Digital DJ Pro Tutorial #2 – Mixing, the Basics
Based on the development by Tue Haste Anderson, Digital DJ Pro is an open source digital DJing application that enables users to mix tracks or songs in the same way DJ does with a mixer and a pair of turntables. This fascinating free mixing program allows the DJ to sync beat rates of both tracks before they are mixed in. Digital DJ Pro is also capable of applying a filters and effects to any of the tracks. It brings support for OGG, MP3, and WAV file formats. In this tutorial I'm going to tell you the basics on how to mix both tracks.
As the only prerequisite to follow today's tutorial you need to have Digital DJ Pro installed and running in your computer, otherwise, go to the big blue “Download” button on top of this page and once you have the installer launch it, the InstallIQTM installation manager will take care of the rest.
Before starting the mixing itself we first need to set the music library folder where all your songs/tracks are located, to do so got to Options > Preferences
The Preferences window will open, go to Library and Playlists on the left panel, click on the Browse button.
In the explorer-like window browse to your music folder and click OK.
Now your Library will be populated with all the songs you have in that folder.
OK, let's load song in both players. Browse to the song you want to load first and rightclick on it, and select either load on Player 1 or Load in Player 2
And the song will appear in the player you selected.
Now do the same but selecting the other player.
You can also load tracks/songs by dragging and dropping it in the corresponding player.
Notice that for a better mixing experience you should know the songs you are about to mix really well as for important parts like refrains and choruses etc. in this way you can choose the best moment in the first song where you can start mixing the second one, but do not panic, practice makes perfect.
So, now that you have loaded both songs to start playing the first let's say the one in player 1, just click on the play button corresponding to this player. Now you can go and sync the second song by hitting the SYNC button in the second player control panel. This will match the beat rate in song 2 with the ones in song 1 making them ready to mix.
At this point you should move the crossfader towards the player 1 position which the left-most end.
A few instants before the first song approaches the place where you are planning to mix the second one hit play on the second player and start moving the crossfader towards the center and when you want to stop listening to the first song move it all the way to the other end.
Final Words
Well, this is the basics about mixing and there is not much more to be told, the rest is practice and fine adjustments you can make on the go, DJing is definitely an art and it requires of a lot of trial and error, fortunately Digital DJ Pro comes packed with a lot of tools to make it easier and a lot of fun. Download Digital DJ Pro right now by hitting the “Download Now” link below and happy mixing!!
