Dubspot Blog » traktor

Loco Dice (Desolat, Ovum, M_nus) @ Dubspot: Video Interview – Pimp Jackson, Crazy Dice, NYC

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:08:43 +0000

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Loco Dice has been tearing up clubs and DJ playlists over the past 7 years with a blend of house and techno that has appeared on labels such as Ovum, Desolat, Coccoon, and M_nus. With a sound that straddles minimal techno and funky house, Yassine Ben Achour has quickly become a star of the DJ circuit. Dubspot’s Alex Burkat caught up with Loco Dice for a chat this past December while he was getting ready to hit the decks at Pacha in NYC.

Alex Burkat edits videos at Dubspot, DJs/produces bass music as Rx, and is part of a Philadelphia based DJ / art collective called DUSK

Related Dubspot Courses Starting Online & in New York City:

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

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.

DJ Shiftee’s Traktor / Maschine Video Tutorial Pt 3/3: How to Midi Map + Free Mappings (Settings)

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:56:35 +0000

In this video, Dubspot Instructor, DMC World Champ, producer and demanding critic of sandwiches DJ Shiftee shares one of his most prized possessions – his Maschine mapping file for Traktor! In part one, he demonstrated an incredible routine using Joker’s “Slaughterhouse” track. In part two, he went into the complex world of LED mapping and modifiers. And now for the final installment of the Shiftee Trilogy, our generous instructor takes you through his Maschine settings, offering a detailed explanation of his mapping and shows you some very cool options for mapping to pads along with some basic functions for cue points setting, looping and syncing.

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

[contact-form]

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

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

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.

Dubspot Lab Report: Novation TWITCH DJ Controller – Road Test w/ Abe Duque

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:11:24 +0000

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In our latest video series Road Test – dedicated to road testing portable electronic music performance and production tools and gear — Dubspot Instructor, DJ and producer Abe Duque takes various music equipment out of the comfort of the studio and puts them to use while on the road as a traveling musician and performer. He documents his findings and details the creative possibilities these tools offer in a live performance setting.

In the first installment of Road Test, Abe brings the Novation TWITCH back into the Dubspot lab after a tour in Germany where he utilized the new DJ controller as his primary DJ equipment. Presented here are the results of his experience with the Twitch – from its light, compact, durable design, tactile and precise knobs, buttons, and faders to the multifunctional touchstrip controls and Fader FX feature. As you can tell by now, the Twitch absolutely passes Abe’s Road Test. Stay tuned for more.

Related Dubspot Courses Starting Online & in New York City:

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

DJ Extensive Program

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

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dubspot @ NAMM 2012: New Music Technology Showcase – Sneak Peek Videos + Products!

Michael Walsh — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:28:39 +0000

It’s that time of year again! The Dubspot team is heading to sunny California this week to attend The NAMM Show (January 19-22) in an effort to catch the latest evolutions of music and technology with manufacturers from around the world meeting to collaborate on the future of music.

Dubspot @ The NAMM Show 2012 in Anaheim, CA – January 19-22, 2012

The NAMM Show is a massive music-industry trade show (not open to general public) with previously attendance reportedly topping 100,000 people. With notable products being leaked last week such as Moog’s Minitaur, Native Instruments’ latest Traktor Controller, the new BitWig Studio software, Akai’s new MPC line of products, mystery products from Teenage Engineering, and rumors of a new Ableton Live version.. we can’t wait to cover this event and report back to you with the latest news.

In addition to the coverage that we’ll get from the convention floor, we are also looking forward to attending some of the industry-related music events happening in and around Los Angeles during the week. With much of the music industry in town for NAMM, there are many great performers in the area making special appearances this weekend. Notable events from The Low End Theory, Native Instruments, Teenage Engineering, and Interface LA bring some exciting prospects for night time entertainment. Stay with us this week as we’ll be cruising around LA with cameras, questions and an agenda of things to cover for you as technology and music merge for this exciting event.

Some things we can’t wait to see at NAMM this year:

Traktor Controller Image Leak (From NI’s new Traktor Twitter Feed)

Earlier this week Native Instruments sent a photo and video via twitter that announced a new hardware controller for Traktor. We don’t know much about this new piece of gear aside from NI has announced on their website: “The next innovation from the team behind TRAKTOR is just around the corner. With stylish multi-color pads to trigger loops and samples, the upcoming new TRAKTOR software and controller provide a workflow rooted in DJ culture.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Livid Instruments CNTRL:R MIDI Performance Controller

Livid Instruments has recently announced the Cntl:R MIDI / DJ controller which was co-developed by Richie Hawtin and his M_nus roster of artists over the past year and a half. The controller is a combination of faders, buttons and knobs that are completely programmable. Cntl:R also comes with templates for Ableton Live and Traktor for plug and play capability.

Click here to view the embedded video.

MPC Renaissance, MPC Studio, MPC Fly

The MPC Renaissance, Studio and Fly have been making waves over the past weeks as veteran music company, Akai Professional, announced the release of these slick new devies. Akai explains: “Fusing Akai Professional’s legendary MPC layout and workflow with the power of your computer, MPC Renaissance is an unrivaled instrument for music production. The new flagship is a fully integrated hardware/software system: MPC Renaissance allows you to create using classic hardware controls and an integrated pop-up display, while it’s exclusive MPC Software empowers you with unprecedented, expandable production capabilities on your Mac or PC.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

MOOG Minitaur

Serious news for synth enthusiasts this week: Moog has just announced a new synth called Minitaur that will be on display at NAMM 2012 and hit the market this spring. It’s a monophonic synth based on their classic Tarus bass pedals that boasts USB / MIDI connectivity, one knob per function and a tiny footprint. At $679 ($599 street) it’s less expensive than any other synth that Moog has ever produced.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Teenage Engineering’s Secret New Products

Teenage Engineering captured the hearts of synth enthusiasts at NAMM 2010 and 2011 with their groundbreaking OP-1 musical instrument. With OP-1 sales (and ratings) continuing to gain momentum, everyone is excited to see what this company will unveil next. Teenage Engineering has been leaking videos and photos of “a “tray that will be filled with great new stuff” at NAMM 2012.

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Eowave Domino Synth

Domino is an inexpensive desktop analog synthesizer with a VCO in the tradition of MS20 and TB303. The VCO, filter & VCA are transistor made which gives the Domino a unique raw sound. Rich and raw at the same time, no need of external effects to give life to the sound.

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DJ Shiftee’s Traktor / Maschine Video Tutorial Pt 2/3: Using MIDI to Map LEDs + Modifiers

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:01:04 +0000

For many years, I sought to unravel the vast wonders of LED mapping and modifiers. My quest took me to the farthest reaches of the land, places like Tibet, Pluto, and New Jersey. Finally I encountered the truth I was seeking on a warm summer’s day in my apartment. The only place I needed to look was within… Traktor! Let me save you a very costly and pointless trip across the world in my tutorial on the very same subjects. - DJ Shiftee

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

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

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.

DJ Shiftee’s Traktor Meets Maschine ‘Slaughterhouse’ Video Routine (Rinse FM, Joker)

Michael Walsh — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:37:11 +0000

In the first of three exclusive videos, DJ Shiftee demonstrates his Slaughterhouse routine that was constructed for his appearance on the highly regarded Rinse FM radio show in the UK. Watch how he remixes the track using Native Instrument’s Traktor Pro 2, Maschine and a Turntable as his weapons of choice. In part two of this series, Shiftee delves into the complex world of LED mapping and modifiers, two concepts crucial to the implementation of this routine. And in part three he’ll be sharing a Maschine mapping file for you to use in your own setup. Stay tuned!

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

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

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 Podcasts: Listen to Top DJs & Sound Selectors of 2011

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:44:34 +0000

It’s been a great year for music and we’re proud to present a year of Dubspot podcasts that cross all genres of sound. With an open mind to style we invite selectors from all reaches of the globe to deliver exclusive DJ mixes for you every month. In 2011 we heard some great mixes from DJs such as Liondub, Shiftee, Spatial, OBaH, Sabo, Nihal Ramchandani, Mungo’s Hi Fi, Wiseacre and more. Below we’ve compiled the entire year of podcasts into one place to provide a soundtrack for your holiday travels and events. We hope you enjoy! Stay tuned in 2012 as we continue this series in new musical directions with talented DJs.

Dubspot Podcast 026: DJ OBaH (Oldskool Beats and Harmonies) – Cajun Style by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 025: Mungo’s Hi Fi Sound System by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 024: Nihal Ramchandani (Hotflush, Halcyon) – Innigkeit Mix by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 021: DJ Chicken George – Peddlin’ 45s for Dubspot (Ode To NYC) by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 020: Exclusive Mix from Spatial (Infrasonics) by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 019: DJ Shiftee Live @ Public Assembly by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 018 – DJ OP! by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 017: DJ Excess – Our Way Disco Mix by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 016: Wiseacre – Emerald Isle Dream Bump by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 014: Sabo – Exclusive Moombahton Mix by Dubspot

Dubspot Podcast 013: Liondub – Exclusive All Vinyl Mix by Dubspot

Digital DJing with Traktor Pro 2 Program

The definition of DJing has changed dramatically in the last decade. Laptops, controllers, and software have emerged alongside more traditional turntables and CDJ’s, smashing the barrier to entry. In today’s digital age, anyone can become a DJ. 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.

What’s Included:

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

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, presenting their work along the way. Students will leave with finished DJ mixes, a thorough exploration of DJing with Traktor, and a skill set and knowledge base perfect for further development.

DJ Extensive Program

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

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.

Video Tutorial: Using Traktor + Ableton to Beat Grid Disco, Live Drums (Unquantized Tracks)

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:05:57 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

As the art-form of DJing evolves, one of the biggest trends is using controllers rather than turntables to DJ “Internally.” Usually when a DJ says they are playing “internally” with Traktor they usually mean that they are using Traktor’s internal playback mode and are not using any timecode vinyl or timecode CDs to control their music, and are DJing using strictly controllers.

While Traktor allows you to DJ internally with little to no prep work, it’s highly recommended to beat grid your tracks ahead of time in Traktor using Traktor’s metronome before you play in internal mode. This will make it so you can use the sync button to perfectly beatmatch your tracks.

In Traktor Pro 2, beat gridding tracks that are recorded to a click track (quantized to a grid) is easier than ever. Most of the time, all you have to do is shift the grid over a little bit and round off the BPM reading to the nearest whole number (ex. 129.99 to 130 BPM). For more, please check out my previous article on how to beat grid in Traktor here. Also, here is a video I did on how to do beat grids in Traktor.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As a Traktor specialist, one of the most popular questions I’ve been getting lately is “How can I beat grid tracks that are recorded with a live drummer?” and “How can I beat grid my classic disco records or vinyl rips in Traktor?” Unfortunately the answer is as of now, it’s very difficult and almost impossible to beat grid these tracks only using Traktor. However, while doing a Traktor training with David Morales, I found a way to get these tracks perfectly quantized to a click track using Ableton Live 8’s warping engine, so you can bring the tracks back into Traktor and beat grid them perfectly. Here is a step by step method on how to do it:

1. Right click or CTRL Click on the track inside of Traktor’s browser and choose “Show In Finder.” This will find the file on your computer.

2. In Ableton Live, show the Arrange view by clicking Tab, and drag the song into a new audio track in Ableton.

Ableton will then analyze the file and place green warp markers above the transients (kicks, snares etc.), which can be double clicked on to set pseudo warp markers. If you don’t see the waveform view you can click on the black triangle in the lower right hand side of the screen to show the waveform view.

3. Find the first beat of the song and double click on the Warp Marker flag above the transient to set a new warp marker. You might have to click and drag the beginning (left side) of the clip in the arrange view to the left so you can play the beginning of the clip (see video on how to do this).

4. Right click or CTRL click on the new warp marker and choose “Set 1:1:1 Here.” This will tell Ableton this is the first beat of the track.

5. Right click or CTRL click on the warp marker you just set and choose “Warp From Here”. This will re-warp the track based on the first beat that you just set. This should put each beat that drifts off of the grid back onto the grid.

6. Now that you’ve lined up your track on the grid and told Ableton where the first beat is, click and drag the beginning of the clip in the arrange view to the beginning of a measure. This will align the measures of the clip with the measures on the grid of the arrange view so your metronome will be on beat when you turn it on.

7. To check that the track is matched to Ableton’s grid, turn on the Metronome in Ableton , and then play the track with the metronome on.

*Note – You might have to adjust your Audio preferences in Ableton Preferences – Audio – to hear the track (through the master output) and the metronome (in the Cue Output). If the Metronome lines up with the track (you hear a metronome tick on every beat of the track that is beatmatched to the track) then you are almost done in Ableton. If the beat drifts off of the grid, you might have to place a new warp marker where the track drifts off beat, then drag the warp marker onto the correct measure / beat, then CTRL click (or right click) on that warp marker and choose “Warp from Here”. You would repeat this process each time the track drifts off of the grid. Hopefully Ableton will eventually get smarter each time you do this and figure out where all the beats are throughout the song.

8. Now that you have your track perfectly warped, and each beat is lined up with Ableton’s grid, you are going to export the track to make a new version of this track that is perfectly quantized to a beat grid. Before exporting you first want to show the intro of the track by clicking on the left side of the clip in the arrange view and dragging it to the left. Be sure to drag it as far as you possibly can to get the intro and any dead air before the first beat. Dead air is important because currently in Traktor you cannot set a grid marker before 1.1.1 and if part of the first beat is chopped off you won’t be able to beat grid the track perfectly.

9. Now choose your warp mode in Ableton by going to the Sample Display window and click on the Warp Mode dropdown menu. There are six different warp modes. I would recommend using Complex Pro warping mode since that will usually give you the best sound quality. Other warping modes might work better for different tracks, so be sure to look into how to use the different warping modes. But for now just use Complex Pro mode if you’re unsure what to use.

10. The next thing you want to do is get your levels right in Ableton before bouncing the audio. I like to do this in the session view. Click Tab to toggle to the session view and then play the track at its loudest part. When the track is playing at the loudest part, raise the gain of the channel as high as it can go without the levels hitting the “red” (clipping). Do the same with the Master volume. Turn it up as loud as it can go without the Master volume going into the red (distorting).

11. Now that you have your levels right, you need to make your Ableton session the same BPM as the original track. You can either get the BPM from the “Segment BPM” window in Ableton’s Sample Display window, or what I like to do is used Mixed in Key to find the average BPM of the track.

12. Once you know the average tempo of the track, I like to round that up to the nearest whole number and then type that BPM in Ableton’s Tempo window.

13. Before Bouncing the Audio, click on the Clip in the arrange view so the clip is highlighted. This will tell Ableton how much of the track you want to export (in this case you want to export it from the beginning to the end).

14. To bounce the track from Ableton, in the Ableton Context Menu choose File – Export Audio and Video. Then use the following settings when you get the “Export Audio / Video” window:

15. Now Ableton is going to ask you where you want to save the file. I would save the file to somewhere where you save all of your other music, so you won’t have to move the file after exporting. This will save you from the headache of having a missing file in Traktor / iTunes etc. The way I like to name these files is “ArtistTitleBPM.wav” so in this example my file would be called “PrinceControversy121.wav”. This will allow me to see the BPM once I import the file into Traktor.

16. Before importing the track into Traktor, I personally like to use a program called “Platinum Notes” which will take the wav file I created and raise the levels, fix any pitch discrepancies, improve the sound quality and “re-master” the file so it has a more modern sound to it, and it will clean up a lot of warping artifacts as well. It will also convert the wav to a 320 KBPS MP3 to save disk space. If you don’t have platinum notes, no problem. You can use any external audio editor to raise the levels, or you can just leave the file alone and play it as is, and use Traktor’s internal autogain to raise the levels for you.

17. Once you have your file exported and have done any necessary audio tweaks, you can now bring the track into Traktor. You can do this by dragging the file you just created into a deck in Traktor via your finder or explorer in Traktor. You might have to drag the file into the deck a second time after Traktor analyzes the track so that Traktor’s auto gain will update itself.

18. With the track loaded, make sure you can see Traktor’s advanced panel below the deck by clicking on the little arrow icon beneath the Active button. Now find the first beat of the track and set a Grid marker on the first beat using Traktor’s Grid Marker button.

19. Now type in the BPM of the track you warped in Ableton. If you named the track the way I suggested you should see the BPM in the file name of your track. Just type this BPM into the BPM Edit window in Traktor.

21. Now turn on Traktor’s Metronome by clicking on the Beat Tick button in Traktor’s Grid Panel.

To hear the Metronome you either need to be in External Mixing mode in Traktor Preferences – Output Routing, or you need to route the monitor output to an output you can listen to (such as the built in output on mac, or an output of your soundcard of choice).

*note – its always more accurate to do beat grids in your headphones, connected directly into your computers headphone output.

22. Once you’ve set your grid marker and turned the metronome on, play the track and use the “Move Grid” buttons to shift your beat grid left and right until the metronome is playing in perfect sync with your track.

23. Once your metronome and track in Traktor are in perfect sync, click the “Lock” icon in the grid panel to save your beat grid to the track.

Now you can play all of those timeless classics and all of your rock, funk and Vinyl rips in perfect sync with any other genre of choice without worrying about them ever missing a beat thanks to the magic of Ableton and Traktor. Happy Mixing!

Mike Henderson | DJ Endo | Twitter | Facebook | SoundCloud

If you want to learn more about Warping in Ableton be sure to check out Steve Nalepa’s video on Warping in Live 8.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Digital DJing with Traktor Pro 2 Program

What’s Included:

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

DJ Extensive Program

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

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’s Digital DJing w/ Traktor: Course Overview – DJ Shiftee & DJ Endo

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dubspot Lab Report: Mixed In Key vs Beatport – Key Detection & Harmonic Mixing by DJ Endo

admin — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 18:33:48 +0000

Harmonic Mixing is a DJ technique that is being embraced more and more lately, not just by the pros, but also by DJs of all styles and walks of life. It involves mixing tracks that are in the same musical key, or keys that compliment each other. If a mix is “in key” it means that the two (or more) songs that your mixing share the same set of notes, or similar sets of notes which gives the effect that the two songs are “singing” together. For example if you were to play two songs that are in the key of C Major, both songs will only have notes that are white keys on the piano. When you play the two songs together the notes from the songs will compliment each other when overlapped, and the two songs will play together in harmony.

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Dubspot Video Tutorial – ‘What Is Harmonic Mixing?’

Nowadays harmonic mixing is becoming an industry standard for professional DJs since it enables them to find tracks that sound amazing together quickly. The main tool for harmonic mixing is a program called Mixed In Key. Mixed In Key is a program that will analyze your music files and write the musical keys of your songs into the file (ID3) information of your tracks. You can choose to write the keys into the comments field, artist field, track name, or even the file itself. The keys will then show up in iTunes, Traktor, Serato or whatever other DJ program you choose to use.

Check out my article on Harmonic Mixing for more info on Harmonic Mixing and Harmonic Mixing techniques by clicking here.

Recently, Beatport, which is the most popular online store for dance music, has released a new, more user friendly version of their website.

One of the new features of the website is the musical keys are now written into files for each song you buy. They’ve also allowed for users to comment on the songs if the keys are incorrect on the site in their user voice section.

Ironically enough, just after Beatport announced that they are now writing the keys into their songs, Mixed In Key released the newest version of their Harmonic Mixing software, Mixed In Key 5 which has an improved key detection algorithm, as well as the ability to see key changes in the middle of a track and improved analysis for shorter samples.

Now that both Mixed In Key 5 and the new Beatport website are available to the public I thought it would be a good time to do another Harmonic Mixing Lab report DJ Endo style to see who has the best Key detection algorithm on the Market. You can see my previous lab report on Mixed In Key 4 Here: “Harmonic Mixing Part 3: How Accurate is Mixed In Key?” In this test, I’ve taken 100 songs that I’ve recently purchased from Beatport and compared my results (songs that I’ve manually found the key of using a piano) vs. Mixed In Key and Beatports results.

Just a little background on me, I’m classically trained and I’ve been keying EVERY song that I buy for about 6 years now on the Piano. I’ve been a hardcore beta tester for Mixed In Key since the beginning, and have sent them thousands of tracks that I’ve keyed on the piano to help with their algorithm. I am very confident that my results are 100% accurate.

View/download a chart with all of the results below:

On this chart are MY results (songs I have keyed on the piano), Mixed In Key 5’s results and Beatports results. Any song that was incorrectly analyzed is highlighted in BOLD letters. And in the Key Detection battle the winner is…

(drum roll please…)

MIXED IN KEY!

Here are the results from my testing:

Mixed In Key = 81% accurate

Out of 100 songs analyzed in Mixed In Key, 81 were correctly analyzed. Out of the songs that were incorrectly analyzed 10 of them were a fifth off, which means they were only one number off in the Camelot wheel (ex. 8A is analyzed in Mixed In Key as a 9A). Mind you, most of these tracks were tech house, deep house, and techno so all of them didn’t have strong harmonic content. Not too shabby!

Beatport = 68% accurate

Out of the 100 songs that I looked up on Beatport, only 68 of the songs had the keys correctly written in. Of the 32 tracks that were analyzed incorrectly, 8 of those tracks had the correct root note of the scale but they would show up as major key when the track was in a minor key and visa versa (example A Minor shows up as A Major or C Major shows up as C Minor). Also 8 of the tracks that were incorrectly analyzed, were analyzed a fifth off (ex. 8A analyzed as 9A on the Camelot wheel). The rest of the tracks were completely off.

As a conclusion, I have to say Mixed In Key 5 is AMAZING and has come a long way with its key detection! I was completely blown away by its accuracy. Any track with some kind of recognizable melody in it is usually analyzed correctly by Mixed In Key. I would highly recommend everyone upgrade to Mixed In Key 5. If you don’t have Mixed In Key yet, what are you waiting for?! Its under $60 and will completely change your DJ life forever!

Beatport on the other hand has a lot of improvement to do on their key detection. Hopefully their userbase helps out by posting on their user voice page with the correct keys, or they adopt a new key detection algorithm. However, The new Beatport website is completely aimed for the DJ, and I have been spending many all nighters digging through thousands of tracks on their website.

Congratulations to Beatport for the release of their new website, and congratulations to Mixed In Key for taking their software and DJing to the next level! But in the key detection battle, Mixed In Key wins this round!

DJ Endo is a DJ and product specialist for Native Instruments and lives in Brooklyn. Listen to his mixes on SoundCloud.
DJ Endo – Live @ Oil City Roadhouse [Edmonton, AB, Canada] – Opening Set for Pete Tong by DJ Endo

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MIXED IN KEY!

Mixed In Key = 81% accurate

Beatport = 68% accurate