Is Dubstep the scourge of electronic music?

Dubstep has been sweeping across the world's clubs at near record pace over the last few years. Practically unheard of before two years ago, Dubstep as a genre is now well known to many who were never before associated with electronic music. However, in the tradition of this blog, there are many who are outspoken against Dubstep.

Those who criticize the genre point out its' lack of audio frequencies and its' lack of dance ability.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Genre, here is a well known Dubstep anthem:

Rusko- Woo Boost

As you can see the song centers around low frequencies and has a distinct lack of treble tones. Those who are opponents of the genre would point out that the overwhelming bass tones discourage dancing and instead promote the more relaxed "head nod" dance.

Despite the criticism surrounding Dubstep one can't deny the overwhelming success the genre has experienced in the past several years.

Is Dubstep the scourge of electronic music?

A&B mixing vs Ableton

Yet another polarizing issue overtaking the DJ community lies with the program Ableton Live. Instead of using two decks to mix songs this program uses a grid like system where the DJ simply picks the order of the songs before and the program automatically mixes between them.

Ableton Live's interface:




However, with every new technology there are those who oppose it.

Many DJ's say using Ableton in a performance setting is more or less cheating. Because there is no responsibility on the DJ to transition between songs while performing there is little to no risk of mistakes. Many, old school DJ's especially, would liken to practice to lip syncing in a traditional envoirnment.

However, using Ableton Live while performing may have its' benefits. Without having to manually change between songs, the DJ is free to do anything from add effects to change audio filters to adjusting the lights. This freedom may help to inspire more creative sounds and influence more interesting shows.

A&B mixing vs Ableton

Traktor v Serato v Virtual DJ?

Now that we've covered the merits of using a computer or not, let's delve deeper and examine three of the main programs used by computer DJ's.


Traktor

Along with Serato Scratch Live, Traktor is one of the best selling DJ programs. However, Traktor can be used with either real turntables or a computer controller; this versatility is what makes Traktor a leader in the world of virtual DJing.

Along with its' versatility, Traktor is extremely customizable. All the settings from audio output to pitch bend sensitivity anything you want to tweak or change is at the user's fingertips.


A picture of Taktor Scratch’s Interface:




Serato Scratch Live

Serato is praised for its simplistic interface and ease of use. However, unlike Traktor, Serato has to be used with real turntables or CDJ’s. The detrimental effect of having to use analogue signals, some say, is quickly made up in the stability Serato boasts over any other program

A picture of Serato’s interface:






Virtual DJ

A far less expensive alternative to Traktor or Serato, Virtual DJ offers most of the same features for a cheaper price. It can be used with analogue or digital equipment, has plenty of customizability, and an intuitive interface. However, the program is often criticized for inaccurately reading the speed of songs and being unstable in a performance environment

Virtual DJ’s Interface:







A quick summary of each program

Traktor-
Pros- extremely customizable, can be used with analogue or digital equipment,
industry standard in Europe
Cons- criticized for some instability, steep learning curve

Serato-
Pros- simplicity, stability, industry standard in United States
Cons- can only be used with analogue equipment, have to have hardware
connected to run

Virtual DJ-
Pros- cheaper, somewhat customizable, colorful practical interface
Cons- instability, misreading tempo’s

Traktor v Serato v Virtual DJ?

Turntables vs CDJ's

Let's take a step back from the laptop debate and analyze an earlier precursor to, essentially, the same issue. Turntables and vinyl records had been the heart of DJing for years before the invention of the Pioneer CDJ. (For those that are completely lost as to what I'm talking about, see my first post below.) The controversy closely mirrors that of the laptop vs no laptop argument, technology or analogue? Again, lets tackle this one the best way i know how, analyzing the merits of both.

Turntables

There's nothing that can match the feel of a vinyl record spinning on a turntable. The warm sensation when you touch the record to scratch cannot be matched by any new technology. In fact, the nostalgia of the analogue turntable is one of the primary reasons they are still widely used today. Most old school DJ's will never consider switching from the Technics 1200's to any new technology, and they have good reason:

The vinyl sound is unquestionably warmer than any new technology has yet been able to replicate.

There is no feeling like plundering a record store shopping for new vinyl, a feeling that has never been recreated meandering through the isles of the Best Buy music section

Scratching is nowhere near the same on anything but a turntable

There are multitudes of old records on vinyl that will never be released in CD or MP3 format

CJD's

While the old school feel of a turntable is undoubtedly attractive, the multitudes of blinking LED's and screen readouts of a CDJ 1000's are enough to capture any tech geek's attention. The CDJ is a new rendition of the turntable that allows the DJ to play CD's in the same way a vinyl DJ would. However, the new rendition also comes with a few notable bells and whistles:

You can pack between 20-30 songs on a CD, something unheard of on a record

The higher level CDJ's give the DJ an accurate readout of the Beats Per Minute of the song

You can still scratch on a CDJ, just not as well

It is far harder to damage or break a CDJ than a turntable

The Consensus?

There will never be one. It is, as usual, a decision you will have to make for yourself. There are merits to both sides of the argument. You can't go wrong either way.

Turntables vs CDJ's

Computers, the root of all evil?

I told you the time would come for one of the biggest debates to hit the DJing world recently, computers. Some DJ's love the mobility and freedom they provide while other, more orthodox DJ's view the practice as "cheating". Here I'll explore into both sides of this issue.

First, a quick catch up for those not following the debate. There has been a trend recently for DJ's to use their laptops on stage with programs that emulate the A B deck configuration. Sometimes, these programs allow the DJ to auto-beatmatch tracks and add effects and filters never dreamed of in the analogue era.

The Progressives:

Many Dj's using these computer systems love the portability of it all. No longer do you have to come to the club with two big turntables and crates upon crates of records(back problems, anyone?). Instead you can fit your whole setup in a backpack.

Many of these "digital DJ's" also argue the practice is progressive for the industry as a whole. They argue that the time that used to be spent manually beat matching the songs can now be used to make more creative mixes that are more pleasurable for audiences.

The Orthodox

While there are some that argue the merits of laptop use there are just as many that will fight tooth and nail against the practice. These, usually older DJ's argue that computer use is "cheating" and especially take quarrel with the issue of auto beatmatching.

These DJ's believe there is something with the use of Vinyl that can never be replaced with a laptop and computer controllers.

Well Whose Right?

That's really up to you. Crowds have been rocked with nothing more than a laptop and similarly with a whole host of turntables, CDJ's and warm analogue sound. In my opinion the end matter is what comes out of the speakers, not how it gets there.

Computers, the root of all evil?

DJing: The Basics

The Gear

So as not to alienate all the readers who aren't DJ's I decided to post a somewhat brief tutorial of how the practice works.

To begin: where does the music come from?
Some DJ's use vinyl turntables like this Technics 1200 ( the industry standard)





Others have moved away from Vinyl and use CD's in devices called CDJ's
This is a Pioneer CDJ 1000 (the industry standard CDJ)


Now, once you have two turntables or CDJ's the sound has to go somewhere:
Where does it go? Both plug into what is known as a mixer
This is a Pioneer DJM 800, a common sight in nightclubs:


Here's a common setup, two CDJ's placed on either side of the mixer.


A new trend in the DJ world is the use of computers, but I will delve into that later.

Now you have an idea of the equipment, but what does a DJ actually do?


Mixing 101

For this example lets assume you have two CD's in the CDJ's that are both plugged into the mixer. For the sake of expliantion we'll call one CDJ "Deck A" and the other "Deck B". You play the song from Deck A, while the song is playing, you choose your song in Deck B. As the song is playing through the speakers in deck A you listen to your song in Deck B through your headphones, and perform what is known as "beatmatching".

There are a few ways to beatmatch, but we'll cover the most common one: the one ear method. Your objective is to match the two songs so the bass beat of one is indistinguishable from the other, creating a seamless transition between the two songs. As the song is playing from Deck A on the speakers the DJ "cues" the song from deck B into the headphones. From there one ear is used to listen to song A while the DJ holds a headphone with song B in the other ear. From here they adjusts the speed of the song in deck B to match song A exactly.

Once the song is beatmatched the crossfader is moved over on the mixer and a basic mix has been performed.

DJing: The Basics

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