niu02kevin

If it sounds like crap, you gotta get out of it. I’d say 3 out of 4 times, I don’t even need my headphones. I know I like to be surprised on the dance floor so I don’t do too many smooth/long transitions. I’m usually hitting the play/pause button simultaneously at the start/end of a breakdown. Now, you should know it sounds bad as you’re cueing, but, if something happens, I’ve been told you can: backspin the track you’re getting out of right at the 8.2….3…..4(stop) of the track you’re getting into, or drop the highs via the filter on the outgoing track so the bass lines and kicks, which are beatmatched of course, are still there allowing you to kind of gradually turn down the horrid combo you’ve created. when the next phrase starts on the incoming track, turn it off. Again, you should KNOW your songs, inside and out. With cueing you gotta know if you’re about to make a mistake. Quickly move to the next track in your library with appropriate key/BPM/mood, hit your cue point. I know even when just practicing, at times, I’ll be like,”Eww, I’m not feeling this.” There is no shame in playing only 16 bars of a song before moving right into the next one. Sometimes I’ll even jump back and forth trading drops and breakdowns between 2 or 3 tracks, then play em together if it sounds right. I think, not getting freaked out is probably key. You’re going to make mistakes.

Reloop TM series looks the best out of the bunch in terms of quality and being sorta new. I’m seriously considering running Traktor Pro 2 on the TM2 or 4. I live in the US and it not that much to order from Europe.

Matching the BPMs doesn’t mean that the beats are in sync. That’s a good place to start. It’s easiest (I have never used CDJs but I learned manual beatmatching for peace of mind via this website’s course – How to DJ Fast) to, with two tracks you know are at 128 bpm, place the track you are bringing in at 126, and the other at 128. You know the 126 is going to be the one behind. Otherwise it can be hard to tell which beat is out front, and which is behind. You can then adjust the pitch fader/tempo adjust up slowly until they are perfect as your ears can tell.

Thats what I love about DDJing. My mixes in Traktor are tighter than my ears can even detect and as good as anything I hear in clubs or in podcasts/internet radio. It frees me up to worry more about other things in the mix: track volumes, eqs, using filters or FX, etc… I’ve only been at this a couple months. I highly recommend Digital DJ Tips Course.

Honestly, now that you can use Pioneer CDJs to actually control Traktor, I think it is the CDJ swan song. Prominent DJs I know, buy all their music digitally, then burn it to CDs for club use. Why bother anymore? Bring your laptop, use the CDJs and the clubs mixer, maybe add an X1/F1 or two, and off you go. With the X1, you really don’t even need the CDJ.

This is a classic argument whether its having to walk to school versus ride the bus, use a payphone versus cellphone, or go to the library reference section versus the using the internet. DJs who have half a brain can see this and are adjusting as the technology comes along. I practiced a little, and feel like I could do it if I needed to. Not as good as some old school DJs of course, but, do they understand the finer points of Traktor Pro’s preferences or how to map a DJ controller or pretty much any USB/MIDI device to do exactly what you want it to in the software? Probably not.

Out with the old, in with the new. C’est la vie!

I think you COULD, run sound through your mac USB speakers. But the beauty of the 380 and most controllers these days, is the built in sound-card (24bit/48kHz). If you’re gonna drop the kind of coin it costs to buy the 380, you should seriously invest in a set of powered monitors or PA speakers. You can connect these directly to the master output (XLR out) or via RCA (booth out) of the VCI-380. Forget some usb speakers…..jam proper!

In a couple years, the S2 will be $200. Check out the Traktor Bible website. I’m sure there a several mapping options you can download for a popular controller like you have. You can buy the license or get an Audio 2 basically for free if you go that rout as it comes with a license.