Native Instruments product specialist and Dubspot Instructor Mike Henderson aka DJ Endo explains and demonstrates the incredible audio processing, DJing, and performance possibilities of Dell’s powerful Studio XPS laptop running Windows 7. In this new video Endo creates a next level Traktor DJ setup called The Mothership.  Using the Studio XPS laptop along with NI’s Audio 8 interface and the Kensington USB hub, Endo connects a series of Native Instruments next generation DJ controllers and gear including a mapped-out Maschine for auto-synching and beat-matchining, two Traktor Kontrol X1 for browsing/scrolling through tracks, controlling effects panels, and Traktor Kontrol S4 for advanced controllerisms using the decks. Lastly, Endo goes into Traktor and shows us how to navigate the preferences, device setups, and load up the Settings for The Mothership (click link to download settings.)

DJ Endo and DJ Shiftee are the designers of Dubspot’s upcoming Digital Djing with Traktor program, which you can find more details about below. You can listen to his mixes on SoundCloud, follow him on Twitter, & find him on Facebook.

Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Program

Three levels / 12 sessions / 21 hours of hands-on instruction + labs

Courses:

• Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 1: Introduction to DJing
• Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 2: Phrase Mixing
• Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Level 3: Beyond The Beatmatch

To reflect this renaissance, Dubspot has created the Digital DJing with Traktor program. In both our physical and online schools, students will learn how to DJ entirely with Traktor’s cutting-edge technology. An emphasis will be placed on the concepts of DJing rather than simply learning how to use the software. Starting with a historical overview, students will learn the fundamental concepts of the DJ via Traktor’s intuitive interface. They will then begin to delve into the vast array of new possibilities offered by this groundbreaking software, recording their work along the way. Students will leave with finished DJ mixes, a thorough introduction to DJing with Traktor, and a skill set and knowledge base perfect for further development.

Dubspot Instructor and product specialist for Native Instruments Mike Henderson aka DJ Endo answers a question on the minds of many Traktor enthusiasts and Ableton Live users, one of the most frequently asked questions he receives as a Native Instruments DJ expert; How can I sync Ableton Live to Traktor? In this new tutorial video, Endo shows you how to use both programs on one computer, using a single audio interface. As long as your beatgrids in Traktor are set correctly and your tracks are properly warped in Ableton, you can mix tracks in Traktor and play loops and instruments in Ableton Live and everything will be perfectly beatmatched! Check out the video, read the article, and let us know if you have questions by leaving a comment below!

One of the most common questions I get as Traktor specialist is, “How can I sync Ableton Live to Traktor?” A common misconception is that in order to do this, you must have two computers, and two audio interfaces. This is not true. You can actually use both programs simultaneously on one computer, using one audio interface. As long as your Beatgrids in Traktor are set correctly, and your tracks are warped correctly in Ableton, you can mix tracks in Traktor, while playing your loops or other instruments in Ableton Live and everything will be perfectly beatmatched.

Some artists that are currently using Traktor and Ableton together live are Dubfire, Pete Tong, Carl Craig, Chris Liebing, Davide Squillace, Richie Hawtin and Luciano. I set up Dubfire, Pete Tong and Chris Liebing to do this, and all of them use Ableton in different ways with Traktor. Dubfire and Chris Liebing use Ableton as a host for Maschine, where each “Group” or drum bank in Maschine is routed to its own audio channel in Ableton. Pete Tong uses Ableton to play loops over whatever he is playing in Traktor.

Not too long ago, the only way to sync Ableton and Traktor (that I knew of) was to use a MIDI cable. I would actually plug the MIDI on my Audio 8 DJ into itself by plugging the MIDI output into the MIDI Input on the Audio 8 DJ. This would in a way trick the computer into thinking it was reading a different MIDI clock source when it was really just reading its own! This method however wasn’t very stable. In a recent Traktor update, Native Instruments introduced Traktor’s Virtual MIDI Output Port, which means you can send MIDI internally inside your computer from Traktor to any other program that receives MIDI and visa versa.

Setting up Traktor and Ableton to sync together takes a little time (hopefully no more than 15 minutes), but once you have the two programs sync’d to one another, you shouldn’t have to mess with the settings much after that since they will be saved for the next time you play.

To Sync Traktor and Ableton you will go through the following steps.

In Traktor open your preferences (the Gear Icon in the upper right hand side of the screen)

Go to the MIDI Clock section of the Preferences and turn on the option for “Send MIDI Clock.” I always keep the MIDI Clock sending offset at zero ms.

Make sure your soundcard is set to “Audio 8 DJ” or whatever soundcard you are using for both programs. Also make sure your “Output Routing” is set correctly.

Next thing your going to want to do is go to the Layout Manager tab and make sure your Global section is showing, so you can see the Master Clock and Effects at the top.

Now we’re going to make a new MIDI device in the controller editor so that Traktor can send MIDI clock to Ableton. We can do this by performing the following actions:

1) Go to Preferences / Controller Manager

2) Under the “Device” dropdown menu click on “Add” and then select “Generic MIDI”. This will add a new MIDI device, which in this case is simply a port to send MIDI clock.

3) Rename this device by clicking on “Edit” under the Device dropdown menu, and name this device “CLOCK”

4) Next to the device called “CLOCK” you are going to set the “Out-Port” to “Traktor Virtual MIDI” by clicking on the drop down menu under “Out-Port” and selecting “Traktor Virtual MIDI.” Also set the In-Port to “None” to prevent any MIDI loops.

5) Now you are going to make sure no other device is sending MIDI clock through this port. You will do this by selecting each device in the “Device” menu and setting the Out Port to whatever the controllers port is (example – Allen & Heath Xone 2D). You want to make sure that *no* Out Port is set to “All Ports”
6) For the clock device, make sure the device target is set to Focus.

The next thing we’re going to do is set Ableton Live to receive MIDI clock from Traktor. We can do this by doing the following:

1) Open Ableton Live and go to the Preferences window

2) Click on the “MIDI / SYNC” Tab

3) Where it says “Input – Traktor Virtual Output” in the MIDI Ports section, make sure the Sync button is highlighted.

4) When you turn the Sync button on in the Ableton preferences, you’ll notice there is now a little window next to Ableton’s Master Clock that’s called EXT. Click on this button. Now Ableton is able to receive external MIDI clock from other applications.

5) Next set up your Audio setup in Ableton by selecting your soundcard (audio output device), and choosing the appropriate outputs for the Master channel in Ableton.

Now that we’ve created a virtual device to send MIDI clock in Traktor, and set up Ableton to receive this clock signal from Traktor, now we’re going to start sending MIDI Clock from Traktor into Ableton. Here’s how to do it.

1) At the top of the Traktor screen click on the Metronome Icon next to the effects panel. This will show the Master Clock panel of Traktor.

2) Click on the Play | Pause button in the Master Clock Panel. This will send MIDI clock out of Traktor. I like to have the Master Clock Mode be in “Auto” Mode (which means whatever deck has been playing the longest is the Master Deck), but if you are just using controllers you might want to use “Internal” Master Clock Mode.

3) Press the Sync button in Traktor’s MIDI Clock panel. This will tell Ableton where the ‘one’ is in the track (the first beat in a measure) and will start playback in Ableton. You should see a flashing light next to the EXT button in Ableton, indicating that its receiving MIDI clock and that Ableton playing.

Now that we have MIDI clock sending from Traktor to Ableton, now we have to make sure the two programs are in SYNC with each other by adjusting Ableton’s MIDI Clock Sync Delay, and using the metronome from both programs to Match both programs. Here is how we do this:

1) In Traktor’s Master Clock panel, turn on the Tick button. Also turn on the Cue button for Deck A. This will make it so you can hear a metronome (click) sound representing Traktor’s master clock.

2) With the Play button enabled in Traktor’s Master Clock panel, Click on the SYNC button in Traktor’s Master Clock to make sure its sending MIDI clock.

3) In Ableton, turn on the Metronome by clicking on the metronome button in the Master Clock section. Now you should have an Audible Metronome playing in both programs.

4) The next thing you are going to do is adjust the MIDI Clock Sync Delay in Ableton, so that the metronomes in both programs are playing perfectly in Sync. To do this, go to the Ableton Preferences – MIDI / SYNC. Where says “Input – Traktor Virtual Output” in the MIDI Ports section, click on the little arrow to the left of “INPUT” to open up the advanced MIDI clock preferences.

5) We are now going to beatmatch the two metronomes by adjusting the MIDI Clock Sync Delay bar. We can just click on this Bar and drag it up and down until both Metronomes are playing perfectly in sync. I had to adjust my MIDI Clock Sync Delay to about 14ms, but that value is different on other computers.

Once Traktor and Ableton are in Sync, we can then play tracks in Traktor, and have loops and instruments running at the same time in Ableton! Its even possible to share an audio output on the same Audio interface for both programs if you wanted to say, run 4 decks in Traktor out of the Audio 8 DJ, and share output 4 with both Traktor & Ableton.

Happy Mixing!

DJ Endo

Mike Henderson aka DJ Endo is a DJ and product specialist for Native Instruments and lives in Brooklyn. Listen to his mixes on SoundCloud, follow him on Twitter, & find him on Facebook.

Beatgridding in Traktor

Traktor Scratch Pro and Traktor Pro have proven to be the industry standard in DJ Software.  Traktor can help your DJ workflow tremendously depending on how much work you put into preparing your tracks.  Whether you are using Vinyl, CD’s, MIDI controllers, or even a mouse, Traktor has a very handy button called the “Sync” button.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The proper use of the Sync feature is commonly misunderstood in Traktor.  A common complaint with Traktor is “I press the sync button, and everything goes off.” This problem occurs because Traktor needs to know where the downbeats are in your tracks, as well as the speed (BPM) of your tracks. This is where beatgrids come into play. Beatgrids are the backbone of Traktor.

A Beatgrid is a series of Gridlines set across your tracks that mark the downbeats of your track, and tell Traktor the BPM of the track.

They are like Warp markers in Ableton Live, except setting a beatgrid in Traktor is much easier.  Once you set a beatgrid for your track, the BPM reading of your track will be accurate to the 1/1000th of a BPM, and if you are mixing it with another track that is beatgridded you can visually mix using Traktor’s Phase Meters.

Below is my method of beatgridding in Traktor. Some artists I’ve trained such as Victor Calderone, Dubfire and Nic Fanciulli use this method religiously for every track they play.

I would do all of your beatgrids in your headphones since the music is directly in your ear. I would also recommend doing beatgrids at home or on the flight to your gig, and not live at the gig.

1) Make sure Traktor’s Auto Beatmarker function is turned on by going to Preferences / File Management / BPM Detection Range / and turning on the option “Set Beatgrid when detecting BPM Range”. With this option enabled, Traktor will automatically set a beat marker in your track where it thinks the first downbeat is located. You also might want to change the BPM detection range to the Tempo (BPM) range that you usually DJ at.

2) Next you want Traktor to analyze your new tracks when you load them into a Deck. You will turn on this option by going to the Traktor Preferences / File Management and turning on the option to “Analyze New Tracks when loading into Deck”.  So, when you load a track into a Deck in Traktor for the first time, Traktor will Analyze the gain, transients, and BPM – and with the Auto Grid function turned on, it will place a beatmarker where it thinks the first downbeat is in the track.

3) To make sure you can hear Traktor’s Metronome over the track that you’re beatgridding, set Output routing to  “EXTERNAL” mode by going to the Traktor Preferences / Output routing and changing the output routing to “External”. Also make sure you have an output set for Deck A. For example, if you were using your built in output (Mac’s built in speakers or headphone output), I would set the output for Deck A to Output 1 and 2.

4) In the Traktor Preferences set the Mouse Control to “SNAP” mode by going to Preferences / Transport, and changing the Mouse Control Mode to “SNAP”. This will make it so you can click directly on the transients (kicks, snares etc) inside the track with your mouse. Also Make sure the option to Highlight Beatmarkers is turned on in Preferences / Global View Options

5) The next thing you will want to do is turn the “Cue” button on for Deck A on Traktor’s Mixer, and also turn the tick button on in the Master Panel. This will make it so you can hear a metronome over the track loaded in Deck A.

6) Next open your “Grid” panel in Traktor by clicking on the Arrow beneath the “Active” button in Deck A, and then click on the “Grid” button to open the Grid panel.

7) Now, load a new, unanalyzed track into Deck A in Traktor. When Traktor is finished analyzing the track, you’ll notice a white marker in the Track. This is your auto-beat marker. You’ll also notice a series of evenly spaced white lines across the track. This is your beatgrid. Each of these white lines is where Traktor thinks the beats are in the track.

8) Zoom in as far as possible on the waveform by using the + and – buttons in the deck. Click on the top waveform (in the deck) and click on the first kick drum in the Track with your mouse. You can sample the kick drum by clicking the mouse button and holding it. It is best to set your grid markers on the first beat of a bar.

9) Once you’ve found the first kick drum, set a 4 beat loop starting at this point by clicking on the number “4″ beneath Deck A.

Now click on the play button and listen to how the Metronome lines up with the Track.

10) While the loop is playing, you will want to shift the grid left and right with the top 2 MOVE GRID Buttons. This will shift the entire grid left and right. Keep moving the grid left and right until the metronome is perfectly in sync with your track. If you are new to doing beatgrids, I recommend shifting your grid far to the left and far to the right of the beat, so you can hear how it sounds when the tick is off beat, and then adjusting it back onto the beat – not unlike tuning a guitar. If you need to move the grid faster, you can hold the control button. In this step you are only using the TOP 2 Grid buttons. Do not touch the bottom 2 yet.

11) Now that you have the first 4 beats perfectly synchronized to your metronome, let the track play by clicking on the loop button (4). Now you are going to listen to see if the metronome stays on beat with the track as you skip forward in the track. If it does, then skip through the song by clicking on the waveform and listening at different points of the song to make sure its on beat, then skip to the end.

If the metronome is drifting off beat, listen to the track from the beginning and use the bottom 2 BPM INC / DEC buttons to make the grid lines closer or farther apart. This is also changing the BPM value. Usually for tracks you buy on Beatport you will not have to use the bottom 2 buttons. You will just need to shift the grid left and right, and maybe change the BPM from 127.999 to 128.000.

12) Now set a 4 beat loop at the end of the track, preferably on the last measure of the track that has percussion. Listen to how the metronome lines up with the last 4 beats. If it lines up perfectly, then you are done. If not, use the BPM INC/DEC buttons to compress and expand the grid until the metronome perfectly lines up with the last 4 beats. Now your BPM reading will be accurate to the 1/1000′th of a BPM. Usually if you’re BPM shows up as an even number like 128.000 this means that you don’t have to touch the bottom 2 grid buttons, and that you only need to shift the grid left and right.

13) Once you are done, and the metronome perfectly lines up with the track from beginning to end, click on the LOCK button to save the beatgrid to the track. This will save the beatgrid to the tracks ID3 information and will make it so if you send the track to another Traktor user, they will have your beatgrid, cue points, and loops inside the track. If you do not click the lock Icon, Traktor will still remember your beatgrid in your Traktor collection, but will not write the beatgrid to the actual track.

Now that you have a beatgrid set, you can use Traktor’s SYNC button to keep all of your tracks perfectly synchronized, and they will never go off beat, and all of your loops, and effects will be perfectly on beat.