Beat matching and sync
In this section you learn how to synchronize Decks in Traktor Play.
Traktor provides several ways to synchronize tempo between Decks. You can synchronize tempo manually by using the Tempo faders and the Tempo Bend buttons on the Decks. You can also synchronize tempo automatically by pressing the SYNC button on the Decks.
To understand how to work with tempo synchronization in Traktor, this section will introduce you to the principles of MASTER and SYNC and the related functions.
Master Clock
The Master Clock is located in the Master Control panel, at the top of the Traktor window. It is a central component which coordinates tempo and beat synchronization of decks, loops, and tempo-based effects.
Master Clock in the Master Control panel.
Tempo master and tempo master assignment
Whether you are beat-matching manually or syncing between several Decks, Traktor always defines a leading tempo source, called the tempo master, to which other Decks, effects, and loops can be synced. The tempo master can be a Deck or the Master Clock. There can only be one tempo master at a time.
In Traktor Play the tempo master is set automatically by the software, which is indicated by the constantly lit AUTO button in the Master Control panel. Traktor chooses the tempo master as follows:
When no Deck is playing, the Master Clock is the tempo master.
When you start the playback on a Deck, the Deck becomes the new tempo master. We call that Deck the Master Deck.
When the playback stops on the Master Deck, if the other Deck is playing it becomes the new Master Deck. This continues until no other Deck is playing.
When the playback stops on the last playing Deck, the Master Clock becomes the new tempo master, until a Deck starts again.
When both Decks are playing, you can also manually switch the tempo master to the desired Deck by clicking its MASTER button.
Note
In Traktor Pro you can deactivate the AUTO button and set the tempo master to the desired Deck or to the Master Clock manually.
Sync modes
Traktor provides two different modes for track synchronization: Beat Sync and Tempo Sync. You can select either mode in the Transport page of the Preferences.
Beat Sync
Beat Sync is the most reliable way to synchronize tracks in Traktor. Beat Sync will always maintain tempo and phase synchronization between decks. This means, whatever action you perform, for example, scratching or beat jumping, the playback will always remain synchronized to the beat of the tempo master (deck or Master Clock).
Tempo Sync
Tempo Sync ensures the tempo is locked but not the phase. This means, there can be offsets in the beat synchronization when performing transport operations, for example, scratching or beat jumping. In this case the SYNC buttons will change appearance and the phase meter will show an offset .
The behavior of Tempo Sync can be beneficial for DJs who rely on manual beat-matching. If two synced tracks are out of phase, you can manually adjust the phase using pitch bending. In Tempo Sync you can always pitch bend on the phase while the tracks are playing. This is not possible with Beat Sync since the phase is locked accordingly to the Beatgrid and not to the beat.
For more information about these synchronization modes, refer to Preferences – Transport page.
Beatgrid
Traktor offers both automatic and manual functions to detect and set the correct tempo and beat measures of a track, both making together the so-called Beatgrid of that track. This information is needed to make correct use of the synchronization function, quantized beat jumps, as well as snapping Hotcues and loops to the beat of the track. Beatgrids are defined by one or more Grid Markers, each one setting the tempo until the following Grid Marker. This allows tracks to have multiple tempos.
In Traktor Play you cannot create Beatgrids with multiple tempos in your tracks, but you can use such Beatgrids if are already present in your tracks.
Traktor’s Analyze function will automatically set a single Grid Marker with a constant tempo for the entire track. This gives reliable and very accurate results for the vast majority of tracks. If necessary, you can further improve the accuracy of the automatic analysis by choosing a tempo range matching your genre using the BPM Range setting in the Analyze Options page of the Preferences.
Note
The Grid Markers and the resulting Beatgrid are independent from the Cue Points set in your tracks. After having imported your tracks, deleting Cue Points does not affect the underlying Beatgrid.