Effective and *nice* ways to use effects?

[ballistix]

Hey guys,

Just looking for opinions on when/where people use what effects. I'm not much of an effects man myself but I would love some input as to what people (that do use effects) do and how it sounds.

Cheers

[walkdogz]

I'm not much of an effects person either. filtering into a mix is good, echoing a breakdown as it's building up.

[ballistix]

filtering which track? the incoming or outgoing? and use a lpf or hpf?

[Teknikall]

^^ try and learn what works and what doesn't

[Spinning Half]

Go n watch some James Zabiela videos on youtube!

[Bracko]

^^ JZ isn't subtle.

[Sideshow Rod]

^^ try and learn what works and what doesn't

this... sheesh I hope you have

not to mention the name of the effect gives you a good idea of what it does

filter = filter
echo = echo
delay = pretty much same as echo
Zip on my cdj100 = pretty rubbish :lol:

[walkdogz]

filtering which track? the incoming or outgoing? and use a lpf or hpf?

lol dude, any of them. you seem to know what you're talking about so whatever sounds good.

[ferretrock]

Echoes or reverb on buildups, filtering in and out of tracks, filter/EQ + echo (and the options here if you've got an external FX unit that's routed into a normal channel are even better), echoing a track as you pull it out/on a backspin/scratch. And dare I say, flange on one track if you've got two channels in.
That kinda stuff, to me, is the more tasteful side of DJ effects.

I ocassionally play with an analogue delay pedal... there's some fun to be had there with self oscillation. :P

[aliasneo]

filtering which track? the incoming or outgoing? and use a lpf or hpf?

Depends what kind of effects bro, but if your using the djm 800 I love the colored (blue) filter effect while also using the echo at the same time and then bringing in the next song... trans isn't too bad either or pan, but stay away from robot haha it's like terminator taking over your tune hehe :P & reverb is average at most, but now and then it's okay. I'm a big time bedroom banger so plenty of time to make mistakes and learn from them :P

[kieren]

Personally I’ll stuff around for ages with effects & loops at home but on gigs I never touch them!

[walkdogz]

Personally I’ll stuff around for ages with effects & loops at home but on gigs I never touch them!

I priti much only touch the filter at gigs. just let the music and mixing do the talking.

[Peakin Pecan]

I never use effects at gigs, never, only fucking around with the eq a bit sometimes. tbh, i have only ever owned one mixer that didnt have onboard effects, so i'm not practiced at even using mixer effects when im out. luckily my S3500s have inbuilt effects. I'm not about to practice my use of effects at important gigs... i really want a DJM800 for a night so i can become accustomed with all the effects they have. oh well...

[kieren]

Yeah I figure, if I liked the track when I bought it, that’s the way I want to present it to the crowd!
Same reason I don’t like playing bootleg re-edits, if the song was good I’ll play the original!
In the end as a DJ I am presenting people with my selection of music, not a live act showing off how good I am at screwing around with the buttons!

I know a lot of DJ’s can’t separate DJing from Producing and that’s fine I just think that playing a track is my way of supporting a artist for making a track I like, so I leave the producing hat at home when DJing.

[trenthalliday]

I just got traktor so I have been fucking around with effects....but would never touch them if I am playing out...way too much scope for it to sound absolutely terrible.

[manuka]

practice practice practice

anything can sound good if you're in control

[youngman]

I got nuts on effects at home.

At the moment I'm pretty taken with putting the incoming track through a flanger and gater while applying freeze delay on the main track.

Never used them in a club.

[Kefuan]

delay is my fav!

[Shifty-Sly]

I use TSP when im out with a Korg Nano controller and use a the effects all the time :)

effects are very cool and can really add another element to a set if done well.... but like everything try when you dont know what your doing or what result the effect your using has and your gonna sound like a tool cause there is a good chance you are......

[manuka]

that's why you should practice!

[jarrardscott]

I use TSP when im out with a Korg Nano controller and use a the effects all the time :)

effects are very cool and can really add another element to a set if done well.... but like everything try when you dont know what your doing or what result the effect your using has and your gonna sound like a tool cause there is a good chance you are......

same.

korg nanokontrol for my tsp effects/loops/filters.

and no, i'm not giving you my secrets :P

[Shifty-Sly]

I didnt ask for them.......

[mashedman]

all we have to do is watch ritchies videos on the subject

[underhousearrest]

Effective and nice ways to use effects?

slowly.

nothing sound worse than someone spinning pots faster than a jet engine turbine on a djm800.

Except Laidback Luke.

[jarrardscott]

I didnt ask for them.......

I meant to the guy that started the thread.

[pEAkeR_hAT]

this is how Andy C does it, using a xone 92, *shamelessly stolen from another forum btw

"OK...

You will have the filter setting on high pass.... but with the resonanse on low (mild) so when you use the filter it wont go "KSSSSWWWWWosssh" that happens when the resonanse is high (wild)

lets say you have a track on left left.... The filter will be fully off (knob turned all the way anti clockwise) the tune will be playing with full volume with no EQ kill at all.

as you bring a tune on the right deck,, the filter will be fully on killing most the volume (Knob turned fully clockwise)

The more you turn the filter anti clockwise... the more the frequencys come back thru, giving you more volume.

when the filters are around 12/1 oclock,, you will hear the mids trebles but still you wont have any low EQ ..(Bass).. as u bring it further anti clockwise you will start to hear the low eqs.

Thats how he works the blends... its like turning all 4 knobs in one go,, and u can go 2 and from the tunes very quickly

So from filter off one deck... to like 1/4 pm clockwise next deck,, depending on the tracks "

[walkdogz]

high pass filter: rescuing DJs from shonky mixes the world over.

[4Sirius]

Hey guys,

Just looking for opinions on when/where people use what effects. I'm not much of an effects man myself but I would love some input as to what people (that do use effects) do and how it sounds.

Cheers

What: I tend to use echo and delay on individual tracks. Usually I'll preview the effect before bringing it in. (DJM500)
When/Where: I do this at any time/place I think it'll add to a track/mix.
How it sounds: Practice and figure out what you want to sound like. Any effect you use will vary with the track you're applying it to.

[Random_Kiwi]

high pass filter: rescuing DJs from shonky mixes the world over.

:lol: So true!

It is a great way to blend a mix though, as mentioned, it's like using 4 EQ pots all at once, slowly or quickly, it's very functional.

When it comes to a DJM X00, I tend to only every use the Echo as it's the only one I've played around with enough to know how to use it and make it sound good.

Echo an acapella with the Time dialed all the way to zero, then play around dialing the time up and down, can sound fucking trippy read: awesome, or bad, depending on how you look at it

[jarrardscott]

high pass filter: rescuing DJs from shonky mixes the world over.


so thats how you do it :P?

[Spinning Half]

^^ JZ isn't subtle.

i kno that .:what:

but i think his use is *nice*.

Read the OP and title.

[talio93]

filtering in/out of tracks is nice when it's not over used...

also on a DJM 400 , when setting an effect you can tap the BPM, so if you make its something crazy, say 700 bpm... and then throw on an echo during a breakdown, you get a super trippy echo!

[Derelict]

There are no nice ways to use FX unless you're using a raw kickdrum loop and making something fancy yourself. Otherwise the FX button can GTFO.

[Funkedub]

feed an FX send/return through a guitar amp with a spring coil reverb unit in it ... then kick/drop/rock the fucker from time to time on a dry channel and send a thunderous crash through the system ... may require a compressor before the return input 8)

might not go with most house/trance/mnml/prog/break etc etc

[ferretrock]

^It's fun to just ocassionally kick an amp with a spring reverb in it. :lol: *clash*

[kieren]

high pass filter: rescuing DJs from shonky mixes the world over.
Yep, that and the channel EQ, it all just takes the challange out of a good mix!:whyioughtta:

[kieren]

^It's fun to just ocassionally kick an amp with a spring reverb in it. :lol: *clash*
It's fun to kick people now and then aswell!!!8)

[ferretrock]

^Heyhey, if it's my amp, I can deal with the loose tubes!

[Methodixxx]

feed an FX send/return ... may require a compressor before the return input 8)


I'm really loving the different results of various ways of chaining effects at the moment.

Compressors after crazy reverbs, filters, etc are a must.

[kieren]

^Heyhey, if it's my amp, I can deal with the loose tubes!
I have a spring reverb in my studio maybe I’ll give it a thump, I’ve never done it before, now I’m curious!!

[Funkedub]

^^^^

it gives the quintessential massive crashing sound

when it's metal on metal it's more of a brighter clag than this example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyC5B3k8dSg

[ferretrock]

^What, really?
It's a classic 'dub' sound. spring *clrsaaaaasssssh*

edit: damn, beaten to the punch.

[kieren]

cool, i'll have to play around with that one!

[djbricksta]

This is the one simple rule for using FX in the club:

Try think about how it would sound if you were in the floor because over indulgent mixes and effects usage by deejays is one of the worst problems in the game. I know that sounds obvious but its amazing how many people fuck that up with off beat repeats and ridiculous flanger usage, in moderation they can add so much to your set however, I think its good to use whats there as long as you know it inside and out.

[kieren]

Even worse, lately I have seen heaps of DJ play completely off their heads and get side tracked from DJing into an out of control obsession with looping and effects. I don’t have a problem with drug use and partying but if you’re more toasted than the punters it’s very hard to get into the mindset of the punters you’re playing to!

[seth111]

The most effective way of using effects is "Restraint"!

[kieren]

The most effective way of using effects is "Restraint"!
Like my sex life!!!:hooray:

[OUOUOU]

wich one do you prefer between Dance mixer with effect, pure effect machine or keyboard effect.....
or use them together

[macc4]

I prefer the proof reading before hitting reply effect

[Peakin Pecan]

Ouououou

[4Sirius]

wich one do you prefer between Dance mixer with effect, pure effect machine or keyboard effect.....
or use them together
I'm used to Mixer effects, but have no prefference. Use whatever sounds satisfactory.
Dedicated FX gear will likely have more parameters to tweak and may sound better though.

[Neil UPP]

I prefer the proof reading before hitting reply effect

:lol:

When im mixing busy music, a little 2 or 4 beat roll can go down well when the track coming in is introducing new percussion/vocals/bassline.

But i get headaches when people go mental on the roll effect on its fastest repeat setting. But i like the idea of inbuilt sampling within the mixer, as i am inexperienced only used pioneer and some allen and heath, the only experience ive used with in built samplers is the djm-600 and that was really odd.

[friction_point]

good question, when i first got my mixer i fell into the trap of going way overboard with the efx thinking it sounded good. After listening to the mess i had made of the tracks, i rarely use them anymore, but if i do use them, it'd be near/during a breakdown, but it depends on what effect you're gonna use.

Moderation is the key here imho, also like some other guys have said, using some efx on the incoming/outgoing track can be wicked if done right.

[Mercury-Drinker]

People using TSP, which 3 effects do you find yourself using the most?

Have been giving a few of them a try - beatmasher, delay and gator have been used a bit. Hard to master unlike a simple filter.

I'm also gonna go ahead and say - i hate the effects on the DJM 800.

[ballistix]

I'm also gonna go ahead and say - i hate the effects on the DJM 800.
Yeah, the trouble is that's all that clubs have as standard =\

[Neil UPP]

Newbie question - What is TSP? i googled it and got Thrift Saving Plan. ha.

[seth111]

Traktor Scratch Pro

[kieren]

I think the trick is, if you think your effect games sound good when you are playing, record a set and play it back, and keep in mind punters would actually want to hear the track!

[Peakin Pecan]

Yeh my pet hate is over-zealous use of certain effects over vital parts of tracks... i love the subtle nuances of all my fave tracks, and there is nothing worse than those subtle nuances being lost in a haze of poorly executed effects.

[Derelict]

There are no nice ways to use FX unless you're using a raw kickdrum loop and making something fancy yourself. Otherwise the FX button can GTFO.
.

[macc4]

quoting yourself sounds better at +5

[Peakin Pecan]

Are you honestly quoting yourself derelict? You are totally that guy that says something fairly insignificant and for the most part very unimportant, realises that no one cares so then decides to say it again, louder, so that we must all be subjected to his dribble once again, when all we really want is for that guy to sit there quietly in the corner.

[kieren]

Wait, I want to do it too!!

[kieren]

Wait, I want to do it too!!
Sweet!!!!:rock:

[kieren]

Yeh my pet hate is over-zealous use of certain effects over vital parts of tracks... i love the subtle nuances of all my fave tracks, and there is nothing worse than those subtle nuances being lost in a haze of poorly executed effects.
So true mate!
I also hate hearing DJ's loop the end of a track so it gives them longer to learn how to mix!

[Derelict]

Are you honestly quoting yourself derelict? You are totally that guy that says something fairly insignificant and for the most part very unimportant, realises that no one cares so then decides to say it again, louder, so that we must all be subjected to his dribble once again, when all we really want is for that guy to sit there quietly in the corner.
No, I just wanted to further point out how shit FX are and how pointless and how little they do for music. If the tracks were produced with enough interesting substance, you wouldn't need to rape them with FX.

[kieren]

No, I just wanted to further point out how shit FX are and how pointless and how little they do for music. If the tracks were produced with enough interesting substance, you wouldn't need to rape them with FX.
I agree with that mate, we buy tunes because we claim to love them then we feel they need some effects added to them,,,,,,,,duhhhh:drool: