DJing: How can I ensure that my clips/metronome never go out of sync?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
, , , ,
1

DJing: How can I ensure that my clips/metronome never go out of sync?

So, over the past few months, I’ve been practicing DJing using Ableton Live 9 Suite, and slowly piecing together my performance session template, and every now and then, after transitioning through several tracks in a session, the clip I am triggering will do so either too early or too late, or something happens where suddenly the metronome is offset by a click or two.
I honestly can’t describe this occurrence any better than I did, and I can’t seem to recreate it…it always seems to happen when I least expect it, or when I’m really getting into the mix…absolutely maddening!
This wouldn’t really be a problem as I don’t NEED the metronome to DJ, but when Ableton’s host metronome/tempo/time signature is offset, it results in all of my clips triggering at the wrong times which is really annoying!
I usually keep my quantization to 1 bar, although I’ve tried using quarter note and I find that I’ll still randomly run into this problem.
All of my clips are properly warped—they play from start to finish without missing a beat…and I’m positive it’s not a matter of me counting wrong…what could possibly be going wrong, here?
CPU load doesn’t really go past 10%…using 44100 sample rate with buffer size of 512 samples.
My session template is four audio “deck” tracks, each with Utility > Effects Rack (modified version of ill.Gates’) > Tarekith EQ3.8 > modified version of ill.Gates’ “juicy” fader. Four corresponding MIDI tracks between each so I can implement lights later. A track for 1 shots on one side that I don’t currently use.
Hope you guys can help me out—this has been extremely discouraging!

2

Do you use any Delay type effects during ransitions? Perhaps you’re leaving a delay effect on when triggering the new track?

3

No delays at the moment—closest thing would be a synced beat repeat device, but I’ve mapped it so that when the corresponding knobs are at 0, the entire effects chain is off, and I only really use the effect to make tracks that would otherwise sound awkward sync with build ups, or to accent/glitch up certain ends of bars.

4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrVp6uGb9jU…

Sorry for the shitty recording/audio—didn’t realize it was recording the built-in mic.

Anyway, around 4:13, I got the metronome to fuck up, and I wasn’t even using any effects or triggering new clips, it just reset itself while the two were playing, and I can’t seem to find any rhyme or reason.

After it starts going crazy, I stop to demonstrate how all of my clips that were being played at the time are in time on their own.

??¿¿!!¡¡