My early observation of mixing is that when using the sync button on traktor going from 1 song to the next the via a smooth transition requires the 2 songs to be within 3 bpm of each other. I find any more than this and the song that is being mixed into sound too disimilar from its original sound and unpleasant although I’m sure this is not a universal rule. My question is that if you are mixing from one song to the next and want it synced together how do you effectively go to a higher or lower bpm from song to song?
The only reason you notice, is because you know it’s happening - most people listening wont notice the other track is playing faster than usual, especially if you have keylock on.
Are you usig the pitch fader or sync button to match the bpms? Or are you trying to mix a 135 bpm song into a 125 bpm song without changing the tempo of either songs?
Then if keylock is activated then there should be minimal difference in sound. And the only person that will pick it up is you. I wouldn’t worry about it. And if you still think something is wrong then I would recommend posting a sample for us to review.
Yes keylock is a great tool and one that I have on almost all the time. But there are tons of ways to switch BPMs. In fact I would highly recommend it. After an hour or two of just 125 bpm I usually want to set the DJ on fire.
Now my preferred method of doing this is to do the transition and gradually increase the tempo through breakdowns. If there is a full cut of silence that can be the best time to reset the tempo, especially if it’s just a small difference of a few percent.
As for drastically changing tempo, sometimes it just works better. I have a few songs that just work SO much better at + 15% or - 10%.
Tempo changes, in my opinion, are the hardest technique for a DJ to do correctly. ESPECIALLY a DJ who only uses Sync to make transitions. Just keep trying different things and you’ll figure out what works for you. And keep fucking with which songs you mix. Certain songs just don’t mesh at all with long blends and, while the energy might shift in a genius way, it will require you to mix them differently.
This if there’s a long break down with not much of a beat going on it’s a real good time to bump the BPM up and you can get away with quite a bit, especially of there’s a build up going on anyway.
Also, one of my preferred techniques is to get a long transition on a break down (possibly for a double drop which works AWESOME) where I’ll switch the master tempo to the new song and slowly start pulling up the tempo of the older track. This creates a really awesome tempo change that goes great with energy changes on bass lines.
I personally agree. I don’t like keylock and 128 - 125, you do loose some magic in the song at its original recording.
I just wouldn’t go from 125 to 128 with out manually nudging the 125 up to 126.5 and the 128 track down to 126.5 and meeting in the middle. Once the the 128 track (at 126.5) has been mixed in, i would then nudge speed it up or do on a breakdown or even just at the end of the 8/16 bars as long as there a change in the song itself.
Also, MixedInKey did a great breakdown of when you actually start hearing key changes. I believe it was somewhere around 3.3%. Beyond that the average listener, with no keylock, will barely notice a change, if at all.
And people need more drastic tempo changes. They are for the win.
Thank goodness for internet forums. You guys have provided a lot of sound information I can work with. I’ve just spent 10 hours today practicing. I’m going to bed to rest up for another 10 tomorrow. Key lock,bpm,tempo faaadeeee…zzz
