Karate Kid Style Mixing Practice for the New Vinyl Turntable DJ

0:00 For this demonstration the tunes really, what they are is irrelevant

For this demonstration the tunes really, what they are is irrelevant. Okay you can see basement jacks there but it's about the beginning and this is Karate Kid style learning how to use vinyl. Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off, wax on... Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off. Okay? So we're going to go from one side to the other and so on. Demonstration first, then the explanation. So, needle on the record, volume up. Here we go. That might help. More time. Okay, slightly again out of phrase there. Definitely not the best of two tunes to mix in together because maybe they're not exactly in the right keys. But, because I'm only using the beginning, I'm not waiting for any melodies to come in, it doesn't matter that much. But this is not the sort of thing you would do live out in, well, in front of people. This is all about practice. So what's happening? Okay, there's actually a lot going on here because it's getting, it's you getting used to getting the needle on the record, finding the start, finding the beginning of the track, moving it back, starting it off.

And back to the next one and so on. But let me go step by step now exactly what was going on. OK, so we had one track playing. I cued up the other side. I got the needle in the record. I got that at the first beat. And then I started that off on the 1. Remember, in a bar, 1, 2, 3, 4. And then I used the pitch to make sure it was in time. Move the crossfade over or the up-faders. Either way, it doesn't matter. You can use the up-faders or the crossover or both. Doesn't really matter. And then I went to the next track and then I changed the speed on that one so it meant that when I went back to the first turntable I was using, I had to start all over again and change the speed. So repeating the process, needle on the record, find the beginning.

4:09 Again, back forwards, back forwards

Set it off on the one in the next track that's playing, beatmatch it, crossfade over and start again. Now the only reason I'm using the beginning of tracks is this is about beatmatching, learning how to beatmatch with vinyl. Now you may have noticed I wasn't touching the turntable, I'm just using the pitch. It's something I described and talked about years ago, riding the pitch. It's where you don't really need to use a turntable. Because it's almost like you're moving the pitch one way and you're telling the turntable to do something completely different. It's better just use a pitch and also long term, you're going to have less maybe not damage, but it's a bit like the analogy here. It's like a rally driver, you know, putting the brake on and throttle at the same time. It's like, well...

Your engine is not going to last as long as if you just put the throttle on or the brake, is it? Think about it. OK, so again, back forwards, back forwards. Let's repeat the process. Needle on a record like that. I'm going to move the pitch down all the way down there now. So, cue up the next side, put the needle on the record and find the beginning. There it is. I'm moving it back and forward so I know it's still in beat or the beat's still there. And, OK, back over to my first side. Change the speed slightly.

And back over again. There you go. Alright, so this is the sort of thing that you need to do with locked doors, curtains, windows, lights off and actually that's probably not a bad idea at night because you should have the light. Anyway, I hope that's a help. Practice and enjoy. Thank you.

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