Catch You On The Flip Side

How To Actually Catch The Flip Side Without Burning A Record

The phrase "catch you on the flip side" comes from vinyl DJ culture and describes the practice of cueing up the B-side of a record while the A-side is still spinning, so you can flip it over at the right moment during a mix. It sounds simple but most people mess it up the first few times because they don't understand the physical mechanics of a turntable or the timing involved. I learned this the hard way after cracking a copy of a rare jazz funk single in 2019 because I tried to flip too fast without marking my cue point properly. You need two turntables, a mixer with crossfader and cue points, and at least one double-sided 12-inch or 7-inch vinyl record. Both turntables should be belt-driven if possible — direct drive motors have more torque and can warp lightweight sleeves or make flipping feel unpredictable. Set your pitch faders to zero before anything else. Most beginner mistakes happen because the second record is already slightly off tempo when you go to flip. I use a slipmat on both platters. Not because I'm lazy but because it lets the record spin independently while I hold the cue point, which is essential when you're trying to land on the flip at the exact right frame. A felt mat will grab the record and make timing nearly impossible.

The Process

First, play the A-side and let it run through to the last track or to the section where you want to transition. While it's playing, take the B-side record and place it on the second turntable. Don't drop the needle yet. Put your ear to the speaker and listen for the beat or rhythm that's currently playing. Then slowly move the B-side record back and forth under the stylus until the beat on that side matches what you're hearing from the A-side. This is called beatmatching and it's the entire reason the flip works. Once the beats are aligned, press play on the B-side turntable and simultaneously move the crossfader or lower the A-side channel fader. The transition should be seamless. If there's a gap of dead air or a beat skip, you were half a second too slow or the tempos weren't matched closely enough. Go back and adjust your slipmat technique or check your pitch calibration. I keep a small piece of gaffer tape on the edge of every record sleeve I flip regularly. I mark exactly where the flip point is — usually three to four beats before the end of the track. Without this mark I've lost count more times than I care to admit, especially in low light or when the room is loud. This took me about two months of practice to internalize.

Catch You On The Flip Side In Practice

Real mixing isn't just about matching beats. You need to think about key, energy, and the flow of the set. Flipping from a high-energy funk track to a laid back soul B-side on the same record feels jarring if the keys don't relate. I once tried a flip during a live session where the A-side was in A minor and the B-side was in Fmajor — the crowd visibly confused and I had to cut both sides abruptly. Now I always check the key of both sides before I commit to a flip. There's also the issue of warps. If your B-side has even a slight warp, landing the needle on cue becomes a guessing game. I solved this by using a weighted tonearm adjustment and checking each record on a flat surface before I bring it to the deck. It adds about forty-five seconds to my prep time per record but it eliminates an entire category of flipping failures. The flip side technique is also useful beyond live DJing. Producers who work with vinyl crates or sample directly from records use the same approach — they cue the B-side to catch a specific drum break or bassline without having to wait for the A-side to finish playing. This cuts down crate-digging sessions from what would normally take an hour to maybe fifteen minutes.

Common Pitfalls

The biggest mistake is rushing the flip. People hear the end of the A-side coming and panic-flip before the beats are matched. This produces a audible stutter that ruins the mix. The second most common mistake is not accounting for the run-out groove on the B-side. Some records have a long silent lead-in before the actual music starts, especially on older pressings. If you cue too late you'll miss the entry point entirely. Vinyl wear matters more than most beginners realize. A record that's been played heavily fifty times or more will have degraded high frequencies and the needle may skip during fast transitions. I tested this myself by comparing a fresh pressing against a well-loved copy of the same album and the flip on the worn copy was noticeably less clean — the beatmatch held but the texture was muddy. If you're starting out and don't want to risk damaging expensive records, you can practice with test pressings or cheap second-hand copies from thrift stores. I got most of my early flips done on records I bought for two dollars each. The technique is the same regardless of the quality of the vinyl.

The core idea behind Catch You On The Flip Side is really just about preparation and timing. Once you understand that the B-side needs to be running at the same speed and in the same key as the A-side, everything else becomes muscle memory. There's no shortcut around actually doing it on real equipment, though.