TRAKTOR PRO 2.9. Manual Englisch (2015) - part 16

16.4 Mixing In a Second Track

 

Now that you have learned how to quickly load and play tracks using TRAKTOR, 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 

↑

16.3,

Playing Your First Track

). TRAKTOR 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.

16.4.1 Pre-listening a Second Track in the Preview Player

 

If you use an external mixer (e.g. along with TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2) and therefore Exter-
nal Mixing mode, you will most likely not use the Preview Player at all and will, instead, pre-
view your next track in the opposite Deck using the cue function on your hardware mixer. How-
ever, you can assign an output pair of your audio interface to the Preview Player via Preferen-
ces  >  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 don’t have this option.

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TRAKTOR’s Preview Player in the upper left of the Browser.

Cue Mix and Cue Vol knobs above the Browser.

►

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

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

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16.4.2 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 

↑

16.3.1, 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 cross-

fader 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.

16.4.3 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 (lit blue).

►

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-clock-
wise when you want to concentrate on the cued track and turn it clockwise when you want to
hear more of the main mix.
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).

16.4.4 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:

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The SYNC button in the upper left of the Deck.

►

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.
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!

16.4.5 Setting a Cue Point as Starting Point

 

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 “cue-
ing.”
TRAKTOR 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.

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Cue Points not available in LE 2.

To use the Cue Points, you have to open the 

CUE

 tab of the Advanced Panel first:

►

Click on the little arrow button below the 

ACTIVATE

 button to display the Advanced Pan-

els of Deck A and B. Then click on the 

CUE

 button to select the 

CUE

 tab.

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►

On Deck B, whether or not the track is playing, simply press one of the unlit Hotcue but-
tons on a downbeat—let’s say the Hotcue button 2. 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!

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 play-
back continues from there. Both tracks now are perfectly aligned, ready to be mixed.

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16.4.6 Snapping to the Beats

 

You don’t have to worry about placing a Hotcue directly on a beat. By default, TRAKTOR 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 button (S) 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.

16.4.7 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.

The Quant button (Q) in the Global section.

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

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16.4.8 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.

►

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

Jump to the beginning of the track with the Jump to Start button right above the Deck's Play button.

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

 

Now would be a great time to audition some of TRAKTOR’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 “FIL-
TER” 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:

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.

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►

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!

16.4.10 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.

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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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  for-
wards  and  backwards  (left  and  right)  to  align  the  downbeats.  Alternatively,  use  the  Tempo
Bend buttons.

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  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. How-
ever, 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.

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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.

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!

16.5 Adjusting Levels

 

For TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 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!

16.5.1 The Theory…

 

There are three basic mixing rules:

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

over the others.
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 oc-
curs at the output stage towards the audio interface.

16.5.2 …and the Practice

 

To assist you in adjusting levels, the Mixer of TRAKTOR is equipped with level meters and con-
trols.  Each  level  meter  consists  of  a  colored  bar  indicating  the  signal  level.  The  rules  men-
tioned 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 

↑

16.4.9, 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 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 varia-
ble 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.

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TRAKTOR 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 ex-

tracted from your tracks. It is activated by default and can be turned off via Preferences >

Mixer > Set Autogain when Loading Track. (You can always re-adjust the Autogain level as
described in 

↑

8.3, Equalizer

). 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:

►

Before mixing in a cued channel, adjust its 

GAIN

 encoder so that its channel meter activ-

ity 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 sound-
check.

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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!

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 ac-

tively limiting the volume. While the limiter virtually cancels any distortion that might oc-
cur, 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-al-
tered sound even in the peaks you can deactivate the limiter via Preferences > Mixer > En-
able Limiter but you must watch your outputs much more thoroughly, because clipping on

a powerful speaker system can easily harm your audiences ears!

16.6 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 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.

16.6.1 Playing with Loops

 

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

Tutorials

Looping and Cueing

 

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