Well this section was probably the most difficult to write. One of them where you know how to do it but you just cannot write it down. Anyway, I've tried my best by just using a couple of well known records. To be honest with you, I was never actually shown by anybody or read anywhere how to mix it just popped after months of pulling my hair out. This will probably happen to most of you but If I was to show anyone how I practiced then look below. I don't know if it will help as all DJ's have their own methods, but have a look anyway. I would appreciate any feedback on this section.

Right OK, you have the principal of beatmatching in your head. You have sussed out the Bpm's of your records and you know how to cue and drop a record in. At this stage the best thing to do is a sort of tutorial in steps with two popular records. Don't worry if you do not have these two records. Any tunes will do that have a distinctive 1.2.3.4 bassline pattern as these tend to be more simple to match. Usually two records from the same record label will go well. Let me think of two old tunes that I have used, OK an Ibiza classic ATB 9pm Till I Come and DaHool Met her at the Love Parade. I always tend to start the mix on the right deck so I will place ATB on the left deck. Start the ball rolling.

OK ATB is playing on the left deck, keep the crossfader in the middle and the channel gain on full for channel 1, if your mixer has rotary kills set them all to the middle to start with - we'll come on to them later. If you are not sure about how to use your mixer at this point then click HERE and select 'Using your Equipment'. Now Da Hool should be on the right deck and ready to be cued through the headphones. Place one ear on your phones and leave one ear exposed so you can hear ATB. We now need to get the record cued at the correct point so the two will mix.

Wind the Da Hool track or the record that you have on the right deck till you get the opening bassline drum.

Now listen to ATB or the record on the left deck to see if the record is at a good point to start cueing on the right deck - a good part is usually where there is a string of beats - 1,2,3 Till I Come, Tilll I Come - You can understand, don't try and mix in a breakdown ( where the beat disappears and a melody riff comes in ) at least not to start off with anyway. One of the key skills to learn is to be able to mentally monitor both records and not just concentrating on one. This is a skill that you should develop over time.

When you hear the bassline cue the other record on a beat, when the time comes on the fourth beat of a bar drop the other record in, try and use a sort of scratch technique before you drop it in to get a feel for the beat pattern - just push and pull the record a little bit and then drop it in. Usually I would just count to 4 a couple of times and then let go.

If you look at the beat pattern you should have:

If you drop the record in correct then the beats should sound in time for a few seconds. Because the records will not be perfectly bpm matched they will only stay together for a couple of seconds unless you are a total fluke. This is where you need to use the pitch control on the turntable.

Pitch Control

The pitch control is the part of the deck that changes the speed of the record so you can get both records at the same bpm in order to get a seamless mix. On a Technics deck you get +8 & -8, some other decks go up to 10% and some of the vestax go even further. The pitch is located on the right hand side of the deck, you move it down to increase speed and up to decrease speed. When it is in the center you usually get a green light to indicate nominal pitch.

OK now both records are playing - don't put them both through the speakers yet until you have a perfect beatmatch. Chances are Da Hool or the record on the right deck will be playing slower or faster than ATB or the record on the left deck and sounding like a herd of elephants, this is where you have to adjust the pitch control on the deck to get the right speed.

If it is too fast slow the deck with your finger and move the pitch control on the deck accordingly. The best way that I have found is to place your finger at the side of the platter and keep tapping it whilst adjusting the pitch fader in the upward direction. When it sounds good let it play for a few bars, if not rewind and try again.

If it is too slow then wind the record forward with your finger around the label area but not too fast and speed up the pitch control a little - be very careful when altering the pitch as it is very sensitive and one little movement can make a big difference - work slowly to start off with. Never touch the other deck.

Once you think that you have the record on the right deck in time, put the record back to the opening bassline at the cueing point and try dropping the record in again. This is where you can see if you have adjusted the pitch control to the correct level as the beats should be matched if you have. You may still need you speed up or slow down the deck with a little bit of fingerwork because you just might have dropped the record in a little quick or slow, but don't touch the pitch yet.

If you now have the beats matched and they will stay together for long enough then you are ready to mix. If not you will need to adjust the pitch and test again.

Lets say you have the bpm near enough matched and you are ready to pull of your first mix. You need to find a good place to mix the records. The most simple position would be the final section of ATB or the record that you have on the left deck . This is usually just a finishing bassline drum with a simple 1.2.3.4 pattern. Once this arrives and the final beats are playing cue Da Hool on the right deck and drop it in - you may have you do a little fingerwork again but if you have the pitch control set correctly then you can leave that alone. Once you think that the beats are in time move the channel fader for the right deck up to about 3/4.

You should get the:

Left ..........1.2.3.4.1.2.3.4.TillICome.TillICome

Right ........1.2.3.4.1.2.3.4.Dum.Dum.Dum.Dum.Dum.Dum

If it sounds good then move the volume up all the way - see how long you can keep the mix going for. If you can keep it in till the other record ends then great but watch out for the record changes. I know that Da Hool changes pretty quickly. This is the point where you want to get rid of the other record.

It becomes second nature to you after lots of practice so keep trying!

You do not have to go out and buy these two records, the principal is the same for all records but try and pick two that have a long opening baseline and a long end baseline - this gives you more time to cue the record.

Remember these are only guidelines - there are no set rules to mixing - if it sounds good it's right.

Using Kills

Once you have mastered this which will probably take a couple of months, I don't know it could take you weeks or years. The next stage is to make your mixes a little better sounding.

If you have rotary kills on your mixer that control gain, bass, treble and mid you can make mixes sound much better if you listen closely to the mix.

Lets take it back to the point where you are moving the volume on the second deck up to about 3/4. The mix is sounding OK but when you put the volume up to full it just doesn't sound quite right. You don't want to lose any volume on deck 1 as it will sound like you are just fading one in and fading the other out.

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