So this is a Super Squidy track (a project I am starting with the infamous MC payntz) and I made a DJ Beck edit of it.  Check it out, I uploaded it to myspace as well as tightvibes.com.  It's got a very interesting sound and other than the drums everything is real, no synths here!  

I just put out this great new track, well... it's not so much new as it is newly made by me.  I did a cover of digitalism's homezone and then a cover of mstrkrft's street justice and mashed them up and remixed my covers.

It's pretty wacky and if nothing else is entertaining.  Check it out on my myspace profile or @ http://www.tightvibes.com

Talk about going a while without posting. Kind of bothersome to me why my blog has 20% more views than my actual page but no matter!

So since the last time I posted I put together one of my better recorded mixes and it is live on line check it out:

http://www.dj-beck.com/data/febmix_take3.mp3

Official name for this mix is Like a King named eloquently after my friend Ehud's saying as I would lift the seat belt out of his way when letting him out of my rented Monte Carlo 2 door last summer... "ehhh, like a king!" It's an interesting mix of music which is not quite sounding like electro or progressive house... but rather what I'm starting to call progressive electro!

Also I've put up a new track on here called Cornflakes as well as taking off the other two. I've been pushing hard on production lately and have set up a regimen to finish up a new track every one to two weeks. Those other tracks that were on here are yet to be completed so I didn't see why it'd be a good idea to leave them up while I finish them up over the next couple of weeks.

I've been signed! To my own record label. Keep an eye out for Incident Records. The website, currently a dead fish, will go live in the next couple of months:

http://www.incidentrecords.com

-djb

But I'm posting again! WHOOA!

Anyways, I think it would be nice to actually post about something with content this time and today my sister told me that she was thinking about getting a keyboard (like a musical one).  Then she went on to say that she wants one that's not too expensive and not too cheap or I dunno. I realized she was talking about a synthesizer and not just a MIDI keyboard which is now a day synonomous with USB keyboards.  So why get either?  Lets discuss.

Synth:
These are way expensive.  The Korg R3 just came out for ~600$ and is one of the few that I would seriously consider buying in that price range.  It only has three octaves and is not a full range keyboard although it has enough functionality to get you through some production sessions.  This is the next level of the microKorg but it has more and better features, an XLR mic (for the vocoder) and some other goodies.  Not to mention the keys are full size vs. the microKorg which were bite size. 

There are definitely other good synths out there in this price range but if you want to get something that will really be useful outside of a small range you are looking to spend a whole lot more money, and as student or a non-pro musician it's a little non-sensical.  Truth is, if you really want a specific synth sound then go for it.  I remember I was so obsessed with this old Yamaha synthesizer back in the day and I still to this day know that if I find it somewhere I will buy it on the spot.  Also synths are good for live performances and when you don't have time/space to fuss with other things.

Also synthesizer don't always come with keyboards attached.  You could easily buy a much better synthesizer module and hook it up to a simple M-Audio midi keyboard and save some money and be a superstar.  Killing two birds with one keyboard.

MIDI/USB:
Personally I feel this is the best solution.  There are some amazing products out there.  They can be completely powered through USB making them even more portable.  I could potentially hook up my Kontrol49 to my laptop if I'm out in the boondocks.  There are some classy solutions being made today as well.  The Kontrol49 is my favorite sporting 49 keys, an AKAI like drum pad and 8 up/down faders as well as 8 knobs for tweaking everything live.  It's a bit expensive, I got it at half price on ebay but new this little guy will set you back $400.  There are cheaper M-Audio solutions in the range of $300-200 and they have everything from piano action keys, to drum pads, more knobs and up down faders.  All depends on what you want out of a controller.

So what the difference?  Well, a MIDI/USB controller is only as good as what it's plugged into.  This will either be a real synth module (which is expensive) or software (which is significantly less expensive and many times can be accessed for free for a period time or through limited functionality).  Now as an engineer I can tell you that some of the modules you get as software will sound indistinguishable from their real synthesizer counterparts.

Synthesizers are made through the use of specialized signal processing processors embedded into the thing.  These execute specialized programs just as your normal computer would but run way slower with much restricted resources.  As personal computers have gotten better the need for synths has gone down since you can EXACTLY emulate these processors on your intel supercomputers.  Your real computer is drastically faster than the synth and has way more memory etc.  In fact you can exactly replicate these synths and also come up with more exotic and complex sounds than the synths can through a computer.  So in the long run you pay less money and get way more functionality.

You will need to get a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation (software)).  This software will allow you to hook up to your keyboard and interface it with multiple instruments, record and play it back.  These programs allow you to add effects and whatever you want allowing for a much more conducive producing experience than buying one synth and running it through a hardware sequencer or simply using an 8-track recorder or something.  Some notable programs are Ableton Live, Reason, Fruity Loops, Cubase, Logic, and Pro Tools for the rich type.

Conclusion:
You can already tell I'm biased but I base it on the fact that I'm poor, have not too much time for this stuff, and know two cents about technology.  The only issue not mentioned is latency and with midi/usb you will need to juggle a few things to get your latency to an ok level.  Human beings have almost an impossible time differentiating between two sounds 20 millaseconds apart.  Above this latency you will feel it (like a bad day at Guitar Hero) and below you won't be able to really tell that there is any difference between you pressing down a key on your keyboard and the sound coming out of the speaker.  Synths are somewhat better to deal with this problem but you pay a whole lot of money to do something you could figure out over the span of a week.  Just takes some tweaking of your drives, settings, and whatever.

If you have any questions feel free to comment! haha.  PLEASE! I will answer them I swear.  And when I get some free time I am planning to start a DJ Tutorial series on my website.  First just recorded voice mode but I will eventually video tape it and host it on youtube or something like that.  To not only illustrate some of these ideas in this entry but others pertaining to the core of DJing and Production.

To Life!
djb

I have gotten 21 reads of this blog in the last week, and only 10 profile views.  I have a total of 817 blog views and only 312 profile views.

Who are you those people who read this?  Make yourself heard! Comment-a-thon do it!

Otherwise, news is sparse. Trying to get through this last semester as well as I can and doing the best job that I can do.  Then I'll be back in the SF area and trying to get some DJ opperts out there!

Respek.

translation: TRANCE IS BACK!

So after sometime of recording/mastering I am now 50% done with the Origins session of the Seattle Sessions. I realize that many of the sessions will be completed only after I leave this area since I did not realize how intensive making a true mix cd is but it's ok because I have to say some of the mixes on this CD would be worth making into individual tracks.

Meanwhile I am going to post up on here a ~10 minute teaser off the sessions which has a good 4 mixes in it. The beginning will be heavily altered in the real sessions as well as much more in depth mastering on the whole session. This is just the raw mix down with some compression and loudness. There are 4ish mixes in this thing and overall I am rather pleased with them although I may change the mixes in the future as I see fit.

Enjoy!

So I am 4 mixes into the first session code named Origins.  I'm likely going to keep the name honestly since this one is a bit slower and less energetic although a very good listen so far.  Some pretty innovative mixes although none really mind-blowing, which is what I'm going for.

How do I rate them you ask?  Well I've devised a system.  I don't get much time to record and putting together a real session like this and ensuring no real problematic errors and mismixes which would sound ok live but never on a CD that you want to duplicate 1000 times. So I've approached the mix as artists approach individual tracks on their albums because that's the real content of a mix CD anyways (Afterall you can go out and buy the individual tracks by yourself, why get a mix cd?).  So I session each mix and practice it and then record it, individually from the other mixes, then later I splice together the parts of the mixes which are the same. 

For example, I record:

beging A -> mid A -> begining B -> mid B

Then I record

begining B -> mid B -> begining C -> mid C

Then after I record the two mixes to perfection I overlay the two midsections of B and splice it so that it is completely unnoticable.   This also gives me the advantage of going in later and remixing two songs later if I notice it doesn't work quite as well with the mix.

After I finish a mix I rate it according to a grading scale.  I really like this scale since it really is open-ended to really push performance and innovation:

 

10 - Unmatchable, Unrepeatable (This is that mix you hear once in a lifetime)

9.5 - Innovative, Sounds Great, incorporates new elements that add to the mix and the songs as well.  This is when a mix really pushes the envelope on the songs and is very impressive musically although less so in a dancey sense.

8.5 - Pleasing to the ear (no clashes, and harmonic) and creative.  This is the mix to strive for when recording a CD and is the target for Origins. 

7.5 - Satisfactory.  Usually this occurs when two songs MUST be mixed together but there is no real good way to do so.  Generally these are quick mixes with minimal harmonic components and occasional small clashes. 

Below 7.5 : Mix is not acceptable and must be repeated.  Generally indicates a bad sounding mix that could ruin the flow of a session.

6.5 - Missed beats, pitch bends, serious harmonic clashes.  This just clarifies what below 7.5 means.  A 6.5 is common during mixing since sometimes one little slip up can occur and ruin a mix and in turn can destroy the flow of a session.

This scale really allows me to self review mixes after the fact and gives me a stable way to evaluate the mix and provide a basis of comparison with the rest of the session.  A 9.5 is not better than a 8.5 in some circumstances and sometimes a 7.5 session is exactly what you need.  With this scale it isn't quantity and percision of mix but rather accuracy of the mix and consistancy.  If you want an overall 9.5 session you will need to push out lots of 9.5 mixes which can become overbearing and you might as well just produce a track instead.  Just thoughts.

-djb

The Seattle Sessions Have Begun!

What are they?

A series of four mixes each styled independently all the while connected.  I have been planning to record a CD since april when I originally tried to purchase my new turntables.  Now that they are here I have begun recording the Seattle Sessions, mainly because I am now in Seattle.

Why the Seattle Sessions?

I have been a DJ for a long time now and all of my work has mainly been live.  I've decided this year that it is time to take DJing a little more serious and actually start recording.  Live performance DJing is much different than recording so I am very excited to start working on this project.

Where are these being recorded?

Currently I'm in Redmond, WA which is a few miles from Seattle.  These sessions are named after the city where much of this kind of music finds a home in the US.

How are these being recorded?

I'm using my computer to record everything using Cool Edit Pro and now running off a new pair of Stanton ST-150s and a new Vestax PMC08 PRO.

Who is recording them?

Everything is being done by me with a good amount of physical and mental support from my girlfriend.

When are they coming out?

Hopefully recording on the Seattle Sessions should be complete by the end of the summer.  Visual elements of the mix will then be made including a video compliment which will then be released in a DVD form with all the sessions.  Before that, however, the sessions will be released as a CD set.

Meanwhile stay tuned since I will be releasing a few intermediary mixes as teasers for the release.  Perhaps as podcasts?

-djb

 

Note: I just realized that podcasts are available within these blog entries, that may be a future addition.

 

I would just like to state from an availability point of view the Stanton ST/STR8 - 150s are now the industry standard over the Technics. I've already gone through a god damn month long endeavor to get them from this one company that were total jerks, but regardless they still didnt have them. I've been scouring online and everywhere has them on an availability of 18 days or more. Crazy!

So why would the Technics stronghold finally fall? Patent law. Technics really did have the superior technology in regards to the platter motor and speed. They were smart about it and patented this tech about 30 years ago. That's why other turntables have lagged behind so much, there really aren't that many other ways to design a turntable motor. At least, no one thought of something better (not even Technics).

So what's so different now? Well 30 years have passed and patents last about 25 years or so. Technics are pretty bad at the other stuff though. If anyone has used a Technic you can attest to how feature less those turntables are. They've got some torque for sure, and a few anti-skip techs but really they're just very basic turntables that do the job right consistently.

As a DJ consistent isn't as important as features I'm starting to think. Making music is a realm in which intricacies of a system can be exploited while the realm of reproducing music is where you need to have things the same every time. I recently modded my tables so they no longer have a true 0%, has it affected my music? No, because the pitch is all over the place during a mix anyways. But it did improve my mix because it got rid of the 1% dead zone all locking pitch faders are susceptible to.

Technics recently tried to make a new table, an MK5G, which provides with some interesting colored LEDs, a digital pitch fader (which is nice actually, but as an engineer I hafto say more amazing things have been done). Also, I have to note, their CD deck was close to a disaster. And we need to face it, the modern state of professional sounding audio is digital. I know people think that vinyl "sounds better" but that warm sound people attribute to vinyl is actually noise and distortion (a quick note, ends up that CDs have a better signal to noise ratio by about 30 dB!).

So I, as a DJ, want more features so that DJing will become more of a performance art and so that I can do things that those DJs using that digital DJing software could not do live. It's hard being a DJ now a days with all of those people who can sound just like you or even better without learning about beat matching, or song mixing or anything but they just press two buttons.

A few people are just now making turntables that aim to do exactly this. I have to praise DJ Qbert who is a personal hero of mine as is, for inventing the QFO along with the amazing engineers at Vestax. Hey guys, if you read this send me one for free for the PR or lower the price or something because at $1.2K thats way beyond the average DJs income.

Those Stanton 150s have something that no other analog turntable has. Pitch shifting! That's right, you can take a song make it faster by 25% and the only thing that changes is the tempo while the key stays the same. That's a big deal and starts to solve some of the biggest problems in DJing. Now mixing cross-genre is a thrill and a creative joy rather than a dread.

That's just the beginning, I feel that the turntable is the best interface for DJing because it's the only medium in which you can directly manipulate the music. I think more live performance aspects need to be incorporated into DJing though. Like a fully electronic live band! Get a midi drummer, midi keyboardist, and now midi guitarist and make some dance music live on stage and rock out with your audience instead of jumping up and down like BT at a Mac-fest.

Anyways, I would just like to end this by saying that you shouldn't feel scared to explore other turntables and equipment choices because you think that there is only one way to DJ. Instead you should worry about being a good DJ based on musical merit rather than getting the "right rig" and eventually the rest will fall into place. A DJ should know about the musical form, you don't need a pair of Techs and a $1.5K Rane mixer to do that. Go to musictheory.net or something. Be a good DJ, learn about music don't just blindly play what "sounds good" because that's just like dating a racist supermodel.

-djb