7. (I don't know what happened
to 7...)
8. Pick up the stylus and
place it in the beginning groves of - RECORD B. Let this record go,
dont worry about it. If you have chosen wisely and chosen an instumental
mix then you are in no hurry to try and get - RECORD A - mixed in before
the vocals start. Use - B- as your constant - you dont have to do
anything to it - all your focus will now be on - A.
9. Shift your weight and
attention over to the left hand deck - most important of all is to keep
breathing - turn on the deck while holding onto the record. If you
have followed STEP 5 then you will have a kick drum cued up under your
needle with the slipmat spinning underneath waiting to pick up the vinyl
when you finally let it go.
10. To check that you are
still cued up, gently scratch - RECORD A - back and forth. When you
are happy that you are right on top of the beat just hold still, the beat
should be litlerally a millimeter behind the stylus.
11. Listen to - RECORD B
- and get some idea of its structure by counting the beats. Unless
youve chosen some abstract jazz or ambient breakbeat, then you should be
able to count in fours or eights. Most tracks are structured around
a straightfoward 4/4 tempo, so count out loud and tap your foot in time
to - B - because of its structure you will be looking to let - RECORD A
- go as you count 1. 1 should be the beginning of a bar and you are
going to let - A - go as you say 1. Give it a ltlle nudge to get
it started. Dont let - A - go till youre really happy - take your
time - but when you are okay and you come around again...4...5...6...7...8
and let go...!
12. Chances are you have
let go a little too soon or a little too late - but no problem, dont panic.
We'll try and rectify the out sync beats you hear by using a combination
of your left hand very slightly giving the vinyl a tiny push or carefully
touching the vinyl to slow it down slightly with your right hand moving
to the pitch control to slow or speed up - A.
13. Once you have them back
in time the pitch controls should both be set back to zero. As you
are working with two records that have the same Beats Per Minute you should
not have to change the pitch control too much - most of this work will
be minute alterations. hearing which deck is running too fast or
too slow is a skill I promise will eventually come - if in doubt just move
the crossfader between the decks and see if you can guage which needs to
be slowed down or speeded up.
14. If you have both tracks
locked in and running in time then congraulations - stand back briefly
and enjoy the sound of two records being mixed together - but not for too
long because even two records that are the same will need attention to
make sure they stay in time. Once youre happy increase the volumn
a little on - A - to make sure the sound doesnt drop out drastically when
you lose - B - and move the crossfader fully over to the left ahnd side.
Youve just mixed from - RECORD A - to
- RECORD B - well done...!!
15. Check the outgoing sound
level on - RECORD A - matches that of the record youve just mixed out of
and bring down the fader on - RECOED B's - output. If you cant get
them running together then dont worry - youre not going to get it right
the first time. I'd suggest stopping both decks straight away and
going back to STEP 4. Or if you want to try to mix in - A - again,
check there is still plenty of - B - left to run and cue - A - up while
- B - is up and running. You might need to take the volume down a
little on - B - so you can hear what youre doing with - A - but it'll save
you from starting at the top. As you get more familiar with your
equipment and as your technique develops, so much of these movements and
precedures will become second nature. Trust me on this one...