I am a DJ of 10 years and huge fan of vintage guitars, a solid break-beat, and anything garlic. Let’s talk about Futurama.
Making Sonic Room in DJ Transitions
In a previous tutorial post, I spoke about three transitions for mixing songs. We are going to take a more in-depth look at making room for tunes in your DJ mix. When I say “making room in your mix,” I mean from a sonic frequency aspect. Imagine you have a container filled with sheets and […]
Rane Seventy-Two MKII Performance DJ Mixer
The Rane Seventy-Two MKII performance DJ mixer is customization heaven. This two-channel mixer features 3 MAG FOUR faders, dual USB connections, dedicated USB ports for two Rane 12 MKII controllers, and 16 Akai MPC-style performance pads for cue points and performance. The crossfader has adjustments for reverse, contour, cut-in adjustment, and also an adjustment for […]
Pioneer DJ XDJ-700 Video Demo
The Pioneer DJ XDJ-700 is the compact footprint version of the Pioneer DJ XDJ-1000MK2 Professional DJ Multi-Player. The XDJ-700 was designed in the style of the full-size CDJ NXS 2 and matches its club layout. It also has the features and connectivity of the NXS2 series, but condensed and made more affordable. You can connect […]
Rane Twelve MKII Video Demo
The followup to the already versatile Twelve DJ controller, the Rane Twelve MKII features a few major updates that make its usability even better. To start, an OLED screen displays the mode the decks are in and the BPM of the song. Run the decks in DVS mode, or in USB/MIDI and control Virtual DJ, […]
Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2: Hands-on Review
I’ve spent the past three months with the Pioneer XDJ-RX2 and I’ve really grown a liking to the unit. So far, I have performed with it on five Twitch streams, recorded multiple sets, and practiced with it for hours. I have come to understand its strengths, its features that I love, and its quirks. The […]
Stream Your DJ Sets to the World
Like everyone else, I have been going a bit stir crazy at home, and I always enjoy a fun project. I wanted to find the best way to stream my DJ sets using various setups, and needed a solution to use outside my home studio space. So I improvised and I found a setup that […]
Using Pitch Riding to Improve Your Mixing
In our era of master tempo and the “sync” button, mixing can become very stagnant and boring. These features easily become crutches and they aren’t always correct. You may find yourself in a situation where you need to know how to manually beat-match and, most importantly, mix songs unassisted. So while computers and CDJs/media players […]
Improve Your Mix With a Well-Placed Backspin
The backspin, sometimes known as a spinback, can be used as a perfect transition into a new song or a fun trick to add to your DJ repertoire. I am going to break down how to use this technique on a CDJ/controller and how to use it on a turntable. The basic technique involves taking […]
Organizing Physical Music Libraries for DJs
In my previous post I talked about organizing music digitally and preparing for a gig. In this post, I’ll give some insight into preparing and organizing my records and physical media in preparation for a gig. Whether you’re playing with physical media for the feel, nostalgia, or even just for novelty, organization is key. With […]
