In this week’s vlog I want to revisit a topic from a few weeks ago and talk more about parallel waveforms.

When I think about parallel waveforms, I always think of beatmatching and SYNC. In a world of beatgrids and warping, thinking about how beats line up with each other seems to archaic. The purpose of having parallel waveforms is to see the spacial relationship between beats. My previous vlog on the subject had some comments on it that show my opinions are very much my own.

What I find interesting is that those who commented seem to be taking the opposite route that I took. Like many of my friends, we switched from using DVS to controllers. However, it seems that there are still many who never stopped using DVS or are now adding a DVS component to their setups. Maybe with all of the industry news these days focused on controllers, I’ve lost track of where DVS has its place in the DJ community.

When I think about how I DJ with Traktor Pro 2, it seems almost scientific in a way. The waveforms are really just there to show where I am in the track. I spend more time focusing on the beat count than I do on the waveform or track time. I can see how others who prefer a more fluid mixing experience may find this approach odd or unusual. There is a limit though, as I don’t like the way DJing in Ableton Live is almost strictly a numbers game.

This is not to say that one way is better than another. For me, controller-based DJ and sync makes parallel waveforms unnecessary. However, I can see why people like them and find them useful. That’s one of the great things about DJing. You can do it however you want.