Beat Box: Ten Attributes That Separate Great DJ's From Good DJ's

Mary Anne Hobbs = Great DJ

We all know DJ-ing has undergone radical transformations over the past several years. Technology and the proliferation of digital media has enabled everyone to have the tools to rock a block party. Competition for gigs has become extremely fierce because of these changes. However, don’t think you still can’t remain competitive in a cutthroat industry. Just understand that it involves an enormous amount of work and dedication; and being “good” isn’t going to cut it anymore. Here are ten attributes that distinguish “great” DJ’s from merely the “good” ones…how many of them are you doing right now?

Great DJ’s know their history.

The music you are playing right now didn’t just appear out of thin air. To understand and appreciate your current selection means to take a step back in time. Veteran DJ’s already know the score, but if you’re just starting out, the Internet is full of information on how the music you currently play evolved over the years. Many producers constantly re-visit old, long-forgotten styles of music to combine with current sounds that are brewing, creating something entirely unique and different. The same can be said for the songs you play in a DJ set as well.

 You can tell just from the artwork this compilation has a wealth of early, yet important, music on it.

Great DJ’s don’t just focus on what been released in the past 2 weeks.

Many styles of dance, such as house, have three decades of material waiting to be discovered by you. Why restrict yourself just to what’s been released over the past few days? Playing older music, whether it be from 2005, 1995, or 1985, helps bring people across multiple generations in the club together. And if a music-savvy promoter hears you playing stuff from years past (alongside those fresh promos or unreleased bits), it proves to them you know a thing or two about your genres’ history, as discussed in number 1. But you don’t always want to get caught playing just older stuff either, find a balance.

Great DJ’s read and interact with the crowd.

Practicing in your bedroom is only going to make you good at the technical intracies of DJ-ing (such as mixing). Real skill behind the decks comes from constantly performing publicly and gauging how crowds respond to what you play. Unfortunately there’s no one-size-fits-all formula here; peoples’ tastes can be fickle and change more rapidly than April weather in Boston. 

What this means is that you need to be doubly sure you are constantly keeping an eye on the crowd and ready to change the direction of your set on a dime. Knowing what you play inside and out helps quite a bit. I would rather listen to a DJ who has only 100 great songs with him but knows each one as well as his social security number, than a DJ with 10,000 songs that he is completely unfamiliar with. 

Personality behind the decks goes a long way here as well. Although most can do without the showboating and fist pumping, if a DJ is dancing and bobbing their heads behind the tables, the enthusiasm and energy almost becomes contagious. 

Tittsworth always seems to have a blast when he’s on the decks.

Great DJ’s take calculated risks.

A local dance music scene can never have enough great DJ’s. However, the last thing needed is another Beatport Top 100 DJ. Although a good DJ can get the crowd revved up by playing anthems, a great DJ often takes risks by seeing how clubgoers respond to lesser known (but equally energetic) songs. 

In the old days, DJ’s were responsible for pushing and promoting the music of unknown producers. Nowadays, a lot of DJ’s just seem to play only whatever is hot at the moment, not taking the time to venture into unchartered territory. This is an absoute shame, as it is easier than ever before to find amazing, yet unknown, music online. ESPECIALLY with Soundcloud. 

The best formula is to find a balance between the familiar route and the road less traveled. You may find yourself surprised to find what you can get away with, even for a mainstream crowd. But always pay attention to the patrons, as discussed in number 2, and be ready to veer back to the familiar road on a dime if necessary.

Great DJ’s understand how to mix out just as much as mixing in.

One of the first skills most DJ’s learn is to beatmatch. You will find it becomes pretty rudimentary after some practice; knowing when to mix in the next song is the cornerstone to becoming a dance music DJ. However, one thing many don’t pay attention to is how to mix OUT of the first song that is playing.

It’s easy to let two tracks ride for too long, so when the bassline of the second enters the picture, while first continues to play in the background. In genres such as drum and bass and dubstep where these “drops” are very pronounced, this can drain the impact of the song coming in. It’s also a good idea to fully mix out by the time a breakdown happens in either the first or the second song. With nary a beat to use as a guide, you would hate for the beat to come back in the suspect song only to find it is completely out of sync with the other. This is DJ Amtrak reporting for duty!

Great DJ’s mix in key.

Songs that are in key with one another really make a difference in the quality of a set, as well as the quality of a DJ. Some of the best progressive house DJ’s, such as Sasha and Danny Howells, were major stickers of harmonic mixing back in the 90s. This discipline has caught on to many other styles of dance, and you will get the full impact of how well it works once you try it for yourself.

Tools like Mixed In Key allow you to analyze your entire music collection, then organize it specifically based upon the key. Online shops such as Chemical Records, and soon Beatport, also tag their content with the key it is in as well. When mixing harmonically, not only help ensure a cohesive flow from one track to the next, but stepping from a lower to a higher key enhances the energy of the set as well. A not-so-secret “secret” to helping command your crowd!

Mixing in key is a snap these days. Never clash two songs together again.

Great DJ’s are always digging.

Remember that famous quote by real-estate tycoon Blake (Alec Baldwin) in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross? A-B-C: Always Be Closing. In the DJ world, it is A-B-D: Always Be Digging. Going through just the Top 100 on Beatport is lazy. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great tracks that are in the top 100 (I mean, why else would they be there?) 

But if you want to really distinguish yourself in an insanely competitlve crowd, take things a step further. Spend even 15-20 minutes each day listening to the “new releases” section for your favorite genre on Beatport instead. I guarantee you will not only find some gems this way, but they will be gems that a) many other DJ’s don’t have, and b) are often produced by less established producers who could really use an extra dollar or two from your support. 

And to tie back into studying the history of what you play, never be afraid to check out the vinyl shops for used goods, especially if you live in a large city. I’ve discovered plenty of obscure bits from the 90s that way, all for very cheap!

I wonder what I’m gonna find in this lump of dusty old records today? 

Great DJ’s prepare for the worst case scenario when performing.

You aren’t Deadmau5; if you aren’t a touring DJ with a contract, don’t expect to have the latest gear and gadgets there. You may even have to deal with poorly-functioning turntables or an old mixer with missing knobs (or, no EQ’s, the horror!) 

You should take proactive measures to be ready for the worst case scenario. Burn extra copies of music to CD-R’s in case your laptop or Serato box isn’t working. Bring needles and slipmats as the house turntables may not have them. Soundchecking your setup early in the night before people get there to make sure everything is in working order isn’t a bad idea. Some DJ’s even mix entirely on their own MIDI controllers, completely taking the situation into their own hands. 

You never know when a couple back-up CDs of the songs you want to play might save your ass. A safeguard that costs all of ten cents, and ten minutes, to perform.

Great DJ’s play music, not mediums.

To this day, I continue to buy vinyl, alongside MP3’s digitally on both Beatport and iTunes. I care little about what medium it is on, I just want to make sure I have a clean copy of the song in one format or the other. Getting caught up in mediums (and debating why yours is better than others) is a tiring task that drains the focus  from what is truly important: the music. 

Play on what you are comfortable with. When you perform in a club, it might be a good idea to get accustomed to working with both turntables, CDJ’s, as well as the Serato or Traktor interfaces. That way you can anticipate whatever cards you are dealt, which can often be completely different in each place. But at the end of the day, don’t let anyone’s opinion pressure you into playing a certain medium; test the waters yourself and see what works best for you. Just be able to adapt if you had to play on something else. 

Great DJ’s back up, back up, back up.

It’s a no-brainer, yet it boggles my mind how many people neglect to back up their MP3 collections. WHEN (not IF) your hard drive crashes, (and trust me, this is a WHEN), some MP3 storefronts (such as Beatport) will not allow you to re-download them. Just do yourself a favor and buy an external hard drive to back your library up to. I even burn DVD-R’s, which I keep in a location outside of my house, of the music I have paid for online. Don’t let that hard earned money you spent go to waste!

Get your stuff backed up, you’ll thank me later. 

Side note: I hardly consider myself a masterful DJ, yet I assure you these ten tips will help you become better versed in the craft. Hope these help; I’m also working on an article that discusses what unknown DJ’s need to be doing in order to get local bookings as well. This will be posted within the next two weeks.

Beat Box: Allen & Heath Xone:32- New Lower Price Merges Bang With Buck

For the past several months I was in the process of searching for a well-built, quality DJ mixer that was not going to break the bank. As a bedroom DJ on a tight budget, I knew straightaway that my options were going to be limited and really wanted to stick with either a Pioneer or Allen & Heath. For the past two years I was using a two-channel Korg Kaoss Mixer (KM-202); although it was a decent model I wasn’t nuts about it’s digital output (which would heavily distort anything even remotely approaching the red, which made it really tough to mix certain styles of music such as drum & bass under headphones). I also wanted to buy one with more than just two channels. The Kaoss Pad on the KM-202 was great, but honestly didn’t really use it much when I owned it. Meat and potatoes take precedence over bells and whistles for me!

Even though my budget went as high as $700, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that djdeals.com had Allen & Heath’s Xone:32 3-channel mixer marked down to a clearance price of $300 on their site. Not only did this sled originally sell for around $600-700, but the smaller 2-channel Xone:22 only retails for about $50 less, and the Xone:42 (the next step up) massively leapfrogs the 32 in price, retailing at $900! Without even THINKING about it, I just bought it. Knowing full well that it boasts Allen & Heath’s well renowned analog circuitry, as well as their customary build quality and engineering, it couldn’t have been a more appropriate time to ditch the plastic handles and knobs of the KM-202 (sorry Korg!)

First off, I should mention that shopping on djdeals.com was a great experience overall, and highly recommend checking out the site. Not only was I granted free shipping, but I placed the order on a Friday and it arrived at my door the following Wednesday. Amazing turnaround time.

Without rambling on too much about the Xone:32, I’m going to break down the vast amount of pros, as well as a few of the cons about this mixer. This should cover everything this beast is capable of, and hope you find it informative if you’re looking to purchase one yourself.

Xone:32 - The Good Stuff.

1. Build Quality. From the minute I took this out of the box, it was love at first sight. There is no question that this is a very nicely built machine. The stainless steel casing coupled with the shiny silver coating of paint on the face is flawless in every way. It’s a fairly large mixer, but yields a great deal of space for a working DJ to fiddle with all of the knobs and faders; nothing feels cluttered at all. I especially like the long channel faders with the “studio mixer” style switches as well as the piercing lights which work wonders in a dark environment.

2. Sound Quality. Probably the MOST important feature to consider in a DJ mixer is nothing but aces here. Although I only have limited experience on working the far more expensive Xone:42 and Xone:62, I think it’s safe to say that the sound quality is pretty much the same on this piece of hardware. Because this is an analog mixer, even if there is a bit of distortion in the music you are playing or if you accidentally bring in a louder track and push it into the red zone, it is forgiving in the amount of available headroom you have to work with as you (hopefully) try to fix things in the mix. The 3-band EQ knobs on each channel don’t lie to you: in the 12 o’clock positions they do not affect the sound in any way, yet has a fairly smooth and responsive gain structure as you adjust the levels. The channel faders also work nicely as well; some may not like the fact that the majority of the gain in volume is noticeable throughout the top third of the fader, but it’s the same response curve you are dealing with when using a professional studio mixing board.

3. Plenty of Line Out Options. The back of the mixer has a host of options; many of them are standard but there are a few bonuses as well. There is a set of RCA record outs, allowing you to hook the mixer directly to a computer or other recording device to record your mixes. Separate booth and mix outputs, along with inputs for either turntables (with pre-amps) or other line-in devices are obviously standard. The chassis to hook up the ground wires from your turntables is probably one of the best I’ve used- it was much more cumbersome hooking them up on my Korg and old Numark Matrix mixers! A nice bonus is a set of auxiliary outputs to either connect an additional set of monitors or a sampling/effects device (which you have to route back into the mixer using the line in’s of one of your channels, this is controlled by using the auxiliary send/return knob above the EQ knobs). 

4. Filter LFO. You only get one “effect” on the Xone:32, but I must say, it’s a pretty damn good one. It comes with an LFO that controls the cutoff frequency of whichever channel you have the filter applied to; using the “tap tempo” button you can easily set it up to be fully synchronized with the beat of the song. One button on the right side controls whether or not the LFO is on, another button toggles it between regular and double speed, and the resonance knob controls how drastically the filter affects the sound. Using a combination of the hi/band/lo pass buttons, along with the VCF slider which governs which frequencies the filter gets applied to, it’s a nice bonus. The filter recall memory bank is unnecessary as they can’t recall the LFO speed or VCF, and probably won’t use them very much, if at all.

Xone:32 - The Cons.

1. Crossfader. Although I’m mainly a mix DJ these days and don’t have as much of a problem with this, I will say right now to serious turntablists- stay AWAY from this mixer. Although the fader has some nice features such as reverse and a knob that controls the fader curves between channels, it is NOT geared towards scratching at all. The fader does not glide as transparently as a Rane or Vestax, making it tougher to perform even basic transforms or crabs with. Another thing to be aware of is that each side of the fader is not assignable to any channel you want- only channel 1 and 3 work with the fader. You can reverse the two channels, but channel 2 does not work with the crossfader at all. If you are not a turntablist, the fader is fine for basic mixing applications, and it seems like most mix-oriented DJ’s rarely use the faders anyhow.

2. The Gain Knobs. Probably the biggest issue I had at first with the Xone:32 is the fact that the gain knobs are NOT located directly above the EQ knobs on each channel. Instead, they are on the back of the mixer, albeit at the top so it’s still easy to make adjustments. This takes a bit of getting used to as you sometimes have to look around the back to see what position each knob is set in. The auxiliary knobs used for effects devices, which many DJ’s will probably rarely use, should have swapped places with the channel gains. Hopefully Allen & Heath will fix this on an upcoming version as I don’t doubt for a second they received an arsenal of complaints about this decision!

3. Channel metering. You are going to have to rely on your ears for analyzing the levels of each individual channel as the metering system is only four lights, as opposed to the much more detailed strips on the more expensive models. Ah well, you can’t always have your cake and eat it too on a less expensive mixer.

4. You can only cue one channel at a time. Hardly a big deal, but if you’re doing Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin, or Andy C style blends using 3+ tracks playing simultaneously throughout the entire mix, be aware that you can only have one channel cued up in the headphones at a time.

Regardless of the cons, I can’t recommend the Xone:32 enough. I got used to the gain knobs on the back in literally less than a day, and although I wish the fader was more optimized for scratching, I’ll gladly take it’s undeniable sound quality over it any day of the week. For it’s price, I give this mixer a 9 out of 10!

If you want to see a great video of this baby in action, check out the youtube video demo below. I found this guy to be pretty helpful in explaining it’s features, and he’s pretty funny too.

PS- I’d like to eventually do a Korg KM-202 full review as well; even though it didn’t suit my needs it isn’t at all a bad mixer; although (I think) it’s out of production you can get the 2-channel version that I owned for around $150-200 in the second hand market and have had a few people explicitly ask me how I rated it.