Hi, I was talking to my other friend and we both use traktor for mixing.
Even through theres no wrong way to mix unless its not in time i was wondering how most of the people get ready to beat match inside traktor.
I use the tempo to make sure they are the same, then just use the jog wheel to make sure they are in time, But my friend likes to beat grid the tracks so he can just hit the sync button.
Just curious to how many are beat matching in traktor and if the way that do it is because of the different style of music they are mixing
bit of both… most the time manually though, not because i think manual beatmatching takes more skill - i’d just rather not beatgrid if i don’t have to.
i use traktor 3 though, it’s a lot more friendly for manual beatmatching imo. traktor pro1&2 the looping and effects are pretty sketchy without gridding.
Pretty much this. I can grid a song in seconds, but it takes a while for me to get done with a song the first time because I’ll set loops and cues usually as soon as I get it.
I always do this… pick apart each section of the song and then work from there. As I am newb, I have taught myself to not use the sync button. Maybe when I do a mix i’ll use it, but for now its all fun.
I sync every now and then, but I refuse to do it all the time. A kid I used to be friends with bought controllers and started using only the sync button. One of my friends saw him, had him come play some actual records, and told me he basically embarrassed himself. I don’t want to get to used to it and get out of practice for manual stuff like he did. Not that it will happen to everyone, but I don’t want to look like the joke that kid made himself look like.
sync to get the tempo the same. i hit play in time and use the jogs for fine tuning.
the only time i have sync on is when im using a vocal sample and its not spaced evenly, so setting a grid at the appropriate part would make it jump a bit and make the start of a new line be on beat instead of 1/4th off or something.
That “kid” should have told the dude the only way he would take the challenge, is if you played on his “setup” and he played on yours.
I would love to see someone step up to my custom mapped X1 and just “figure” it out.
I am comfortable with anything that modulates sound. Even if I have never seen it before, I am confident in my ability to figure it out. Although doing you’re “homework” and researching any, and every, piece of equipment you might find out there… Reading manuals… Reading forums threads… Can go a long way to help your familiarity, even if you cannot get your hands on the unit itself.
I would never expect anyone to be able to really be that good beyond matching beats on a custom mapped controller. That being said, I expect anyone who is playing out ANYWHERE, to be able to step up to two turntables and a mixer, and not trainwreck. If you can’t do the basics, it pretty sad. It’s even worse when you’ve been playing as long as any of us, play out regularly, and can’t match a couple of tracks the old fashioned way. This kid basically trainwrecked from what I heard. Sort of sad considering he has been playing out for almost 15 years.
beatgrid + sync, correct if necessary (it never is).
There is the odd track I really wish I had a pitch fader for, though.
For it to make sense to me…it’s all or nothing…all manual with decks or sync with a computer…I don’t see the point for doing either halfway. I got rid of my turntables, and I can’t afford good enough CDJs, so I’m on Traktor. If I had the money, that could possibly change.
So you’re saying it’s ‘embarassing’ when someone can’t do a skill they’ve never practiced and had no need to?
You say it’s the basics, but the basics have changed in the era of controllerism and laptop DJing. It might not be what you learned to do, but it’s no less legitimate- it’s just a different way of doing things. I don’t own vinyl turntables and probably never will use them beyond mere curiosity. I think the true beauty and skill of DJing is the creative expression and manipulation of music- not the mechanics of what’s being done or equipment used.
The mechanics and equipment are merely a means to an end.
The “mechanics” of beat matching by ear show a basic understanding of music. I would seriously doubt your ability to manipulate music and depth of expression if you don’t know how to do it. You may choose not to match by ear but you should absolutely know how.
Saying its not necessary may be true now, but denying it has creative merit is just an excuse for not taking the time to learn it.
I would be curious to find any DJ that headlines that cant beatmatch by ear.
I can certainly appreciate that point. I just don’t really believe the mechanical means of beatmatching matters so much. I don’t really see any reason why you wouldn’t use sync, for instance, if it helps you speed up your workflow. You obviously need to know what’s matched and what’s not, but how you get there is really a function of what you learned. It’s entirely conceivable that someone who uses sync+jog wheel on a controller could be just as interesting and creative a DJ as someone who beatmatches everything by ear on some Stantons and a mixer. I think it’s unfair, in the situation he described, to say it’s ‘embarassing’ that the DJ couldn’t mix on a setup that didn’t support his style.
+1.
I heard a lot of kids having tunes in perfect sync - but one beat off, not even realizing that it sounded horrible. Lack of basic understanding of music structure.
Also, in my personal opinion a DJ that actually plays gigs outside his own bedroom should be able to cope with all possible scenarios. If he prefers to use a controller and use the sync, that’s cool. But he should be able to cope with CDJs, and turntables, just in case there’s no other way to play. Not sayin’ that everyone should have Shiftee or qbert skills.
If someone doesn’t even plan to play anywhere else than at home or the occasional house party though, there’s no reason to bother about anything than the preferred setup.
Back to the point:
When using a controller, i take the same route as a few others here: Sync to match BPMs, play, use jog wheel to actually sync.
I still like my DVS/timcode vinyl setup though. If I am sure I can actually set it up properly wherever I play, I tend to use it. No syncing there. IF I am not, I take the controller, because it’s a lot easier to set up.
Cope, certainly. That’s one of the realities of doing gigs. I’m not going to argue against that. Wouldn’t expect someone’s best work on an unfamiliar set up though, especially if it’s dramatically different.
I get CDs, rip them to my computer, analyze them, grid them, key them, set cue points and loops and let them sit. I sync them when necessary, I mix them when not.
Knowing how to manually beatmatch is an asset, but in this day and age, it’s really not a requirement. I think it’s an excellent skill and necessary, and have argued such. But to make a new DJ embarass himself because he has never acquired a skill is madness. Are we to expect every DJ to own turntables AND CDJs if they are going to spin on a computer? Please forgive me if I call bullshit.
Learning to manually beatmatch is essential. Learning to spin vinyl on SOMEONE ELSE’S vinyl collection, on a medium that is NOT a requirement to their experience is not. In a day and age where I can bring my entire rig to a gig, there is no need for to own and learn turntables and cds on top of all of the MIDI experience, remapping and software learning I have to do.
And yeah, I defy any CD DJ or Turntable DJ to walk up to my custom coded Launchpad and not embarass themselves. shrug It’s an insulting exercise that is only done to embarass people we should be nurturing to make more better DJs.
