15 Tutorials. Native Instruments 2 DUO, 2 SCRATCH DUO, 2 LE, 2 Pro, 2 SCRATCH PRO

15 Tutorials

This chapter will guide you through the most common tasks that you will encounter during your work with TRAKTOR 2.

The tutorials are workflow-oriented. They start with the simplest tasks and progressively lead you to more complex operation, helping you to get more and more familiar with TRAKTOR 2.

After reading this, you should have the basic know-how allowing you to mix with TRAKTOR 2.

If you are using TRAKTOR DUO 2, TRAKTOR SCRATCH DUO 2, TRAKTOR LE 2, or TRAK-

TOR Manufacturer Edition 2, some of the instructions do not apply due to the limitations of your software flavor.

Tutorials

Prerequisites

15.1 Prerequisites

These tutorials can be read in a linear manner from the first to the last tutorial. However, if you have used previous TRAKTOR versions and are already familiar with certain tasks, you can skip the first tutorials and continue reading the later tutorials. Or, if you want to experiment more with TRAKTOR and come back to the tutorials later, you can find the needed prerequisites for every tutorial here.

Even if you’re already familiar with TRAKTOR, all tutorials are worth a read — every chapter may have little workflow hints of which you weren’t aware.

The tutorials make use of the included demo tracks which were copied to your hard disk during the TRAKTOR 2 installation procedure. Thus, you can follow these tutorials even if you haven’t imported your own music into the Track Collection yet. For more info on how to import your music into the Track Collection, please refer to chapter

↑ 5.2, Importing Music Folders

.

We assume that your TRAKTOR 2 system is already up and running. If it’s not the case, please follow the instructions in the separate Setup Guide and come back here when have set up your system correctly!

In case you already changed some settings in TRAKTOR 2 before you started with these tutorials, we strongly recommend you to reset TRAKTOR 2 to the factory settings:

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Goals of the Following Chapters

1.

Click the Help menu in the menu bar at the top of your screen (on Mac OS X) or at the top of the window (on Windows), and select Help > Start Setup Wizard.

2.

Follow the instructions of the Setup Wizard to incorporate your equipment (read more about the Setup Wizard in

↑ 3, The Setup Wizard

). TRAKTOR 2 is now reset to the factory settings.

3.

Choose the layout Mixer from the available options in the Layout Selector.

The tutorials presented here assume that TRAKTOR 2 is in its default (factory) state. If this is not the case, we cannot guarantee that you will experience what we describe here, and you might miss important things to know!

15.2 Goals of the Following Chapters

The following sections describe the goals and prerequisites for every chapter. This way you can jump into a desired tutorial whenever you like!

Chapter

↑ 15.3, Playing Your First Track

to ↑ 15.7, Adding FX

Read the instructions below. If you feel unsure about any step, read the respective chapter. If you can accomplish a task described hereafter without the need of some assistance, you can skip that chapter and continue reading another chapter.

1.

Load the track Techno 1 from the included Demo Tracks Playlist onto to Deck A and start its playback (chapter

↑ 15.3, Playing Your First Track

).

2.

Load the track Techno 2 from the included Demo Tracks Playlist onto Deck B and start its

playback. Deck A should be tempo master (chapter ↑ 15.4, Mixing In a Second Track

).

3.

Synchronize the tempo of the track in Deck B with the tempo of the track in Deck A

(chapter ↑ 15.5, Adjusting Levels ).

4.

From chapter

↑ 15.6, Looping and Cueing on, a new track will be loaded and played back

in Deck A: House 1. Deck B should now be tempo master.

5.

If you know how to store Loops and Cue Points, do so in both tracks and skip chapter

↑ 15.6, Looping and Cueing

.

6.

If you know how to assign an FX Unit to a Deck, if you know the difference between Single and Group FX mode and how to change FX, you can also skip chapter

↑ 15.7, Adding

FX

.

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Chapter

↑ 15.8, Using Samples in Your Mix (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2) to

↑ 15.10,

Synchronization

Chapters

↑ 15.8, Using Samples in Your Mix (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

and

↑ 15.9, Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only) introduce the

newest TRAKTOR features: Sample Decks and the Loop Recorder. Read these tutorials for a comprehensive introduction to the versatile Sample Deck and Loop Recorder features!

Chapter

↑ 15.10, Synchronization is about Master Clock modes and syncing tracks. Since the

Master Clock/Syncing concept has been changed and improved in TRAKTOR 2, we strongly recommend you to read this chapter carefully, even if you were familiar with the syncing concept in older versions of TRAKTOR!

15.3 Playing Your First Track

This first tutorial will show you how to load and play a track, how to check the needed audio outputs, and how to quickly troubleshoot your system if no music can be heard.

Prerequisites

In case you already changed some settings in TRAKTOR 2 before you started with these tutorials, we strongly recommend you to reset TRAKTOR 2 to the factory settings by doing as descri-

bed above in chapter ↑ 15.1, Prerequisites .

15.3.1 Quick Loading a Track

Let’s load the track Techno 1 from the included demo tracks on to Deck A:

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Playing Your First Track

1.

Click on the Demo Tracks Favorite. The tracks of the Demo Tracks Playlist appear below:

2.

Click on the track Techno 1 in the Playlist. The track will be highlighted.

3.

Drag and drop the Track onto Deck A. The track will be loaded. Its waveform and info appear on Deck A:

Favorites are customizable shortcuts sitting at the top of the Browser in TRAKTOR’s window.

If you can’t see the Favorite Playlists, you can activate them via Preferences > Browser Details > Show Playlist Favorites. Note: this option doesn’t exist in TRAKTOR LE 2, TRAKTOR

DUO 2, and TRAKTOR SCRATCH DUO 2.

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Alternative Loading Methods

► Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on a track and choose Load Track in Deck

A.

► Click the hotkey [Ctrl]+[Left].

15.3.2 Playing the Track

► Once the track is loaded, simply press the Play button at the bottom of the left Deck:

→ The track starts playing. The Play button lights up and the waveform starts moving in TRAK-

TOR 2.

Move your mouse on the right end of the waveform — the plus, equal and minus buttons appear. Use these to zoom in and out of the waveform for more or less details!

To Each Deck Its Own Channel

This chapter explains TRAKTOR’s Internal Mixer. If you’re using TRAKTOR SCRATCH DUO 2 or TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2, you will most likely use your external mixer. However, you can still follow this tutorial and substitute TRAKTOR’s EQs, Channel Faders, and crossfader with those on your mixer.

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The audio playing on each Deck can be further shaped by the controls on the corresponding channel of the Mixer. Since the track is loaded on Deck A, you can control its sound on channel A:

The Channel A

At this point you will probably hear some audio coming through your speakers or PA. If not, please check the following section.

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15.3.3 If You Don’t Hear the Track

If the track is playing on the Deck but the audio coming through your amplification system sounds too low, or if there is no sound at all, check the following:

▪ At the bottom of the Mixer, verify that the crossfader is moved all the way to the left:

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▪ Above, the channel fader should be raised on channel A:

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Playing Your First Track

▪ The channel meter (the vertical bar of indicators along the channel fader, see picture above) should show some activity. If not, check that the HI , MID , LOW and FILTER knobs higher up on that channel are set to center position; at the top of the channel, doubleclick the GAIN encoder once to reset the channel’s input gain to 0 dB.

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▪ At the top center of TRAKTOR, the MAIN level meters should show some activity. If not, check that the MAIN knob is raised.

If you see some activity on the MAIN level meters but don’t hear any sound, then double-check the audio setup and audio routing in the Preferences following the Setup Guide.

Please note that, with TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO/DUO 2, the master out knob/fader on your external mixer works independently from TRAKTOR’s MAIN knob. Adjust both carefully for a clean, loud signal, which is not clipping.

15.4 Mixing In a Second Track

Now that you have learned how to quickly load and play tracks using TRAKTOR 2, let’s see how to mix in a second track. On the way, you will learn a few basic mixing tasks that every digital DJ needs to know: how to pre-listen tracks, synchronize tracks, start the playback at the right position, and mix the tracks together using the crossfader.

Prerequisites

We assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorial (see

↑ 15.3,

Playing Your First Track ). TRAKTOR 2 now is in the following state:

▪ The track Techno 1 is loaded in Deck A. The track is audibly playing. The MASTER button of Deck A should be lit.

▪ The crossfader is all the way to the left.

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15.4.1 Pre-listening a Second Track in the Preview Player

If you use an external mixer (e.g. along with TRAKTOR SCRATCH DUO/PRO 2) and therefore

External Mixing mode, you will most likely not use the Preview Player at all and will, instead, preview your next track in the opposite Deck using the cue function on your hardware mixer.

However, you can assign an output pair of your audio interface to the Preview Player via Preferences > Output Routing > Output Preview, sacrificing a Deck (with the AUDIO 4/8 DJ) or the Send Outputs (TRAKTOR AUDIO 6/10).

Before we load another track, we will use TRAKTOR’s Preview Player to pre-listen to a track in the headphones directly from the Browser.

If you can’t see the Preview Player, you can activate it via Preferences > Browser Details >

Show Preview Player. Users of TRAKTOR LE 2 and TRAKTOR (SCRATCH) DUO 2 don’t have this option.

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TRAKTOR’s Preview Player

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Cue Mix and Cue Vol knobs

► If it’s not already done, plug in a pair of headphones to the headphones socket on your soundcard, controller, or hardware mixer depending on your setup.

1.

Click on the track Techno 2 in the Demo Playlist and drag it onto the Preview Player. The track begins to play immediately.

2.

Turn the Cue Mix knob ( MIX ) completely counter-clockwise to listen only to the previewed signal.

3.

Turn the Cue Vol knob ( VOL ) to raise or lower the headphones volume.

4.

Click anywhere in the waveform to preview another part of the track.

5.

Click and drag the playhead (vertical line) to scroll through the track.

6.

Click on the Preview Player’s Play button to stop the playback in the Preview Player.

7.

Drag the track from the Preview Player onto a Deck to load it, or select another track for pre-listening

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Although a MIDI controller is an external device, please note that you have to choose Internal Mixing mode in TRAKTOR because it controls TRAKTOR’s Internal Mixer!

15.4.2 Loading and Playing the Second Track

We will choose the track Techno 2, load and play it on Deck B:

1.

Drag and drop the track from the Preview Player onto Deck B. Alternatively, use any other loading method described in chapter

↑ 15.3.1, Quick Loading a Track

. The track info and waveform appear on Deck B.

2.

Press the Play button on the right Deck to start the playback. The track starts playing. The

Play button lights up and the waveform starts moving on TRAKTOR’s Deck B.

We don’t hear anything from Deck B through the speakers yet because we have set the crossfader all the way to the left—our plan is to slowly mix in the track on Deck B.

You can already give it a try: by slowly moving the crossfader to the right, you should hear the track on Deck B fade in, whereas the track on Deck A progressively fades out as you move the crossfader further to the right. Obviously, our mix is not satisfying at all yet—before mixing in the second track, we first have to beat-match it to the track playing on Deck A. So for now, pull the crossfader all the way back to the left.

15.4.3 Using Headphones to Prepare the Mix

From now on, let’s get used to preparing our mix with headphones until the next track (here on

Deck B) is ready to be mixed in.

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The Headphones Cue button on channel B

► Click the Headphones Cue button on channel B.

The button lights up, indicating that Deck B is now sent to the Cue channel which you will hear in your headphones.

At any time, use the Cue Mix ( MIX ) knob to adjust the balance between the cued track (Deck

B) and the main mix (where you hear Deck A) in your headphones. Turn it counter-clockwise when you want to concentrate on the cued track and turn it clockwise when you want to hear more of the main mix.

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You are now ready to work on the track playing on Deck B without interfering with the main mix sent to your audience. Regardless of the mix that you’re hearing in your headphones, the main mix is still controlled by the crossfader and channel faders.

If you’re using an external hardware mixer, it will provide its own headphones cue buttons

(sometimes implemented as fader).

15.4.4 Synchronizing the Second Track

Before mixing in the track playing on Deck B, we will use TRAKTOR’s automatic Sync feature to adjust its tempo to that of Deck A. This is done in just one step via the SYNC button:

The SYNC button

► Press the SYNC button on Deck B to synchronize the track’s tempo and phase with those of

Deck A.

► The SYNC button lights up. Now the two tracks are in perfect sync.

The syncing feature only works perfectly with a proper Beatgrid! Therefore, the tracks in the

Demo Playlist are already beat-gridded.

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By slowly turning the Cue Mix knob ( MIX ), you will hear the second track come into the mix in sync with Deck A.

Note that you should always adjust the tempo or sync of the track that is not audible to the audience!

15.4.5 Setting a Cue Point as Starting Point (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

You will probably want to have more control over the starting point of the track you mix in. For example, most of the time, not only the tempos but also the downbeats of both tracks should match. Starting from a particular point in a track (for mixing in, triggering, etc.) is called “cueing.”

TRAKTOR 2 lets you mark points for cueing—we call them Cue Points. Cue Points are saved with each track which allows you to re-use them at a later stage or in a later session.

To use the Cue Points, you have to open the CUE Advanced tab that gives you control over the

Cue Points first:

► Click on the little arrow button to below the ACTIVATE button to show the Advanced tabs below Deck A and B. Click on the CUE button to select the CUE tab.

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The Cue Tab

► On Deck B, whether or not the track is playing, simply press one of the unlit Hotcue buttons on a downbeat—let’s say the Hotcue button 1. The Hotcue button lights up in blue; you’ve just stored a Cue Point that you can return to simply by pressing the same Hotcue button again. Try it!

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The first Hotcue button is now lit in blue.

Aligning the Tracks

Aligning both tracks is straightforward:

1.

Press Play on both Deck A and Deck B (their Play button must be lit).

2.

Check that Deck A is defined as tempo master. If not, click on the MASTER button.

3.

Check that the SYNC button on Deck B is pressed, i.e. lit. If not, click it to match the tempo of Deck A.

4.

When you hear a downbeat in the track in Deck A, press the Hotcue button you just stored on Deck B. The playback position on Deck B jumps to the stored Cue Point, and the playback continues from there. Both tracks now are perfectly aligned, ready to be mixed.

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15.4.6 Snapping to the Beats

You don’t have to worry about placing a Hotcue directly on a beat. By default, TRAKTOR 2 will make sure this happens automatically. This is done by the so-called Snap mode. Clicking on the little S button in the Global section will activate and deactivate Snap mode:

The Snap and Quant buttons in the Global section

With Snap mode on, any Cue Point you create in the track will snap to the closest beat, thus ensuring that you get directly to that beat next time you press the Hotcue.

15.4.7 Sticking to the Beats

There is another reason you don’t have to worry about pressing the lit Hotcue button exactly on the beat: By default, TRAKTOR will make sure that the beats of both tracks stick together and that jumps don’t ruin the beat-matching. This is because the so-called Quantize mode is on, as you can see by the lit Quantize Button in the Global section (see picture above).

With Quantize mode on, whenever you jump through the track (e.g. by pressing a Hotcue button or clicking somewhere in the Overview waveform), the playback jumps to the nearest position that preserves the beat-matching, thus ensuring that the current sync doesn’t get lost when you jump through the track.

15.4.8 Interlude: In Case the Left Track Is Over…

The track Techno 1 on Deck A has been playing since we started with the tutorials, and it is possible that the playback has reached the end of the track. In this case, just do the following:

► On the left Deck, click the Jump to Start button to skip back to the beginning of the track and resume from there.

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► Alternatively, you can press [Shift]+T for Deck A and [Shift]+G for Deck B.

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Jump to the beginning of the track.

15.4.9 Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ and Filter

Now would be a great time to audition some of TRAKTOR 2’s EQs and filters:

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The EQ knobs and the FILTER knob

► Turn the EQ knobs and the FILTER knob on channel B to hear the effect on the cued track.

Before the Filter has any effect on the sound, click on the small button next to the word

“FILTER” to activate it. It is lit blue when activated.

The EQs and filters are excellent tools for making adjustments to tracks before mixing them in so that you get the smoothest transition possible. The most common technique is to filter the bassline out of the incoming track—having 2 basslines running simultaneously rarely sounds good. Do the following:

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We will now carry out a first version of the mix “for real.” Thus, turn the Cue Mix knob ( MIX ) fully clockwise to hear the main mix in your headphones (or take off your phones and listen to your mix coming through your amplification system).

► With the crossfader still on the left, turn down the LO knob on channel B to take the bass out of the track in Deck B.

► Progressively mix in channel B by gradually moving the crossfader from the left to the center position.

► When both tracks are running together and you want to bring the bass back in, gradually decrease the bass amount of channel A while simultaneously increasing that of channel B using the LO knobs on both channels.

► Complete the transition by gradually moving the crossfader all the way to the right. You just did your first mix with TRAKTOR 2!

15.4.10 Manual Beat-matching

You can also beat-match manually instead of using TRAKTOR’s sync facilities. Some DJs just prefer manual beat-matching, but it can also become necessary in certain situations:

▪ playing tracks that have not been beat-gridded

▪ syncing to a vinyl record or audio CD

▪ playing “back-to-back” with another DJ

▪ playing music styles that don’t have quantized beats, e.g. Soul, Funk and other music with a live drummer.

To show this, let’s mix the track in Deck B with a new track in Deck A.

From now on, the track on Deck B is “on air,” i.e. it is heard by your audience. Hence, we will now exclusively work on the Deck A.

First Steps

► First check that the crossfader is at full right.

► Make sure the SYNC button of Deck A is off.

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At first, it may help to select a track with a similar BPM.

Adjusting the Tempo with Tempo Fader and Phase Meter

The tempo for each Deck can be manually controlled via the Tempo fader:

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Mixing In a Second Track

Use the Tempo fader to adjust the Deck’s tempo.

► Adjust the Tempo fader on Deck A until the track’s tempo matches the tempo of the track on Deck B.

If the tempo of two tracks match but the phase doesn’t, you can drag the Phase meter forwards and backwards (left and right) to align the downbeats. Alternatively, use the Tempo

Bend buttons.

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Use the Phase meter or the Tempo Bend buttons to adjust the phase.

Manually Cueing and Aligning the Beats

If you use TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO/DUO 2, your Decks will show the Scratch Control Playback Mode and you will control the cue position manually on the turntable or your CD player.

However, you can also choose Internal Playback mode from the context menu that appears if you click on the Deck letter. Using this mode, you can follow the next steps, too.

First, find an interesting Cue Point to start from, e.g. the break:

1.

With Deck A stopped, drag the waveform of the track in Deck A until the beginning of the break.

2.

Click the CUE button. A blue triangle shows that there is now a floating Cue Point.

3.

Click the CUP button and release it when you hear a downbeat in Deck B. The track will start playing when you release the button.

4.

If done correctly, the songs will be in sync. If the songs begin to fall out of sync, adjust the tempo with TRAKTOR’s Tempo fader and re-press the CUP button to try again.

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5.

Use the Phase meter to align the downbeats.

6.

When you’re ready, you can bring the crossfader over from Deck B and slowly mix in the track in Deck A.

Don’t expect to be capable of manually matching beats right away, though—this requires intensive training and can’t be fully explained here in detail. In fact, it’s often much easier to learn beat-matching by watching someone perform it. For this reason, it is recommended that you search the Internet for beat-matching tutorial videos to see the process in action.

Remember: Practice makes perfect!

15.5 Adjusting Levels

For TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO/DUO 2 users, the theory described in the next sections is pretty much the same, however, you have to continue the practice on your hardware mixer!

Before going any further, we would like you to be aware of how important it is to have your mix at the right level. We provide you here with a few simple hints in order to get the best sound out of your mix.

Even if this section might look a bit technical, please take the time to read these few pages as they can save you a lot of trouble, especially in a live situation!

15.5.1 The Theory…

There are three basic mixing rules:

1.

Making best use of the available dynamic range on each stage of the mix. This ensures to be safely above the so called "noise floor", which is the “buzz” that you hear when stopping all decks and cranking up the speakers.

2.

Leveling the signals from your decks for a smooth mix - none of the tracks should dominate over the others.

3.

Avoiding clipping at all costs. Audio interfaces have physical limits - if you exceed these limits your sound get's distorted, hurts peoples ears and looses punch.

Note that internally Traktor's mixer cannot clip, due to its digital nature - clipping only occurs at the output stage towards the audio interface.

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15.5.2 …and the Practice

To assist you in adjusting levels, the Mixer of TRAKTOR 2 is equipped with level meters and controls. Each level meter consists of a colored bar indicating the signal level. The rules mentioned above can thus be translated as follows:

► Best practices when adjusting levels: The levels should be kept in the upper third and should not at all (or only rarely) touch the red top of the level meter.

By using a mixing technique where you swap the bass lines of two tracks as described in chapter

↑ 15.4.9, Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ and Filter

, you should also ensure that the main level (Master output signal) doesn’t clip or distort.

Making Best Use of the Dynamic Range on Each Channel

Each channel on the Mixer provides you with a vertical channel meter. This meter shows you the pre-fader level of the signal on that channel, i.e. the level of the signal before it passes the the channel fader. To adjust this level, use the GAIN knob:

► Adjust the channel’s GAIN knob so that the level displayed on the channel meter stays in the upper third without reaching the top.

Of course, the artistic side of your tracks should not be overlooked: for tracks with a variable average level over time (e.g. a track starting with a soft intro), you should consider the loudest parts of the track when adjusting the channel level.

TRAKTOR 2 already does this for you by automatically setting the level for each newly loaded track to a satisfying value. This so-called “Autogain” feature relies on the gain values extracted from your tracks. It is activated by default and can be turned off via Preferences >

Mixer > Set Autogain when Loading Track. Nevertheless, depending on the particular EQ, filter, and FX applied to the cued track, you might have to double-check the level before you mix in the track. Moreover, what is important here is the average level of the specific part of the track that you’re about to mix in.

Matching Levels Between Channels

Moreover, in order to avoid any level jump when crossfading between two channels, you must adjust the average channel levels between the decks involved in a mix:

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► Before mixing in a cued channel, adjust its GAIN encoder so that its channel meter activity roughly matches that of the channel currently on air. In doing so, you must be aware, that variations of volume within the tracks may influence this procedure – the Autogain value always gives you a good indication of the Gain level that should be applied to a track as described above.

Controlling the Main Output Level

The MAIN output level in TRAKTOR can be adjusted independently from a master out control on an external hardware mixer!

The signals coming from all channels are mixed together according to the relative levels set by the channel faders and by the crossfader. This mix is then sent to TRAKTOR’s MAIN output. In this section, the MAIN level meters show you the (left and right) overall level of your mix and can be adjusted by the MAIN level knob:

► Adjust the MAIN knob in so that the level meters stay in the upper blue and orange area without reaching the red ends.

By default a mixer headroom of -6 dB is applied to the output. This provides you an extra

6 dB of headroom between the MAIN level meter’s upper orange area (clear signal) and the red area (signal starts clipping). Headroom is used to avoid instantly creating signal peaks that clip the output as this can create unpleasant distortion. However, headroom is applied at the cost of the overall output volume, to compensate for this the hardware level (or gain) on the DJ mixer or amplifiers driving the speaker system should be increased during soundcheck.

In simple words: your sound will benefit from keeping it a bit lower on software level and boosting it afterwards on hardware level.

The digital headroom using in TRAKTOR’s internal mixer can be set in Preferences > Mixer >

Levels > Headroom. Set it to -3 dB or even 0 dB if due to poor amplification you can’t achieve the output volume you whish – but don’t overdo this, because more volume easily turns into less punch!

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For safety reasons a limiter is enabled on TRAKTOR’s main output by default. With this limiter enabled, the MAIN level meters’ red clipping indicators show when the limiter is actively limiting the volume. While the limiter virtually cancels any distortion that might occur, the resulting reduction of the dynamic range cannot be undone. Therefore, even with the limiter enabled, ensure that the clipping indicators don’t light up too often! For un-altered sound even in the peaks you can deactivate the limiter via Preferences > Mixer > Enable Limiter but you must watch your outputs much more thoroughly, because clipping on a powerful speaker system can easily harm your audiences ears!

15.6 Looping and Cueing

Now that you have learned the basic mixing tasks, we will focus on one of TRAKTOR’s great features: its looping facilities.

Prerequisites

TRAKTOR 2 is in the following state:

▪ The track House 1 is loaded on Deck A. The track is playing and audible. It is also the tempo master.

▪ The crossfader is all the way to the left.

15.6.1 Playing with Loops

TRAKTOR’s Decks are equipped with dedicated loop controls located in the Loop section, right under the Deck Display:

The Loop section, from left to right: Auto Loop buttons, IN and OUT buttons, ACTIVE button.

Setting a Loop with a Predefined Size

Let’s add a Loop to the track on Deck A.

► To engage a loop on a playing track, just click one of the Auto Loop buttons.

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→ This will automatically add a loop at that position in the track over the area marked in green. Also, the ACTIVE button will light up in green.

→ The loop length in beats will correspond to the number written on the Auto Loop button:

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Highlighted Auto Loop and ACTIVE buttons

► To change the size of the Loop, just click another Auto Loop button.

Setting a Loop Manually

You can also manually set loop start and loop end points. To do this, use the Loop IN and Loop

OUT buttons in the Loop section:

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The Loop IN and Loop OUT buttons

► Press the IN button to set the Loop In Point.

► Press the OUT button to set the Loop Out Point. As soon as you hit the OUT button, the

Loop is set and the track will start looping.

We already introduced the Snap mode in the previous tutorial (see

↑ 15.4.5, Setting a Cue

Point as Starting Point (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2) ). This mode also affects the Loop In

and Loop Out Points so that they will automatically be positioned directly on the beat.

Moving a Loop (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

You can also quickly move the active Loop across your track by using the MOVE Advanced tab:

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Looping and Cueing

The MOVE Advanced Tab

► Select Loop from the drop-down menu on the left.

► Select a Move Size from the list on the right by clicking on the desired button.

► Move the Loop forward or backward with the Loop Move buttons (arrow buttons).

The MOVE Advanced tab also offers the options to move only the Loop In or Loop Out point which can be used for tension-building drum rolls.

Storing a Loop (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

In the previous tutorial, we looked at how to store Cue Points. In a similar fashion, you can store Loops as well:

► To store the active Loop, press an unlit Hotcue button.

→ The Hotcue button lights up, this time in green—you’ve just stored a Loop that you can return to simply by pressing the same Hotcue button again.

The Cue Tab with a stored loop, marked in green.

If you exceed the 8 Hotcue slots, you can use the STORE button to store even more Hotcues or Loops in your track. The MAP button allows you to re-organize their order.

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Deactivating Looping

If you want to deactivate the current Loop, do the following:

► To deactivate looping, click the green ACTIVE button. The playback continues after the

Loop.

By pressing the ACTIVE button when there is no Loop currently active, you activate looping.

The next Loop in the track will be activated.

Tutorials

Looping and Cueing

15.6.2 Using Hotcues (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

We’ve already seen how to use Hotcues to store Cue Points and Loops. We want to show you here a few more details on their use.

► First, open the CUE Advanced tab again.

As already explained, when pressing an unlit Hotcue button, if there is no Loop active, you store a Cue Point at the current playback position (the Hotcue button turns blue). If there is a

Loop active, you store this Loop (the Hotcue button turns green).

In the waveform of the Deck, you can see that a vertical line with the same color appears in the track at the corresponding position. Moreover, a little number at the top reminds you which button you should use to jump to that Cue Point or Loop:

A waveform with a Cue Point stored as Hotcue 2 and a Loop stored as Hotcue 3.

If you made a mistake, or just decide you no longer want a particular Hotcue, you can quickly delete it:

1.

Click on the respective Hotcue.

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2.

Click on the Trash button.

→ You can see that the button is no longer lit.

Creative Uses of Hotcues

Hotcues aren’t just bookmarks to particular sections of a track—they can also be used for creative techniques such as remixing parts of a song, beat-juggling, etc.

As an example, we will show you here how you can quickly make use of a Loop stored in a

Hotcue slot to introduce the track you’re about to mix in. By the way, this will allow us to sum up what we’ve learned until now.

The track Techno 2 is still loaded on Deck B. The track on Deck A is on air (crossfader at full left) and you want to prepare the track on Deck B for mixing in:

► Start the playback of the track in Deck B and send it to your headphones by activating the

Headphones Cue button of Deck B.

1.

Find an interesting Loop near the beginning of the track by using the controls in the Loop section of Deck B.

2.

Once you have a nice Loop running, store it by pressing an unlit Hotcue button.

3.

Press the respective Hotcue button again to let the Loop start on a downbeat of the track in Deck A.

4.

Now start to bring this Loop in your mix, for example by implementing the low-cut we explained in the previous tutorial (see chapter

↑ 15.4.9, Mixing In the Track by Using the

Channel EQ and Filter

).

5.

When you’re about to fade out the previous track completely, deactivate the Loop on the new track and you’re done.

The CUE Advanced tab offers a lot more options.

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15.7 Adding FX

The FX section of TRAKTOR (SCRATCH) DUO 2 is limited. It offers only 2 FX Units with fixed mixer channel assignments and only in Group mode. The overall number of FX is also reduced.

The FX section of TRAKTOR LE 2 only offers one Group FX per Deck and an even smaller amount of FX.

Now that we have seen the basics of playing tracks on the Decks and mixing them together, let’s see how to add effects—or “FX” in the TRAKTOR terminology.

TRAKTOR has an extremely powerful effect section. By default, there are two different FX

Units in TRAKTOR, which can be assigned to any of the Decks.

Tutorials

Adding FX

A FX Unit in Group mode

A FX Unit in Single mode

Prerequisites

TRAKTOR 2 now is in the following state:

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▪ The track Techno 2 is loaded on Deck B. The track is playing and audible and should be the tempo master.

▪ The Deck A is stopped (if it’s not the case, press the PLAY button on the left Deck).

▪ The crossfader is all the way to the right.

15.7.1 Assigning a Deck to an FX Unit (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

We need to assign an FX Unit to a Deck. To do this, we use the FX Assign buttons:

Tutorials

Adding FX

The FX Assign buttons on each channel

Let’s assign the FX Unit 1 to Deck B:

► Press the FX Assign button 1 on channel B to assign Deck B to the FX Unit 1.

Most commonly, you will assign one FX Unit to one channel (FX 1 to Deck A, FX 2 to Deck

B, etc), but for this tutorial we wanted to demonstrate also TRAKTOR’s versatile FX assignment; you can assign any other channel to the same FX Unit as well. For example, if you want to apply these FX to the track loaded on Deck A, simply press the FX Assign button 1 also on Deck A.

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15.7.2 Group Mode

First we’ll look at Group mode. This mode allows up to three different FX to be used simultaneously in a single FX Unit. You see three different FX slots stacked on top of each other in the corresponding FX Unit.

Tutorials

Adding FX

Group FX

15.7.3 Getting the FX Unit Ready

Per default, there are three effects loaded in both FX Units: Delay, Reverb, and Flanger.

► Choose which of the three loaded effects you want to activate by pressing the corresponding

FX ON Button:

→ The FX Button lights up and activates the respective effect.

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► Turn the D/W knob to mix between the unprocessed (“dry”) and the processed (“wet”) signal. Slowly turn the D/W knob clockwise to bring in more of the FX and turn it counter-clockwise to reduce the FX:

Tutorials

Adding FX

→ You now hear the track on Deck B being processed by the FX Unit 2.

Of course, you can use all three effects together—simply activate all three buttons.

15.7.4 Controlling the FX Unit

You can control each FX in this FX Unit by turning the respective FX Knob:

The FX Knobs

► Play around with the FX Knobs 1-3 and listen to the result on the audio.

Changing the FX in a Slot

You can load another FX in each slot. Let’s switch the first FX slot to the Gater:

TRAKTOR LE 2 does not have the Gater effect.

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Adding FX

► Click on the downwards-pointing arrow next to Delay to open the drop-down menu. Now choose Gater from the list.

► If the first FX slot is currently deactivated, press the respective FX Button to activate it (the button must be lit).

→ You will hear now the Gater cutting the audio at regular intervals. If the effect is not audible, make sure the D/W knob is at least set to 50 %.

Tempo-synchronized FX

Now try the following:

► Set the FX Knob to various positions and listen to the resulting effect on the audio.

→ You’ll notice that the gating effect stays synchronized to the beat because its tempo follows the Master.

You can check this by raising the tempo of the Master—you will hear the track playing faster and the Gater following.

15.7.5 Single Mode (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

You can also switch each FX Unit to Single mode. Instead of multiple FX with one parameter each, Single mode will give you one FX but with much more control over its parameters.

This time, we will do it on FX Unit 2:

► Press FX Assign button 1 on channel B to remove the FX assignment.

► Press FX Assign button 2 on channel B to assign Deck B to the FX Unit 2.

→ The FX Knobs and Buttons will give you access to each of the advanced parameters for that particular FX. At any time, you can press the RST Button to reset the parameters to their default value. As in Group mode, the D/W knob allows you to adjust the balance between the unprocessed (dry) signal and the processed (wet) signal.

15.7.6 Storing a Snapshot

If you find yourself making the same settings to the FX each time and would like to set a default state for the FX parameters, simply do the following:

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1.

Adjust the FX Knobs and Buttons to your liking.

2.

Press the Snapshot button (floppy disk icon) to store these settings as snapshot.

→ The next time you press the RST Button with this FX loaded, its parameters will assume the values you stored.

The Reset (RST) button

15.8 Using Samples in Your Mix (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

TRAKTOR 2 introduces new functionality to TRAKTOR: Sample Decks!

The Sample Deck C with loaded samples.

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Using Samples in Your Mix (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

Sample Decks are a great way to add one-shot or looped samples to your set, or capture loops for on-the-fly remixing. You can also use the Sample Decks to build new tracks on the fly by layering clips on top of each other.

Note that the tempo of looped Samples follow the Master while the tempo of one-shot Samples will not be altered.

Manufacturer Edition 2 note: Sample Decks are not available in Manufacturer Edition 2.

Prerequisites

TRAKTOR 2 now is in the following state:

▪ The track Techno 2 is loaded on Deck B. The track is audibly playing and is the tempo master. By the way, from now on we will use “Track Deck” to describe Decks that play tracks so that we can easily distinguish them from Sample Decks. In TRAKTOR 2, you can see that the two upper Decks (A and B) are Track Decks whereas the two lower Decks

(C and D) are Sample Decks.

▪ Deck A is stopped (if it’s not the case, press the PLAY button on the left Deck).

▪ The crossfader is all the way to the right.

15.8.1 Loading a Sample from the Collection

You can load samples of 32 beats or less directly from TRAKTOR’s Track Collection.

1.

Click on the Playlist called Demo One-shots from your Favorites.

2.

Click on the sample named SFX Gold 1 in the Playlist to select it.

3.

Drag it onto the first sample slot of Deck C (the left Sample Deck).

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→ The sample is now loaded and ready to play. The Sample Deck C now holds the sample in its first sample slot.

15.8.2 Triggering the Sample

Triggering the sample is simple:

1.

Press the Sample Play button to start the sample.

2.

Press the Sample Play button again to stop the sample and skip back to start.

If you let the sample play, it is played all the way once then playback stops. This is because the sample is in One-shot mode which is indicated by the little blue arrow in the top right corner of the sample slot in TRAKTOR 2:

The sample SFX Gold 1 in One-shot mode

When you click on this little blue arrow, it turns into a little green loop. The sample is now in

Looped mode. In Looped mode, you can control its playback as follows:

► Press the Sample Play button to start the playback.

→ The sample is played in loop.

► Press the Sample Play button again to stop the sample and skip back to start.

In case you don’t hear the playing (unmuted) sample, check that channel C’s fader is raised.

Also, the crossfader must be set somewhere on the left. Indeed, all this happens on Deck C

(which is a Sample Deck); hence, your sample’s signal is controlled by channel C on the

Mixer.

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Using Samples in Your Mix (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

15.8.3 Grabbing a Sample from a Track

We have seen how you can load samples directly into one of the Sample Decks using TRAK-

TOR’s Browser, but here’s an even cooler performance feature:

1.

Check that the track Techno 2 is still playing on Deck B). If the playback has reached the end of the track, press the to Skip Back to Start button, alternatively press [Shift]+G on your computer keyboard.

2.

Make sure that Snap mode is activated in the Master panel of the Global section.

3.

Set a Loop in this track using the controls in the Loop section as described in chapter

↑ 15.6.1, Playing with Loops .

4.

Click on the Heading of Deck B, where you can read the track’s name ( Techno 2 ) and drag it onto sample slot 2.

→ This automatically grabs the current Loop playing on Track Deck B and loads it into the second sample slot of the Sample Deck D underneath:

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We just exported the active Loop from Deck B to the 2nd sample slot on Deck D.

The loop is now silently playing in the Sample Deck D. Furthermore, provided that Snap is active, the loop is in perfect sync with Track Deck B, above, which is our current tempo master.

Click on the Sample Play button to stop and reset the sample, then click it again to start the sample playing audibly.

As previously described, you can switch the sample playback mode between Looped and

One-shot mode by clicking on the little green loop / blue arrow in the top right corner of the sample slot in TRAKTOR 2. The Sample Play button’s behavior changes accordingly.

Now you can load a different track onto Deck B, but you will still have the loop from the original song stored on the Sample Deck D to be retriggered at any time. It’s great for capturing loops on the fly and using them to build an alternate mix.

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Using Samples in Your Mix (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

If the Deck you copied from wasn’t playing a Loop when you pressed the Sample Play button, it will still grab audio from the source Deck, but will instead take it from the current playback position. The loop will automatically be cut to the length of the current loop size (grey-shaded

Auto Loop button).

► Grab a few samples from various places from the track in Deck B and play around to get used to the basic playback controls that we described above.

15.8.4 More Sample Controls

Once you have a sample loaded on one of the Sample Decks, you can change its sound utilizing a number of controls. There's more that you can perform on your samples than is described here, but we will at least show you some of the available functions:

▪ With the One-Shot/Loop button, you can Start and Stop the playback of each sample slot.

It also indicates whether the sample slot is in One-shot or Loop Mode.

▪ With the Sample Volume knob, you can adjust the volume of the sample in that specific slot.

▪ With the Sample Filter knob, you can apply a lowpass/highpass filter on the sample in that specific slot.

Note that the following four functions (Keylock, FX Enable, Headphone Monitor and Play

Mode) only show up when hovering over the waveform display of a sample slot.

▪ With the Keylock button, you can enable the Keylock function per slot.

◦ When the Keylock button is enabled (lit), the sample will play back at its original pitch regardless of its playback speed.

◦ When the Keylock button is disabled (unlit), changes in pitch will be heard when the sample's playback speed changes.

▪ With the FX Enable button, you can enable the FX Enable function per slot.

◦ When FX Enable is on (lit), the sample slot will play out through the mixer's normal signal path including the FX Units.

◦ When FX Enable is off (unlit), the sample slot will play out through a separate signal path in the mixer that is identical to the primary path with the exception of the FX.

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▪ With the Headphone Monitor button, you can enable the Headphone Monitor function per slot.

◦ When Headphone Monitor is on (lit), the sample slot will also play out through the

Deck's Monitor output. This signal will be sourced from the sample slot pre-volume and pre-mute.

▪ With the Play Mode button, you can switch between One-shot or Loop Mode playback per slot.

With the function Permanently Show Sample Deck Indicators in Preferences > Decks > Deck

Heading, you can switch the Sample Slot Indicators on of off.

▪ With the Deck GAIN knob in the associated Mixer channel, you can raise or lower the volume of all samples in that Deck at once.

▪ With the Deck FILTER knob in the associated Mixer channel, you can apply a lowpass/ highpass filter on all samples in that Deck at once.

▪ With the FX Assign buttons in the associated Mixer channel, you can assign an FX Unit on all samples in that Deck at once.

▪ With the EQ knobs in the associated Mixer channel, you can shape the sound of all samples in that Deck at once.

In TRAKTOR (SCRATCH) DUO 2 there are no individual Sample Volume and Sample Filter knobs.

Once you transfer a Loop into one of the sample slots, this Loop becomes part of your Track

Collection and will be available to you at any time later simply by browsing the Collection— for example, you will find it in the All Samples node.

Sample Hotkeys

Much more versatile than using the mouse is the use of Keyboard Hotkeys. One single keystroke can trigger the following actions:

▪ If the slot is empty, a sample is loaded from the Deck above it.

▪ If the sample is playing, but muted, it gets unmuted.

▪ If the sample is playing unmuted, it gets muted.

▪ If the sample is stopped, it starts playing.

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Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

▪ If the sample is playing, press and hold the key to stop and reset the sample.

The Hotkeys for the individual sample slots from left to right are on Deck C: [Z]/[X]/[C]/[V] — and on Deck D: [B]/[N]/[M]/[<].

Please note that these are the Hotkey mappings for an English keyboard layout. In case of a non-english keyboard layout, the key labeling will vary.

Unloading a Sample

If at any time you’d like to clear the contents in one of the slots of a Sample Deck, simply press [Ctrl] + [Z], [X], [C] or [V] for Sample Deck C and [Ctrl] + [B], [N], [M] or [,] for Sample

Deck D — and it’s gone.

→ The Sample Play button turns back off.

15.9 Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH

PRO 2 Only)

Earlier we saw how you can use Sample Decks as a means for triggering one-shot and looped samples. this is all based upon existing audio material. The Loop Recorder, on the other hand, allows you to record new material on the fly!

The Loop Recorder

You could, for example, capture the signal from the microphone input of your soundcard (or mixer), record your scratching in real time, or just record a few bars of a particular track while tweaking the FX settings.

Prerequisites

TRAKTOR 2 now is in the following state:

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Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

▪ The track Techno 2 is still loaded on Deck B. The track is audibly playing and set to Master. Deck A is stopped.

▪ The crossfader is all the way to the right.

▪ FX Unit 2 is in Single mode, assigned to Deck B, and loaded with your favorite FX. The effect, however, should be turned off ( ON button deactivated).

15.9.1 Choosing a Source

The Loop Recorder can capture the input from several sources. You can choose the desired source by clicking on the Source menu (the drop-down menu directly under the Loop Recorder’s DRY/WET knob):

The Loop Recorder’s Source menu in TRAKTOR 2

In this menu, you have following choices:

▪ Main will record TRAKTOR’s overall signal.

▪ Cue will record any channel(s) whose Headphones Cue button is on.

▪ Ext picks up the signal assigned to TRAKTOR’s Input Send channel.

▪ Aux will pick up the signal assigned to TRAKTOR’s Aux channel—typically the microphone input (for more info on how to use a microphone, please see chapter

↑ 18.6, Adding a Microphone ).

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Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

If you’re using TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO/DUO 2 and are therefore in External Mixing mode, the only available option is Ext.

For our example, we’ll capture the main output:

► Select Main in the Source menu.

15.9.2 Recording a Loop

Let’s now record a loop.

Adjusting the Loop Size

Before we start recording, we need to specify the size of the loop we are going to record:

► Press the SIZE button repeatedly to cycle through loop record sizes (in beats).

You can see the current loop size at the top of the Loop Recorder. For our example, we’ll choose a loop of 4 beats:

The selected loop size is displayed in the software.

Starting the Recording

Now do the following:

► Cut the low and mid frequencies on channel B by turning the LO and MID knobs fully counter-clockwise.

► Turn the DRY/WET knob of the Loop Recorder fully clockwise.

When you’re ready, press the Record button.

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Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

Play and Record buttons in the Loop Recorder

The Loop Recorder will punch in (Record button lit) and out (Record button back off) according to the selected loop size and then begin playing (Play button lit). That’s all!

You can hear that our adjustments to the EQ are now part of the recording.

You’ll notice that the loop automatically started playing when it finished recording. If you don’t want this to happen, just push the Play button during recording. Now the loop will only trigger when you explicitly tell it to.

Playing with the Recorded Loop

You can control the balance between the looped recording and the main output using the Loop

Recorder’s DRY/WET knob:

The Loop Recorder’s DRY/WET knob

You can stop and start again the recorded loop by using the Play button. By doing this, you’ll notice the following:

▪ The Loop Recorder always stays in sync the current tempo master, which is Deck B at the moment in our example.

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Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

▪ You don’t have to bother with the DRY/WET knob position when stopping the Loop Recorder. When you stop the Loop Recorder, the DRY/WET knob is automatically bypassed regardless of its current position. This ensures a seamless transition with the main signal at its original level.

Deleting the Loop and Trying Again

If you don’t like what you hear and want to try again:

► Press the UNDO button when the Loop Recorder is stopped (when the Loop Recorder is playing the button is hidden).

→ Now the recording has been cleared and you can try again.

For example, you could try again to record a loop from the track on Deck B, this time while tweaking the FX loaded on the FX Unit 2:

1.

Turn channel B’s EQ knobs back to neutral position.

2.

Press the Record button on the Loop Recorder and tweak the FX knobs and buttons of the

FX Unit 2.

Since the Loop Recorder records the audio (including any processing by the FX), you can create brand new loops from your existing tracks!

15.9.3 Overdubbing

You can also dub over the current recorded loop, building additional recorded layers on the fly.

To do this:

► Press the Record button while the Loop Recorder is already playing an existing loop, perform your tweaks, scratches, or vocals, and press it again to exit overdubbing.

→ The new audio will then be added to the existing loop.

► If you don’t like the overdub, just hit UNDO and it will clear your last overdub and you can try it again.

► If you hit UNDO once more, it will act as a “redo” and bring back the overdub.

► If you want to completely clear all the contents of the Loop Recorder, just press DEL while the Loop Recorder is stopped.

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15.9.4 Further Uses of the Recorded Loop

One of the great things about the Loop Recorder is that you can use it to record loops that you can then transfer to the Sample Decks. This is how it works:

► Click on the Loop Length display of the Loop Recorder and drag the Loop from there to an empty sample slot.

→ Now the loop has been stored in a sample slot, and you can record a new loop into the Loop

Recorder if you like.

→ Moreover, your loop now has access to all sample-related features provided by the Sample

Deck.

→ Last but not least, the loop is automatically added to your Collection and can be re-used whenever you want to!

15.10 Synchronization

It is now time to give a closer look at the advanced synchronization features offered by TRAK-

TOR. Once you will get more familiar with them, you will be able to use these powerful tools to build rich and complex mixes.

15.10.1 Introduction

In the previous tutorials, we have already seen TRAKTOR’s synchronization facilities many times in action:

▪ We synchronized a track to the previous one before we mixed it in (see chapter

↑ 15.4,

Mixing In a Second Track ).

▪ We played with Loops and jumped to Cue Points without losing the beat (see chapter

↑ 15.6, Looping and Cueing

).

▪ We noticed that the Gater FX was synchronized to the track it was processing (see chapter

↑ 15.7, Adding FX

).

▪ We grabbed a sample from a track and it played in sync with the track (see chapter

↑ 15.8, Using Samples in Your Mix (Not Available in TRAKTOR LE 2)

).

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▪ We recorded a loop in the Loop Recorder and it played in sync with the track (see chapter

↑ 15.9, Using the Loop Recorder (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only) ).

15.10.2 The Tempo Master

Note that, in TRAKTOR 2, the syncing concept has been extended and improved so TRAK-

TOR SCRATCH PRO/DUO 2 users can also take full advantage of sync-lock when using

Timecode Vinyl or CD control!

For all this to work, TRAKTOR needs both a tempo and beat reference to which it can synchronize things. We call this reference source the tempo master. The tempo master doesn’t have to be the same source throughout the entirety of your mix, but there will always be one source designated as the tempo master—and only one.

For example, by activating SYNC on a Track Deck, you are saying to TRAKTOR: “Synchronize the track on this Deck with the current tempo master.” Samples playing in Looped mode on a Sample Deck, as well as loops recorded in the Loop Recorder, always play in sync with the current tempo master.

In TRAKTOR, the Master Clock or any Track Deck can be the tempo master:

▪ TRAKTOR’s Master Clock can provide a tempo and a tick (which can be used for beatgridding).

▪ A Track Deck can provide the tempo and the phase from the track that it is currently playing.

TRAKTOR (SCRATCH) DUO 2 and TRAKTOR LE 2 users only have the option to set a Deck as tempo master.

Who’s the Master?

You can build your mix using various Deck setups: you can mix with two Track Decks only, or make use of the lower Sample Decks (default setup), or even replace the Sample Decks with another two Track Decks.

Depending on your preferred way of DJing and Deck setup, you will have different needs and perspectives for choosing your tempo master. We will describe here the various use cases.

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What’s New in the New Synching Concept?

Up until now, if you had synced a track to another, the Phase has always been synced as well.

TRAKTOR 2 now decouples the phase-syncing from the tempo-syncing when using TempoSync mode. In other words, SYNC doesn’t get completely deactivated if TempoSync is selected and you nudge the tracks out-of-phase—instead, it turns dim. If you use BeatSync, the SYNC button will turn dim when the tracks are out of phase, but TRAKTOR will then force the tracks back into sync.

This concept allows all users, including the TRAKTOR SCRATCH users, to keep their tracks

tempo-matched, thus enabling them to raise the tempo of two or more tracks simultaneously, even if their phases are shifted!

What Is Synced and What Is Not?

Basically, samples playing in Looped mode and time-evolving FX are always automatically synced to the current tempo master.

On the other hand, for each Track Deck, you can decide whether to use the automatic sync or not, such as if you want to beat-match the track manually (see tutorial in chapter

↑ 15.4, Mixing In a Second Track

) or if you don’t want any beat-matching at all for that track.

Letting TRAKTOR Decide for You: the Auto Mode

In TRAKTOR (SCRATCH) DUO 2 and TRAKTOR LE 2, AUTO is turned on by default. However, you can change the Deck MASTER manually by clicking on the respective MASTER button of a Deck. The Master Clock panel however is disabled.

Let’s first give a look at TRAKTOR’s Master Clock:

► Click on the metronome icon at the top left of the window to show the Master Clock panel:

The Master Clock panel in TRAKTOR 2

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In this Master Clock panel, you see the activated AUTO button, meaning that TRAKTOR is in

Auto mode.

Auto mode is activated by default, and this the mode we used in all the previous tutorials.

With AUTO activated, TRAKTOR automatically switches the tempo master between Track

Decks in the following situations:

▪ When the Track Deck set as tempo master is stopped.

▪ When you load a new track onto it.

This way, you don’t have to worry about setting the tempo master yourself during your mix.

Should there be no other Track Deck playing, the Master Clock would become the tempo master, thus keeping in sync any FX and/or looped samples still on air!

You can check this by doing the following:

1.

Stop any playing Deck. The MASTER button in the Master Clock panel lights up, indicating that the Master Clock is currently the tempo master:

2.

Load two tracks in Deck A and B.

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3.

Start the playback in Deck A. Deck A now is the tempo master: the MASTER button in the

Master Clock panel turns back off, whereas the MASTER button in the left Deck Display lights up:

4.

Start the playback on Deck B and beat-match the track on Deck B with that on Deck A

(whether manually or via automatic Sync ).

5.

Stop Deck A.

→ Deck B now is the tempo master: the MASTER button on the left Deck Display turns off, whereas that of the right Deck lights up:

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If you play sets with two Decks only, or if you prefer to do your beat-matching manually, the

Auto mode might be for you: it guarantees that each new track in the mix follows the previous tempo reference and that all FX and looped samples on Sample Decks will synchronize to it correctly—without being constrained to a single tempo.

If you’d like to do a combination of manual and synced beat-matching, again leave the AUTO button engaged and enable the SYNC button for individual Decks as needed:

▪ If SYNC is enabled, the new Deck inherits the tempo from the previous tempo master.

▪ If SYNC is disabled, the new track plays at its own individual tempo.

Note that you can also manually set a particular Deck as tempo master:

► To manually set a Track Deck as tempo master, simply click the Deck’s MASTER button.

Using the Master Clock as Tempo Master (TRAKTOR PRO 2 / TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2 Only)

If you run beat-mixed sets with more than 2 Decks, possibly along with synchronized looped samples, you should use the Master Clock as tempo master. The Master Clock will always give you a solid tempo reference that will not change unless you want it to. Also, if you intend to only do beat-synced transitions and would like to stay within the same general BPM range throughout your set, this is the ideal mode to use. To set it up, do as follows:

1.

In TRAKTOR’s Master Clock panel, deactivate the AUTO button.

2.

Click the MASTER button in the Master Clock panel to set it as the tempo master.

3.

The Master Clock panel should now looks like this:

4.

Now activate sync on all Decks by pressing the respective SYNC buttons.

This way, all Decks will instantly follow the Master Clock’s tempo. You can then set the Master

Clock’s tempo to the tempo you intend for your set via the numeric field to the right of the

MASTER button (see picture above):

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► Change the Master Clock’s tempo by clicking the displayed BPM value and dragging your mouse vertically while holding the mouse button depressed (of course you can also assign raising or lowering the tempo to a keyboard hotkey or MIDI control).

→ You can see the tempos on every Deck changing accordingly.

As in Auto mode, you can change the tempo master at any time by pressing MASTER on the desired Deck.

Setting TRAKTOR’s Master Clock as tempo master is now recommended for all TRAKTOR versions, including the Scratch versions, because the phase is now handled separately from the synchronization. This means, even with Timecode Vinyl or CDs, you can tempo-lock tracks and you’re still able to tweak the phase through nudging and scratching!

15.10.3 The Beatgrid

A Track Deck can serve as a reliable tempo master only if its song’s tempo was precisely determined during automatic analysis. If not, the “reference” provided by the Deck would not be correct. Tracks are analyzed by TRAKTOR in order to determine the BPM (tempo) as well as the position of the beats (“transients”). Using this information, TRAKTOR creates the so-called

Beatgrid which provides the phase-reference for synchronization.

A track's waveform with the Beatmarker (1) and the Beatgrid (indicated by the white vertical segments, 2).

The track’s Beatgrid is not only important when a Track Deck is set as tempo master, but also when you want this Track Deck to be synchronized with the current tempo master, whichever it may be.

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The included demo tracks used in the tutorials were previously analyzed and have a reliable

Beatgrid. Before you can effectively use the synchronization facilities on your own tracks, you will have to analyze and beat-grid them as well. By default, this is done automatically when you load a track for the first time in a Deck, but this may not be good enough for all tracks, therefore you can adjust the Beatgrid manually.

15.10.4 Other Useful Tools for Synching

Lastly, we would like to quickly mention here three other interesting features related to synchronization: the Snap and Quantize modes, and the Keylock function.

Snap and Quantize Modes

As you probably remember, we already mentioned Snap and Quantize in the tutorial in chapter

↑ 15.4, Mixing In a Second Track . They are other important tools that can help with synchroniz-

ing your tracks:

▪ The Snap mode ensures that any Loop or Cue Point you set in a track will snap to the closest beat.

▪ The Quantize mode ensures that any jump you make within the track will retain the phase sync—may you jump to a Loop, a Cue Point, or a beat without worry.

Click on the S and Q buttons in the Global section to enable/disable Snap and Quantize modes:

The S and Q buttons allow you to activate/deactivate Snap and Quantize mode, respectively.

Depending on what you are about to do, you can decide to enable or disable them at any time.

Here are a few examples:

▪ If you want to set a Loop starting directly on a beat, activate Snap and press an Auto Loop button around the desired beat.

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▪ On the contrary, should you wish to set a Cue Point at the beginning of some backing vocals that don’t necessarily start on the beat, deactivate Snap before pressing an unlit Hotcue button.

▪ If you’re about to mix in a synched track and want the downbeats of both tracks to perfectly match, activate the Quant button before you press Play (or some Hotcue button).

▪ On the other hand, if you want to jam around with a sample loaded on a Sample Deck and make some stutter-like effects by pressing the corresponding Hotcue button repeatedly, you might prefer to deactivate Quant to create repetitions shorter than one beat.

Locking the Key of Your Tracks

When synchronizing tracks, you alter their tempo and, consequently, their pitch (or key). Slowing down a track will cause its pitch to drop while speeding up the track will cause its pitch to rise. For small tempo adjustments, this is not really serious. But when the tempo is changed more drastically, the resulting pitch shift might get problematic: kick sounds would lose their power, vocals would sound unnatural and silly, etc.

To avoid this, TRAKTOR provides you with a Keylock feature that uncouples the pitch (key) and the tempo (BPM) of a track:

1.

Load two tracks with quite different tempos on Deck A and B. (The default value for

TRAKTOR’s internal Tempo fader is +/-8 % — therefore the tracks should not exceed a tempo range difference of +/-8 %, otherwise you can’t sync them manually. However, you can choose a bigger tempo range via Preferences > Transport > Tempo)

2.

Start the playback on both Decks and synchronize Deck B to Deck A.

You can clearly hear how the key of the track on Deck B changed.

3.

Now press the Keylock On button in Deck B. This activates the Keylock on that Deck.

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→ The key of the track goes back to its original pitch, thus preserving most of its acoustic feeling. In the Mixer and in the corresponding Deck, the Keylock indicator lights up to remind you that the Keylock is active on that Deck:

If you activate the Keylock button in the Mixer, the current key will be preserved. Use the

KEY knob to change the key which can allow you to harmonically mix into a track in another

Deck.

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