Setup for DJ Duo
Hey Guys!
Me and my buddy have been djing with each other for quite a while now. We both run Macbooks with Traktor Pro. I’m using a Xone:22 with the Kontrol X1 and Audio 2 DJ, and my buddy is using a Denon DN-X120 with the Launchpad mapped out to Traktor Pro and an Audio 2 DJ.
We usually just routed our mixers into a master mixer and switched off back and fourth at our shows. Sometimes we would do a couple songs each back and fourth and sometimes we would go song for song.
Lately we have been doing a lot of tech house, techno and minimal and have been fiddling around with loops, acapellas, and using bits and pieces of other songs with effects, etc to create more of a ‘live’ show, but sometimes it feels like going back and forth and having to match everything by ear quickly with loops, etc can get pretty aggravating when its all on the spot and we have much more to worry about.
We were thinking about getting a 4 channel mixer and routing our Audio 2 DJs into it so that when mixing live, it’s almost like my buddy, Ross, is working 2 decks and I’m working 2 decks at the same time so that we’re doing 4 decks, but with 2 laptops. We were thinking about going with a Xone:42 or a Xone:92R and each getting a Xone:1D to control our decks and effects, loops, etc.
We pretty much know what we want to accomplish and what equipment we’re going to use, but we really would like to sync our Macbooks together. What would be the most reliable way for us to sync our systems together? Would we need any hardware or software? If so, what software or hardware would we need and where can we find it?
Regards,
Mirash
Theres a number of threads about using the Midi send feature of Tpro (I know as a mate of mine and I have been thinking of doing the same thing … but on more of a funk/soul/hip-hop/breaks end of things)
Do you even need sync at all? If you would both work with a master clock and the same bpm you only need to beatmatch once at the start of the show and maybe again if you change the tempo but the timing will stay the same.
+1. I use this method all the time with a mate, set the master clocks running in sync and you’re away. This would be less useful if your BPM is moving up and down a lot though…
We usually stay at the same BPM for most of the night, not too many changes and if so, very minor. So how can this even be done? any videos for example?
Put both computers on master tempo clock mode so the decks sync to the master tempo instead of to other decks. Then set the BPM the same on both laptops, start tracks and beatmatch using the nudge buttons. You find all these in the top left panel.
This is how I do it, it’s sliiiightly complicated lol
Laptop 1:
a) go into master clock mode and type the tempo you want into the box, click on INT and make sure the play/pause button is on (blue)
b) play a track (something easy to beatmatch)
Laptop 2:
c) repeat steps a and b
d) click the AUTO button
e) use pitch bend or whatever you like to beatmatch the 2, the master clock syncs automatically to the changes you make
f) click the INT button again
Now whenever either laptop presses SYNC on a deck they are syncing to the matched master clocks provided they are set to the same BPM and no settings have been changed.
I find the concept of never changing the bpm during a night bizarre - I tend to change quite a lot during my set, let alone over the course of an entire night … but then as I’ve repeatedly noticed I’m faaaaar less of an EDM head than most one here>)
It’s not that we don’t change, just that we’ll stick to the same thing for a while, say 128bpm for 15/20 minutes, then one of us will bump it up to 140 for a while and the other one resyncs his master clock using headphones. Just makes it easier to swap in and out every few songs without having to beat match every time.
P.S. I’m glad this is a digital forum lol, I’d get slagged off in seconds by a vinyl-head for saying that on most others!
Isn’t there ways of keeping in Sync using an ethernet cable? Do you guys know how that would work? I’m gonna try the Master Clock technique out tonight! Thanks 
One laptop / Traktor can send the master signal and the other can receive it.. but I think you might need some sort of MIDI interface to make this happen… not sure if there is a cheap / reliable one out there.
Check out the Speedy J and Chris Liebing NI promo vid.. these guys are both rockin’ decks similar to what you’ve got in mind:
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/dj/traktor-pro/?content=998&page=1545
Cheers.
Thanks for the link! anyone know what piece of hardware would be best for what we want to do?
You can send a the master clock over a ethernet crossover cable and using one of the many midi over LAN programs available.
Anyone know of any good programs for sending midi over LAN? It would have to be for Mac since we both use MacBooks.
Check these links…
http://www.musiclab.com/products/rpl_info.htm
I’m not positive, since i use windows, but this might be possible on a mac without 3rd party software. But i’m pretty sure you’ll need a “Crossover” cable, which is different than a standard ethernet cable, as it allows 2 way communication without the use of a router.