Why Your DJ Mixes Sound Muddy (And 2 Easy Ways To Fix It)

You’ve got the beats lined up, the tracks are a good match and your transition should sound fine. But it doesn’t. It sounds muddy, messy and dirty, and people are noticing.

It’s one of the most common complaints from DJs who are just getting the hang of mixing, and it’s easy to fix. In the video above I show you what’s causing it, then two ways to sort it out: the classic way DJs have done it for decades, and a newer, cleaner way you’ll now find on even entry-level gear.

Watch it on speakers or good headphones, or you’ll miss the difference and it’ll all just sound a mess.

What makes a mix sound muddy

In the video I’ve got one track 48 seconds from the end, which I need to mix out of quickly, and a new track cued up at its very beginning. Every EQ is at 12 o’clock, both channel faders are up and the crossfader is in the middle.

The outgoing track still has its bassline playing. The incoming track has a bassline too, right from the first beat.

Two basslines playing at once are what give you that muddy, messy sound, even when the beats are perfectly lined up. And as you’ll hear in the video, it doesn’t get any better as the transition goes on.

Fix 1: The bass swap

Before you start the new track, turn its bass EQ all the way down.

You can still hear it coming in, so your dancefloor knows something new is on its way, but it has lost all its power. Being able to keep a track recognisable while taking all the muddy low end out of it is a proper secret weapon.

Leave the old track exactly as it is and start the transition. With only one set of bass frequencies playing, it sounds much cleaner straight away.

Then, after a couple of musical phrases, swap the bass over: down on the old track and up on the new one, on the start of a phrase.

Now all the power is in the new track, and the old one has been pushed into the background. When you finally take the old track out, nobody notices it go, because everyone is already listening to the new one.

This is probably the most common transition trick there is. DJs have been doing it for decades, and some do it on pretty much every mix.

Fix 2: Swap the bass with stems

There’s now an even cleaner way to do the same thing, and it has made its way down to entry-level controllers and free DJ software. In the video I’m using a Numark Party Mix III with Serato DJ Lite, which comes with it.

Stems split a track into its parts – vocals, melody, bass and drums – and let you switch each one on and off. All DJ software with stems has a way of controlling them from most of the controllers that work with it, even older ones. On the Party Mix III, you put the controller into Stems mode, and buttons on each deck then turn the vocals, melody, bass and drums on and off.

So instead of turning the new track’s bass down with the EQ, switch its bass stem off. The EQ turns the bass down; switching the stem off takes the bassline out completely.

Then do exactly the same transition. After two musical phrases (two lots of eight bars), switch the bass back on for the new track and off for the old one, on the first beat of the next phrase. It’s the same swap, done in a cleaner, more clinical way.

Which track is dominating?

Whichever way you do it, with the classic bass EQ or with stems, it does two things for your DJing. Your mixes sound cleaner and less muddy. And it gets you thinking about which track is dominating the mix, and how you can use that.

That’s one of the seven rules of house mixing we teach. I go through all seven, with a demo of each and a free handout to keep next to your decks, in 7 Things Nobody Tells You About Mixing House Music.