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xodd
11-24-2013, 07:04 PM
Hey Everyone, another couple of questions that are based on opinions/ thoughts:

what do you guys (& girls) think about PRE-recording a mash-up, and playing it in a live set? or would you rather just play the mash-up in a set?

reason being a buddy of mine brought up a point, that if you only have a 2 channel mixer/controller, how are you suppose to transition into the next song? (some if not most controllers have an optional C & D deck)

another question would be, how do you all come up with your mash ups? do they just "come to you"? or do you have to take time to think about it?

thanks alot, xodd

xodd
11-25-2013, 05:59 PM
by live set i mean like, lets say recording a mix for youtube or something idk, not necessarily djing at a club or rave ect, but all the same situation i suppose.

JackStalk
11-25-2013, 06:32 PM
People pre-record and/or put together mashups to play live all the time. You can also use hot cues on your controller/CDJ if you have them to skip around between samples on the fly.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh-0Wpm_Rg0

You can see him do a little bit in the first 20 seconds. The part 1 video is all about the hot cue system.

KRE
11-26-2013, 03:45 PM
I tend to get my mashup ideas from just mixing, i'll beatmatch and have the two tracks playing and sometimes they sound good together.

Here's my latest one

https://soundcloud.com/djkevine/storm-queen-vs-joris-voorn

xodd
11-28-2013, 09:28 PM
Nice nice thanks for the video! :) and yeah i usually just throw things together right now, but im just looking into some better options to get better results for my mash ups.

i watched hardwell's Q&A video, and he said that he comes up with his mash ups on the spot/fly.. listening to his IAMHARDWELL concert, i find that hard to believe
BUT then again, he has been djing for like what 10 years now? so yeah.. idk (i personally enjoy hardwell.. in a non-sexual way lol)

KRE
11-30-2013, 02:59 PM
I very much doubt Hardwell does mashups on the fly during his sets these days. I've watched one or two of his sets with mashups in and his hands are up in the air etc so he can't be doing them live. They're also too well put together to be done live.

xodd
11-30-2013, 06:17 PM
yeah thats what rose my suspicions as well. some people are even saying that his whole mix was pre recorded.. probably just haters though.. lol

BackFire DJ
12-01-2013, 03:55 PM
Usally it takes time to think of a good mashup and to find 2 songs that "perfectly" sync in together and all that stuff. Def. go with pre recorded it will sound much better to the people you are playing to. I did a mash up with the songs "Hey Mr DJ Get Up and Chica Loca" it took me about 5 weeks to find these to songs to mash them up together then it took me another 2 weeks to finish the master. Def. should check it out. :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6roQF3W6TI

DJArmani
12-02-2013, 10:02 PM
I do both. If I'm working on a recorded mix I'll pre-record the mashups and use them. If I'm live and just want to throw in a mashup that either comes to mind, or that I've worked on at home, I do that too. But for cleaner mixes you definitely want to come up with mashups at home, or better yet load it into a daw, and work on it in there.

jbass
12-03-2013, 08:13 AM
I do mine live all the time, but then again, I only dj at like big college parties where no one will really care if you mess up haha. I just feel like its so much more rewarding, and just fun to do, when mixing it live. Like I'll make sure they flow beforehand and make sure I cue up what points I need on the accapella, but I'll mash it up live. It just looks better because the people who are watching you are like "damn, that kids really doing something".

Its not really my style, but I mash up bird machine with 2 chainz im different on the spot and everytime people go nuts (probably because its college haha) but I already know how to eq both tracks and when to cue each of them up so it sounds as if i pre-recorded it, but yeah i only have 2 decks so i have to be super quick in my next transition...like i usually have the song in my library highlighted so all if i have to do is load it into my next deck right when the vocals end.

Also, it is complete bullshit that hardwell mashes up on the spot lol those things are perfect, no volume inconsistencies or anything

xodd
12-03-2013, 08:53 AM
aahh okay i see i see, yeah, what about the sync feature? you guys ever use that when making a mash-up? preferably live? at home would be a different situation, seeing as you can just stop and try it over and over practice, ect. and yes thats what i as kind of debating as well, doing a mash-up live feels a lot more rewarding, and people will actually think your doing something, were as if you just put a pre-recorded mash up on and you're waving your hands all up in the air, looks a bit suspicious. i reaalllyyy, wanna try Braindeads Clocks vs beautiful people Coldplay vs Chris brown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDlI8h8eBOo <---- link to his mash-up

jbass
12-03-2013, 09:10 AM
i reaalllyyy, wanna try Braindeads Clocks vs beautiful people Coldplay vs Chris brown.

Try it dude, mess around until you find what works good. People love creativity.

And as for sync, I gotta admit I do use it sometimes live, but that is because I generally work without headphones so i cannot tell if im perfectly on beat when fading a track in because the crowd hears it before I do, and once its off beat, it just throws everyone off. Got myself a quality pair of vmoda's the other day so now I only plan on using sync for tempo match, not beat match.

xodd
12-03-2013, 01:46 PM
aahh okay nice, i dont see why sync is looked so down upon anyway, i mean honestly i would use sync if i was doing multiple mash-ups/ to line up 2 songs (tempo match i guess.) but beat matching seems so easy now a days, so why make a big debate over it, ANYWAYS yeah mash-ups doe lol

JackStalk
12-03-2013, 02:23 PM
sync is a crutch. It makes any newbie able to mix on a professional level. I honestly don't mind if people use it while multi-deck mixing or mashing up on the fly, I just don't see why a beginner would want to rely on it when starting out. As long as you've got beatmatching mastered, I don't care if you want to use sync to further your skillset and be able to use tricks that would be a lot more difficult without it. IF you're using sync just to basically mix two tracks together, then a computer is doing your job and you can't really call yourself a DJ.

xodd
12-12-2013, 07:57 PM
sorry about the late reply, been on and off of things, in and out of girls ;) (justtkidding) but anyways yeah. okay i see what your saying, so sync is a no go with just basic mixing even if you are a noob (hence the word practice) but when it comes to more challenging things like complex mash-ups and build-ups than its acceptable?

also what about sync with beat juggling? i saw this mix, which i thought was friggin amazing, just wondering if its possible to do without sync? i don't really know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFERTmgviYc

on another note, any more ideas/thoughts/advice from others on mash-ups? :)

myl//hy
12-13-2013, 03:59 AM
Use mixing live for mashup inspiration. Use studio (Ableton Live for me) to perfect that idea -- and distribute it over the Internet. While magic can happen live, I really do feel you need some time with your production software and without the pressing time constraints of live performance to get it just right. Then learn how to do it live for the show not because anybody will know or care but because it's fun.

That's for my own mashups anyhow. I use other people's mashups all over the place, though it would be amazing to be able to recreate them all on the fly. Always something to work on, I guess.

myl//hy
12-13-2013, 04:31 AM
And I don't see a problem with using sync if it's available, presuming you're playing for the crowd and not for a competition or whatever. The mixes will generally be cleaner, leaving you to focus on the phrasing, building drops and performance bits, selecting a better followup track, etc.

I think you should use the tools available -- sync, USB sticks, BPM indicators, Mixed In Key, etc., none of which were available old-school. But if you RELY on sync, you're limiting the platforms you can play on - and forget about passing back n forth with a DJ on a different deck. Also, having beat-match skills helps bail you out when things go wrong. You'll need that ear regardless.

TVM
01-21-2014, 04:40 PM
Nice nice thanks for the video! :) and yeah i usually just throw things together right now, but im just looking into some better options to get better results for my mash ups.

i watched hardwell's Q&A video, and he said that he comes up with his mash ups on the spot/fly.. listening to his IAMHARDWELL concert, i find that hard to believe
BUT then again, he has been djing for like what 10 years now? so yeah.. idk (i personally enjoy hardwell.. in a non-sexual way lol)


He definitely doesn't do live mashups all the time. Ive seen him at a club before and you can tell by his hands some of them were pre recorded. People forget that hardwell is a better producer than dj. And when his live sets are listened to by millions, you can't afford to mess up. He definitely rocks festivals wherever he goes. He has set a standard for new mainstream dance music, but his smaller venue events he doesn't stand out as being a great dj.

But as for your questions.

I don't see a problem with pre recording a mashup, especially if it has 3 or 4 different tracks in it.

And as for mashups I've personally tried to do. I get a lot of inspiration from other producers. Especially Hardwell and Dannic. They pump them out like crazy. And when you hear a vocal you know pretty well with a different beat it kind of opens up a new door in your mind. You start to wonder, will this work with that? And so on

Kepik
02-11-2014, 02:46 AM
Nothing wrong with playing mashups already made. Playing pre-recorded mashups are the norm nowadays for EDM. What better than to surprise the crowd when you play a build-up they recognize, then drops into another song they also recognize. Crowd goes nuts.

Not to promote myself, but take this mashup I made. It brings the vocals of the classic Calling (Lose My Mind) with a refreshed new sound and the crowd will still love it because they recognize the vocals.
https://soundcloud.com/kepik/lose-my-szeplo

Vernski
02-15-2014, 01:58 AM
https://soundcloud.com/rocky155

Honestly, can someone do something about this douche that keeps hijacking posts to spamming them with his SC links. :argh: