One of our readers here at DJ TT mentioned that he had recently sat down with Felix the HouseCat in the studio and demonstrated the benefits of Traktor. While interested, Felix commented that many pro djs felt that the sync function was cheating. This argument has popped up several times in the past so we felt the need to address it.
To be specific, Traktor (and most other dj programs except for Serato Scratch) offer 2 types of sync: Tempo and Phase. You can either automatically match the tempos of 2 songs up or also allow the computer to attempt and keep them in phase with each other rhythmically. Lets address each of these independently and offer arguments for both sides.
Tempo SYNC
For
You can accurately and instantly match tempos up and spend more time doing other things that have much more relevance to the party. Traditionally, most of a djs time was spent matching up the speed of his records and keeping them in time. Take that component out of the picture and an old school dj not familiar with the potential of digital might feel there will be nothing left for him to do on stage. Dj Lorin put it well in this interview:
“..one of the GOALS used to be beat matching, that is now pretty irrelevant. And its sad, if your sport was showing off how wonderfully you can beat match, because that has really become obsolete. Although i can beat match as instantaneously as the next DJ, i don’t give an at’s rasss about doing it and making people watch me do it.”
Against
Taking the time to match tempos by ear forces you to get used to how the songs are working together and get more into the vibe of the mix. It also forces you to take your time and mix the songs in more slowly which is a really good thing these days with some guys throwing in new tracks every 30 seconds.
Conclusion
SYNC the tempo, unless you really don’t have anything better to do and feel your $2000 dj fee is only justified by your ability to match tempos by ear.
Phase SYNC
For
In programs like Ableton Live, with enough advance work you can always have reliably perfect mixes. No more train wrecking because the clubs monitors have been blown out by the opening act. Automatic phase matching also allows the layering of multiple tracks at once, a feat that few have mastered in the analogue domain. Finally, for those worried about their hearing, auto syncing means lower monitoring levels as accurate listening is not as essential.
Against
Phase matching in all programs besides Ableton is a truly hit or miss affair. Djs also learn to rely on the feature and may make big mistakes without realizing it. I mentioned a common scenario in the article I wrote called “MicroWave Djs”:
“Let me give you one shining example of this common pitfall. About four years ago, an acquaintance started DJing with popular DJ software that performs the arduous task of beat matching for you, albeit not always so well. This particular individual was genuinely proud of the fact that after only six months, he was being booked to play clubs all over Brazil. During one of my first tours there, he opened for me at a major nightclub, and the resulting sonic mess was sadly predictable. Even though the software was able to match up the songs 60 percent of the time, he was not able to tell that everything else was completely off. Technology had fast-tracked the learning curve, and his ears did not get the chance to become properly trained.”
The biggest problem with allowing a program to keep your songs in phase for you is that the software algorithms are just too primitive. It will require far to much processing power to come even close to the power of the human ear in discerning rhythm.
Conclusion
Cheating in djing is putting on a DAT tape during your set (as many big “analogue” djs used to do back in the day). Using phase sync is only cheating yourself out of a clean mix and the opportunity to properly train your ears.
it doesn’t seem like software is all that good at syncing tracks together. sure it always comes close, but its never really there. its a lot more fun to beatmatch manually anyway. whatever happened to fun?
I’m a serious Traktor fan and while I have no previous DJ experience I quickly realised that you can’t rely on its sync function alone.
Something i’ve been doing (being a bit lazy to setup beatgrids all the time) is use the beatgrids that traktor detects but at the same time preview the accuracy of them between your two tracks before you have to bring the new track in. Then keeping an eye on the phase meter, pitch bend the incoming track either way and note the visual difference in the phase meter where they sound really perfect. If this stays fairly accurate for the duration of 32 or 64 beats i go with it. i turn sync on before hitting play on the incoming track, and before bringing its volume level in i make the visual phase meter adjustment - quite often this works extremely well.
I suppose this is a combination of syncing, relying on the phase meter, but also training my ears to an extent. Sometimes i turn the phasemeter off and attempt to do traditional beatmatching. I’m not a pro though and usually i’m getting half cut in a loungeroom or my bedroom and nobody worries about the odd stuff up :)
I think the real point is that the crowd only cares about what they’re hearing. So long as the tracks are in time and phase the crowd doesn’t care if you did it or a machine did it. With that in mind, a dj needs to do enough preparation to ensure the tracks are in time and phase: if this means scanning all of the tracks he wants to play with ableton or teaching himself to beatmatch, it needs to happen. There’s no excuse for a trainwreck, it’s the dj’s job to avoid it.
I don’t think it’s cheating at all. It’s just another way of DJing. DJing with Software and in software you have these features. So what’s the point?
I think it’s fine to use sync if you own up to it, and hopefully you’re actually doing something productive with all the free time sync affords you.
I feel that many DJs who can beatmatch by ear feel threatened by the next generation of DJs who may skip beatmatching on a whole. IMO anyone who calls themself a DJ should be able to beatmatch by ear to an extent. Personally, when at home I practice beatmatching amidst everything else, it really lays down the foundation to good DJ’ing.
Anyway, I feel there’s no cheating involved if you can beatmatch by ear and want to try something new.
beatmatching really takes nothing to do. i’d love to use sync if it actually worked right. take for example if you run a loop and fire off 3 or 4 different cue points while switchin between 4 , 8 , and 16 beat in loop, that sync button is nothing but a mess. so for my current style of play its useless. now if all you do is play whole songs and mix between them, you gotta be some sort of rookie or really be lazy. to each there own as long as you rock the crowd.
i think anyone starting out dj’ing all together should learn to beatmatch, eq and phrasing… once they master this and want new challenges and want to expand on their tool kit they can start to branch off on layering of 3 or 4 tracks and do some insance effects and cue juggling ala Ean Golden styles… I personally am not ready for that and want to nail my beatmatching down first and then there is a whole shopping cart list of things I need to learn before i trust a pc to do it for me..
nice article.. i am more interested in other “old school” read “non sw mixing dj’s have to say about the topic.”
it will be interesting to see the big companies tackle the algorithm issues because surely the power of todays dual core + 4gb of ram machines can have should be able to work out much stuff…
i was told recently a nintendo wii has more cpu power then the apollo 11 rocket.. your telling me its harder then that?
interesting that felix da housecatt said sync was cheating, I heard him dj at the key in london a couple of years back and he really could havd used a sync button ;-)
Haha. Ain’t that the truth. Manz couldn’t mix a mojito.
I’ve switched to Traktor (from mixer+cd) because of 3 things: I can SYNC tracks at one click and then use pros of software - many CUE points and many LOOP’s. Now i can make my mix more interesting for crowd (imo most important thing) rather than mostly just switching song’s because of lack of time.
lack of time? i dont get it.. im still learning to beat match and i can normally get a track down pat in like 60 seconds to 90 max… the average songs i play are 5min+ so not sure how any one would run out of time unless you like switching songs every 30 seconds which frankly annoys the pants off me.. but that personal preference…
there are some dj’s who can pull it off.. 2manydj’s for example and a couple others..
i Use the synk to get the bpm right… only. my synk key ar not on toggle…. then after pressing it once it fine adj with the p-bend and pitch…. :)
DJs should learn how to beatmatch by ear, even if they are using computers. But that doesn’t mean they should give up on the sync button. Learn to beatmatch so you can get a feel for lining up rhythms, and then learn to beatgrid, and THEN use the Sync button to get involved in other uses of the digital DJing movment.
the software is primitive for initial BPM detection, but if you know how to beat grip and use them software in front of you then there is no end to the power at your fingertips :-)
Can’t care less if a DJ can beat mix or not, as long he does a good set. The sync button does not mix for you it just set the tracks in right speed. To mix is a little bit more than that :-)
I’ve been a DJ for 15 years and beat match vinyl or CD with the pitch in 5 second. But after I start to DJ with Traktor, I think the manually beat match is just a waist of time and I use the sync button all the time.
Had this discussion with a DJ friend, that even after 5 years of DJ:ing cant beat match perfect. And of course he feels it’s cheating to use the sync button. I hear to many DJ:s with there big vinyl bags, that cant really beat mix proper. That just complains that we SW DJ:s are cheating.
Sometime a bring some vinyls the my gigs. But every time I put one on I regret myself. I just want to start loop the track or beat jump etc, but I can’t, it’s just a boring old vinyl.
WORD..
Nice blend of posts up here. Many good points. To summarize, I think tobamai said it best by saying the crowd only cares about what they’re hearing. To add to that, you can’t cheat even beat counts. Just cuz the beat matches doesn’t mean you know the funkiest places to get in and out of a record. Being able to push the sync button is all well and fine but can you drop that next record @ just the right time & give the crowd a “funky transition” from track to track? If so, who cares that the sync button did the math for you? If you can’t, that same sync button that perfectly matched those beats for you really didn’t help. It’s not a cheat.
I’ve been mixing since the early 80’s (don’t remember the exact year but if I had to guess…somewhere around ‘83). Basically I still mix the beats myself 90% of the time out of habit and being to lazy to do beat grids as another post mentioned. Plus I come from the R&B/hip hop side of things. I applaud technology coming into play. Guys like Moldover, Ean & others have taken the sync buttons to ANOTHER LEVEL because of what they do WHILE those beats are syncing. It’s not like that’s there chance to take another sip…those guys are hammering into the music with cool effects exciting the crowd. It’s simply an evolution. I’m not mad @ a traditionalist that beieves in doing it all by hand but respect the birth of another generation & style of mixing. They all have their place in the game.
The microwave DJ is the guy that suddenly gets 15,000 songs in an mp3 swap, can’t mix NOR does he know anything about the recodrs he’s playing. Anybody knows that Def Leappard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is cool to play. The pro’s & the vets know it’s even COOLER to play the version with the intro from the video that has since been released on CD & mp3. Another example…TLC’s “Ain’t To Proud To Beg…” easy classic. But the version that matters to the crowd is the 12″ or CD single…not the album/full length CD version. It’s the guys that don’t know any better that need a tutoring session. Those are bigger cheats and job stealers to me than any creative jock that utilizes the sync button.
I welomce the birth of the new. Party on Garth!!!
dj mixing
scratching
cassette tapes
http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-scratch-on-a-double-cassette-tape-19936952
i’ve been djing for about 10 years and when i started using Traktor it finally let my creativity flow faster, stronger and to points i never even thought of. I hit sync pretty much all the time to START the sequence of blending of songs. I do not 100% rely on it but it’s a quick starting point.If most of you know older tracks are not perfectly in time so a bit of adjusting here and there are required without beat grids.
i think its like an artist stretching their own canvas or picking one up at an art show, it just gets their vision out to the people faster.
sorry, i meant to say picking a canvas up at an art store not art show, you know like Pearl. anyway it just gets my musical point and vision across more quickly
I just think that the ability you have for whichever task is great when you play for a contest… if you play for the party and the good times, it’s all about what allows you to do so…
Also, Ean, I just got myself a novation remote sl like yours… was wondering if you could (or maybe you already have) upload your layout but for ableton, cause I know you have already done so for traktor… Thanx and keep up the good work.. I have been a musician for about 15 years, and never considered djing (or controllerism for now) up until I found about your page… thanx! You do a very good job in giving us confidence, tools, and knowledge to make really good stuff!!!
I think the question that you really have to ask is does the person who is syncing really understand music, structure. theory, etc.
To me, it doesn’t matter how the end result was achieved…if there is a full dance floor, whats the big deal?
Technology is scary as hell to people that have spent years and years perfecting an art and somethings comes along that completely automates a good bit of the process.
With photography there was a similar debate with D-SLR’s and Standard Film cameras. Old school photographers were so upset that the dark room was cut out of the mix, processing, etc. Now that some time has passed, a lot of the same people complaining are now using Digital SLR cameras because it was realized that although technology can let you focus (no pun intended, haha) on other creative things, it still can’t replace the vision of professionals. A good camera can take a great picture, but it can’t tell you the ELEMENTS that make the picture interesting and eye appealing.
Again…syncing the music allows DJ’s to focus on other aspects that really make the experience much more enjoyable for the listeners. I think what most DJ’s have to understand is that the people on the dance don’t care about your technique, they just don’t want to stop moving. Syncing allows two beats to stay in time with one another, but it doesn’t tell inspiring DJ’s how to build an atmosphere, where to cue and cut, etc. There are HUMAN elements that make good mixes, take good photos, etc…and those elements can’t be replicated via software.
….yet ;-0
Isn’t DJing all about crowd control?
Every second a DJ can spent on entertaining/moving the crowd is a second in favour of the DJ.
As long as he is putting effort in listening to the crowd by means of a creating a on spot flawless setlist, you won’t hear me complain if he or she is using autosync.
The DJ however should now how to beatmatch in case auto sync won’t work. :P
Nice set of comments.
Not knowing what ur whole playlist(track pool) sounds like is the funniest stage(offcourse, not on a pro gig). Sync saves time because, in such situation, I prelisten 50% of the time, and it still buys me enough time to do some nice transitions and/or effects.
If you can sync in 5 secs, (you probably) know what your tracks are by the vinyl groove, then there is a great possibility that you already got bored of that track for listening/spinning it so much. That part kills creativity in me jus as abusing the sync button.
My friend mixes his song pool without headphones(if he must), using sync, phase indicator and waveform display (and drunk). That is…(cheating?) I’d say different.
Didn’t we have this conversation back when CD players started showing up in DJ Booths?
I think artistically, the mechanical aspects of DJing are no longer part of the show… Nowadays, the savvy audience has satellite radio and so many choices, they demand more from the sound of your set. Harmonic mixing and beats that compliment each other as well as a solid set of attention grabbing songs is more important.
NO computer can pick up on the vibe of the crowd, realize that the bar is flooding because someone busted a pipe and play “Umbrella”… The human element will always be there when it comes to DJ’s. Computers just take away some of the theatrics.
I like what people are doing with computers to (re)gain the theatrics. Using light/proximity sensors for midi messages thus building theremin-like fx controller is quite cool onstage(paired with some good led lighting).
(*my favourite)
I use TDS because there is space to make errors, fall out of sync and show that there is no DAT/minidisc player there hooked up to the mixer.
The thing with auto sync is the fact that beat matching is one of the things that separates DJ’s from the rest. It’s a skill acquired through practise. You then nail that and then start working on the technique.
When you start to take away the skill then you are nothing more that a juke box. What happens when clubs start to use software instead of a DJ? You ever think of that?
It’s all fine using something to get the flow better and adding equiptment. I too am interested in the MP3 scene but you know what…. when it comes to a club that will only have turn tables or CD decks I’ll still be able to put on a good show where as the people that rely on Sync will be lost.
I have a skill. I am proud of it. You should be too if you have a skill and put time and effort into it.
People are just too lazy and want the end result at the start of something. A rushed job is never complete.
I don’t think using the features of a specific program is “cheating”, but I DO have a problem with DJs that can’t perform with more traditional equipment.
If you’re a professional DJ, I think you have a responsibility to those who hire you to be able to perform in whatever environment you’ve agreed to work in. If you’re in a venue that doesn’t allow a computer connection, or you have some kind of technical difficulty that prohibits you from using a computer as part of your performance, I believe that you should be able to carry on your performance and fulfill your obligation using the equipment available to you. So in the spirit of that belief, I think every DJ should be able to perform in a reasonable manner WITHOUT a computer.
I’ve been out on several occasions where I heard a digital DJ (mostly DVS) have a problem that resulted in a minute of silence followed by what is obviously NOT a live performance. If I were the club owner and saw the floor clear out because of this kind of lack of professionalism I would pay that DJ accordingly (and not ask him back).
In this day of MP3 reading CDJs, I don’t think there is any excuse to not have (for instance) some “oh shit” music burned in MP3 format on your timecode CDs, as well as a small book of current songs in your gig bag - ready to go at a moment’s notice.
At the root of it all, you’re being paid to entertain people by playing music. The reason you’re working at all instead of being replaced by a CD player on shuffle is because of your ability to put music together in a meaningful way. If you’re serious about being a DJ, I think you should be able to deliver on that even if your equipment is compromised.
The first comment strikes a chord with me.
After about 7 years of spinning vinyl and CDs I switched to using Traktor (mainly for reasons of lack of space) and was impressed by the Sync function. I was free to spend my time playing with perfect loops and effects, doing things I just couldn’t do with vinyl or my simple CD players.
After about 3 years of Traktor I now have room for my decks again and I have rediscovered the challenge and FUN of actually doing the mixing myself. I also fins myself more engrossed in the music as I am forced to listen harder to what I am doing.
And although my Traktor produced mixes maybe more polished and contain loops / effects I couldn’t have done before, I have realised that, for all its cleverness, I don’t enjoy listening to these Traktor mixes any more than those created manually.
So as a compromise I think its Traktor Scratch for me - vinyl control and manual beatmatching plus the loops and effects via the laptop.
Yes for me too. I use Serato at the moment and will be getting Traktor Scratch soon too. I will also use Traktor 3 with the vestax controler. I do it this way to be flexible for locations.
I agree with the beat matching comment above. It gets you involved. It’s not only for the people listening to the mix. Thats what many people get wrong. It’s also for the DJ. Thats why I DJ. Because I love doing it. Not to just look cool!
I do feel it is cheating a bit.
We have a problem in Glasgow at the moment with guys posing as DJ’s and doing gigs using only a laptop to mix tracks, so what you end up with is a bunch of clowns who hadn’t learned how to DJ properly filling up the spaces that the ‘real’ dj’s would usually fill; all because of a beat matching button a computer. It generally lower the quality of the clubs and pubs music…end of rant!
the software revloution has come, and it going to stay. however nobody will teach you good taste in your selection of tracks. that is the true talent of a good dj. like a curator of a museum of sound there will be those who can buy the art. but few who know how to hang or place the art, in creative way that draw blockbuster museum shows.
with software beat matching is not the greatest issue. what’s missing in this thread is using the sofware to organize your tracks in key. then the real fun comes with harmonic mixing. use the software to order your discography from all formats then label by key your vinyl/cds and order your digital collection accordingly. i believe that the real power of the software, is that the tone deaf can now make what was a boring mix into something memorable. few djs in the media purest set know how to do chromatic/harmonic mixing. for me this is the real power of the software.
you dont have to use software to mix but aleast organize your tracks ik by key then get bast the sync or not sync debate. you see those t shirt play on the design of the maxell brand, so please djs mixwell.i ve heard mixes by battle djs that cant even pull off a traditional set mix. but really if you say your dj you can mix d&b hip hop metal all together with out a computer. alot of of the the faction can learn alot from each other by learning all of the tricks of each. the battle dj’s knack of labeling cue points on the vinyl, to the genre centric mix djs pulling off a cohesive mix. ultimately it is the a good curator of sound that impresses the crowd. not just beat perfect, bauhaus with the offspring mashups.
Vinyl DJ’s hating on the expanded offerings of mp3/Traktor Djing are failing to raise a justifiable point. Sure, the feeling of spinning two musical plates in synchronised tempo is a nice one, and the first mixes were no doubt considered pioneering leaps in technology.
What’s the problem with letting Traktor do the same>?
At the end of the day, as mentioned very accurately, being a ‘good’ DJ is more about understanding how music flows, changes, builds and adopts during a party - how the tracks come and go. The SYNC button is just a tool which allows you to match tempos automatically (provided you set up the -not THAT hard- beatgrid). Whether you use it or not is your decision. IF you don’t understand the fundamental basics of beat-matching (ie the ‘vinyl’ fundamentals) then you won’t really understand the SYNC button anyway. Personally, I keep it on all the time and keep a 4/4 127 or 128 tempo pounding non-stop - my set is like a non-stop wave - but this is just me. I like to mess around with eq, re-consider my next track choices, effects (T2 L/H is a fave) have a sip of beer… and enjoy it too maybe! :)
A couple of thoughts:
there are LOTS of software titles that are allowing new DJ’s to beat-match. Also, with the advent of mp3 music, LOTS of DJ’s aren’t making the trek to the local vinyl store and spending hard-earned cash to buy the latest extended mix (heck, w/software, you can MAKE your own extended mix.) This is sad in and of itself.
Things aren’t like they were before. Being raised “DJ old-school,” I feel I’ve earned my stripes to use a sync button if I need to(’cuz I know how to beat-match using turntables) ….very much like a professional author/writer can CHOOSE to make a spelling/grammar mistake ON PURPOSE in his writing for creativity.
Besides, I use the sync feature more for studio/recording mixes to save time. How is this any different than a band doing multiple takes when doing a recording?
I only think it’s cheating if you can’t beat-match without the sync feature.
You don’t HAVE to use that sync button, you know? :)
Oftentime, when I need to get back into the music, I just beatmatch with Traktor the old school way, just pitch bend and tempo control. Using sync all the time ends up with me being boring, bored and less involved. So yes, I just love that function, it is so handy! Yes, it has drawbacks, which can be easily avoided if you just stop using it once in a while, to get the fun of djaying back.
Yeah in the same way that when a classical guitarist is hired to a club that doesn’t allow for micing, he is obligatory to carry on his performance by playing electric guitar.
Not.
They are different things and the same goes for software and turntable mixing. One has no obligatory at all to master another “instrument” in case he can’t play his own due to the [u]venue’s[/u] circumstances.
So what you’re saying is, that every new coming software DJ should first relive the 80’s and 90’s with vinyl, before they have “earned” their rights to use advantages of the 21st century?
To me, the word cheating in music makes no sense. If it sounds good, it sounds good.
If all you veteran dj’s are afraid that newcomers with no skill will ruin the scene, you shouldn’t worry. If they truly suck, clubs will stop hiring them and the problem solves itself. But I also think that you should start atleast trying out the newer technologies, because the world will never stop changing, and neither should you.
ps. The only venue that doesn’t allow a computer is an Amish People farm, so no real loss here.
i play mostly rnb and find that the sync button tho it does help dosent tend to b that spot on anyway. what i’ve ended up doin is playin more traditionally with it and only ever look at the laptop to load the track. even if hittin the sync button could mix the 2 tracks perfectly i wouldnt rely on it, what would b the point in me playin, not only cheatin myself but the audience.
JDarko,
I’m not saying that modern dj’s have to relive anything….I was talking about myself….I’ve got no guilt using the sync, (but I’m sensing that perhaps you do????)
The end doesn’t always justify the means….I don’t agree that “the word cheating in music makes no sense. If it sounds good, it sounds good.” If a dj is getting paid to play “live” and he/she plays a pre-mixed cd and fakes it….even if the crowd is on its feet, it is cheating…..think steroids in sports. DJ’s aren’t magicians/illusionists, so our thing isn’t to trick the audience.
again, I figure all the hacks will be revealed in time, with or without the sync button.
I don’t think that your comparison with sports or magicians is correct. The point mentioned here, is that syncing saves the time of doing a ‘choir’, which then can be spent on making better mixes, perhaps even multilayer.
I am still talking about a capable dj working hard, and using sync to concentrate on other parts of his set. (As I sense, is someone like you).
In my opinion, automating choirs that aren’t involving musically, is a good thing. Whats the point of having a dj when he needs to spend all his time on blending tracks into eachother, without making the songs more interesting.
As I see it, there are also downfalls. It isn’t as easy as it used to, to spot a bad dj. (Which is your main point). And I think you are right that beatmatching by ear is an important skill that must be mastered. However, the question was “to sync or not to sync?”, and to that I say: Sync.
Something that I was thinking about a while ago……a professional DJ that doesn’t know how to beatmatch is like a professional drag racer who doesn’t know how to drive stick - both of these things aren’t really essential to today’s professionals, and you don’t really need to use those skills to be successful on the circuit.
But by virtue it’s really something you should know how to do before you call yourself a pro.
Great analogy!
I learnt how to DJ on Traktor, just as I learnt how to produce and record songs in Logic Pro and Pro-Tools. I have a massive amount of respect for old-school style DJs and Mix engineers who used all the classic analogue equipment and got some truly great results. I can’t beatmatch manually, and I’m in no way ashamed of that, just as I am in no way ashamed that I don’t know how to use an old 8-track tape recorder. But why should I bother to learn when 8-tracks are obsolete? Having the ability to get songs in sync with each other is essential for a DJ. Just as getting around town is essential for that DJ when he goes to meet clients and agents. Should that DJ then learn to ride a horse, just so he can appreciate how mankind had to travel around before the invention of the motor car? Of course not, that would just be silly.
DJing is not about how you get the beats lined up, its how you get the crowd on their feet from start to finish, something a machine will never be able to do.
You are wagging the dog now…stop this nosense and go mind you own bussiness(or practice beatmatching). All that was to say, was said. Now, I wonder if there is a lock feature for comments as there is for forum threads. Might be usefull here.
Ow and: “All hail machines. We are all Halcon. All will be one.”
if you were a respected dj who used traktor, used sync, couldn’t beatmatch and then was asked to beatmatch with vinyl and couldn’t, would you be a sad panda?
sync’s useful and makes you more flexible, opening up alot of potential - especially with traktor and such.. but are you a t-t-t-true dj? where’s the soul at?
Ive never tried any software with synching, however, I think any tool which allows you to be more creative with your mixes is a good thing and needs to be embraced.
I remember when the cdj1000 first came out, some people were quick to accuse the new “CD jock” of cheating as you now had the ability to roughly match the bpms using the cdj display even before you even cued up the track.
I can understand why some DJs feel threatened by the new technology though. Aspiring DJs used to have to spend weeks, months or even years perfecting the art of beatmatching and now, with the press of a button, any punk with a laptop can do it!
I still feel that this argument is missing the point though. In my mind the primary role of the DJ is to read and enhance the mood of a crowd. How he does that is irrelevant.
I think “virtual revolution” began with mixing software, designed to emulate the hardware, not to replace the dj. Technics and Pioneer deserves their place in history better than Ableton or Serato.