Hello,
ive just started out trying to mix with vinyl but i am having a few problems.
When i try and slip cue a beat, it takes a while for the track to get to normal speed again after releasing my hand from the vinyl which of course effects the beat timing. How can i get around this? i did think i might be pressing to hard, is this common?
i am also having trouble with beat matching (which is probably because of my problems with slip cueing.) have you got any general tips on how to match two beats.
thank you
hi matt
when slip cueing the key is to let the record go on the beat (we suggest the 1st beat of any bar whehn counting along) and when you are letting go, the key is not to push your hand forward, just to let the record go
if you’ve registered on the site you should be able to access the slip cueing tutorial for free?
kev
also if you have decks with low torque or dare i say it belt drives this could be a factor in how fast the pick up is after letting go.
I agree with Phil, i think your decks are poor, which ones are you using my friend?
If they are belt driven then get rid ASAP, and find yourself some quality Direct Drive decks.
Direct Drive basically mean the platter your record sits on has a motor “directly driving” it from under the spindle in the middle, and not a belt connected to an offset motor away from the centre.
You will find the vinyl releases much better with direct drive, so long as you are not putting pressure on the record.
Also, your slipmats maybe suspect, if it’s one of those horrible thick felt ones, get rid too!
The standard Technics one is nice, and a little trick to make your horrible thick felt ones work for now is to put a layer of plastic underneath it (it’s hard to describe which plastic it is) it’s not a plastic bag, nor shrink wrap, it’s that in between type stuff 
Don’t beat yourself up thinking it’s you only, try my tips and hope they help you;)
the plastic inner sleave you get in some 12" vinyls is perfect to put under the slip mat, just cut it around the slipmat and it should already have a hole in the centre
Dont get frustrated either…
It honestly takes years to perfect the art of beat matching two records. I’ve been DJing for about a year and a half now and if I play 10 records, I mix 5 perfect, 3 are not bad, and 2 are train wrecks, so just keep at it. Everyone gets better as you train your ear
Yeah i agree totally, it does take a long time to get the hang of it, but as mentioned above the key is getting hold of turntables with good torque. When I first started (a long time ago) I had a set of Kam belt drive turntables and it was almost impossible to get a beat match right and keep it right. Life becomes much easier once you move to some form of direct drive decks. The same theory applies though whether you have belt drive or direct drive it’s just a whole lot harder with belts.
I started of with some Pro 150 belt drive turntables before i upgraded to my 1210’s. I do agree that its much easier to catch the beat and then match it to the other record using the 1210.
However if your using belt drive the idea is that if you dont catch the first beat you can try and tweak the platter either using the central spindle - use this if your beats are well out or try and spin the record by touching the vinyl. This method is best used if your beats are not too far out of time.
It does’nt matter too much if the first beat is not in time as you probably wont open the fader to the audience straight away but make sure your beats are in line when you do send the signal to the audience other wise it will be a right mess.
How did we mange before things like Ableton and Traktor ha ha.
Belt drives really should never be used for DJing, awefull decks. I have used these before and you can’t just ‘let go’ of the record when you’re dropping in the beat, you have to push through with it till the drive builds up enough speed to go alone.
I started with the Numark TT100 direct drives and they were pretty cool starter decks, but as soon as I got my Technic 1210 mk2’s it felt like the deck was mixing for me, was so much easier.
Then 4 years later I moved to CDJs and they were just easy, as you didnt need to worry how hard you touched ‘the platter’ to slow the track down or speed it up.
Keep at it, vinyl decks take years. It took me 2 years before I was at a good level to play out. Even then it was a constant perfecting art. CDJs you could pick up in months maybe even weeks.