To sync or not to sink?
It's all over the internet, the sync button on the new Pioneer CDJ... Blackadder would say: well mop it up then! And seeing as I kinda feel like mopping things up...
Fact: the sync-function is not something Pioneer invented, it's something invented by corporations wanting to cash in on the whole superstar DJ hype, and realizing that they can sell millions of their DJ'ing software to young (and older) kids around the world who want to become a DJ for fame a.k.a. money and pussy, and who want that to happen fast and easy. Learn some music and take your time to develop some basic skills? Why would you wanna bother to learn how to fuck properly if you can just go out and find a teenage slut to give you a blowjob in exchange for some drinks and a festival ticket?
Can you blame these kids really? The biggest fools in this story are those that believe Pioneer and related companies are developing all this technology for the benefit of better DJ'ing. They are also the ones jumping on this technology, spending cash on every new 'development' and influencing young kids to follow in their footsteps, thus keeping the cash machinery going. Need a case in point concerning companies not in it for the greater glory and advancement of the craft? Technics stopped making their SL 1200's...when they weren't making enough money off them...
But back to the heart of the discussion: what makes a DJ a DJ? And is using a sync-function a mockery of the so-called 'real' DJ'ing? And what is real DJ'ing anyway? For the final time: the all important thing is the music you play. Next to that you can make a difference as a DJ by your musical knowledge, your ability to read a crowd, your personality, your balls, your programming skills and your experience. The role a sync-function plays in this is kinda minor at first glance, but maybe you should look at why and who is using a sync-function. Because if you are too lazy to do a simple thing like beatmatching, there's a big chance you're also going to be too lazy to take your time to learn all the other things it takes to be a great DJ.
A different angle: do you really wanna spend money to hear and see someone do something everybody who has a bit of a music collection can do? Because that's what 99% of DJ's using a sync do: they select some 'tunes' and push the play button for two hours (God forbid that they have to play all night), and every now and then put some ill-chosen effect in the mix, because they are bored with what they play and how they play it. There is no personality involved, no crowd-reading (how can you when staring at a laptop like some IT nerd?!), no musical knowledge (hey, I play the Beatport top 20, so I'm bringing the best tunes), no balls, no nothing that has to do with anything interesting. Hearing and seeing DJ's play every single weekend I can safely say: I haven't heard one single DJ using a sync button that I found even vaguely interesting or that played even one track where I wanted to know what it was.
So yes, it's about the music, but that my dear wannabes, has everything to do with your mentality. And when you are using a sync-function and constantly looking towards technology instead of skills, then your mentality is flawed and you should back-off and stay away from dj booths and crowds forever.
RD's two cents, who are actually just as worthless as all the others, but I kinda enjoyed writing this :-)