Clarification - How to stop Traktor from automatically tagging key?
I haven’t been with Traktor for awhile and I’m trying to catch up on their whole key implementation again. How do I get it to stop automatically tagging key on analysis? I went and batch analyzed my entire library just now with all analysis options unticked and was kind of horrified to realize that all my files have been automagically retagged from Camelot to Open Key. All my key tags are also stored in my comments tag (along with some organization notes) so it’s ok, just pissed me off a bit. Did they ever issue a fix for this? Browsing through a few forum threads showed me that this was an issue before, but I can’t figure out whether NI ever fixed the thing.
If memory serves, it will force the change to open key no matter what you do, but if you disabled analysis, then it didn’t re-analyze using the shite Traktor key detection… but it’s been a while since I’ve been there.
The only difference between Camelot and Open Key is the orientation of the clock face and A/B or d/m… not a big deal. Honestly, so long as you are consistent in which you use, it doesn’t matter at all - they both mean exactly the same thing.
I honestly prefer Open Key because I find the Camelot Wheel to be something that shouldn’t be copyrightable/trademarkable… it’s a simple concept that’s based on the Circle of Fifths, all they did was change the labels. As a software dev, if I were to use Camelot in anything I make that is available for public consumption, I would have to pay a licensing fee - just to have C major at 8 instead of 1 (and, I will be perfectly honest with you, musically speaking C major belongs at 1 or 12, not 8. 8 is not a logical place to put the “perfect” key).
Fair disclosure, I have a beef with the Mixed in Key company (though at this time, I do use their software) - I do not like supporting bad DRM, and MiK uses “always connected” DRM, which particularly pisses me off. One of my secondary projects, after Synner3, is a FOSS MiK replacement with comparable success rates using an audio AI I’m developing. I have the capacity to punish bad DRM, so I intend to.
So… ultimately, the Camelot wheel supports bad Intellectual Property laws and bad DRM… two things that I have pretty serious beef with.
I’m wondering how Serato got around it. The way 1.8 implements key detection is they tag with respect to classical key, but you can select display as Camelot in options. Virtually similar if not better to MIK.
I run MIK before I stick things in Traktor anyhow, it just makes it totally incompatible to have a Traktor setup and a Serato setup simultaneously. Since the display fields are unchangeable in SDJ, Traktor has effectively forced the display of Open key in the Key section, which is honestly bs if it’s intentional.
Do you have any coding skills? This is a really simple problem that a tiny script could fix, something that just scans over your collection real quick checking the INITIALKEY tag, and if it ends in a “d” or an “m”, then take the number, subtract 7, and then replace the “d” or “m” with “B” or “A.”
I could throw something together for you that could do it, but as we don’t actually know each other at all, you would be well right to not trust a chunk of custom code from an unknown source.
Mp3tag should be capable of doing it, though… pulling together what you’d need to do, this should do what you need without needing to trust custom code from a stranger.
That’s not the problem we’re discussing here. Traktor automatically updates the ID3 “INITIALKEY” tag to use Open Key rather than Camelot when you do any analysis of your tracks, regardless of whether you let Traktor actually detect the key or not.
OK… Mp3tag is free, so if you don’t have it, you’ll need it.
In Mp3tag, pick the tracks that have had Open Key tags put in them, select Tag → Tag (the red ball with an arrow pointing to another red ball). Enter “INITIALKEY” in your field, and for your Format String, use this:
Meant in the quoted post that back in Serato all my tracks have now been forced over to Open Key because Traktor decided to tag everything even though I told it not to analyze key. Since 1.8 Serato will try to interpret the key tag, but has a bit of a harder time interpreting Traktor’s open key for some reason (though Open Key is an option). Also in Traktor there is still unfortunately no Camelot option; basically to my knowledge there only way to get a Camelot tag into the Key column is to fix it after Traktor automagically retags it to open key, and even then it’ll instantly overwrite if you accidentally analyze the track again.
@deathy thanks! I’ll give that a go. That is one heck of compact script there to interpret OpenKey and flip it back into Camelot. I do a bit of code from now and then, pursuing a minor in CS along with a mechanical engineering degree, I just usually tend to avoid hacking in a fix if I think the original software could be improved. that MP3tag string should save a whole lot of time though!
I noticed a while back that Traktor 2.10 does not show the MiK tags. The difference seems to be that now you have to import to Traktor before you launch MiK to work out the cue points.
As long as you have MiK set to overwrite the comments tag there is a simple fix;
Do everything as normal and Traktor does not show the MiK tag. Next double click (mac) / right click (Windows) and select EDIT for the file.
Then click APPLY.
Then click OK.
Back to the list and your camelot data is in the correct field.
