Should Old School DJs Use Sync?
If you learned to DJ on vinyl or on early CDJs and it’s the only way you know, the biggest single difference you will find returning to DJing nowadays on all digital systems, whatever type they are, is that they all have a sync button.
What does the sync button actually do? Is it cheating to use it if you can already DJ? What advantages does it bring and what disadvantages?
In this video – made especially old school DJs returning to the hobby – we de-mystify sync and give you the truth to help you decide whether using it is for you or not.
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i wish sync worked with live recorded music, i dont like having to line up every single beat marker 😮in all the different software so I’m limited to bpm matching. also manual bpm matching let’s me adjust to what the crowd is feeling 💃🕺
I’m an old DJ learning the tech. When I first got back into it I beat matched for a while just knock off a little dust after not touching anything for over 20 years. Now I use sync. I only dj for fun at home now and mainly spin Hip Hop R&B and pop (although I’m branching out). Sync helps me mix and transition faster which in turn keeps the energy up. I like it.
I love sync. Gives me time to engage with people for one. Knowing how and when to use it and how to disable it are all part of today’s routine.
I just rented a XDJ RX3 for a wedding and I actually find it much easier to manually adjust the bpm so that they’re a match and then use the grids to match the beats. I don’t use sync or quantize because sometimes I sense a delay – the controller feels less responsive if I have those turned on. But when I owned 2 SC6000’s I synced them with a Ethernet to share the sata drive library and sync was my best friend. I agree with other commenters that the public doesn’t care. I do put pressure on myself to pick good songs, but I don’t care what people think about the gear I have or how I use it
I’ve done my many thousands of hours on vinyl – I like sync.
What I do suits old DJs – it’s like a half way house. Leave sync off…….but……..
When you load a new track – press the sync button on that new tune twice.
First press syncs it and sets the correct BPM – second press unsyncs it and stops the beat grids sticking together – but – the BPM stays correct. It’s just a trick to get around those very short pitch faders on the FLX-4🙏