when you write a melody, it carries a certain key based on the first note. When you mix 2 sounds together that are in the same key, they harmonically complement. There was a time where djs would mark the key of theri records, but you can easiyl develop your ear to detect harmonic differences. Pitching the records changes the key, so only if the records are in the same key and the same tempo does this work well for djing. Throw down the track, match the speed, if it sounds bad, the key clash.
however, sometimes sounding bad is how something sounds interesting. I think Hawtin also used to miswire his mixer in teh days of the pmc-50 decks,effcts,909 stuff for some extreme feedback stuff.
hawtin effects
as expertly stated by my man above:
(nice job!)
simply put, mixing in key means combining the sounds/elements of the sources being mixed together in key (harmonically). those rare djs that have an understanding of this art, that possibly (or not) have a background in music, absolute pitch or just plain ol' good ears can mix like this. it is more than making sure you mix on the one, or getting two sounds lining up together, and it's more than pitching the next record/cd/mp3 up to meet the bpm of the item playing- it's sometimes pitching down the track playing in order to mix the next selection in key. good programming/good taste go a looong way to making this talent even more enviable.
the essence of what Rich does with his fx (IMHO), is to leave himself as many options as possible to get in/out of any record, at any point. he also can enhance the breakdowns, build-ups and other sick "things" a track does in the amount of time it is allowed to play.
with Final Scratch he could have mutltiple edits and/or loops of any track at any time, thus allowing for mind-boggling combinations of sounds and producers. this allows Rich to play only the parts he needs, or the whole track, or just make a loop of something and again, the possibilities are endless.
here is how the mixing in key enhances this: if u grab a track with the looper, make a bar loop you automatically know that all the elements in that loop are not changing. this essentially keeps that loop in a certain key. from here you could easily pick from a plethora of new directions to go orjust keep building the set up as you were. if the track were left to play out over its normal duration you would have to make certain considerations of what your next mix would be as you still x amount of track left to go. the track could change direction, introduce new elements, get cheezier, etc....
the quarter note delays serve as a build-up when there is nothing super-exciting going on in the track or maybe the opposite, but it makes everyone excited when the bass drops and the build-up starts. this can be easily done on most mixers with fx these days.
the tape delay puts a new twist on a 1/4 or 16th note delay as things start to sound like they are "melting" or warping, and Rich likes to tweak it until things get all metallic and chorus-like (as stated above).
an example off the top of my head:
on DFX909, Rich plays a brief bit of a Savvas Ysattis track. if you own the track you would know that the track is actually about 6-7 minutes long, and goes thru many changes. he played what he wanted, looped it, locked it in a loop and the next track is in key with the chords and other elements contained in that loop.
from what i know, Hawtin had not miswired his mixer for any extreme feedback things or whatever for that tour. i know this as my best friend at the time was his touring sound tech. what this meant was that in between gigs we essentially had the whole set-up at our house to play with. Rich had a small Lexicon and a DP4 in a rack, with a footpedal to control feedback rates of his delays. we had a PMC-70 in the basement at the time, so we were able to experiment with the looper as well, as they had just come out then.....
(nice job!)
simply put, mixing in key means combining the sounds/elements of the sources being mixed together in key (harmonically). those rare djs that have an understanding of this art, that possibly (or not) have a background in music, absolute pitch or just plain ol' good ears can mix like this. it is more than making sure you mix on the one, or getting two sounds lining up together, and it's more than pitching the next record/cd/mp3 up to meet the bpm of the item playing- it's sometimes pitching down the track playing in order to mix the next selection in key. good programming/good taste go a looong way to making this talent even more enviable.
the essence of what Rich does with his fx (IMHO), is to leave himself as many options as possible to get in/out of any record, at any point. he also can enhance the breakdowns, build-ups and other sick "things" a track does in the amount of time it is allowed to play.
with Final Scratch he could have mutltiple edits and/or loops of any track at any time, thus allowing for mind-boggling combinations of sounds and producers. this allows Rich to play only the parts he needs, or the whole track, or just make a loop of something and again, the possibilities are endless.
here is how the mixing in key enhances this: if u grab a track with the looper, make a bar loop you automatically know that all the elements in that loop are not changing. this essentially keeps that loop in a certain key. from here you could easily pick from a plethora of new directions to go orjust keep building the set up as you were. if the track were left to play out over its normal duration you would have to make certain considerations of what your next mix would be as you still x amount of track left to go. the track could change direction, introduce new elements, get cheezier, etc....
the quarter note delays serve as a build-up when there is nothing super-exciting going on in the track or maybe the opposite, but it makes everyone excited when the bass drops and the build-up starts. this can be easily done on most mixers with fx these days.
the tape delay puts a new twist on a 1/4 or 16th note delay as things start to sound like they are "melting" or warping, and Rich likes to tweak it until things get all metallic and chorus-like (as stated above).
an example off the top of my head:
on DFX909, Rich plays a brief bit of a Savvas Ysattis track. if you own the track you would know that the track is actually about 6-7 minutes long, and goes thru many changes. he played what he wanted, looped it, locked it in a loop and the next track is in key with the chords and other elements contained in that loop.
from what i know, Hawtin had not miswired his mixer for any extreme feedback things or whatever for that tour. i know this as my best friend at the time was his touring sound tech. what this meant was that in between gigs we essentially had the whole set-up at our house to play with. Rich had a small Lexicon and a DP4 in a rack, with a footpedal to control feedback rates of his delays. we had a PMC-70 in the basement at the time, so we were able to experiment with the looper as well, as they had just come out then.....
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simplyadrian
- mnml newbie
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:19 pm
- Location: Minneapolis
- Contact:
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Der geile Ami
- mnml mmbr
- Posts: 460
- Joined: Tue May 17, 2005 5:54 pm
- Location: berlin
In those days in was Steve. I worked with them a few times at twilo in new york. I've never met Derek, but he came into the picture at least after nov 01. My role was helping the setup and babysitting the pa. When richie played i earned my money for sure. Nobody else has ever popped a driver on my watch (last time he played twilo it was 2 15s and a 14, fucking 909, but there was a monitor problem that party) Normally his monitor rig was per side 2 x18, 2x15, 2". Fucking loud! In berlin he's played on much smaller monitors (smaller rooms, twilo was big).simplyadrian wrote:I assume you are refering to Derek?i know this as my best friend at the time was his touring sound tech.
The mixer rewiring was just an idea a friend had to get a weird send/return loop. Ive done weird sh!t with my o1v, and that thing is digital, so the only thing preventing him would be to bother with cables during a gig.
freeeeeee
Every time I've heard Richie DJ over the past few years his track transitions / fx use goes a little like this:
1. Slams in banging rubbish tune into the other, banging rubbish tune that's currently playing.
2. Cuts the bass, turns up the fx so it goes "swoosh, swoosh, swoosh" for a bit
3. Cuts out tune 1 whilst engaging bass again, so it goes "boom, boom, boom"
4. Goto 1.
1. Slams in banging rubbish tune into the other, banging rubbish tune that's currently playing.
2. Cuts the bass, turns up the fx so it goes "swoosh, swoosh, swoosh" for a bit
3. Cuts out tune 1 whilst engaging bass again, so it goes "boom, boom, boom"
4. Goto 1.
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simonfromuk
- mnml newbie
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2004 2:50 am
You can get that metallic effect on a DJM500/600/3000 using the echo effect:
1: Select echo effect and also channel to effect
2: use the rotary control to wind time down real low (between 1 and 13)
3: set wet/dry control to 100% wet (ie fully clockwise)
4: turn on the effect
5: twiddle the time control up/down for emotional impact
6: watch crowd reach for the lasers
1: Select echo effect and also channel to effect
2: use the rotary control to wind time down real low (between 1 and 13)
3: set wet/dry control to 100% wet (ie fully clockwise)
4: turn on the effect
5: twiddle the time control up/down for emotional impact
6: watch crowd reach for the lasers