Mix Club - The Remedial Class

whatever

Agree with all the points above. Would just add that the older the track is, the more likely that the tempo will drift because it was made by a human using a basic drum machine trying to keep time, whereas these days it will be perfect because it is computer-generated. Added to that you are basically using lumps of plastic that can warp over time, the quality of the signal it produces can deteriorate if played too much or scratched or just general wear and tear. Plus, you probably didn’t notice beats that were out of time 20 years ago as much but because everyone is now accustomed to nice clean digital mixes, vinyl fluctuations are much more noticeable.

Even with current technology available, modern music producers like to inject an element of swing into the tracks to stop them sounding too robotic. It might be that the kicks sound fine but the quarter and sixteenth notes sound a bit off which is done intentionally because it provides the swing or the groove of the track. Think about soulful house that may use a lot of percussive effects or techno tracks that are meant to sound slightly behind the beat even though they aren’t.

303abuser

whatever Even with current technology available, modern music producers like to inject an element of swing into the tracks to stop them sounding too robotic. It might be that the kicks sound fine but the quarter and sixteenth notes sound a bit off which is done intentionally because it provides the swing or the groove of the track. Think about soulful house that may use a lot of percussive effects or techno tracks that are meant to sound slightly behind the beat even though they aren’t.

That’s a really good point too. I know that kicks are usually the only percussion I put right on the grid. My snares are always a touch early, the main “time keeping” hat is usually late, the rest of the hats and percs are manually nudged to fit a groove. Throw in delays that aren’t time-synced and that will explain why even modern tracks can be difficult to mix together, even when the keys match.

gcw

Thanks, good insight.

Agree on the clean digital comment. We’re so used to perfect mixes that it’s a real surprise when a beat is off.

hugopal

gcw two x technics

In how good condition are the technics and how old are they? Have they been repaired or recalibrated recently? Is the pitch fader smooth? etc.

A solid pair of technics can stay steady remarkably well, but it’s also possible to have decks that can drift a bit, and where the speed might be a tad inconsistent even if you’re not moving the pitch bend at the time. This can make super smooth transitions very tough.

gcw

hugopal they are 22 years old and in excellent condition. I had them serviced in 2019 and the guy that did it said they were one of the best sets he’d seen .
They haven’t had huge usage over the years but they’ve always been stored correctly

Old-Dutch

What did the service cost out of interest?

gcw

Can’t remember exactly but I wanna say £100 or less. It was a chap that only works within the m25. So I had to drag my decks to work (which was within the m25) and he met me there.

Was an interesting character , he was/is a sound engineer and had been involved in the scene for many years

Old-Dutch

Did you have the details mate. I’m within the M25 and I’ve got an issue with sound only coming out of one speaker with one of my decks. Probably only a loose connection and will take a look myself, but might need a bit of professional help depending on the problem.

Edit - is it this guy?
https://en-gb.facebook.com/theoriginaldeckdoctor/

Edit 2 - I’ve just taken the deck down and given the cables a bit of a wiggle and it’s working again so might not need him after all.

gcw

Old-Dutch yeah thats him. I remember thinking the name was a bit cheesy, but he was actually really sound. He replaced the power cables/wiring on my 1210s to something a lot more robust. I was really happy with the service

Dubman

Old-Dutch Edit 2 - I’ve just taken the deck down and given the cables a bit of a wiggle and it’s working again so might not need him after all.

You beat me to it. I’ve got the same problem. I thought it was my mixer to start with but once I started fiddling with the cables it sounded much better. I really need to buy some new cartridges & needles.

Old-Dutch

Cheers. I’ve heard others recommend him in the past but forgot his name. Hopefully my own service will hold out but will get him in if required.

The hard-wired cables on 1210s are a bit of a ball-ache - the Vestax PDX-2000’s I had prior to the Technics had jacks out of the decks which was much better

vinnyt77

Dubman Highly recommend Jon at Showtec in Shoreham. 👍

Dubman

vinnyt77
Cheers Vinny. Is that just opposite the roundabout. I thought they only rented out PA systems.

Mad_Cyril

This took an interesting turn.

Out for a couple of hours and suddenly everyone’s meeting random blokes round the m25 for a “service” 😳

vinnyt77

Dubman Repairs and spares as well

vinnyt77

Dubman Old Shoreham Road, just down from the Amsterdam Inn

Homegrove

Soundcheck done, everything worked as it’s supposed to. I like the way they’d set it up, neither digi DJ or vinyl DJ feels worse then the other.

Mad_Cyril

Homegrove
Enjoy mate ✊

Homegrove

Went splendid. Fucked up twice, because the filters are in different order on Xone 92 and my PX:5. So triggered low pass on full when I meant to trigger high pass at dry. I doubt anyone noticed, because the other track was at full. The Denon’s are great, but I’m happy with my XDJs so not changing.

gcw

Slightly off topic, but after my ‘gig’ yesterday I’ve got the bug a little bit.

I’m thinking of maybe investing in new equipment. I’ve only ever had technics and a mixer, nothing else.

Bit overwhelmed by all the choices tbh. My question- are there any good YouTube channels that explain the basics of cdj/mp3 mixing, having the right set up etc. I used my friends pioneer mixer last night and knew the basics of it, but most of the functionality passes me by a bit. I’d love to learn more before I waste a load of money!

Matt

gcw I was in a similar situation a few years back. After digging out my technics after about 20 years and getting back into it, I decided to go digital and have never looked back.

I went down the pioneer controller route and it’s all pretty straightforward. I hardly use any of the functionality the controller is capable of but all I really wanted was for it to be a bit like mixing vinyl but without the expensive vinyl addiction.

Mad_Cyril

gcw
Great to hear it went well.

Would have a look at Denon’s gear as well. Seems better bang for your 💰to me.

Have found 2 x sc6000’s and a mixer better than a controller / laptop combo since switching.

There’s loads of options for every price point though, which is great.

Bought loads of vinyl at uni but could never get enough dough together to get a setup 🤦‍♂️

Sure you’ll find something that suits

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