hi all, just want a bit of advice from people out there?

i got my cdj's back in march and basically havnt had the time to dedicate to them i thought i would with work, other hobbies etc (probably still less then 50 hours usage) iv watched loadsa tutorial vids etc so i get the basics of having to beatmix, timing etc but im struggling like fook to do so! obviously im still really new to it all and my beatmatching still needs a lot of work - so im recording short mixes and listening back to listen to mistakes but i think im going wrong somewhere

when iv got 2 tracks 'what i think' are in time in my headphones il start to mix them but what im thinking sounds find during monitoring, is still mis-timed when im listening back to mixes and basically sounds sheeet! im spotting the real obvious mis-timings and pitching up/down but im finding it hard fine tuning the beats, am i going wrong somewhere with what im doing because its really starting to annoy me now, and i really just want to be able to mix seamlessly, yet cant.

i play uk hardcore but iv tryed a few basslines tunes which i found too easy to mix as its slower, same with some classic trance - both a lot easier then stuff thats 170bpm +.

my setups: cdj 1000 x2, djm 400 & alesis m1's either side of my decks

any pointers of advice appreciated for the noob!

wrighty

My primary advise would be to spend more time mixing and mixing the sounds you like. I dj hard house, all pre 2005 due to the production really - that what I enjoy and find best to mix because of that.

I mixed for about 6 months, 3 hrs per day mon-friday and the a good 8 hrs over the weekend.

Mixing b2b with someone not only ables you to what them mix, what they press, how they cue up etc but also put preasure on you to cue up and mix in a shorter space of time.

cdj1000 are good and they should hold there pitch - did you buy them new? if not look into getting them serviced. Dont be tempted to match there pitches the same on each CDJ, it does let you pitch quicker but not all CDJs will be that acurate so could cause problems in a club.

Also the problem mixing at that speed as well is once you go past plus ten you loose the acuratcy - if you can mix on plus 6 or ten.

If you mix is going out slightly then instead of chasing it by pushing the platter, just listen if it needs slowing or speeding and pitch mix - this will give you a better sounding mix, getting a nice continuous popping and not a pop and the having to push it back in again.

This is prob as clear as mud but in all fairness it comes with time. Just depends on what you want to get out of it. I do it for a hobbie and play out once a month, I'm not interested in making it big.

Joe Masini

The main thing that helped when i was learning was havin a mate that knew what they were doing, get sound advice and have them standing over your shoulder so they can let you know where your going wrong, be patient it'll come

What are you ticket selling skills like? How many friends can you drag to gigs? lol

waheyyyy lol

I know you need the basics first but...

RED lights mean STOP.
Don't redline the mixer, it really does sound shit. It doesn't make your dick longer, it doesn't make you cool, it makes your tunes sound really nasty (especially on bloody Pioneer mixers!).

Also, I know it's a bit late now, but it really is better to learn on really SHIT equipment. It's a little bit harder (not much though really!) but the reward is that you can cope with gear that's not 100% perfect.
So many times I've seen DJs completely crumble and fail because of something as simple as the monitor dying! It shouldn't be a problem for a "proper" dj because you can just monitor the mix in the headphones.

wow, forgot all about this one!

thanks for everyones replies. yeah the kit was all brand spanking Joe.

yes nutta i know about clipping etc. my levels barly go into orange if i can help it.