On The Decks 20
Creating DJ Edits With Serato Studio
Good news for DJs: Serato Studio has been released and it is an awesome production tool! For this post, rather than go deep into the production side, we will take a closer look at some functional advantages Serato Studio provides. Recently, I’ve been using Serato Studio to make DJ edits/rework, intro edits, and a capella […]
DJing With MIDI Controllers
I have always been curious about the software-only side of DJjing: no turntables, CDJs, DVS interfaces, or physical music. I personally have always used either a controller, a CDJ setup, or a combination of both. These are the basic setups that everyone uses, but others are pushing the envelope and have been for years. Artists […]
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 […]
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 […]
Organizing Digital Music Libraries for DJs
In the age of digital DJing, organizing a music library has never been easier. Not only can you fit a whole crate of records on a flash drive, the ability to create a playlist and organize songs into folders is much more intuitive than labeling physical media. I am not trying to talk negatively about […]
