Working with linear & digital mixers
Lesson time: (3min 13sec)
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Find Your Own Path in House & Techno with DJ Deep
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Digital DJ Setup and Mixing Techniques
So here we are on my digital setup. I like to organize my files and import vinyls, rip them, and classify them in my Rekordbox software. But we'll get to this a bit later.
The Challenge of Mixing Bass Frequencies
What I was referring to before is mixing with regular standard linear faders on the industry-standard mixers. It is difficult to avoid the bass frequencies from clashing when you play house music.
- When I started DJing, every DJ I would see had this habit of cutting the bass from the channel.
- To bring the music on, the second channel had the bass cut down.
- They would then bring the fader up, bring the bass up, and bring the bass out of the line going out.
This was the technique I was seeing everywhere.
Influences from New York DJs
When I visited New York a few times, I heard amazing DJs such as Louie Vega, and I was blown away by how smooth the mixes and transitions were.
- I couldn't hear the bass frequency shift movement happening; it was steady and smooth.
- Of course, I didn't have their skills.
When I came home, I tried to reproduce those mixes but struggled because I was stuck with this base-in, base-out sort of mixing.
Discovering New Techniques
I also bought the Jure mixer in New York, which really opened my eyes to how to attempt those mixes, even though it wasn't easy from the start.
Now, I will try to demonstrate the bass clash I wanted to escape from and avoid by using rotary mixers, especially after hearing New York DJs play so smoothly.
Demonstration
For instance, if we start with this remix I just completed of the French group Quin Skins called "Bolero," then I'm going to bring in the other track.
Here, you can see:
- I have to cue the bass.
- I have to change the bass volume in order to try and make the transition as smooth as I can.
Now, I'm almost cutting off the bass frequencies from the line going out.
About the instructor
DJ Deep is a French house and techno producer and DJ, and the man behind the Deeply Rooted label (formerly Deeply Rooted House). Across more than 20 years he has been one of dance music's great curators - and that ear for what makes a record really work is exactly what makes him a guide worth learning from. 'I see my job as being a big filter,' he says, rather underplaying the role the Frenchman has had in the development of house music. 'As a vinyl junkie, I am in the record stores chasing jams almost every day. Sharing what I think are the greatest records of the moment or the most timeless personal classics is something that has motivated me throughout the years.' Cyril Etienne emerged from the Paris scene to make a real impact on the world stage. He started out playing for Laurent Garnier at parties such as Oz and Zoo at club Palace, then became a regular at the Rex Club and established his unique sense of taste with his 'A Deep Groove' shows on pirate station Radio FG and later Radio Nova. He quickly graduated to playing worldwide, always taking with him a sense of history informed by a love of Chicago, New York and Detroit. Blurring the lines between house and techno, he also joins the dots between classic and contemporary cuts with his own sense of storytelling - not only as a DJ and producer, but also a label boss and party curator. Since 2003 he has headed up his own forward-looking Deeply Rooted label, synonymous with classy, true-to-its-roots house and techno from new and established greats like Kerri Chandler, Ben Klock, Francois X, Ben Sims and Roman Poncet, as well as rising French star and Concrete Paris regular Marina Trench. His own Raw Cuts series bridges the heartfelt emotion of house and the direct impact of techno. Beyond his own label he has released on Rekids, Kaoz Theory and Tresor, and as a remixer has reworked the likes of Carl Craig, St Germain, DJ Honesty, Scan 7, Borderland (Juan Atkins) and Point G, always bringing his uniquely warm atmospheres to whatever he turns out. He also makes music under various other aliases: Rebeval, with rawer-sounding material on L.I.E.S.; Sergie Rezza, a collaborative project and label of the same name alongside Roman Poncet that explores more experimental, ambient-laced house and techno in both EP and LP format; Fang, for contemporary house; and Adventice, for driving, classically-rooted techno, with outings on Tresor and live shows at the likes of Berlin Atonal. His more eclectic side comes out in his Open Library radio shows on Worldwide FM - two-hour windows of jazz, soul, dub, funk and ambient that make for very special, immersive soundtracks. Whatever he is playing or producing, DJ Deep always has something worth hearing. In Find Your Own Path in House & Techno, he shares how he selects, arranges and shapes tracks so that, instead of chasing trends, you can build a sound and a taste that are unmistakably your own. read more