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View Full Version : Mixing with a Live drummer?



DjDisArm
11-30-2013, 01:37 AM
anyone have any experience dj'ing with a live drummer? someone hit me up for a collab but i've never done anything like this.. any tips? or opinions?

scottie the goonie
11-30-2013, 05:27 AM
My advice is to have a bass guitarist around as well, if you really want to jam.

jz416
11-30-2013, 08:35 AM
My advice is to have a bass guitarist around as well, if you really want to jam.

Drummer + Bass Guitar + scratching would be pretty dope.

DJ Que Yi
06-26-2014, 10:13 PM
I saw this concept at a club in Houston back around 2004. It was I believe two drummers and a DJ. It's was chaotic in the sense that it seemed as though the drummers were free-styling and grandstanding so much that it over shadowed the DJ. I think the concept is creative and could be really dope if the drummer and the DJ are in sync with each other and not overshadowing each other.

Baller95
06-26-2014, 11:28 PM
I'm assuming that the drummer is going to have mics? Be sure everyone's wired up correctly so that everything can be monitored correctly and in time. Being a drummer I know how easy it is to lose time when the sound of the drums overrides the other instruments so be sure to have a good monitor setup! :tup:

andymunro
07-21-2014, 04:35 PM
Great advice from Baller95. I've not DJed with a drummer but have with an acoustic guitarist which was cool.

Submarine Vibes
08-10-2014, 07:27 PM
It's nice for me, and it makes your dj set a special and different from another, so that is good thing.
I'm using Korg Zero 4 mixer which has a lot of effects and I can conect microphone on it and then I use some percussions and shakers to make a lot of different sounds in my mix with reverb & delay turned on on my mixer..

It's important to have a good microphone which is supposed for drums etc. not for vocal.

J5k
08-12-2014, 08:35 PM
It can be hard or awesome depending on you or your drummer. You either have them playing their own thing way louder than you (difficult because they will speed up or slow down even if by tiny noticeable amounts) or you have them following you (which is what you want). If you can, get them to practice with you as much as possible. You have to give them a monitor that has just you in it, and crank that monitor until the point where they beg you to turn it down.

They're there to accent you, not the other way around. You're the one supplying the meat... Drums, bass, lead, etc. You can't exactly cancel just your kicks or high hats, so they have to follow along very tightly to keep from jumbling up the rhythm end. If you find yourself trying to beatmatch to the drummer and riding the pitch the whole time you're probably not going to enjoy it. You can give the drummer some love by cutting yourself entirely in a break or something and letting the drummer rip for a bit. Just be prepared to beatmatch back in when you're ready.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that their drums will sound exactly the same from from start to finish. This is hardly ever a big deal with live bands but worth noting depending on what you're trying to play.