Question about a well known and resented feature of many controllerists.
How many of you guys that are controllerists use sync?
I have a Novation Twitch with a BPM range of 100% and can adjust by .01 per click, so I NEVER use sync. Plus sync doesn’t seem to understand that you can beat match with the 2:1 ratio (67.50:135) that i tend to use when mixing dubstep with house.
So tell me. IF you do use sync, what does it enable you to do? And f you don’t why not?
It means you can control the pitch of multiple tracks with one pitch fader. To use your example, if you wanted to go from dubstep to house you could start with the dubstep track at 140, sync the house track and start to mix, and continue lowering the tempo of the master (dubstep) track without the house track going out of sync. You can also sync up more than 2 decks, or add remix decks if you wanted to.
Beat matching 2 different tracks isn’t hard, but shifting tempo simultaneously on 2 tracks is and so is beatmatching more than 2 decks.
And if you use your software’s BPM readout to beatmatch to 0.01BPM, that’s no more difficult than using the sync button but does take longer.
On a side note to everyone, if this thread starts to get out of hand as sync button debates so often do, I’ll close it down sharpish. You have all been warned!
Yea I was thinking kind of the same thing. Using an all-in-one controller, w/ no jogs, and software, I think the reason why you’re asking this question is cause maybe you don’t have a full grasp on beatmatching. I dnno
You can sync more than one track which is pretty hard to do without Sync except if you Roger Sanchez
Truth: Most Dj’s are not on the level to successfuly play 4 tracks at the same time and have it sound good. Sync allows this(and still sounds like garbage)
Sync gives me more time to concetrate on effects and other things to make my set sound better
Truth: Richi Hawtin said this one time in a video promoting Traktor and everyones used it since
Controllers, Virtual DJ, etc. have all brought on a culture where sync is justified and therefore beatmaching is no longer needed when a computer can do it for you
Truth: Many folks that have entered DJing in recent years have not invested the time and money it took to learn 10 years ago and chances are don’t know how to sync
Those are my thoughts on why people Sync. Truth is I think there is some great stuff you can do with sync FEP’s example of bring changing the tempo on two tracks at the same time is one of them…but I’d say people use it over beatmaching because they don’t know how. I use SSL and although I can beatmatch most times I just line up waveforms on my screen because it’s there and available.
There’s a lot of options OTHER than sync with controllers, but its always the most debated feature. Each to their own i suppose.
INB4syncdoesntmatteritsallaboutthemusicyoupick…
I use sync and am proud of it.
I think the title of the thread is a bit off. It should read…
I think it is loved (or at least liked) by most controllerists. Hehehe…
scamo
I learnt to DJ with nothing but 2 channel mixer and 2 turntables.
I can beatmatch easy as, can i be bothered wasting my time when i could be having fun jumping in and out of different tunes with various effects??
No.
The fact is I now have soooo many other things I could be doing, beatmatching is bottom of the list.
I do still run the TC vinyl in absolute mode when friends come round just so they can have a go at "DJ"ing old school style.
Absolutely. It saves me time and lets me focus on better music selection, better transitions, and interacting with the guests.
With that being said, you should be well versed with how sync works and how it can fail. Like any automation tool, it’s only as good as the data you put into it. If you don’t know how to correct it manually, you can royally screw up some transitions.
you can also easily use the /2 and x2 BPM function to halve and double bpms between different genres… in fact i have this bound to buttons on my controller.
learning to properly beatgrid took me about as long as it did to beatmatch by ear so i have no qualms about enabling sync.
Well… Then may I ask for some assistance?
Serato does not lock my tracks into sync. It will match the bpms but the moment the tempo knobs are turned, not only do the tempos not stay matched, but they also jump.
For example,
many of my dubstep track read as 70bpm in Itch, and other read at 140. If I were to use sync on a track that reads in at 128, with a track that reads as 70, Serato will pop it ALL THE way up to 128. And if i manually match them at 67.5:135, and then turn the fader knob the track that is now at 67.5 will either jump to 135, or 140.
The above situation is why I purchased the Twitch, and also the reason I don’t use sync. From the way you are describing sync, I feel as if something is wrong.
PS.
I realize that people like the sync feature, its just that there seems to be so many more people who bash it because they don’t use it.
I have no problem beat matching tracks on more than two decks. And I myself have no problem with sync.
I just don’t trust it with my current setup.
I use sync so I can have more time to drink.
The Texan speaks the truth.
Currently I’m using a set up with no jog-wheels so the sync button is pretty much a must, especially when you like to layer multiple tracks. I definitely agree with the above mentioned comment of Richie Hawtin that it gives you more time to focus on making things sound better… as well as drinking, checking your email, twiddling with knobs minutely… drinking again… all of which I think is more important !
Well played. 10!
atrak, dmc world champion, admitted on twitter he uses sync
I try not to make it a habit, but I also have a rotary knob and when you going from a progressive song to a trap or something like that, it becomes handy
l[quote=“Zer0beet, post:10, topic:48823, username:Zer0beet”]
Well… Then may I ask for some assistance?
Serato does not lock my tracks into sync. It will match the bpms but the moment the tempo knobs are turned, not only do the tempos not stay matched, but they also jump.
For example,
many of my dubstep track read as 70bpm in Itch, and other read at 140. If I were to use sync on a track that reads in at 128, with a track that reads as 70, Serato will pop it ALL THE way up to 128. And if i manually match them at 67.5:135, and then turn the fader knob the track that is now at 67.5 will either jump to 135, or 140.
[/quote]
you need to adopt a standard in your gridding. i double everything under 78.
Instant Win.
I used to be one of those people “SYNC is cheating”.
But then thought to myself, I can DJ without using sync, I can DJ on vinyl and CDJ without using a sync button. If it ever comes to it, I can DJ without it. But if the feature is there when I’m DJ’ing using a controller, damn right I’m going to use it. Why make it hard for myself because of being stubborn.
The people I have an issue with when it comes to sync is people who don’t bother learning at least how to mix on a CDJ.
Afew weeks ago when a controllerist (not calling him a DJ) was “controller’ing” in a bar where I’m from. His laptop/mac crashed and he just stood there in shock. Had no CD’s, had no backup, complete silence for like 5 minutes while he rebooted his gear up because he didn’t have a clue how to use the CDJ’s that were there.
I play a lot of vinyl-only sets these days, which of course means that I use sync all the time.
I always thought the controllerists partiality to mustaches was pretty unpopular. I don’t know if I’d say resented though.