Click here to view the embedded video.

Here it is, you hooligans. You thieving scoundrels. My precious Maschine mapping for Traktor. Why don’t you just take my wallet? Or key to my car? Why don’t you spit in my food and tie my shoelaces together? Why don’t you shave off my eyebrows and paint on new ones with a magic marker? Have you no decency? Have you no compassion? Where is your common courtesy? Stealing a man’s Maschine mapping (even though he’s willingly giving it to you for free)? For shame! For Shame!!! FOR SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! – Shiftee

The music playing in the background at the beginning of this video tutorial is the lead track from Rx & Shiftee’s Space Ace EP. Earlier this week, the remix edition of Space Ace Remixes came out courtesy of Rad Summer. You can stream the entire EP here.

Rx & Shiftee – Space Ace by Rad Summer

Related Dubspot Courses Starting Online & in New York City:

Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Program starts February 5th Online.

MASCHINE Program starts in NYC January 30th and Online the week of January 22nd.

DJ Extensive Program

Immerse yourself in the complete art of DJing from beatmatching to stage presence. Whether you’re a beginner in search of the fundamentals or a seasoned pro looking to take your talent to the next level, our curriculum is designed to accommodate all skill levels and styles of music. This comprehensive DJ program covers everything from basic mixing to advanced digital DJing. Learn more about our DJ courses and programs.

What’s Included:

• DJ Level 1: Rookie Sessions | Essentials I
• DJ Level 2: Phrase Mixing | Essentials II
• DJ Level 3: Beyond The Blend | Intermediate Skills
• DJ Level 4: Preparation | DJ Psychology
• DJ Level 5: Classroom to the Club | Advanced Techniques I
• DJ Level 6: Club to the World | Advanced Techniques II

“I love the class, and the content! Shiftee and Endo are very funny, and very clear, so the material is easy and fun to follow! I wish my college   teachers  were more like these two!” – Leandro Martinez, Chicago IL

Native Instruments MASCHINE redefines hardware and software integration for music production and creative performance. Upon completion of this program, you will have written a full original track using multiple plug-in instruments and effects, produced a remix based on rearranged source material with your own musical additions, and made recordings of yourself improvising with both projects while creating break downs, build ups, and effect manipulations.

What’s Included:

• MASCHINE Level 1: Programming and Beat Making Basics
• MASCHINE Level 2: Sampling, Slicing and Composing
• MASCHINE Level 3: Advanced Production and Performance Techniques

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In part one of the latest Shiftee Trilogy video tutorial series, DJ Shiftee demonstrates his ‘Slaughterhouse’ routine that was constructed for his appearance on the highly regarded Rinse FM radio show in the UK. In the second installment, Shiftee explains how to map LEDs and lights Traktor Pro 2 using a MIDI controllers and further sinks in the wonderful world of modifiers, using buttons not merely to control specific functions but also to change the state of the program. Please stay tuned for the third and final installment in which Shiftee gives away his precious mapping for Maschine.

Related Dubspot Courses Starting Online & in New York City:

Digital DJing w/ Traktor Pro 2 Program starts February 5th Online.

MASCHINE Program starts in NYC January 30th and Online the week of January 22nd.

DJ Extensive Program

Immerse yourself in the complete art of DJing from beatmatching to stage presence. Whether you’re a beginner in search of the fundamentals or a seasoned pro looking to take your talent to the next level, our curriculum is designed to accommodate all skill levels and styles of music. This comprehensive DJ program covers everything from basic mixing to advanced digital DJing. Learn more about our DJ courses and programs.

What’s Included:

• DJ Level 1: Rookie Sessions | Essentials I
• DJ Level 2: Phrase Mixing | Essentials II
• DJ Level 3: Beyond The Blend | Intermediate Skills
• DJ Level 4: Preparation | DJ Psychology
• DJ Level 5: Classroom to the Club | Advanced Techniques I
• DJ Level 6: Club to the World | Advanced Techniques II

“I love the class, and the content! Shiftee and Endo are very funny, and very clear, so the material is easy and fun to follow! I wish my college   teachers  were more like these two!” – Leandro Martinez, Chicago IL

Native Instruments MASCHINE redefines hardware and software integration for music production and creative performance. Upon completion of this program, you will have written a full original track using multiple plug-in instruments and effects, produced a remix based on rearranged source material with your own musical additions, and made recordings of yourself improvising with both projects while creating break downs, build ups, and effect manipulations.

What’s Included:

• MASCHINE Level 1: Programming and Beat Making Basics
• MASCHINE Level 2: Sampling, Slicing and Composing
• MASCHINE Level 3: Advanced Production and Performance Techniques

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Part 1 – Routine with “Slaughterhouse” by Joker

Click here to view the embedded video.

“This is a routine I put together for my recent appearance on the legendary Rinse FM (big shouts to DJ Wonder for having me on!).  It’s meant to show my softer side. Yes, you may know me for my manly feats of strength and untapped primal aggression on delicatessen waiting lines.  When you think Shiftee, you probably think of a brute force who opens jars, lifts heavy boxes, and attends the gym regularly (big shouts to my trainer Sergi for keeping me toned!).  But there’s more to me.  I take long walks on the beach.  I gaze wistfully at setting suns and old people.  I once watched a trailer for The Notebook and felt something deep inside (it was indigestion, but still).  Please watch the following video, and get to know the real me.” – Forever Yours, Shiftee

.

DJ Extensive Program

Immerse yourself in the complete art of DJing from beatmatching to stage presence. Whether you’re a beginner in search of the fundamentals or a seasoned pro looking to take your talent to the next level, our curriculum is designed to accommodate all skill levels and styles of music. This comprehensive DJ program covers everything from basic mixing to advanced digital DJing. Learn more about our DJ courses and programs.

What’s Included:

• DJ Level 1: Rookie Sessions | Essentials I
• DJ Level 2: Phrase Mixing | Essentials II
• DJ Level 3: Beyond The Blend | Intermediate Skills
• DJ Level 4: Preparation | DJ Psychology
• DJ Level 5: Classroom to the Club | Advanced Techniques I
• DJ Level 6: Club to the World | Advanced Techniques II

“I love the class, and the content! Shiftee and Endo are very funny, and very clear, so the material is easy and fun to follow! I wish my college   teachers  were more like these two!” – Leandro Martinez, Chicago IL

Start dates and information about payment plans can be found here.

Or if you have questions, please call 877.DUBSPOT or send us a message.

Dubspot celebrated Make Music New York Festival 2011 with a series of exclusive live performances and DJ sets from NYC’s best kept secret in the field of electronic music production and performance. On the first day of Summer, June 21st, MMNY 2011 kicked off with over 1,000 free outdoor concerts around our NYC, and here at Dubspot’s HQ in Manhattan’s West Village we gather rising electronic music artists and performers, including some Dubspot instructors to deliver excellent dance music free for the public all afternoon. This video recaps some of the highlights at MMNY 2011 @ Dubspot.

oddlogic
M-Audio Trigger Finger / Traktor Pro 2

!banginclude
Akai APC-40 / Ableton Live

ATOM
RANE TTL 57SL Mixer / Serato Scratch Live
Kenton Killamix Mini

HeavyW8bit ChampionChip
NES / FamiTracker software
GameBoy / Music Tech 1.0 software
Commodore 64 / Cynthcart software

Exaltron
Steinberger MIDI Guitar / Vocoder Mic
Evolution MIDI Keyboard / Ableton Live
Line 6 FBV Express Pedal
Trumpet / Max for Live Effects

Muvlikamor
Akai APC-40 / Ableton Live

In The Loop
Brian Moore i2 MIDI Equipped Guitar
Behringer FCB 1010 Pedal
Akai APC-40 / Ableton Live

DJ Endo
Native Instruments Maschine / Traktor Pro 2
Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S4

Archie Pelago
Saxophone / Korg NanoKontrol / Ableton Live
Cello / Korg NanoKontrol / Ableton Live
Behringer DJX750 Mixer / Serato Scratch Live

DJ Reborn
Serato Scratch Live
Technics SL-1000 Turntables

DJ Shakey & Christopher Malechki
Acoustic Guitar
Novation Remote 25 Controller / Ableton Live

MAKE MUSIC WINTER, DECEMBER 21, 2011

Make Music New York is is launching a new music festival this month. Make Music Winter happens Wednesday, December 21st shortest night of the year and if you’re a singer, musician, DJ, producer you’re invited to take part!

Make Music Winter is inspired by composer Phil Kline’s annual Unsilent Night, Los Pleneros de la 21 in which a meditative, joyous electronic piece is played through dozens of boomboxes carried by volunteers through the East Village on an evening in late December. Unsilent Night has taken place since 1992, drawing crowds of over 1,000.  Launching next month on Wednesday, December 21st, Make Music Winter expands this cult holiday tradition into a festival of one dozen musical parades, each with its own distinct type of music, in neighborhoods across New York City.

Traktor Kontrol S4 Tutorial Pt 3/3: Advanced Features – Snap, Quantize, & Loop Recorder

Native Instruments product specialist and Dubspot Instructor DJ Endo concludes this three-part series of video tutorials looking at the various features and performance possibilities of Native Instruments new Traktor Kontrol S4, the world’s first software and hardware DJ system.  In part one, Endo offered an overview of the S4 system with an up-close, detailed description of the mixer and decks part two, he touched on sample decks and deffects. For part three, he sinks deeper into advanced features including Loop Recorder and cue points, along with using the snap and quantize buttons, shows you how to make live edits and live looping without skipping an audio.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Traktor Kontrol S4 Tutorial Pt 2/3: Sample Decks & Effects

Click here to view the embedded video.

Traktor Kontrol S4 Tutorial Pt 1/3: Mixer & Decks

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.

Native Instruments product specialist and Dubspot Instructor DJ Endo delves further into Native Instruments new Traktor Kontrol S4, the world’s first software and hardware DJ system, in this part 2 of our S4 tutorial series. In part one, Endo introduced us to the  fully-integrated 4-channel mixer and tactile jog-wheels. For part two, Endo looks at the effects panels and sample decks, and offers techniques for browsing, choosing, and assigning effects, controlling the parameters, toggle modes, and also explains some of the cool new features in Traktor Pro S4.  Endo shows you how you can take a loop from a track and throw it into a sample deck and navigate the sample deck using loop functions, filter, saving loops, etc.

Here is a PDF explaining every function on the S4 (detailed description of knobs, buttons, jog wheels, shift functions, etc.)

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.

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.

To mark the release, NI just unleash a series of tutorials introducing, explaining, and offering tips for S4 – from how to install and activate the Traktor S4 software and connecting the sound output correctly to an overview on browsing and loading tracks into the S4’s track decks and beat matching and mixing.

Traktor Kontrol S4 Part 1/4: Getting Started

Click here to view the embedded video.

Traktor Kontrol S4 2/4: Playing Your First Track

Click here to view the embedded video.

Traktor Kontrol S4 3/4: Mixing In A Second Track

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out Dubspot instructor and 2x DMC champ DJ Shiftee previewing the S4 in August and performing special routines using the Sample Decks and Loop Recorder, and outlines his 5 favorite features!

The Traktor Kontrol S4 DJ System in Action

Click here to view the embedded video.

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“Shiftee’s Fav 5 New Features”

1.  Sample Decks.
Holy moly these are a lot of fun!  One-shots, synced looping options, cue-point style triggering, group filters & volume control, individual sample filters and volume controls, the list goes on and on!  You can even scratch the samples with the jog wheels!  I also love that each sample deck has its own mixer channel, so you can EQ and cut up your sample/loop compositions.  Did I mention the loops stay in sync with your tracks regardless of tempo!?!?  I can’t wait to incorporate samples of me making sandwiches into my DJ sets.

2.  Loop Recorder.
This takes me back to my loop station days.  Build your own loop combinations and live remixes using this feature.  The Dry/Wet feature is particularly dope: make a remix and go back and forth with the original.  It also has a slick undo/redo feature where you can remove and add your latest loop layer.  Fun Idea: Use the sample players in conjunction with the loop recorder to bang out your own drum patterns for your remixes.  Extra Fun Idea: Rap over your new beats with transpose effect pitched down to sound like a G.

3.  New Sync.
Traktor Pro S4 has a new sync ability, namely you can now load into a synced deck.  In other words, SYNC now is independent of phase.  You can scratch and drop in the normal way knowing your tracks are matched with tempo.  For the deckless DJs out there, have no fear.  There’s still a synchronous start, meaning if you hit play from a stopped deck it will play in phase.  Also, phase syncing is still an option.  If you still have your socks on, I don’t know what to tell you.  If you don’t own socks, I recommend argyle.

4.  New GUI
Traktor Pro S4 has a new GUI that looks like Xzibit and the Pimp My Ride crew teamed up with Tyra Banks and America’s Next Top Model to give Traktor a full body makeover.  Inner and outer beauty in full effect, while still maintaining its original essence.  Slick new color choices and lots of nice subtlety involving menus and buttons.

5.  Built-In Filters
The Kontrol S4 has built-in channel filters that must have been made by Outkast because they sound oh “so fresh and so clean clean.”  The filters are direct, in other words, you can feel the end points of the knobs.  2 thumbs up, 1 big toe up (one of my big toes is currently injured, so I can’t raise it, otherwise we’d have a 2 thumb + 2 big toe up scenario).

I personally can’t wait for this bad boy/girl to have real deal turntable compatibility.  In the meantime, sandwich samples, here I come.”

Written by 2x DMC Champion and Dubspot Instructor DJ Shiftee

DMC and Rane Serato recently announced a partnership for 2011 that will allow Serato and other DVS (i.e. TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO, whoop whoop!) into the hallowed grounds of the most prestigious DJ competition in the world: the DMC World DJ Championships. Read DMC’s full press release on their website HERE.

As the title of this post indicates, I think this decision is good one. Here’s why:

1. New vinyl is too difficult and expensive to find.

Record stores around the world are closing left and right. Those that are still open have raised their prices and maintain limited supplies. Gone are the days of being able to hear a new song and walk into your local record store confident that you will find it. So, unless you want all DMC sets to be late 90’s hip hop with no musical progression, here are the options:

i. Order online. Here we are talking shipping costs, delays in arrival, and uncertainty about quality. And that’s only if vinyl of the song actually exists, which it most likely does not!

ii. Press your own record. The challenges in this case are numerous. For an ideal result, you should (I love lists):

- create a high-quality, seamless file or set of files in an audio program, in which you must understand how to edit, bounce, and optimize for vinyl reproduction.
- test your set in a DVS like Serato or Traktor, so you must use DVS ANYWAY to fine tune your set. In fact, a large percentage of DMC World DJ’s practice their sets on DVS once completed, so they don’t wear out their show vinyl.
- find a competent dubplate/vinyl manufacturer, which can produce records that sound good and don’t skip. NOT EASY and NOT CHEAP.

Click here to view the embedded video.

2. Digital DJing and DJing are now practically synonymous.

I love vinyl. I love the sound and the feel of vinyl. In my book (Shiftee’s Book by DJ Shiftee,) nothing is better in terms of fidelity and touch. I highly encourage every new DJ to begin learning how to DJ on vinyl (we actually reinforce this at Dubspot by beginning our introductory instruction on vinyl). However, the vast majority of professional working DJ’s, ESPECIALLY hip hop DJ’s, use a laptop in their sets. Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Baambaataa, A-Trak, DJ Premier, DJ Scratch, Kid Capri? They all use laptops/DVS. Jazzy Jeff, Diplo, Neil Armstrong, the Beat Junkies? Serato. Richie Hawtin, Rusko, Craze, Klever, Josh Wink, Carl Cox? Traktor. The worlds premiere DJ competition has a responsibility to be aware of and move with the world’s premiere DJ’s.

3. We will see a tremendous influx of new talent.

New DJ’s don’t start on vinyl. Most probably will never even use a real vinyl record. DVS, all-in-one controllers, and MIDI solutions are now the first stop for a beginning DJ. This might be sad to hear, but it’s a reality.

What this means is that there has been very little new talent in DMC over the past 5 or so years. It’s always the same people year after year, or veterans returning for a comeback or a last hurrah. Just go to your local, national, or even international DMC heat. Same people. What has made DMC particularly great over the years has been the amount of talent in the competition. This specifically is what made the scene so strong. I remember even in 2002, 2003, there’d always be some new person everyone was talking about. “Oh, have you seen DJ New yet! He/she is illlllllll!!” Now it’s “Oh, I hear DJ Former Champion might come back. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

I predict that opening DMC up to DVS will create the same surge (maybe not right away) in new talent we saw throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s. Heck, I recently judged a local battle in Fort Worth, Texas that allowed Serato/Traktor and had 30-40 contestants. 30-40 contestants in a local battle! There weren’t even that many entrants for this year’s DMC USA Supremacy battle. Believe it or not, every DMC regional 10 years ago had this many contestants. The trend isn’t just in America. It’s worldwide. Each countries number of entrants has declined significantly (as far as I’ve seen and been told by other DJ’s). What’s missing? New DJ’s with new ideas.

4. This is what the DJ’s want.

It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and criticize this move by DMC. Of course, there are some battlers against this decision, but as far as I’ve seen, they are in the minority. Most DJ’s, the DJ’s that are in the scene and around it, want this to happen. And so do I!

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The actual implementation of the rule remains to be seen. Naturally the landscape has changed considerably. I myself don’t know exactly which rules will be in place and how the inclusion of DVS will happen. Here are a few things I do know though (Lists FTW):

-The DMC Battle for World Supremacy will remain all vinyl.
-Vinyl can still be used in the DMC. You don’t have to use Serato/Traktor, it’s just an option.
-Any DVS can be used: Serato, Traktor, Mixvibes, Torque, etc.

The issue is almost one of nostalgia vs. practicality. We can long for the past and the way things used to be, but the reality of the present is what matters now. I’m very excited to see what this decision will mean for the DMC as well as for the development of new and creative routines. In fact, I’m getting a few ideas myself just typing this! Hmmmmmmmmm…..

With Love,
Shiftee

When a DJ is about to start mixing in a new track, they must do a couple things to make sure that the track will mix correctly. They must adjust the gain so that the tracks are equal in volume. They also must find the “one” of the track, which is usually the first kick drum, or section when a beat comes in. They then will play the track starting on the “one”, and then beatmatch the two (or more) tracks, and do creative EQing, effects, and loops in their mix. In my previous articles and videos, I talked about how to use Traktor’s “Autogain” feature to match the volume of your tracks, how to set Beatgrids to make your beatmatching perfect in Traktor, and also how to Mix Harmonically to help you program your sets better. Here is another feature in Traktor that will speed up your workflow. It’s called setting “Load Markers.”

In Traktor Pro, you are able to set as many Cue Points as you would like to, enabling you to jump to any point in a song quickly and in sync with a click of a button. In Traktor Pro, there is a special kind of cue point called a “Load Marker.”

A Load Marker is a special Cue Point that marks the specific beat of a track that you want to load to each time you play that track. A track with a Load Marker will automatically load right to this special Cue Point, saving you the time to manually cue to this point in the track.

Load markers come in handy for tracks that have dead air in the beginning, and also tracks that have ambient intros that you would like to skip over. Some Traktor DJs that I know use Load Markers religiously are hip hop legend Grandmaster Flash, and house and Techno guru’s Dubfire, Victor Calderone, and Pete Tong.

For DJs like Grandmaster Flash, Load markers are used to jump right to a specific drum break in the track, and allow them to jump into each track quickly. Grandmaster Flash uses a combination of Load Markers, and also Traktor’s feature called “Load next track when flipping record” where you can load the next track in a playlist when you flip the (timecode) record. So each time Grandmaster Flash flips the record on the turntable, the next track loads, and it loads right to the beginning of a drum break!

For DJs like Dubfire and Pete Tong, who play using all MIDI controllers, and use 4 decks in Traktor, Load markers are a lifesaver because they save them finding the first beat of each track. Dubfire also uses my Triple Macro for “Cue / Play / Sync” which I described in a previous video, and using load markers that are mapped to “Hotcue 1” are very crucial to his workflow, since he has a button to jump to the load marker, play the track, and beatmatch the tracks with one button.

For DJs like Victor Calderone, who use Pioneer CDJs to control Traktor, Load Markers are very handy because rather than having to seek through a track using a CDJ, Traktor will load each track right to the Load Marker when you load them into a deck in Traktor, and will essentially map the load marker in Traktor to the “Cue” button on the CDJ.

Here is how to set a load marker in Traktor:

1) Set your mouse control mode to “Snap” mode in Traktor Preferences / Transport. This will make it so you can directly click on a beat in the song to set a perfect cue point.

2) Now turn on the Preference for “Initially Cue To Load Marker” in the Traktor Preferences / Loading. This will activate your Load Markers.

3) Click on the first kick drum of the track, or part of the track where you want to load to by hovering over the track and clicking on the white beat marker that you want to load to.

4) Set a Cue Point on this beat by opening Traktors Advanced Panel and click on a blank Hotcue slot in the cue window.

5) Click on the Cue Type drop down menu and change the Cue Type to “Load.” Traktor will change the Cue Point to a Load Marker and you will get a yellow cue point in the track, and in the Cue section. Now Traktor will always load to this cue point (Load Marker) when you load this track into a deck.

6) You can additionally map this Cue Point to Hotcue Slot 1. This is good to do if you have a beatmarker for the track as well as a load marker. That way you don’t take up two Hotcue slots in the Cue section. You can do this by clicking on Cue point 2 (The Load Marker), then clicking on “Map”, and then click on the Hotcue Slot 1.

This will assign the Load Marker to Hotcue Slot 1, but will not delete your other cue points. They will just be hidden, and not mapped to the assignable Hotcues.

Endo is a DJ and product specialist for Native Instruments and lives in Brooklyn. Listen to mixes from him at www.djendo.com.