maximize the gain again. If you cut the frequencies, the gain is not maximum anymore.
7. Now the real work can begin, look for a good position to kick the song in.
8. While sliding down channel A, slide up channel B.
* Beat mixing is mixing two beats exactly over each other during a certain period. The difficulty with this is that different songs have different tempos. In the upcoming discussion we refer to song B as the one which will be mixed over song A. Synchronizing B with A is the first problem, keeping them synchronized is the second.
* Two aspects: sync and speed/tempo. Two records that have their tempos/bpm (beats-per-minute) perfectly matched can still be out of sync, like two clocks, both the same speed, just set to different times. More likely, the initial condition is that the speeds will be different, but they'll slowly drift in and out of sync, as the faster one passes the slow one again. even if you do nothing. First, you push and nudge, whatever, to get the second (incoming) record into sync with the first: pick a snare part or some regular sound, imagine in your ear where you want it to stick it in the first record (like right on top of the other snare), and PUT it there. Then, through further nudging back and forth and mad troubling of the speed control, you keep it in sync. When it goes out of sync, put it back in, and start again, and again. Someone once told me to just use the speed control a lot at first, don't even touch the record until the speed is very close, and this sometimes seems to actually work pretty well.
* Listen with your body, move your toes. It helps to bob your head vigorously to the beat you're trying to match to; it can get pretty distracting to keep two big kicks separate in your ear otherwise. Move faster, too fast to be thinking about it; stay in your senses, not your thoughts.
* Generally you'll want to cut the incoming bass out and match the high hats first, bring them in and make sure they're right, then either gradually or all at once swap the basses: oh that is so satisfying.
* Time to add Track Structure to Manipulating Vinyl and try to synchronise 2 records... Start with 2 records which have, judging by listening to them, about the same BMP (Beats Per Minute). Start the first record. (Check the RPM.) Set the gain for the record in such a way that the VU meter will peak between 0 dB and +3 dB. Get the 2nd record and perform the same operation. The first matching has been done: the volume of both records are the same. Make sure that you set the gain when the record is playing the body or at least an equally loud part. If you would perform this while the intro is playing you could end up with a record peaking between +3 dB and +6 dB when it is playing the normally louder body.
* HOW TO detect any difference in speed or phase
Use only one of the 2 speakers of your headphone to listen to the incoming record, record 2. Leave the other ear open to hear the currently playing record, record 1. Decide for yourself which side and put one of the pads of the headphone behind the ear or in your neck. It is also possible to hang the headphone around your neck and put one of the pads on your shoulder. With a tilted head and a pushed up shoulder you can listen to the pad. This results in a very typical DJ stance and, possibly, some aching neck and shoulder muscles
How much you need to change pitch and brake/speed up a record depends on the initial difference in speed between the 2 records. It simply takes a lot of practice. Once you have some experience you will be able to determine if braking or speeding up is required. Later on, with more experience, you will also be able to determine how much to brake or speed up and how much to change pitch given a certain difference.
* Try to avoid mixing records close to the 0% pitch. In practice most turntables show some decrease in pitch accuracy around the point where you feel the slider click. If you are within 2 mm (1/10th inch) of the 0% point, and you suspect you might end up at 0%, change the pitch of record 1 so you stay outside the -0.5% +0.5 % pitch region.
* how do I detect any difference in speed or phase?Use only one of the 2 speakers of your headphone to listen to the incoming record, record 2. Leave the other ear open to hear the currently playing record, record 1. Decide for yourself which side and put one of the pads of the headphone behind the ear or in your neck. It is also possible to hang the headphone around your neck and put one of the pads on your shoulder. With a tilted head and a pushed up shoulder you can listen to the pad. This results in a very typical DJ stance and, possibly, some aching neck and shoulder muscles. if there is a difference after jump starting try to determine what it is: Lag or Ahead, and try to correct it.
* Incoming record lags behind: push it and increase pitch. * Incoming record is ahead: slow it down and decrease pitch.
How much you need to change pitch and brake/speed up a record depends on the initial difference in speed between the 2 records. It simply takes a lot of practice. Once you have some experience you will be able to determine if braking or speeding up is required. Later on, with more experience, you will also be able to determine how much to brake or speed up and how much to change pitch given a certain difference.
* You have two sources of audio (for example two turn tables, we will call them TTL [turn table left] and TTR [turn table right]).
You play the first track on TTL (and this plays through the speakers). Then you start playing the second track on TTR but you cue it so it is only heard through your headphones (you do this by selecting what channel to hear through your mixer).
So you now have two tunes playing. Now, on the cued track (on TTR) you alter the pitch (that sliding thing on your deck), until the tempo is the same as the track on TTL. You then adjust it so it is also in the right "place" as well as right tempo - so the beats are at the exact same time for both tracks
So now the songs are both "beat matched"! You then simply wait for a suitable time to switch the songs over, and use the cross fader on your mixer to change between TTL and TTR.
Of course there is much more to it. For example it is important that you don't fade them over when one has vocals (well, thats not true in all cases). And for another example you'd often kill the bass on one of them and gradually bring it back up once its faded over. But again this isn't always true.
There are no set rules on how to DJ. Do what you like and what you think sounds best. Thats all there is to DJing. What you want.
* point of beat-matching is to take two tunes, and make them run at exactly the same tempo (BPM). Why? So you can play the two tunes together and go from one to the other without there being a change in the beat. Why? So that the people on the floor don't have to shuffle step to get back into the rhythm of the music.
* If you've started the beat too soon, and it's running ahead of the one that has been playing, then you need to slow the deck down a bit. By far the safest and easiest way of doing this is to rest your finger on the side of the deck plate lightly (where the bumpy bits are) and apply a little pressure to slow the deck down very slightly. When you've slowed it down so the beats are now aligned, take your finger away.
* If you've not started the beat fast enough, and it's now lagging behind the other one, you need to speed the deck up slightly. The way I do this is to place my finger on the label of the record, and 'help' it turn a little faster. There's a couple of problems that can be associated with this though. 1) That you thump your finger onto the record, and make the needle jump (easily fixed, don't do it again!) and 2) that with your finger on the record, if you're not helping it round fast enough, you'll actually be SLOWING down the deck, something you DON'T want to do. Just make sure to get it right.
* Instead of using the label of the record to turn the record faster, grip the centre spindle of the deck and turn that - a lot of people do it that way, so maybe it works best for you
* Instead of touching the side of the deck to slow it down, a lot of people just use the pitch fader, decrease the pitch until the records are in time, then return it to the original position. The only problem with this is that it's tricky to get the pitch fader EXACTLY back to the original position - unless that position was the 0 pitch mark of course.
* you have learn is how to change the tempo of the tunes using the pitch control in order to make the tempos of the two tunes be same.
* If you have cheap decks, then they probably won't hold their pitch that well, so though you're adjusting things the way you should by the book, the deck is throwing up wildcards, changing the speed it's running at - making your adjustments almost pointless.
* sometimes a record can actually change its pitch through the course of its playing. Either because it's been recorded with a slight tempo change, or the record is warped, or has been badly pressed or something.
* hen two tunes are slightly out of time, they will make a slightly different sound when your cued tune is running too fast, and when it's running too slow. To try to put it in really basic terms when trying to put it in words, when two tunes are in time, you'll hear "BOOM" - when the cued track is running to fast, you'll hear "B-Loom" and when it's running to slow, "L-Boom"
* there is a definate difference in the sound the two tunes make when the cued tune is running slightly too fast, and when it's running slightly too slow.
* Breakdown Mixing: This one can be funky if you pull it off. There's a few ways this is done, but I'll just mention a couple:
Firstly, deck A is about to go into a breakdown. Tune B starts with a bass drum and not much else. The breakdown of A and the intro of B are the same length. Match the two tunes so they both run at the same tempo. Cue B to the opening Bass drum. As deck A hits the first beat of the breakdown, move the x fader to the middle, and let B go. Run them at the same time, and when A's breakdown finishes, the main part of B begins, all you have to do is move the x-fader over, and the mix is done. Try to avoid a big whoosh as you start deck B . You'll get the hang of it after a while, even if it means putting the x-fader quarter of the way when you start, and almost immediately bringing it to the center. As the breakdown in A starts to finish, move the X-fader so that it now favours tunes B , you can still hear A clearly, but B now has more clarity. This stops there being a sudden change in the music.
The second is when the intro of B is quiet. It's almost a breakdown in itself. As the break in A begins, drop in the intro of B . Can take a while to get right (Even longer to find two records that match) but with skillful use of kill switches to EQ out the bass, (Explained later) it can work out nice.
* pinback. This can be great, but beware, use it too much and people will think the only reason you do it is because you can't mix! It can whip people into a frenzy though, and if things aren't going you're way in a mix, it can sometimes help you out. It goes like this, beat match two tunes, run them together so that both bars finish at the same time, then as A finishes the bar, and B is about to get into a pumping part of the tune, place your finger on the label of A, and pull the record back, reasonably sharply. I used to do it from the outer portion of the record, but soon realised why the needle kept on skipping across the record!! Anyway, as you spinback A, bring in B . With correct timing, A will stop spinning backwards as you bring the x-fader all the way across to the start of B (I didn't realise how difficult this was all going to be to describe in words) I use it most often to fix a mix between tunes that have different hi-hat sounds/clarity. If the tune you're taking out has sharper, clearer Hi-hats etc than the one you are about to bring in, it can make the incoming tune sound really dull, so by letting A run overB a little, then using a spinback to take it out, the difference isn't as immediate and noticeable.
* Power-offs and Dead-Stops Kind of in the same family as the spin back I guess. On most higher level decks, which have a good braking system to the deck plate, if you hit the stop/start button during play, the deck will comes to a halt within a second. This is the concept. on the final beat of a bar, hit the stop button on the deck that is playing out. Assuming the braking force on your deck is the correct length, the record will come to a complete halt in the space of one beat - meaning it's dead just in time for the next beat. Of course, the nest beat is the first beat of a new section (or phrase) so you whip the crossfader across to your other record, which of course was already running in time with the first record - sorted! You'll have to work out the best combinations yourself of when, where and what tunes to use for doing this - some times it sounds incredible and the floor go nuts, other times you just sound like an amateur.
* The power off is to turn off the power to the deck, as to make it gradually run slower and slower until it comes to a halt. This is a really good one to do if you have a good lighting jock next to you. Wait until you're at the point you want to do this, and turn off the power to the deck (using the proper switch that you use to switch off the deck at the end of the night). If the light guy is cool, get him to kill the lights at the same time - chances are, everyone will think "Power Cut!!". Then slam in the next tune. And I mean SLAM it in, it'll take em all by surprise, and hopefully really jazz them up.
* Cutting The Treble. There's not many times you HAVE to cut the treble, but sometimes, a shrill hi-hat or voice can make a mix sound really fuzzy, or the two Hi-hats will key together, either cancelling each other out, or producing some (sometimes cool) phasing effects. So even killing the treble so that it's not quite as powerful as the out record - yet still present, can alter the state of a mix (Just remember to put it back in once you fully put in record. But a good trick is to cut the treble on the incoming tune for a couple of bars, then swap it over with the treble of the outgoing tune - it can really tidy up the mix. Just be careful not to take too much out - or you'll end up losing the dynamics of the outgoing tune.
* Cutting the Bass. This can have many uses, cutting the bass can help to introduce two tunes that are out of key. Kill the bass in tune B , then drop it in, have A and B running at the same time, then as the bar ends, crash in the Bass in tuneB , and crash out the Bass in tune A. This does work out better with tunes that are in key, in fact, if there is any melody or singing in the out of key tunes, even cutting the bass isn't going to help that much, the voice'll still sound out of tune. It can take a lot of practice, sometimes killing the bass altogether sounds horrific, but leaving a little bit of it in sounds Ok.
* Sometimes, it's cool NOT to follow the 8 bar / 16 bar format of the intro. By doing it that way, the mixing can become pretty predictable. So if you have the right two tunes, and are brave enough to risk the look of people going "uh?" then try the last two options, but instead of 16 or 8 bars before, try 12 and 4. Admittedly, 4 bars before the end will probably work lot better, even though there will be a few bars of just drums in this case, but that can add to the anticipation of the crowd - as long as the set's going so well that you have people in the palm of your hands by now anyway.
Written by squidoo.com/DJ-tips
Digital DJ: DIY Battle Cuts
Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Ean Golden
DJ Shortee rocked her Serato Scratch skills for all the cut-happy cats at Remix Hotel Miami 2007
With the advent of “controllerism” and the meteoric rise of DJ software, some may assume that the art of turntablism is fading fast. Attendance at the large competitions continues to drop, and the 20-year-old art form appears to need a breath of fresh air. Ironically, it may just be digital technology that brings it. Software like Serato Scratch Live is making the bread and butter of turntablists — scratch records — more accessible to everyone and opening creative doors to exciting new ideas. For years, having your own scratch record to manipulate was a luxury afforded to a precious few. The technology and techniques that went into a DMC-winning performance were shrouded in secrecy as each performer tried to one-up the next. These days, you don't have to drop $100 on a dub plate or be a former DMC champion to make your scratch sentences and routines completely original. With digital vinyl technology, a decent DAW and some minor technical know-how, you can make your own personal scratch “record” in just a few hours. The pros don't want you to read this; they want you to be out there buying their old scratch albums. Do yourself a favor: Save your money and invent your own way of performing.
ADVANCED RECORDINGS
There are no magic tricks up Q-Bert's sleeve; a scratch record is just a record — a series of samples recorded linearly on a record. The trick is just in how the samples are placed on the record. The speed of the drum loops and the spacing of the samples can create very helpful characteristics that make a crazy scratch sequence easier to execute. You may have heard people throw around terms such as “skipless records” or “Y record.” Those are common techniques used for creatively spacing samples around a record, which you can recreate in your DAW.
SKIP LESS
Relative mode in digital vinyl control systems like Scratch Live brought about the only true skipless-record technology. Skipless scratch records most certainly skip, but when you accidentally or intentionally move the needle you won't lose the beat. That is because the makers of the records have taken into account the time it takes the needle to travel in one full rotation around the groove. At 33 rpm, it takes the needle 1.8 seconds, and at 45 rpm, it takes 1.33 seconds to complete the circle. So if a loop pressed on the record is always 1.8 seconds long, then each part of the loop will always fall on the same part of the record. Moving the needle around will make a skipping sound, but the loop will always fall back in the groove. What is the point, you may ask — doesn't Relative mode accomplish the same thing? Yes, but it's the creative application of this simple concept that has made many a turntablist's show.
One common technique is to set up a series of loops that are all cut at the same bpm and loop several of them together. With this method, you can switch between drum loops just by moving the needle. Another technique is to loop a series of rising bass lines or tones so you can physically “play” the samples by moving the needle up or down the record. To accomplish that in your DAW, you just need to have a few figures handy. At 33 rpm, a few common bpms will always work, including 100, 133.33 and 166.66, which are 0.6, 0.45 and 0.36 seconds long, respectively. Because those lengths are all perfect divisions of the record groove length, they should provide a skipless groove. At 45 rpm, you have a few other options, including 90, 135 and 180 bpm, which are 0.66, 0.44 and 0.33 seconds long, respectively. Do you see the pattern? All of those bpms are perfect divisions of the length of one complete groove. If you create your scratch groove at 45 rpm, you can do a cool trick by alternating between 90 and 180 bpm loops, smoothly switching between hip-hop and drum 'n' bass rhythms just by lifting up the needle.
THREE-PART SHOW
The Y record was a concept that famed DMC champ Q-Bert introduced to the world in 2004. The idea is an expansion on the skipless groove concept, but instead of loops, samples are arranged in a specific pattern. Most Y records are cut using three samples spaced evenly across the record. At 33 rpm, you just need to create a loop that is 1.8 seconds long. Place the first sample at 0, the second at 0.6 seconds and the third at 1.2 seconds. With that configuration, the samples will always be at the same place on the record, at approximately 12, 4 and 8 o'clock. Loop that series for a while and then change the samples. Repeat for the duration of the record length. That way, you have the best of both worlds: skipless scratch samples and the ability to quickly move to new samples by just moving the needle. Q-Bert's record employed a simple system of sample management that you may also want to try. Each of the three samples is always a different type. For instance, the first sample could always be a vocal and the second a drum hit. By keeping your sample layout consistent, you will always find the drums, vocals and effects on specific parts of the record.
Many of these techniques can be easily duplicated and in some cases performed more accurately with creative uses of loops and cue-point triggers. That does not mean the easiest road is necessarily the most rewarding. Finding interesting ways of performing complicated techniques with simple tools like the turntable can help the audience understand what you are doing and create a more interesting performance. In the long run, that might lead to more gigs and an enjoyable DJ career. Remember, though, it's not what you use, but how you use it. So don't let your medium speak more loudly than your art
Written by http://remixmag.com/performance/dj_tips_techniques/remix_diy_battle_cuts/
Sun 07 Sep 08 @ 9:32 pm
This Is a step by step on how to remove the Grills on the Dynacord D-lite 2000 D12 speakers:
pull each side of the side of the sponge on the speaker grill, and you will see the screws to remove the screws. Side note, becarefull when peeling the side sponge not to peel the whole sponge only the sides. The sides are made of velcro. Warning, this should only be done after warranty expiration.
Tue 15 May 07 @ 4:09 am
DJ MODERNSOUND
I put a little visual pictures of how to settup Denon DN-S1200, Denon Mixer DNX120, and Virtual DJ Mac version 5.0.8.
I had so much trouble finding out how to set them up, luckily I found the help of one our fellow Virtual DJ board member who led me In the right direction.
To settup Virtual DJ Mac and Denon DN-S1200 soundcards with DNX120 mixer you need to create an aggregate.
http://www.apple.com/pro/techniques/aggregateaudio/
If you click on the pic you will see exactly how to set up both soundcard for virtual DJ Mac. Good luck!
Dynacord D12 grill removal and presettings.
The Dynacord DSP 244 Is the Ultimate Signal sound Processor for my Passive Dynacord D-lite 2000 System Two D-lite 2000 D12 and 1 D-lite Sub115 and one EV SB122 sub
Settings d12-sub115-sb122.ds - 0.00MB
I actually use bootcamp window to use ths setting on the Dynacord crossmax software. At this point Dynacord only has the PC version. Instruction how to use the new software Iris with your Dynacord DSP244 or EV Dx38: 1- Open the Iris software and click on device and choose the the DSP 244 or DX38 and drag It to the right In the large gray area of the software. 2-Right-click On the computer Icon and choose option modify properties, when the Properties for DXserial_1 appears line name Protocol double click in the value area change that value to 232, next double click on the COM option and change the value to whatever the value is in the Ports(COM&LPT) on your PC 9PORTs(COM&LPT). 3-click online option online iption and choose Read current settings from connected devices, and click transfer 4- Now double click on the DSp244 Icon and go to the lower right side of the the DSP244 userpanel and voila the Setup & Control DSP244 appears.
Dynacord D12 front removal:
pull each side of the side of the sponge on the speaker grill, and you will see the screws to remove the screws. Side note, becarefull when peeling the side sponge not to peel the whole sponge only the sides. The sides are made of velcro. Warning, this should only be done after warranty expiration.
My Book Home Edition 500 GB
` Karaoke Tutorial
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All of our software requires the Microsoft .NET Framework v1.1. If you are using Internet Explorer, it has detected that you do not have it installed.
Download the Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package
MP3+G Toolz
Prerequisites (Must have before installing):
Download Microsoft DirectX 9.0C (32.2 MB) - You must install to playback files.
Download Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 (12.1 MB) - You must install to playback files.
Troubadour Karaoke Lite Home Edition (1.21 MB) - You must install to playback files. See http://troubadour-karaoke.com/products/lite-he.html for more details.
Download MP3+G Toolz 4 (3.13 MB)
Important: If you got this software from a website other than this one, please do not install it. Download from here only.
We are no longer supporting version 3 of our software. Please uninstall version 3 and install version 4.
To upgrade to a new version of 4.x, please uninstall first, then install after downloading from this site.
How to convert CDG (karaoke disks) to play in VDJ
In order to copy the lyrics portion of a karaoke track, you should have a CD/DVD burner that WILL read RAW Sub code Data. 99.9% of all Plextor Brands can read this data.
Settings Audiograbber:
General:
Pick a Directory where you want the files saved
Naming, click “Advanced” button and insert “%2-%3” (to work with Toolz)
Use ASPI
Rip Method “Dynamic Synch Width”
DAE Speed (Slower is better especially on scratched CDs)
Audio Encoding
Check “Direct Rip and Encode to MP3 file”
Uncheck “ID3v1 Tag”
Uncheck “Rip All Tracks Before Encoding”
Check “Internal Encoder”
Select “Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec (Professional)”
Mode: YOUR CHOICE
Settings MP3+G Toolz
NOTES: Settings won’t take until you close and re-open Toolz, check after you’ve made these changes. Because of this, I would NOT recommend using Toolz to RIP CDGs… your disks will all be mislabeled.
Click the Options Tab
Select your Auto-Renaming “DISC-TRACK ARTIST – TITLE” works well
Check the following four of five boxes:
Auto-Rename Zip Files (Requires Internet Access) IMPORTANT!
Recurse Folders
Delete The Old Files After Processing IMPORTANT!
Rename Bin Files During Auto-Renaming Before Conversion (important, not sure)
Click on the Zip Compression
Select “5 – Default Compression”
IMPORTANT NOTE: You have MANY choices here surrounding how MUCH compression. DO NOT PICK ANYTHING ELSE! If you do, you are likely to make the file non-functional in this or any other application!
Making your first tracks:
Insert a CDG into your burner
Open Audiograbber
Click “Refresh” (every time you insert a new CDG)
Type the disk number in the Album Box (IMPORTANT, use the KJPro Label here, that way when you use Toolz later, you will have the correct artist and title in your file)
Click “CD” then “Grab CDG Tracks (Karaoke)” then “Grab to .cdg + compressed file”
Wait….
NOTE: Audio Grabber in tests has defeated Media Cloq AND Multisession CDs without any unnecessary gimmicks.
Insert next CDG and Repeat as necessary from “Refresh”
You can do this with all your CDs or one at a time as necessary. If a singer brings a CDG to you show and your computer can handle it (Usually a Dual Core WILL), you can insert his/her CD on the fly and copy the track/tracks to a temporary file one at a time. If the disk is a Media Cloq, you may have to import the whole CD.
Organize Your Collection for VDJ:
Right Mouse Click on the Folder where you put all these karaoke tracks in.
Click on “MP3+G Toolz .Net 4”
In Toolz:
Click “Convert Audio+G to Zip”
Wait… Maybe go to bed if there are a lot of files.
Confirm that all your files are labeled correctly. If your file doesn’t have the Artists and Title information, either you’ve labeled the Disk incorrectly, or your internet isn’t working. Confirm, rename and try again with the “Rename Files From Internet Button” NOTE: This will check EVERY FILE in the folder AGAIN, so if you have only a FEW mislabeled disks, create a sub-folder and paste them in there and run Toolz on that folder.
Toolz labels disks correctly 99% of the time. Some brands with vocals (Pocket Songs for example but not Pop Hit or Top Hits Monthly) often end up mislabeled with the phrase, “w/vocal” This is KJPro’s error, nothing else.
Once you have .zip files it is just a matter of loading them into Virtual DJ.
Make sure you ADD the “zip” to the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"EXTENSION\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" tab in Virtual DJ and assign the karaoke reader.
I know of two CDG brands (not currently made) that do NOT play correctly when converted to the computer, SAVA (P maybe as well) and All Hits. All Hits WILL play the song and lyrics correctly, but the opening screen won’t be displayed properly. This is in natural issue with VDJ that may be addressed.
I have over 32,000 songs, 65% of them were created this way, and 98% were labeled this way. They all work fine in VDJ.
Good Luck!
1. click on config
2. click on codecs
3. cdg karaoke cdg/zip decoder
MP3 karaoke cdg/zip decoder
Zip karaoke cdg/zip decoder
Maya 44
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BELKIN Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and FireWire 6-Port Hub for Mac mini Model F5U507
