So I've been experimenting with mixing hard groove/jackin techno for awhile, and I've settled into a technique that I wanted to present to the community to see if it is a bad habit.

When I'm introducing a new track I will get the levels correct through the headphones, then I will completely kill the EQ on all 3 bands. Then I will open the channel up completely, and then introduce the mid and high bands slowly from zero, and allow the two songs to play together for awhile before swapping the bass. Often times I'll start reducing the midrange of the original track before the bass swap. I'm assuming this is mixing similar technique to using a rotary mixer, but I've never used one, so I'm not sure.

Would this be considered bad technique? Instead of controlling the mixing volume with the channel faded, I'm using the EQ knobs to do it gradually. If it is a bad habit I'd like to break it now, but I do like the granular control it gives me over the mix.

Thanks for reading!

I’ve been booked to open 20 minutes on a Charli xcx themed night. I’ve been told that ninjirachi, porter, Sophie etc are also cool but I’ve been struggling to find a BPM range for my set that sets the mood without going too hard to early in the night, a lot of the songs I have in mind are at 140 BPM but I have someone going before me for 20 min and someone after me also 20 min and I really don’t want to throw off any DJs after me or the dancefloor, this is my first time I’ve had a promoter reach out and have interest in having me play as I’ve just been doing open decks for around a year now, so it’s important to me that I leave a good impression with the other DJs and hopefully be asked back XD

I'm stuck trying to decide between an S4mk2, an S3, and a Roland Dj707m , all around the same price. Won't be gigging out much, just want something decent to have a bit of fun.

Obviously the 2 NI controllers have the easiest plug and play, but can anyone tell me about the Roland? Anyone using it for Traktor? I like the idea of the inbuilt drum machines . Does it have decent mapping available? Any cons?

Hi Everyone!

I'm a music teacher and I have a class currently doing a unit on The Beatles. This is a music production class, where students learn how to make music electronically. They'll begin learning how to mix music on a DJ Controller soon, and I was hoping to do a project with them where they make a Beatles Remix by mixing house music under a Beatles song. I'm wondering if anyone knows the best way to find quantized Beatles songs we can use for this project.

Any information or help would be really appreciated!

Hello guys,

So I just started djing like a week ago. I’ve been training to get down the basics, beatmatching, phrase mixing, mixing in key and stuff like that.

While not actively training one of these skills I also try to finde crazy mixing between songs like hot cue shuffleing and like vocal mixing( stuff like the Britney Spears and daft punk “one more time” vocal thing)

I came to wonder how long a usual set in the club ist and how much of that time DJs actually do these crazy really hard to nail and big technique things and how much of the time they just mix normally with like simple phrase mixing and eq mixing.

Thanks a lot.

I normally play in the techno, hard techno, and underground scene. But oh my god I keep getting wrapped up with drama everywhere I go… first getting blocked by a promoter for taking a different gig bc the two promoters hated each other, now getting tagged in posts bc a different promoter Im supposed to play this Saturday is getting SA allegations while the people posting it are known for a human trafficking scandal 😭😭😭.

My whole goal and passion of my project and Djing is to bring music to people and show everyone a good time, I just feel like like trying to put myself out there and do my best has just got me mixed up with the wrong people, and idk how to continue forward and any advice with navigating would be amazing.

I’ll have a whopper with lettuce and mayo, with a large fry and a Coke Zero please.

Looking for a new pair of headphones, Sennheiser HD25’s are what seem to be strongly recommended but I think I prefer over ear as opposed to on ear.
Am I overthinking the over / on ear situation?

So I’m using my old DDJ-SB + Serato Lite and I cannot hear the music on the deck that is on cue while Deck A is playing. I tried to install the DDJ SB software (Asio) and all. But still when I use Cue I can’t hear the Music but the Main Deck that is playing is what I hear in my headphones. And when I play both decks at the same time I can hear both music in my headphones not the cued one.

I already turned the knob volume to cue. And made sure that cue deck is lighting.
Im using windows 11 and serato dl lite 5.0

What to do 🥲

I am just learning about mixing (starting with FLX 4) and I am more into pop music rather than dance, EDM, etc. (sorry for potential mis-labeling genres). Mind you, I've had the FLX for only four days and have plenty to learn.

I've watched a long DJ Phil Harris tutorial video to get a better understanding of the FLX 4 and DJ basics, but the echo out was the only transition mentioned outside of phrase matching.

I recently came across Alex Hawkin's white girl music (but it's for the boys) 2010s pop music set and every transition is so smooth and there's a lack of reverb/echo outs.

How is he able to mix all these songs in open format (???). Is this just perfected song sequencing? I am getting sick of doing echo outs

I have been trying to learn to dj for 2 months now. Mainly just playing for friends that come around when we have a few drinks etc. I have just been doing the youtube to mp3 which is obiviously not the right way if I want to take this further than playing in kitchens.

What would you guys recommend, buy the tracks 1 by 1 on bandcamp etc. or use one of the dj subcription pools.

Honestly just looking for whats the best bang for your buck in this situation, already dropped a lot on the decks.

Hello! I'm using a MacBook Pro, FLX4, and Audacity with BlackHole 2ch to record my sets, and there's usually some static. I was wondering if there are other ways I can record without the static. I also have speakers that connect to my FLX4 via an RCA cable, if that helps.

Thank you!

For a beginner who wants to really get into mixing and working gigs do i get the traktor mx2 for 367€ or the traktor kontrol s3 for 440€?
Any opinions?
I am really tempted to learn all about mixing and I have finally found the courage to go buy a DJ controller. :))

I’ve been djing for 2 years in my bedroom and 5 months ago i started playing for a crowd. it’s been a lot of fun! i’m in a collective and we have raves monthly, everytime we have one it grows which is amazing !

i played with a different collective last week and they booked me to close, i usually play 2nd or 3rd. i never cared when i play tbh, i also always come earlier and support other djs!

i played 4:30-5:30 .. it started at 11:30pm and ended at 5:30😅. i don’t even stay out past 2am so i was hesistant but i went through with it as i already agreed plus booker told me the other djs cant play another time.

i noticed when plugging in while other dj was mixing people were leaving, then more people left 3 songs in😭 the owner told me not to stress about it as it’s pretty late and the venue is super strict on the end time. i tried to throw in some songs but there was about 5 people and then my friends LOL. previous djs played industrial/bochka/hard techno, i was playing hard techno/hardstyle/ hardcore/gabber. i was pushing the bpm and went 190 LOL , i think maybe it was too fast? or idk it felt same energy as the previous djs they all played diff genres but overall hard dance. i ended w happy hardcore to calm it down a bit

also it was pretty late for me…3:30 is the time i get home and wind down but i always say yes to djing to get more experience and stuff haha. i did see some people come back tho ! but they left midway my set

there were 2 people who stayed til the end and told me i killed it , booker and his gf said they loved it ,security at the door said same the same… even god a dm from a girl saying i killed it and wants me to play in la (im in the IE, there’s not really a scene here but it’s growing).

i thought i bombed it :/ its just the fact i saw people leaving im stuck on😭🫩 my friends told me it was really late and security was also on peoples ass too hence why they left.

i’d like to know what other djs do when this happens ?
also as a closing dj do you go hard or chill out ? i usually mix in more mellow hard dance genres but i figured to go more hard.. im learning and new to this so i would greatly appreciate any input ! this is a hobby for me, i enjoy it a ton and would love to mix more too.

54 year old here, first decks in 1988 aged 16. Lived and loved vinyl, embraced Stanton Final Scratch early 2000s. Switched to Traktor Scratch around 2007. Then to Serato DVS around 2012 ish. Since then I’ve owned and sold multiple setups, controllers, mixers, decks etc and here is my current setup: XDJ-AZ , a pair of 1210s completely separate with DJay pro, DVS and phase, another setup with a Hercules impulse T7 and an old MacBook and a pair of 1210s plus DVS.

My point… I’ve played on CDJs a couple of times but that’s it. I’d love to have an A9 and a pair of 3kx but that’s serious money and I haven’t got it.

So what’s the point of this post?

I’ve mixed on pretty much everything out there over almost 40 years and there’s only one thing to consider… are people dancing and being in the moment?

Fk equipment snobbery, vinyl vs digital etc, I don’t GAF if I walk into a dance and it’s a shitty windows 2000 computer and dicers as long as the tunes are appropriate!!!

My point is this… modern DJs should be more concerned on just being able to deliver wicked tunes to the audience, so that means you need to properly know what works but also know the medium to deliver it. So for anyone that gives a sht please make sure you practice on multiple setups and always , I mean ALWAYS be prepared for the worst case scenarios.

That’s it.

Whats up everyone, im looking to purchase a laptop this weekend to upgrade my setup a bit. I was wondering what do you guys recommend?. Currently i have a flx4 with rekordbox. My current laptop (2019) is barely loading rekordbox box and freezes from time to time. I was luck one day to get it to do a 40 minute mix but then she gave up. Been practicing with my phone.

As for speakers Im looking for the ones that works well with the flx4. I ordered some from Amazon but they didnt seem to work alone with out my laptop. They were some medium Bluetooth monitors, I messed with the setting on record box but nothing. I still have the new rca cables I purchased for the new ones. Thank you guys in advance!!!.

Update: For the laptop $600- $800 for just just beacuse i want to switch later on to a different controller with USBs.

For the speakers around $100-$400

I’ve noticed something with my mixes and looking for techniques that other people use to maintain the kick energy on a dance floor that people can dance to. For context the music I mix is tech house which tends to be vocal heavy which makes not overlapping vocals difficult.

For this example it is going to be simple: mixing Track B intro into the outro of Track A. I’ll usually beat match and then bring them in and EQ for 8 bars. Then let them play for 8 bars and slowly get track A out of there. But then when track B goes into the build up there is no lows for people to dance to.

Is this fine? Or should I try having low frequencies the entire time? I feel like when I leave track A outro looping during track b build up it takes away from the build up.

This is more difficult to do when I am mixing out in the middle of track A as vocals return quickly.

Maybe I am overthinking this or maybe I’m tunnel visioned at what other techniques I could be using here so I would greatly appreciate any advice to help improve my mixes. Thanks!

I'm so tired of researching lol, as with so many things if you have unlimited budget its easy. But I don't want to waste money for my actual needs.

I've been learning to DJ at home over the last year on an flx4. I want to start playing some of our local renegades, I have no intention of ever dj'ing in a paid gig or at any actual clubs. I've been nervous about the various equipment out there, sometimes theres a laptop, sometimes its an all in one unit. So I started to look into all in ones, I bought a denon prime go since i read it can read RB usbs, but I didnt realize it can't control RB on a laptop. So i'm returning that. I want to stick with pioneer and be able to practice on an all in one screen, BUT ALSO connect to my laptop to make setting up tracks easier on a big screen and full rekordbox performance mode.

I was very close to buying a refurb xdj-rr last night for around $950. It seems to do what I want, but then you read reviews about how the RX3 is just so much better, but its also bigger and almost 2x as much (refurb/used). Since I really onlly intend to use this at home and maybe small renegades with friends, is it worth going from the RR up to an RX3?

So at the moment i'm between the xdj-rr or the RX3? Is there something else I should consider? Am i being ridiculous even moving from a basic flx4 and laptop? Someone just tell me what to buy so i can stop reading reddit reviews

I just got Denon SC live 4 and I'm thinking to customise it. I already have found nice skins supplier but I'm also thinking to change some knobs to match my design. Are knobs in Denon universal fit like pioneer and other dj gear or would they need to be dedicated to Denon. Also will metal knobs work well or rubber knobs are more recommended.

Who else has come back after a long hiatus?

I turn 40 in 9 days and as I reach my middle years have began saying fuck it and getting back into my old hobbies. I used to DJ semi- professionally in the mid 00's and went by the moniker DJ Core. Maybe you heard my mixes on SoundCloud, I used to put out a yearly Trance mix called Hot Winter Nights. I also DJ House and D&B.

Well. After 17 years I'm back at it and honestly it was like reuniting with a lost friend. I don't use vinyl anymore, though I still have a large amount of my old collection, but these new setups are like cheating. Took me all of one afternoon to get back in the groove. Maybe next month there will be a Hot Winter Nights 2026?

Last year I have restarted Djing after an almost 10 years break (started at 14 and now I am 39yo).
I have a residency at a Festival where i do openings and in between headliners sets, I can play all the nice soulfoul House I love and I love it! I also do some D&B nights. For all those I use Traktor with a modular setup tweaked to my need and style (Ecler Nuo 4f, 2x Xone K3 and ehen I am crazy I add two F1).

Apart from that I have also many Open Format parties where I play Open Format and finish with some D&B, for those I am aleays struggling to choose a Dj Software as I think traktor is less suited for open format, especially with my modular setup.
I have a Rane One, which I really like and a Denon PrimeGo which I also love. Of course I also end up having to play on Pioneer gears (which I already didn't like when I was 15 😅) and also trying sometimes with Djay Pro (love the flexible beatgrid for all the 60-70s music) and Virtual Dj looks very legit.

What is your experience? I would like to select only one secondary system as having 4 differents is burning my mind 🤣

I just bought DDJ-200 decks second hand that came without the audio splitter cable. I bought the following cable from Ebay based on a reddit thread recommendation: https://ebay.io/m/uaQFOd

I've got the audio to split between speakers and headphones but I only get sound through the left headphone. I've tried 2 seperate headphones and get the same issue and played around with the audio preferences settings all I can.

Any ideas please? Is the a faulty cable or did I buy the wrong one?

Hey everyone! I’m looking to buy a DJ controller as a Christmas gift for my husband, and I could use some advice!

We both love EDM and go to raves, and my husband wants to try his hand at mixing, especially techno and riddim. I’m looking to spend around $250, but I’m willing to go a little higher if it’s really worth it. I’d prefer not to invest too much right off the bat in case he decides DJing isn’t for him or the learning curve ends up being steeper than he expected.
I know there are tons of beginner controller posts already, but a lot of the advice I’ve found seems geared toward wedding DJs or general mixing, and I’m wondering if there’s anything different to consider for EDM.

My main questions are:
• Does mixing EDM require different features or a different type of controller than other styles of DJing?
• Can he get away with a more affordable beginner controller, like the Hercules DJControl Inpulse 200 MK3 or AlphaTheta DDJ-FLX2, or would it be worth spending more on something like the DDJ-FLX4?
• For someone wanting to learn festival-style mixing, drops, loops, and transitions, would a cheaper controller be limiting, or is it plenty to learn on?

We’re just looking for something to get started with at home, not professional gigs. I’d really appreciate any recommendations or advice from people who mix these genres! Thanks!