Recording & Syncing Traktor Scratch In Ableton Live 8

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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Recording & Syncing Traktor Scratch In Ableton Live 8

Hi All,

This is my first post on here go easy on me!!! I have read lots of threads explaining how to sync up Traktor to Live, and a big thankyou to all those who have taken the time to post these tutorials. However…

There is nothing that explains how to sync and still keep the full vinyl control.

But the biggest problem I have found is that although I can record into Live from Traktor, during playback of the recorded set the timing in of the Traktor tracks is not in sync, even though these are playing in time with one another during the recording session. There also seems to be timing problems with Traktor in terms of the accuracy in keeping the beatgrid in sync with Ableton, this is really obvious when you view the recorded set back in Ableton and you can clearly see that there is a little inconsistency between the timings on the Traktor grid and of those also in Ableton.

Does anyone have any tips or advice as to how I can fix these timing issues between both Traktor & Ableton?

Just so you know Im using Virtual Audio Cable, Midi OX & Asio4all for routing and connecting.

Your help would be greatly appreciated if there’s anyone out there who has the answers??

THanks… G

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dubspot just put up a tutorial on this. super accurate super simple.

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This is the method that I use, and it works pretty well. But word to the wary, there are a couple things not mentioned that can really frustrate if you’re not paying attention.

  1. Using auto mode with this method is iffy. Why? Because one deck is always designated in Traktor as the source of the master clock. What this means is that you can’t nudge that deck in relation to other tracks that are playing. Doing that just nudges the master clock and anything that is synced to it. For the most part this isn’t a problem, but you know how sometimes you need to nudge a deck just a little bit even if your grids are spot on? This is why I highly recommend internal mode.

  2. Any effects, vsts, processors, you put in your channel or master faders in Live are going to delay the signal somewhat with regards to the clock Live is receiving. You MUST readjust the clock delay compensation anytime you add things or take things away. For this reason it’s good to get all the fx you’re going to use solidified, then deal with the clock offset, then not mess with things after that.

  3. Tempo changes in Traktor don’t get responded to in a clean way in Live. It’s all a bit of a trainwreck until things settle back into sync. Just expect this and use techniques like having your Live channels not playing when you make a tempo change in Traktor, and you’ll be fine.

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Thanks Army & Zach for these tips and links, I’ll give these steps a good run through and let you know how I get on.

Just a thought though, I have learned that by running Traktors midi sync in ‘external’ mode does cause it to jump up and down like crazy, will try running this in ‘internal’ mode to see if that improves the overall sync between Traktor & Ableton.

I’ll be back to report how this test setup runs…

Thanks again.

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Back again…

As I thought, the video link for Dubspot is an old clip. As I mentioned when I started this thread I have the sync fixed.

The video shows how to sync using a MAC, this process does not work with Windows/PC formats as the drivers don’t allow more than one piece of software to utilise more than one midi controller at the same time, and vise versa. Traktor Technical will explain the reasons for this if you speak to them as I did, but in short they have only offered the Virtual Midi function for use on MAC computers and cannot write a fix for this if you are using a windows PC.

There are many turorials here and across lots of other sites which explain how to sync. If you are using a Windows PC like me, then if you are wanting to sync and also have midi control then read the tutorial posted by BentoSan. You can read it here http://www.djtechtools.com/2008/04/04/smart-mixing-traktor-with-ableton/[/URL]
This guide will explain clearly how to sync and setup virtual cable connections and midi across any number of pieces of software and controllers.

Back to my point, the setup shown on the Dubspot video also only tells half of the story, as this doesn’t correctly sync the audio coming in from Traktor when you begin to record in Ableton. This is the reason for me starting the thread…

So, just to be clear, I’m asking if anyone can help out to explain how to correctly sync both Traktor and Ableton so that any audio played from Traktor into Live and then recorded will when played back be in sync. All of the above tips only deal with playing on the fly and do not offer help or advice for getting recordings and the playback afterwards in sync.

Thanks again Army & Zac for your time on this but I have already got the basics covered.

Anyone else out there who can go the extra mile who knows how to fix the recording playback problems, I won’t waste any more of my time and money telephoning Germany to speak to both Native Instruments or Ableton becuase it’s clear that if the help isn’t printed in a book to read back to you then they can’t help!!! This site is the best I’ve found for real useful info for hardware and software questions…

Thanks… G.

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syncing S4 & mAudio Axiom 25

I’m trying to do something similar with a S4 controller for Traktor and a MAudio Axiom 25 keyboard to play synths & drums in Ableton, as well as use effects of both programs & record the entire mix in Ableton. All on a single PC. I haven’t had much luck with any of the tutorials available online; I’ve set everything up correctly but they just aren’t doing what I want them to do.

When I turn on EXT MIDI sync in Ableton, yeah it “kind of” syncs up with Traktor, but its not great. It drifts and is slow to catch up to tempo changes in Traktor. Plus, my keyboard stops working, its like there is some sort of MIDI conflict, trying to sync the clock to Traktor but also getting interference from the keyboard, so the notes don’t play more than a clicking sound. Turn EXT sync off and the synth plays just fine.

Also, since I’m using the S4 to control Traktor, I don’t want to use External Mixing Mode and have to map the S4 to Ableton, that just defeats the purpose of having the plug n play capabilities of the S4. And I dont want to have to constantly swich the S4 into MIDI mode to control Ableton, switch back to control Traktor, and have knobs and sliders out of position when I get back.

I know this is an old and possibly dead post, but has anyone found a way to fix these issues yet?

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Hey qwantim,

Yes, this was an old post! Sadly this is still a problem :disappointed: I do like many of Native Instruments products, I’ve bought quite a few over the years. Traktor is probably the most feature packed digital DJ solution available today, it smashes Serato out of the park in many respects. But the one thing about Traktor is that it is very much a self contained unit. It’s not at all designed to be run alongside other software at the same time.

If you read the release notes over the years you will see that although NI have added lots of features, there has NEVER been anything done to address syncing possibilities with other third party software. I know many users have requested it too but NI either cannot or will not offer a solution. Also, they do not seem to be doing anything for using plugin VST products with Traktor. I guess that in part response they have introduced the sample banks decks option, but is in my opinion a half arsed lame attempt to offer some sample looping functionality rather than properly address a workable link to Ableton Live.

You can use Serato Scratch, it has a plugin called ‘The Bridge’. It’s expensive, you must buy a Rane audio interface or mixer and you will lose a shedload of features compared to what get in Traktor. I bought it, I tried it, I binned it!!!

The syncing issues you describe, drifting etc is common and I never found a reliable, stable way to fix this. The clicking noise you get is likely to be a soundcard/ram problem. Both Live & Traktor are a drain on your cpu and ram, no matter how much you tweak your software and your hardware you will continue to have these issues with sound quality if you don’t have a high spec laptop or pc. You can set up your midi controllers to run on different channels so to speak, this would stop one controller interfering with control of one software or the other. Again, correct midi mapping and configuration will fix this. But won’t be easy if you are using 1 midi controller to operate more than one piece of software.

So I have accepted that whilst this technology is great, you have to accept that Traktor is great for DJ work, making mixes etc. Live is a music production tool firstly, a Dj tool is something which I think came as a second thought to the marketing team so that they could sell Ableton to the DJ market and not just to music producers.

Use Traktor to DJ and Ableton Live to make music!!!

I have been told that it is possible to properly sync if you use a MAC - Im not so sure myself, as when you ask these ‘experts’ for a workable demo to support their claims, and show that it correctly synced over a long period of say 2 or 3 hours then they cannot do it. A 5 minute youtube video proves nothing so don’t be fooled - believe me, I’ve tried so many different so-called solutions and nothing works. I even tested it on a customised MAC Book Pro, a very high spec machine and it was bollocks!!!

I hope that you do one day find a solution, if you do I would love to know, as would many thousands of other users out there!

Good luck :slight_smile: