Neil Johnson 2001 DJ Guide - DJ Information

This page contains information on how to mix. Different techniques that can be used to make mixes smoother. How to beatmatch, how to get the pitch set correctly, and I'm very sorry but I know bugger all about scratching. I've also added a section on using equipment which will explain what each feature on a turntable and mixer does.

Contents:

You have probably read all this information before on previous sites but I cannot stress more that there are no set rules to mixing. The only rule is that if it sounds good then it's right. Each different DJ will have their own style and will probably tell you that that is the way to do it. The instructions above are just the way that I learned to mix and you may think that it is a pile of crap, but hey, who cares?

Learning to mix for the first time can be the most annoying, frustrating time of your life. You will feel like picking the decks up and throwing them in the fish pond. It makes you wonder why you scraped for months to buy a set of 1210's. I'll tell you why, it's because of the love for the music, the energy the buzz that people get when the DJ drops the phattest bassline in that you've ever heard and the floor is pumping. You are nobody in the crowd. The DJ is everybody. You want to be recognized, you want to be famous. Those decks that you have just spent your hard earned money on could be the key to stardom. I may be talking bollox, you could get fed up in a month and sell the decks but my advice is don't quit, just keep practicing! It will pay off.

Using Your Equipment

This section contains information on what each part of the equipment you use does, for instance the rotary kills on the mixer, the pitch on the turntable or what the crossfader and gains are there for.

I'll start off with the mixer as this tends to be the most complex piece of equipment that you will use. The main parts of the mixer you need to use when beginning are the channel faders, cue control and crossfader. The kills and gains you can use after you become more confident beatmatching.

The basic mixer

The mixer below is the Gemini PS626 Pro 2. This is the mixer that I use so I guess it was a bit easier to explain. Most mixers at this level or above will have the same features so you can easily use this as the benchmark.

  1. DB Meter
  2. Mic
  3. Gain
  4. Rotary Kill Controls
  5. Input Selector
  6. Talkover Button
  7. Channel Faders
  8. Crossfader
  9. Beat Indicators
  10. Headphones
  11. Light Input
  12. Power
  13. Booth Volume Control
  14. Pan Control
  15. Master Volume Control
  16. Cue Control
  17. Headphone Mix Pan
Db Meter This array of LED's shows the decibel level coming from the mixer. If the level gets too high then this can cause damage so you will need to turn the gain or master volume down a little. If you want more volume then turn up the amp or stereo.
Mic This is the microphone input. You usually have the microphone on channel 1 if you have a three channel mixer such as this one.
Gain This basically means power. The more gain the more power you send. If you have ever tried to mix two records and one of the records seems a lot quieter than the other you can use the gain to give it a bit more power. The same if the record is too loud. Find out how much your system can take before you crank it too high.
Rotary Kills When feeling more confident about beatmatching, you can use the rotary kills on the mixer to fine tune your mixes. Usually there are three knobs, The bottom one is bass - low, middle is mid range and top is high (treble). You can also use these for effects when playing live for instance you can create a sweeping pattern with the bass control or completely knock out the mid range.
Input Selector This is where you select what the input sources are whether it's Phono, Line or Mic. Usually these are set to Phono but if you have any recording devices then you can set the channels to Line. Channel 1 is usually set to Mic, if you have one.
Talkover This button just basically lowers the volume allowing you to talk over the mic. When you press it again the volume will return to it's original state.
Channel Faders Basically a posh word for volume control. The higher they go the louder it goes.
Crossfader The crossfader is what you use to switch between one channel and the other. It is used mainly with scratch DJ's. You use the crossfader when mixing to fade one channel to the other.
Beat Indicators The beat indicators are two small LED's that blink on every beat. These can be useful for beatmatching but are sometimes deceiving.
Phones This is where your headphones plug into.
Light This jack will allow you to plug a DJ lamp into for mixing in dark clubs.
Power Switches the mixer on or off.
Booth If you have a monitor speaker in the DJ booth then this control will adjust the volume to it. You have to have a separate amplifier for the monitor speaker.
Pan This knob will allow you to pan between the left speaker and right speaker. Not the most useful thing but sometimes used for effects.
Master Master volume control
Cue This is another posh word for headphone volume control.
Mix Pan This is a handy little feature that allows you to hear what your mix sounds like through the headphones. It is like a crossfader that switches between whatever is coming out of the speakers (PGM) to whatever is inside the headphones (CUE).

The Turntable

Below is the industry standard Technics SL1210. Most of the decks available today will feature what this deck has but features may be located in different positions on each brand of turntable.

  1. 45 Attachment
  2. Power Knob
  3. Start / Stop Button
  4. Speed Selector Buttons
  5. Deck Light
  6. Cartridge / Stylus
  7. Pitch Slider
  8. Tonearm
  9. Counterweight
  10. Platter
45 Attachment

This will go over the center spindle if you have an old 45 record with a giant hole in the middle of it.
Power Turning the dial clockwise will switch the deck on.
Start / Stop This when pressed will start the platter spinning and pressing again will stop. Start / Stop speeds vary depending on the quality of the deck.
Speed Selector This changes the speed of the record. Depending on how the vinyl has been recorded it will either play at 33 or 45.
Light A small light that shines across the vinyl allowing you to see the grooves
Cartridge / Stylus The cartridge holds the stylus in place and attaches to the tonearm. The stylus sits in the grooves of the vinyl. If the quality is really poor or your records jump then the stylus may have worn down, especially if you are a scratch DJ.
Pitch Slider This is what you control the speed of the record with. Moving it into the + region will increase the speed and the - region will decrease the speed.
Tonearm This holds the cartridge and must be of a good quality. Weak tonearms can break easily.
Counterweight This balances the tonearm so too much pressure is not placed on the stylus. There is also the ant-skate feature which prevents the tonearm from skating across the record.
Platter Sits over the centre spindle. This is the part of the deck that turns. It has small strobe dots all the way around. When you switch the deck lights on the strobe dots can indicate whether the deck is spinning correctly.