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Mixing with traktor

I have taken a step to learn how to mix with traktor as I cant afford CDJ's , and I really am liking the PSY stuff more and more each day. This is not to say I have stopped buying vinyl, because I am still a avid collector and will not stop buying as the other stuff I play I dont purchase on anything but vinyl. Until I can afford CDJ's , I am stuck using traktor.

I do have each Deck going into my external mixer, so it is not much different then playing with hardware, or so I thought..

Lets say track A is playing , and B is being cued.

I find the cue point on B and then drop it in.. If the tracks are close enough in BPM's I can do a couple nudges, adjust the pitch using the + or - and they are matched fairly quickly.

Now if the tracks are further apart in BPMS, It seem like I am dropping in B, nudge, nudge , adjust pitch, back to cue point, nudge nudge, adjust until finally I am in the correct range for pitch. If I was using my 1200's , I could simply just drag the pitch down to or around the appropriate pitch range and and do my adjustments from there. Is there a easier way to do this? I am finding myself doing the above way because there is no easy way to move within the pitch range of - to + 8% since it defaults to -35 to +35. Any tips or hints?

Also can someone explain the differences between PLAY >/|| CUE > , CUE || and SET?

When I set my cue point , I just use the move to get closest to where I want , hit the PLAY but and then CUE and it snaps to the first beat (with autosnap on) , is this wrong?

How do you beat match using traktor? Please do not suggest the autosync.

This thread should be a sticky

Jay

Re: Mixing with traktor

quote:

Originally posted by veezee Now if the tracks are further apart in BPMS, It seem like I am dropping in B, nudge, nudge , adjust pitch, back to cue point, nudge nudge, adjust until finally I am in the correct range for pitch. If I was using my 1200's , I could simply just drag the pitch down to or around the appropriate pitch range and and do my adjustments from there. Is there a easier way to do this? I am finding myself doing the above way because there is no easy way to move within the pitch range of - to + 8% since it defaults to -35 to +35. Any tips or hints?

1. Sync and then fine tune from there.
2. Use mouse then fine tune with hotkeys.
3. Instead of tapping the +/- pitch keys, hold them down. It's not as fast as i like it though but you can get used to it after awhile.


[QUOTE]
Also can someone explain the differences between PLAY >/|| CUE > , CUE || and SET?

When I set my cue point , I just use the move to get closest to where I want , hit the PLAY but and then CUE and it snaps to the first beat (with autosnap on) , is this wrong?
/QUOTE]

turn off autosnap.

1. use your mouse to drag to your cue point. hit play.
2. fwd (move) the track to a bar or 2 before your desired cue point,
let the track play. then hit cue at your cue point.
3. you can also preset your cue points but that takes away alot of
the fun.

also.. what version are you using ?

Thanks for the tips. I am using 2.6 I believe. I really want to stay away from any automation such as the sync button. Although I would never play out with traktor, i just dont want to learn any bad habits and dont want it to be so simple Also, I found many times where the computers is off.

Jay

Very few Traktor DJs use the software in manual mode (no auto sync) as it just isn't designed to work well that way.

You should check out other software or something like Serato or Final Scratch if you want do do fully manual beatmatching, and you said you would never play out with Traktor so why put the time into it?

Personally I love the system and have used it in a few clubs. I'm not using it in manual mode as that would be a step backwards.

if you beatmatch with autosync it slips as hell...how you go around that???

Example .. you have MP3 recorded from vinyl which sometimes varies speed...so it wont be detected right by Traktor's Engine...how you go around that? or you just let go and trainwreck on it? Cool B-)

Beatgrids are the thing to do, you need one for every track. They take a few minutes of work for each track, then you can optionally set a few cue points too. You'll end up with the tempo known within about .01 BPM and this stabilizes the Traktor sync indicator and makes things run much smoother, plus tracks will stay matched for about 10 minutes. I think it's great. When you're manually beatmatching with vinyl or CDs all you're really doing is manually figuring out the BPMs for 2 tracks and compensating for the difference, why do that work each time (as in conventional manual beatmatching) when you can just figure out the BPM once and use that number next time?

Tracks with significant BPM drift are a big problem even with vinyl or CDs and I avoid them unless I can somehow mix them with no overlapping beats (like mix them into a beatless intro of a new track).

Best sources for tracks are CD singles and digital downloads such as from Beatport, these have rock-steady BPM. I have a few tracks from my own vinyl and they have a small amount of drift (due to old turntables) but the ripped tracks are useable.

If there is a small amount of drift and you have a good value for the average BPM you can use the + and - pitch bend buttons (above the SYNC button on your version of Traktor I think) to make small adjustments to get the match sounding better. Actually even on many tracks with steady BPM you still need to do some pitch bend adjusting as the drum beats on most tracks are slightly different and have a little phase difference that you must compensate for.

I mix with Traktor and I'm pretty much stuck using the sync button cause trying to beat match perfectly without it is near impossible... Either way, if you don't use the sync, you can still cheat with the pitch level meter and the BPM counter

I'm just gonna pick up CDJ's before I waste my time beatmatching with Traktor.

quote:

Originally posted by Munchy I mix with Traktor and I'm pretty much stuck using the sync button cause trying to beat match perfectly without it is near impossible... Either way, if you don't use the sync, you can still cheat with the pitch level meter and the BPM counter I'm just gonna pick up CDJ's before I waste my time beatmatching with Traktor.

It is possible. Just dont let your eyes deceive you.

quote:

Originally posted by veezee Thanks for the tips. I am using 2.6 I believe. I really want to stay away from any automation such as the sync button. Although I would never play out with traktor, i just dont want to learn any bad habits and dont want it to be so simple Also, I found many times where the computers is off. Jay

Well sync happens to be the easiest way. Even though traktor's sync isn't entirely accurate it does put you close enough in sync. You can just play it by ear from there.

You could do it the manual way with mouse but trust me, you'll end up fooling yourself by looking at the bpm counters anyway. They're right next to the pitch sliders so it's kinda hard to ignore them.

quote:

Originally posted by tvmann

Do you happen to know where i can find a tutorial on how to create/setup beat grids ?

Well your manual should tell you everything... BUT if you've, ummm "lost it" - go to the Native Instruments site & download the free Traktor 3 demo, they also have a manual PDF there for Traktor V3, I forget if it is included or it is a separate download. But it has a lot of info in the PDF. The demo will only work for a month so don't install it until you have lots of time since it takes a while to figure it out.

And if you like the software, buy it & support the makers, it's not too expensive, far less than turntables etc. You get emulation of 4 CD decks plus Xone:92 & other mixers. V3 has some problems and only a few people are actually playing out with it, but hopefully the glitches will be fixed up in the next free update which should be June. The software is essentially the same as what is used in the latest Final Scratch, but they don't use the auto sync stuff.

Personally I'm sticking with V2.53 for now but I might buy the V3 update just to help the company and so I can mess around with the full V3. V3 has some really nice features but it's a lot more complex and not as easy to use, compared to 2.53 and 2.6.

quote:

Originally posted by tvmann Beatgrids are the thing to do, you need one for every track.

aha...didn't think of that :-) though one thing...if I have do beatgrids...I'll stick to Ableton heheh B-)

thanks for explaining though, I always wondered how do the traktor guys do it

quote:

Originally posted by tvmann

Thanks for the info mate. I'll read thru the manual sometime.
Btw i have demo-ed v3 and i get too many problems with it so i'm sticking to 2.53.

quote:

Originally posted by tvmann .

What kind of controller is that infront of your lappy? I want one as Ive used Traktor for ages but need more a more hands on approach to mixing rather than using a mouse.

Evolution UC 17 X

It's an M-Audio X-Session, also known as the UC-17. Originally made by the Evolution company in UK, they were bought out by M-Audio. This one is lightweight, inexpensive, and only needs a USB cable for hookup. They also make the UC-33 which is a bigger device.
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_...ssion-main.html

Using a Midi controller or an external mixer definitely is better than only using the mouse. Mine is set up so it operates like a regular 2 channel mixer with 3 band EQ, kills on the EQs, and bandpass filters. The mixing is actually done with software in Traktor and the X-Session controls the digital mixing. I have a soundcard with 2 stereo outputs so I can preview as with a conventional mixer.

The other popular Midi controller is the FaderFox, made in Germany & available in Europe and with a little hunting available elsewhere too.
http://faderfox.de/html/dj2_product_page.html


Another one is the Kontrol-DJ which is more cost but users like it.
http://www.kontrol-dj.com/html_eng/index.html


Behringer BCD2000, just becoming available, and a few people are trying it with good results.
http://www.behringer.com/BCD2000/index.cfm?lang=ENG

Hercules DJ Control: (no idea if anyone is using this successfully)
http://www.hercules.com/showpage.ph...1729da73c2b4610

The above controllers are oriented towards 2 channel mixing and work with Traktor 2.x and Traktor 3. New controller designs are appearing and have more knobs and should work better with Traktor 3 which has up to 4 virtual CD decks. Such as the WaveIdea Bitstream Pro (not yet shipping):
http://www.waveidea.com/en/products/bitstream/#

There are also one or 2 people on the Traktor forums who are building their own controllers with the 4 deck features and one of the units might be commercialized so you can buy it.

Thanks for the information, really useful. I think I may have to purchase an X-session looks a good mixer/controller to start with as Ive just got a echo indigo soundcard to try with it. Is it easy to set up with traktor?

quote:

Originally posted by Ryarni Thanks for the information, really useful. I think I may have to purchase an X-session looks a good mixer/controller to start with as Ive just got a echo indigo soundcard to try with it. Is it easy to set up with traktor?

I think there is a midi setup for Traktor, live etc. already included...so it shouldn't be problem and even if it is, setting up midi for Traktor is just as easy as setting a "b" key as the one to kill bass on deck A/B...
Just look in options...or manual

Yes the X-Session is fairly easy to set up with Traktor. As I recall, there isn't even any special driver to be installed as it's considered to be a generic USB device.

Most setup is done in the Traktor "Input" setup that also lets you assign keyboard keys. For most knobs you need to set the "soft takeover" option.

The Button switches are a little tricky as normally they need to be clicked twice to work, but there is a way to make them work with one click, check the X-Session manual.

Right I think Ill grab one

Is there a way to hook up Traktor (or any other software mixing program) to my DJM 707 and CDJ 200s, without buying an interface like SSL or FS2. It would be awsome to just run a cable from my laptop to my mixer and mix using my CDJs and mixer or even mixing solely in Trakor and going between it and CDJs.

I believe you can hook up traktor to use an external mixer, but you'll still have to beatmatch on computer, so it's quite pointless (I think)

anyway, what you could do is route deck A to left chan of your output of soundcard and deck B to the right...then you can put each one to your mixer...or if your soundcard has more outs you could propably assign them to be like "front speakers play deck A" "surround plays Deck B".
I'm not sure if it's possible this way as I don't have traktor, but it works this way or similar in ableton...

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