Hi everyone, my name is Kevin and i am 33 years old. I have been mixing for 10 years or so using decks and cdj’s. But i really enjoy using tractor as i like doing really smooth, long mixes. I was alright on decks but i feel Traktor gets better results.
I have just brought an S8 and i am using it with my Mac book. I do not know anyone else who uses it so thought i would join a forum to get some advice.
I mix rolling drum and bass music mainly. I have used it for the last two days and it has been fine, i have synced all the tunes and i have recorded a couple of mixes, so all good.
I was just wondering if it was worth beat grid-ing my tracks as it seems i do not need too. I did have a couple of tracks today that went out of time but mostly it has been fine.
I tried to beat-grid a track earlier but when i pressed play the markers moved from where i wanted them set. And, yes, i did lock it after i finished.. Plus, it seems a lot of hassle having to beat-grid every single tune !
Does anyone else here use traktor and play drum n bass mainly ? How do you find Traktor in general and do you have any advice for me.
I was just wondering what your thoughts are on this.. ?
always prep your music for digital djing in traktor. analyze,grid and hotcue (optionally key) every track as you bring them in, and eventually or in segments , do your whole collection. spending time on prep is where its at.
It’s beneficial to analyse your tracks, and key them too. It is good for transitions, and it adjusts gains to keep the tracks normalised, to be honest, if you are used to the old skool ways, it’s just going to be a matter of doing the same thing a slightly different way, and you probably won’t need to rely on sync or even beatgrids, take snap off and set an opening cue point, and save it as a load point, just do it as you come across each track.
Cheers, i have started doing that. I am cueing the tracks up and listening before mixing, 99% of the time the tracks are in sync and no problems. I had two today that did’nt sound right, due to tempo shift in the track i reckon, so i just did not play them and deleted the tracks after ! So, i am just going to keep doing it this way. I am going to start a radio show on-line soon
Do you reckon, I don’t really need to beat grid stuff as Tractor is good enough at doing it itself. But i need to be vigilant for that odd track every now and then.
Thanks for any comments, they are very helpful as i am new to this.
Yes, always beatgrid them, always “lock” them so the grid doesn’t change mid-gig (go to the grid section of the deck, where you can find the precise bpm and grid stuff, then click on the lock symbol). Traktor is not flawless at creating grids, and with a little training you will do it in seconds.
Using “load markers” is very useful too, the track will always start cued at the point you want.
You made a good choice, I prefer traktor over serato. And S8 seems to be very cool, there is a lot to learn and create with this thing.
Beatgrids are handy, but not essential, they are, if you intend to use sync, and you want tight loops, also allows ya to be a good bit more creative.
I beatgrid all my stuff, because I love using loops and doing some on-the-fly creative stuff
Once you analyse your tracks, you should see a beatgrid anyway..
It is worth beat gridding your tracks. Traktor has several foundational assumptions, including an assumption that the beat grid on every track is correct and reliable. While that can be worked around, it adds unnecessary difficulty.
The effects that are based on the beat use the grid. So, if the grid is off, so are all the effects that rely on that grid. How much that matters will vary…but it may matter quite a bit.
Loops are MUCH easier to manage when the grid is correct. Beat jumps rely on the grid.
External controllers that send/receive the MIDI clock will depend on the grid being correct.
And yes, even sync relies on the grid being correct.
I play a LOT of music that includes a live drummer. I feel the constraints of not having a solid grid at every gig. It is certainly possible to mix tracks that have live drummers, I do it at every gig. But, that additional work does draw my focus into the booth, as opposed to allowing me to keep my focus on the room. I notice that change in focus from outside the booth to inside the booth. I enjoy gigs more when I can keep my focus outside the booth for most of the evening, I like the people watching. That’s me…you are probably different.
Cheers for all the comments and i will take them on board, i will have a go at gridding and see what happens.
I now have another problem that is rather frustrating. I am all set up for doing a radio show through Nice Cast and i have it broadcasting okay ect..
But, I went into input routing through the preferences and had a fiddle and now i can not get my headphone cue buttons to work properly, i don’t understand how to fix the problem, i have tried but not sure what to do..
Drum and bass can be a little tricky when relying on the sync. I can’t recommend using it. Although I mix dnb and jungle in traktor because I love the efx and looping. Just drop the cue and nudge the track in and let em ride. You’ll achieve better results.
As for the beat gridding, just tap it in real quick when your precuing.
