Types of Mixing

April 2001

This month's tip addresses the different mixing styles.

Is it live or is it Pro Tools?

How does the DJ beat mix so perfectly on that new dance mix CD you just bought? As many of you know, most mix CD's are edited on computers. Even many radio dance mix shows are mixed on a PC. The DJ will first mix live into a computer, and then using a program such as Pro Tools, go back and edit the bad mixes by either deleting the off beats or by placing a "drop" (i.e., radio voice-over)over the bad section. This should be encouraging to those of you that thought your mixing wasn't CD quality perfect.

If you want to detect a live mix, listen for the bass drum of the incoming song to kick-in (noticeably). Some live DJ's deliberately turn the bass down of the incoming song in order to sound CD quality perfect. As the cross-fader moves over, they gradually increase the bass until it matches the bass level of the outgoing song. Loose bass knobs on the mixer board are usually signs of bass manipulation.

Is hip hop or faster dance music, such as house and trance, harder to mix? One could argue that hip hop is harder to beat mix because the time between beats (i.e., slower bpm) is greater, making it harder to judge, mentally, when the next beat will hit. However, a faster track makes the DJ more vulnerable to missing a series of beats (without affording him or her the time to fix the mix) because there's less time to adjust the pitch adjust. In sum, it really depends on what you're used to spinning. I once forced a great hip hop DJ to play a trance track, and despite his skill, he "train wrecked" the mix. He just wasn't used to the beats being so close together.

While there are many different ways a DJ can mix two tracks together, I've outlined the five most common types below:

(1) The Slam (aka "dropping on the one") (hip hop, and some techno). The idea here is to match the bpm of the incoming song with the song that's playing (through your headphones). When the outgoing song is about to end, the DJ "slams" the incoming song in time with the outgoing song -- while simultaneously cutting the outgoing song's volume (there's no beat riding). The DJ slams the first beat (in 4/4/ time) of the incoming song where the first beat of a break in the outgoing song would have been. This style of mixing is common for hip hop DJ's, although during the techno-era of the early-90's, many techno DJ's slammed techno songs in a similar fashion.

(2) The 32-in-and-the-32-out (hip hop, commercial mix). This is the most common type of mix heard on commercial radio mix shows. The DJ will match the bpm of the incoming song with the song that's playing (through the headphones), and then when the outgoing song goes to break, the DJ will start the incoming song in time with the outgoing song and gradually bring the crossfader over. The DJ will beat mix a total of 32 beats before the crossfader's volume is completely pushed over (so that the incoming song's volume is at full level). Many remix services, such as Hot Tracks, design their intros and breaks for this type of mixing. It is conceivable to mix a "16-in-and-16-out" (or even shorter mix), although the DJ risks sounding unprofessional.

(3) The Blend - or what I call riding it all day (trance). This type of mixing requires 12" tracks with long intros and breaks. Unlike the "32-in-and-the-32-out," the blend is a long continuous mix that may last several minutes or more. The key here is to blend/beat mix the two songs so that a listener can not tell when the outgoing song ended and when the incoming song began. This requires constant monitoring of the volume levels so that one of the songs does not muddle the other. The crossfader is brought over very slowly (although many blend DJ's prefer to use the upfader[s] instead of the crossfader). Trance DJ's are often known for this type of mixing, although trance tracks on continuous mix-CD's usually have shorter mix times to allow for additional songs. Some hip hop DJ's also blend.

(4) The Radio Fade (fade in/fade out). This style of mixing is discussed in the Scratching section under cueing. This is not beat matching. It's simply turning down the volume of the song that's ending and turning up the volume of the song that's starting. However, you can hear the songs blend slightly (like on the radio) since the song that's ending can still be heard as it's faded out.

(5) The Scratch and Slam (hip hop). This is common for turntablists. It's merely scratching the incoming song's first beat/sample over the outgoing song (as a tease) and then slamming in the incoming song while simultaneously cutting the volume of the outgoing song. The bpm's usually match even though the two songs aren't beat mixed per se.

As you can see, the type of mixing you employ usually depends on the style of music you spin. However, as my friend, DJ Evan Samurin puts it "don't do what anyone else does, don't worry how John Digweed and Carl Cox are mixing, make your own style individualistic to you."