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Achmiel
09-16-2013, 08:31 AM
I searched, but didn't really find anything.... Anyway....

I've been going thru and setting up cue points in my tracks and I'm wondering if I'm going about it the best way.

I have 3-5 cue points set in each song. I have the cues set to a start of a different part of the song (example: when breakdown starts and/or after the breakdown when the bass starts back at 4/4). My problem is that when I want to mix in that section, I have to be on point when hitting play to get it just right. Is there a better way to do this? Such as maybe setting the cue point 8-16 beats ahead of where I want to actually bring certain parts in? I realize I may be at the mercy of the song structure, but you never know....

TIA

Sigma
09-16-2013, 12:51 PM
You can't hit a button in time with the beat? :P

Achmiel
09-16-2013, 12:55 PM
Dude, I'm so anal about shit. If it's not perfect, I get pissed :lol:

But yeah, I get pretty close most of the time. I was just wondering if I'm going about it the right way or not...

BTW - I'm using Serato

Sigma
09-16-2013, 01:49 PM
Personally I would rather correct the odd small mistake than set all of my cue points early. It's not like your timing is ever going to be way off - if you do hit the button out of time, it will be just a fraction out either way.

My background is largely hip-hop mixing with vinyl, where you would drop tracks directly into the live mix as a matter of course, rather than dropping a track in several bars early then making sure the tracks are 100% before opening the fader and bringing the track into the live mix. To me, it's kinda alien to do it any other way - and a bit defeatist too.

With vinyl, I would use baby scratch cueing, partly because it helps with timing. With a button, you can do a similar thing, so you could go "1, 2, 3, 4, PRESS" where the 1-4 are you very lightly tapping the button with not enough force to actually press it, or you could do like fake tapping where your finger is above the button and not even touching it. That way you have a very short build up and your finger already has that metronome-like rhythm going, so when you get to the "PRESS" bit where you actually hit the button you have a great chance of it being bang on. I'm not saying you have to do that - plenty of people can just press the button and that's that - but it can help.

JackStalk
09-16-2013, 03:04 PM
I used to have a 4-bar lead in so I could "beatmatch" the incoming section before dropping it in. After a lot of practice you can get the timing down and hit your samples perfectly. It also depends on the equipment you use. Some lower-end cue buttons are made of crappy material (like rubber) and don't engage EXACTLY when you hit them (*cough* Gemini).

DJ Nada
09-16-2013, 06:58 PM
Even if it comes in a little off, a quick nudge of the platter should align things within a few beats.

Nick Bike
09-17-2013, 01:44 AM
make edits that suit your style if cues aren't your thing

Panotaker
09-17-2013, 07:36 AM
Next month your problems will be over.

Achmiel
09-17-2013, 09:41 AM
I'll just keep practicing. I'm guessing I'm doing the cue points correctly, just need to get on dat beat.

Mephs
09-17-2013, 11:01 AM
You just have to be very well-timed musically. It's almost impossible to be perfect at this but as said, a small nudge will get you back in time. Repetition yields results, so just keep doing it...or just wait till they release some kind of quantizing feature.

L.O.
10-21-2013, 05:35 PM
Like Nada and Mephs said. a little nudge of the platter or rubbing your finger along the platter will get you back on beat. It takes practice though. No one is ever going to be perfect at dropping it or in your case tapping it exactly on beat every time. What you might want to try is keeping your fader down or halfway when you press the button while mixing. That way if the volume is halfway not many people will notice while your getting the song right on beat with your hands.

Hope that helped a little.

Buszaj
10-21-2013, 05:58 PM
That's a part of what DJ'ing is all about! You won't always cue in your track on time perfectly. Whether it's slip-cueing or scratching in a record, or hitting the play button. Those next couple of seconds is the time for you to properly adjust the track with the jog wheel, platter, or pitch fader.

BBD
10-23-2013, 10:25 AM
The whole point of cues is to be able to mix easily from the off at a set point. Setting it early does seem bizarre. I use Serato and, as long as the cues are set right at the start of the beat, am never off

Ceegeeaye
11-01-2013, 03:06 AM
What do you guys think of if I cue up like the main chorus of a song after a hard drop from another?

JackStalk
11-01-2013, 03:10 PM
You'll have to try it out and see if it sounds good. You can make almost anything work in the right context, it depends on the two songs going together.

DJ_GQ
11-08-2013, 09:10 AM
yepppp.....allen got this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d29VsG35DQM