DJs and the Sync Button – Right or Wrong?
3 min read
Here is why I don’t often use sync
1. Sync is very useless unless the song is quantised. I don’t just mix my music, I like to mashup and try and remix songs on the go. One trick I love is using older songs that were not computer produced to blend over a dance track. Drummers are great but they cannot compete with the computer accuracy of a DAW quantisation, or even a drum machine for that matter. There will always be a straying from the true tempo. Sync doesn’t deal with these deviations too well and you will end up adjusting the song manually just as much as you would without it.
2. DJing should be busy. If you are performing especially, you should be busy. By beatmatching, you constantly have to feel the two songs and how they are flowing together, it means you get more engaged in the music and will probably not only perform better, but look like you are too.
3. Above all, sync is boring. it reduces a mix to the song choice and level/EQ control. DJing is fun, I love the tightness for time as a song is ending and you need to get the next one in on time and accurately. If I used sync, most of my performing would be standing around waiting for the next button hit.
Here is why sync is awesome
1. Have you ever listened to mixes where the song starts at 70bpm and ends up mixing out into 128bpm? This is where the value of sync is. A good example is I like a 125bpm dance song and there is a brilliant 70bpm trap remix of it. I start the trap remix playing and beatmatch the 125bpm track up to 140bpm (70bpm double time) and hit sync. This means any volume change will alter both, then I bring the tracks down from 140bpm to 125bpm and mix out of the trap song.
2. If you have samples and drum loops, and you want to play them over a track and forget about them then sync is brilliant for this.
3. If you are performing and your music goes way off and you can’t correct it, sync will help immediately if you can’t do anything else.
