First attempt at DJing

bnwchbammer

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
461
Trophies
1
Age
31
Location
Illinois
Website
Visit site
XP
310
Country
United States
So yeah, I posted a blog, but figured I'd get more advice on what I did right/wrong from here.
I started using Virtual Vinyl... today and came up with this:
http://www.purevolume.com/bnwchbammer
(It's on the site)
But yeah, I think it's pretty good for a first mix.
Perhaps it could be better with crossfades and such, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to do that.
But yeah, any advice is welcome.
 

BionicC

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2006
Messages
241
Trophies
0
XP
113
Country
Well technically it's sound -- you got the tempos of the two tracks matched so they stayed in time the whole way through.

HOWEVER.

As a mix, it just doesn't work I'm afraid. The two tracks are in completely different keys so musically, they clash horribly. There's a bit from about 2:45 onwards where the Daft Punk and FM vocals continually overlap, which can sometimes sound okay but often doesn't and I'm afraid it doesn't in this case.

Assuming Virtual Vinyl is software meant for doing continuous mixes then you're not really using the right tool for the job anyway; something like Sony Acid would be more appropriate for a remix like this as you can amend each track's pitch and tempo independently of each other, cut tracks up as required, etc. It can also help if you get hold of separate instrumental and acapella (ie. vocal-only) tracks; if you can't get an instrumental then you can sometimes make one by cutting together instrumental bits of a song, although if there's no official acapella then you just have to hope that someone can work some sound processing magic to make one (it's not an easy process so I wouldn't recommend you try it yourself to begin with, and the results often aren't perfect but they can be usable).

As an example of how I would've done it, I've quickly put together a remix of the track (although I used Stardust's Music Sounds Better With You instead of One More Time). I didn't spend long on it -- it's purely a quick-and-dirty attempt at mashing the two tracks together. I cut the Stardust track up a bit to extend the instrumental bits and got hold of the acapella of Like a G6 so there's no extra bits of music to clash with the underlying track. If I'd worked on it longer then I would've cut in bits of the FM vocal towards the end from about 5:30 onwards, when it goes into the long passage with the Stardust vocal, to stop it from just being a run-through of the original track from that point onwards. I've also uploaded a picture of the track in Acid to show where the cuts are etc. The -0.500 on the vocal shows that I pitched it down by half a semitone to get it a little more in tune with the Stardust track. It's nothing amazing (and there's a bit in the middle where the autotuned vocals are a little bit out of key) but like I say, it's just a quick example of how it can be done.

I would say this: don't get too hung up on doing a complicated mix to begin with, because that's what you attempted by putting two entire tracks together like that. Get hold of a house instrumental and a plain old rap acapella and just try that out at first -- it's the most basic form of mash-up there is but it can often sound great. Once you've mastered that, move on to putting together a sung vocal acapella on top of an instrumental and concentrate on getting it in key and everything. Maybe look at some successful mash-ups and have a go at replicating them; that way you know that the two tracks go together and you can work on your technical skills in terms of matching the pitch.

Above all, don't be disheartened; sometimes you might think two songs would work perfectly together but when you try it, it just isn't possible. And keep practicing!
yay.gif
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    ZeroT21 @ ZeroT21: horny jail is full la