There is currently a heated debate about the use of the Sync button. Some say it’s cheating, some say: as long as it sounds good for the audience, it’s ok… I think that everyone is missing the point. Learning to beatmatch by hand is a skill that any DJ should learn. The only reason he should learn it is to have at his disposal a broader way to express himself artistically.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using the sync button. It saves time and allows you to do something else, it can also be a lifesaver when you have lost it while in a mix. I’m really glad to have that function at hand, and I use it often, even if I’m able to beatmatch two records by ear in a short amount of time. So, what’s the big deal with learning to do it by hand? Well, I think that the perfect mix in term of phase and speed doesn’t really exist. It is all a matter of what you want to express artistically. Hand beatmatching techniques can be used to breath life and spontaneity into your mixes, and have been used this way by all the best DJs since the beginning. And it sounds really different from automated matching. No judgment of value, there, both can be useful.

I now need to show you a trick to prove my point. It’s a very old and cool trick, which has a lot of practical applications, among them being able to teach you how to beatmatch by hand, or get better if you already know how.

Continue reading ‘Phasing - Old school beatmatching for all’