Live Set from Heart Five DJ Tournament in Tucson

:wallbash:

I competed in a DJ Tournament at Heart Five in Tucson, AZ, and recorded my set while 'spinning' with Traktor DJ Studio.

You can download the MP3 from my homepage:

www.homepage.mac.com/digispin

Enjoy!
DJDS

 

Hey, I enjoyed this very much! The mixing was smooth and the programming was terrific. The opening track was the way I like to open sets if circumstances allow -- slow, building, a bit of drama. First three tracks are killer. Any chance of a track list?

 

Forgot to mention -- I'm also impressed you had enough faith in Traktor's stability to record during a competition -- assuming you used Traktor's record function, that is -- did you, or did you record from the mixer? Just curious.

 

track list

I should have included a track list with the original post. Thanks for the reminder, and for the feedback!

1. Clear Blue - Intro Mix, Markus Schulz
2. Fallout - Original Mix, Katania
3. Gravi-tech - Original Mix, Sphere
4. Headstrong Feat. Maria Nayler - Relentless Vocal Mix, Tilt
5. Come From feat. Jaidene Veda - Nick & Jon Dalagelis Dub, Micah
6. Deep Jungle - Cassino & Laben Remix, United Tribal Warriors
7. Ortygia - Original Mix, Pappa & Gilbey
8. Vision Of You - Nick Muir Dub Mix, Cabala

I recorded using Traktor's built-in record function, then wrote the mix to a wave file when I got home. Never had any problems with stability. I'm running Traktor 2.5.3 on a PowerBook G4 with OS X Panther 10.3.5 (10.3.4 at the time the set was recorded). 1G DDR SDRAM, M-Audio FireWire 410, UC-33e MIDI Controller.

The only thing I can't do live and wish I could is use the time-stretching functionality. The audio consistently pauses the first time I hit 'join', but seems to be fine after that. Could not stand to have that happen live! Still need to play with latency settings, I guess...

Any other feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
DJDS

PS - If you're curious, I didn't win the bracket that night. As we all know, there are sometimes prejudices against digital jocks. The DJ who did win played a set very similar to my own; the only difference was his turntables. I had a great time nonetheless, and am looking forward to my next opportunity.

 

Why would you use "Join" in the middle of a set?

I've never figured out the need for this function, as I always turn it OFF before a set, and would prefer to default it that way if the capability existed. I don't see any need for pitch and tempo to be joined - this is an artefact of old-fashioned technology which was not able to perform time stretching.

 

I'd rather not play a set at the same BPM all the way through. I also don't always prefer time-stretching, as some tracks sound better (to me) pitched up or down. For example, U Shine On - Original Mix, Matt Darey and Marcella Woods, sounds better to me ptiched down from its stock 140BPM to 134BPM. I'd like to use join in the middle of a track that I pitched up or down to change the tempo during a break in the beat, so the audience (hopefully) won't notice.

Ya dig? Seems to me this capability sets digital DJs apart from traditional DJs.

 

I'm looking at this from a purely digital perspective.

NOT using Join allows you to manipulate the pitch and tempo independently.

Using the SYNC feature enables Traktor to beatmatch two tracks. Once the second track is playing, I can change the tempo at will, without worrying about the pitch changing.

If I'm feeling adventurous, I can beat-match two tracks with a natural BMP difference well in excess of that I would contemplate with turntable technology, and never have "Chipmunks" in the mix.

For example, the track might automatically sync to the previous track's 135BPM. By pressing the up-tempo button occasionally whilst the second track is playing, I will have moved the beat to 138BPM by the end of the track, and the next track will be mixed in at this beat. If I've done it right, the dance floor isn't aware that they've increased their energy level until it is at the peak for which I am aiming.

Whilst cueing the next track, I might adjust the pitch/key, again, independent of the tempo. As an aside,I find that the standard buttons are too coarse, and use a shift-click for more fine-grained key matching.

I'm sure you know and do all of this; it is pretty fundamental to Traktor. What I'm perhaps missing is something you can do better whilst JOIN is active. Can you explain a little more?

 

Waaaaaaaaaait ... perhaps I see the difference ... I'm using "pitch" in the musician's sense of key ... as in "perfect pitch" ... are you using it only to describe speed/tempo?

 

ok, i think you've got it. :djsi:

i refer to the key of a song as pitch. tempo refers to the BPM value.

you obviously grasp the power of using time-stretching to change the tempo of a song without changing its pitch. as a digital dj, i would like to choose between pitch-bending and/or time-stretching in order to tempo-sync (i.e., beat-match) two tracks. the choice depends on the two tracks being mixed, and the flexibility of choosing either increases my creativity with a mix.

if I synced a track into a mix by pitch-bending it, i might want to switch to time-stretching mode (by hitting 'join') while it is playing so I can increase its tempo without changing its pitch, and thereby not offending my listeners.

hope this helped...:help:

 

djds: nice to know there's a practicing Traktor DJ so close in Arizona.... do you have a regular gig in Tuscon?

 

no regular gig just yet, but i'm working on it. the club which sponsored the competition seemed interested, but no word back yet from them. i'm also considering contacting azsessions. they have after-hours events periodically. i would love to spin in an art gallery at 2am!

you got a regular gig? can you recommend any good spots for progressive trance and house in phoenix?

DJDS

 

with the close of Club Freedom, only a few clubs with their "club" nights are around. which means that the underground is going to have start picking up the slack again.