Hey guys,
i have been mixing for almost 4 months now, i have 2xcdj1000's and a DJM909. After much practice i have finally mastered the technique of beatmixing, i am confident that i am ready for the next level. Ive started off mixing house, however i now feel that my mixes are simple and boring, which need abit of "spice" to them. I use the FX on the 909, however still feel that im not using both the 909 and 1000's to their full potential. Any Hints or Tips would be greatly appreciated, im pretty sure there are others out there on this forum in the same boat as me.

cheers,
abz

You can get a lot of tips here but at 4 months under your belt, I'd say the thing you need to do is just keep doing what you're doing....practicing. There's really no "break-in" point when you get "good" it comes from doing it so much that you can do it in your sleep and you can disect a song/mix apart in your head. When you know the music so well, you will start to hear ideas and the mixes and "tricks" will come to you like second nature. You want to avoid trying to learn tricks too fast because you could rely on them too much if you don't have the foundation down.
I hope this helps.

I'm learning to add salsa - extra spicy...

Get a memory card and start memorizing your hotcues. Do more remixing with the CDJ-1000. Try changing up genre's. Go to hip-hop where the beat won't always be a 4 on 4, and you won't have a lot of time to mix into a song either.

Also record yourself. You might think you sound good, but after hearing yourself you'll realize (like we all did at that point) that you still have a ways to go.

Getting a business plan isn't a bad idea either. What are you DJin' for? You say you want to go to the next level...then you need to set goals. That way after the 1 year mark you can assess yourself and see if you are ontrack. A lot of money to be made...get a good gameplan, and stay on the forum for the latest DJ tricks and tips.

Scratching always does the trick, I would get some samples and tear it up in between breaks.

Like See says...youve only been playing 4 months give it time and practice. However even with all the practice in the world, at best, you likely wont reach your true potential for years to come.

It took me about 2 years to beat match consistently with house and trance another year to figure out breaks and one more to get hip hop down. 2 years later I still mess up every once in a while. On the plus side I learned a new scratch last night It's just like any other musical instrument, you gotta practice practice practice.

Like everyone else has said, it's all about practice. I especially like Caleb's comparison to a musical instrument.

The thing is, most people learn a musical instrument when they're pre-pubescent, and don't necessarily have the requisite motor skills to begin with. Starting in your late teens or later, when you have more mental skills and abilities, should flatten the learning curve somewhat (unless, of course, you already have bad habits to get rid of), but makes it all the more frustrating to practice with patience.

To put it another way, not many 8 or 9 year olds expect to be able to play a trumpet the first time they pick one up. Most 15 or 16 year olds, however, expect to be able to drive the first time they get behind the wheel of a car.

Stick with it, and have patience. Like my Econ. teacher always used to say in High School, "Repetition is the ugly, ugly stepmother of learning."

Thanks for all the Advice guys (practice i am doing.. and lots of it too , my aim is like many other DJ's out here, which is to play at a club by staying motivated and with much practice im sure it is bound to happen one day :P
Its great to be able to listen to your advice and opinions on this forum, keep up the good work

cheers, Abz

Since you like house...go to progressive trance or breaks, maybe even trance....try hard trance or nrg

that stuff is fun

i like to observe other djs at work. get ideas and then try to come up with your own thing with your own music... ive seen alot of the greats at it and feel more confident about something that im not so sure of.