Traktor - Weaknesses

Traktor gains Features.
While some essentials stay crappy to the utmost extreme.

1. Why is the BPM-Counter so instable and unprecise? What use is SYNC then? I tell you it's absolutety for the toilet. Anybody likes to discuss is? Not me my mind is set on this!!!
Why can one not assist the bpm count a bit manually when it's so ****ly programmed? Why not mark a few steps in each tracks manually to help the software find the ONE AND ONLY BPM of one of the 99% tracks with a stable bpm-rate instead of letting the sync-graph or whatever you call it jump from toilet to toilet?!?!?

2. Why is the display so "realistic"? Ever noticed that what Virtual DJ does is 4000% better? Of course can a professional DJ with Headphones do a mix with Traktor and ignore that it provides no comfort. But with the display method of Virtual DJ you can put the headphones aside and communicate while mixing. Don't believe? Try!! Don't need? Stay true to yourself!! ^^

Fix both & you'll see it's welcome.

 

Why don't you start reading the manual of Traktor 3 before screaming at things that you do not do properly?

Search for the concept of beatgrids.

 

Fuktor -
I'm not sure that your (first) post will be very well received by many people on these forums.

May I suggest that you rephrase the words you used to describe the problems you are having with Traktor. The very knowledgeable and helpful users on this site can help you overcome most 'weaknesses' in order to improve your experience using this software.

People on forums generally *love* to discuss! But if your mind really is set, there might not be much point in doing so.

Explain the problem correctly and let us help you (or not

 

You really know how to win friends and influence your Uncle "Fuktor"?

RTFM - (although I strongly suspect that reading may be beyond your limited capacity)

 

No, the tracks are shown same BPM an run differently.
It doesn't work, that's what i say and what is fact.
When there's different than a straight base and nothing else then the sync graph jumps. No way to stop it, neither any shown in the manual.
And a display where you could see where the beats fit and where not would be nice. Don't you think?

 

Agreed - the only weakness is in this thread her attitude.

 

@Fuktor, It would be better that you did a little research to understand how to solve the most basic of Traktor NOOB issues than to try to start a flame war...

Do a search on these forums for quite recent discussions on BEAT GRIDS or BEAT GRIDDING and check out the manual, as sean suggested, RTFM! Also, check out this very large thread here...
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum_us/showthread.php?t=22527
There is a large amount of time and Traktor tested info there.

People here are unlikely to be positively receptive to your posts that start like a group troll effort. If you are so enamoured with VDJ then you might stick with your weapon of choice. You clearly chose to look at other products because you felt there was something better out there OR, you chose to come to pick a fight, the latter is a bad idea, no fight for YOU.

If you want help then settle down, do a little research first. See what you make of it. Try applying a beatgrid or two to a couple of tracks, let us know in a calm rational manner how you get on.

You may (I hope) find the responses to future rants to be deafeningly quiet in future (i.e you could well just be ignored).

You will, I know for a fact find the help provided by most everyone here to reasonable messages, to be extremely helpful, courteous and useful to your situation. They are an excellent bunch of very talented and helpful DJ's, at all levels, but who are very partial to the consumption of the spleens of the discourteous.

Got the drift?

Phil

 

*bashes her head against the wall*

i worked a few times for NI on music fairs.
every single day on these fairs there come about 10 people with big balls telling me that *traktor cannot sync* or similar.
withinin two minutes i explain them that it works and how it works and they creep away with a shrinked penis.

so, if you have a question regarding syncing or beatgridding, feel free to write it down, we're all willingly to help you. reading the manual and searching the forum beforehand might help as well.

 

long preparation of a meal /why is fastfood popular?

Alright thx now i know how traktor handles it.
Still it seems to me that Virtual DJ finds the Tempo much more accurate on its on. Why is that?
And the Visualization where you can see the new Track over the running one is a plus in my opinion, traktor should definitively copy that.
So both should be improved. See, i can easily mix most Tracks i've never seen or listened to (nor beatgripped manually! - and how to do that with a choice of 20k tracks??) with Virtual DJ, which yet surely has other Weaknesses compared to Traktor.
Both would make use of Traktor much more attractive. This is what i believe to be true.
Thanx anyway for helping & nevermind missing politeness. I did not attack anybody personally but wrote about Traktor. Think that's life & it's okay at least for forum-use.

 

@ Fuktor, i think traktor looks far better and performs a whole lot better than virtual dj, i don't like the concept of having both waveforms of tracks lining up....so as you can see if the beats are in time or not.....If i can remember correctly dj's use thier ears to beatmatch NOT THIER EYES!!!!!!!

 

True. I guess that's why they called it Virtual DJ. Moving on...

 

Tho the OP of this thread has come across as being quite blunt I also share his/her confusion with beat matching.

Ive read the beatmarker post here a couple of times and I still can't work out what exactly the process is of setting up a beatgrid.

Do I lay down more than one beatmarker? Ive finally found the buttons that 'shifts' the grid... am i right in thinking for those tracks that lose their bpm slightly im gonna have to be attacking this button to punch the track back into the grid?.. I can see where the grid is going wrong but I don't know how to correct it..

A walk thru illustrated guide would be so handy for clearing things up with how to be succesful with making acurate beatgrids.

 

Blunt is fine but he was a new user didn't understand what he was doing, had not taken the time to learn but had already made up his mind that things were total crap flying in the face of the prevailing opinion and experience.

Process:
Turn on master clock
Load a track in a deck
Turn on Deck Sync-Slave
Place a single beatmarker.
Align the Beatmarker accurately to the beat it is set against, using move beakmarker commands
Step in to the track by 32 beats place an 8 beat loop.
Move to the loop, line up, press play and sync.
Turn on Deck Tick, Deck Cue... listen,
Adjust if needed.. using Deck Track BPM (T |< or T >| buttons in BPM Details panel)
Jump the loop in 32 64 96 or so beats, listen again adjust as needed.
Write tags to files when done.

Flat tracks require one beatmarker and adjustment once you're proficient it can either be done on the fly or takes 20-30seconds.

Does that help??...

Phil

 

Re: long preparation of a meal /why is fastfood popular?

virtual DJ use auto pitch bench to sinc the tempo... not realy" fine the real tempo of the trak... that why you will always hear beat distortion....

You can use Sinc meter upper the track visualisation on traktor.... its Verry" accurate if you have beatgrid the track...
the VDJ visualisation make me confuse, its hard to know witch one the cued n witch one the main track....
and its also hard to count the beat for perfect mix... (i use beat Jump for counting the beat)
also VDJ don't have cue label, that help to know where wi should start the cued track...

 

Thanks for the reply, I think i get what your sayin with the process... but I don't understand the track BPM buttons (The T |< and T >| buttons in BPM Details panel). They are moving the whole grid for the whole of the track.. I thought the idea was to correct the grid in places where its goin wrong and for traktor to 'remember' the corrections that I made before hand in the grid. When I look bk at previous corrections that I had made earlier in the track they have been messed up due to me pressing the T |< and T >| buttons

 

No it adjusts the _Track_ tempo for the _entire_ track. Its NOT Ableton Live warp Markers. Since most EDM has a flat tempo this works well. You simply set a beat marker as an anchor point for a grid overlayed over the entrire track. Then you adjust the anchor point to be exactly on top of an actual beat. Once that is done you can then adjust the Track BPM to tell Tracktor what the real BPM of the track is. That way when you play the track and sync it to a master clock source the Deck BPM is adjusted to be in time with the clock.

In the Ableton Live case you do basically the opposite In that case you assume a flat Beatgrid and adjust the track beats to fit to the grid. Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages. Track warping is difficult or impossible to do on the fly. Traktors ability to adjust on the fly works well but the flat grid means that tracks that have variable BPMs or inconsistent Beats do not grid well or at all in some cases.

Ultimately what you are saying to Traktor when you apply a beatgrid is this...
'I don't give rip how good you think you are.... You ain't!!! This here Beatmarker marks a Beat in the track, This here Track BPM is the actual BPM you are to use, Don't calucate nothin'! go lay out the beat grid with what I've just told you. If its wrong, blame me... I'm the idyit for setting the wrong track tempo...'

Beatmarker = Beat Locator and Anchor
Track BPM = Spacing between beats

Phil

 

I seeeee the light... lol ive been very confused! Thank you for that, i thought the beatgrid acted like the way.

What is happening then (im guessing) is some of my tracks seem to be gradually changing bpm over time, most of my tracks are vinyl rips... the grid starts off perfect but then starts to go off beat about ~170 beats down the line. Are there any ways to combat this? or is it because they are vinyl and its something I have to put up with

Many thanks

 

If the turntable your tracks were ripped on was not stable then this is going to be a problem for you. The solution for you maybe to take Wavs into Ableton Live Warp Marker them and output the corrected files which will be flat. The you can bring them into Traktor a grid them successfully. I have a few I've done it with. Its time consuming but it works.

Phil

 

2stepsteve - I have had the 'bpm drift' problem with some of my vinyl rips.

In Traktor 2.6 I would just drop extra beat markers down when things started to drift to get them back in time. (not forgetting that you have to press 'sync' when you pass the new beat markers).

Not tried those track with Traktor 3 yet.

Phil - your solution seems more sophisticated but I assume you need to own the full version of Ableton to do that?

 

i disagree here - ableton lives' warp thingie is great for tracks that really have a shaky beat like old funk and soul things (or other musical styles with a *real* drummer, do you spin heavy metal? lol).

a slight drift as from vinyl rips you can compensate by a second (and maybe third) beatmarker. the phase gets restarted then and the grid should align well enough.

buy a new turntable, btw ;-)
my vinyl rips drift so little i dont need additional beatmarkers on them usually...


@ phil: why do you activate master/ slave things for setting a beatgrid?

i do it this way:

- in snap mode, snap to my first downbeat.
- change the floating cue point to a grid marker in the *cue edit* panel.
- let the track run, watching the grid and adjusting here and there (yes, in the beginning you get eye cancer from that, but you get used to it).

-(additionally i set cue points on special parts and name them, then go back from the end of the track to the beginning setting loops at these places)

this is it.

btw, the tempo detection of the forthcoming 3.2 is gotten waaaay better especially for the hiphop/ breaks tracks! adjusting the beatgrid has gone very minimal for me now...