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The TRAKTOR Panels
The interface of TRAKTOR is divided into six different panels that can individually be opened and closed with the Panel Buttons in the Main Window:
the Main Panel (always visible)
the Mix File Panel
the Equalizer Panel
the Player Panel
the Cue Panel
the Playlist Panel
the Setup Menu (visible as dialogue box)
To start the introductory TRAKTOR tour, open the Player Panel by clicking on the Panel Button. The other panels should remain invisible for the moment.
Press the Load Button of Deck A to open the file browser. Select the file demo1.mp3 from the /TRAKTOR directory into the deck by double clicking it or by selecting and opening it. After a short loading time the title and the duration of the loaded track appears in the Track Display of the Main Panel. The Wave Display of the Player Panel displays the first seconds of the track and the tempo is shown in the BPM Display. The Play Button switches from inactive to Pause Mode - ready to go!
Start playback of the track with the Play Button. Clicking the button a second time stops playback and switches the deck back to Pause Mode. Now, back to Playback Mode, we want to use some of the controls of the Player Panel.
The Pitch Fader allows to change the speed at which the track is played back. This feature is central to mutually match the tempo of two tracks for smooth transitions. If the slider is in central position, the track is played back at its original speed. A displacement to the left/right end of the fader causes a change in playback tempo by -/+ 35%.
Try out the reverse button - when depressed it inverts the direction of playback.
The interactive wave display gives you ultimate control over the music. By clicking on the waveform and holding down the mouse button, you get manual control over playback speed. In this state all mouse movements are instantly transformed into shifts of the playback position on the audio file. Try to use this digital scratcher just as if you had a turntable under your fingertip, don't hesitate to be rude and to throw the file back and forth with energy. The shift key gives a further boost to your controls. The right mouse button allows you to temporarily mute the track during the backward movements of Digital Scratching.
Use the Seek Fader for fast displacements inside the track. The slider can be quickly dragged to any position in the track. The two Seek Buttons at each end of the fader provide fast seeking with non interrupted playback (cueing) to quickly scan through the track. The additional Button on the left allows to jump back to the beginning of the track in one shot. Before reading on, you should use this key to jump back to the start of demo1.mp3 because we need some more time to prepare the following mix.
In the Mix with the Second Track
While the first track is played back in Deck A, it is time to load a second track into Deck B. For this demonstration you should load the file demo2.mp3 from the /TRAKTOR directory.
Pull the crossfader to the left before you start playback of the second track. This prevents the signal of Deck B from being directly sent to the master output before being adjusted for the mix.
Start playback of Deck B and have a look at the Beat Sync Display to realise that things are not well aligned so far.
The two red Phase Bars are wildly moving through the display, indicating that neither tempo nor timing of our two tracks are in line.
As a first measure activate the Tempo Adjust Mode by depressing the button next to the BPM Display of Deck B.
Comparing the two BPM Displays shows, that the speed of Deck B has been adjusted to the tempo of the track loaded into Deck A. Now both Displays have the same reading.
The Beat Sync Display indicates, that Deck A is perfectly synced to zero. Indeed by depressing the Tempo Sync Button, Deck A, represented by the central red dot in the Beat Sync Display, became the timing reference to be matched by Deck B.
As the tempi of the two tracks are equal, now the relative timing error is constant as shown by the constant length of Deck B's red Phase Bar. This relative timing error, heard as constant off beat, can be corrected automatically with the help of the Button. As long as the Sync Button is depressed, the timing error of Deck B is corrected towards Deck A. Hold the button depressed until the error is reduced to zero and both decks are represented by highlighted red dots in the centre of the Beat Sync Display. Now the two tracks are perfectly synchronised and the mix can start.
Click the Autofade Button on the right side of the Cross Fader. The slider will start moving from left to right according to the preset fading time and create a smooth, beat accurate transition between the two previously synchronised tracks.
Time for Creativity...
...and time to open two more panels of TRAKTOR. Please open the EQ Panel and the CUE Panel by depressing the corresponding buttons and in the Main Panel.
It is now our goal to freeze the sound of Deck B into a rhythmic loop. TRAKTOR allows you to set perfectly timed loops on the fly during playback. Try it out by depressing the button labeled in the Cue Panel of the Deck B. You can observe in the Wave Display how two Cue Points are being set. One representing the starting point of the loop and second representing its ending point. The length of the loop is exactly 1 bar (= 4 beats) and has automatically been retrieved from the detected track tempo.
The continuously reproduced loop shall now be used as sound material for a further transformation using the EQ Panel. Each of the two Decks is provided with a 3-Channel Equalizer and a 24db Notch/Band Pass Filter. Both filters have been developed with Native Instruments Reaktor Audio Engine and possess excellent acoustical properties.
For the moment we want to focus on the Notch/Band Pass Filter. It has to be activated with the small button in the upper right corner. The effect of the filter grows with high values of Resonance (RES) and small values of Width. The Low Cut Knob selects which parts of the sound spectrum should be emphasized or eliminated. At very high values of Resonance the filter produces the classical, singing effects.
We want to transform the loop into a dumb, grooving pattern with a filter setting that pronounces low and eliminates high frequencies. Please adjust your filter to a setting close to what is shown in the above figure.
Back to the Deck A, we will have to skip back to start a second time. After starting playback you will have to activate the Tempo Adjust Mode of Deck A, as now Deck B is the master and Deck A will have to be adjusted.
After that, proceed to synchronize the timing of both tracks with the Phase Sync Button . By right-clicking it, the synchronization is permanently locked and the timing errors get continuously corrected.
As we have enough low frequencies coming from Deck B, we should reduce this frequency band in Deck A by lowering the respective slider in its EQ Panel.
It is now time to slowly move over the Crossfader to its central position. As progressively the high frequencies from Deck A add to the dumb groove of Deck B the loop becomes more and more lively and gets a completely different rhythmic structure.
Congratulations! You just created your first, unique TRAKTOR mix from audio material that can be easily be brought on your computer from cd's, vinyl or from the internet. Don't hesitate to turn the knobs of the filters - but never get out of groove!
Practise! This introduction to TRAKTOR should enable you to do your first steps in mixing.
And personal help: try clicking one of those arrow buttons where issays fade < button means to fade in > means to fade out try clicking << and >> as well once u click on it u dont unpress u just keep clicking on it thise will show where to fade out or to fade in once u've chosen the time it will start playing the other deck auomatically for u =)
Also try by holding the button of the mouse down of the waves and moving it back and forth it will produce scratches.
It'a a matter of time ane practice and u can mix just like a real dj with it...
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