DJ Mixing: Autosync
The Automation of an Art, The Loss of an Art
BRENT SILBY
aka DJ Maestro B
There is a split in the DJ world between the traditionalists, who mix manually, and those who use computers to autosync their mixes. It is incredible that such a minute detail has caused so much controversy since laptops started making their way into DJ booths. In this article I will explain my reasons for preferring manually mixed DJ sets.
Before proceeding, I need to make clear a distinction between DJs and controllerists. Controllerists use laptops and midi-controllers to rapidly create new tracks on the fly. They loop sections of music, drop in samples, and cut-up tracks in real time to build new compositions. This article is not directed towards controllerists. My focus is on DJs and the process of DJ-ing in the traditional sense of the word.
