Advanced Traktor Tips: Ean's Beatgrid Tuning Secrets

Ean explains his method of perfecting beatgrids on his tracks before ever using them in a DJ set.
For more Traktor Tips, please visit www.djtechtools...
For BeatGrids: • Dj TechTools- Traktor...

[@DINO92AVFC]

Summary: use BeatSync when fine-editing beatgrid, because that'll make track stick to grid in real time, and use TempoSync when playing live, because that'll give you possibility to use tempo bend for beatmatching songs on the fly (if 2 grids don't match well) Good tip Ean

[@nabilsalim3864]

Excellent Video! Excuse me for butting in, I would appreciate your initial thoughts. Have you researched - Siyamilla Financial Bigshot (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now)? It is a smashing one of a kind product for getting financial success without the hard work. Ive heard some great things about it and my m8 finally got excellent results with it.

[@magicmusic123]

There's normally a point in the song where the bpm changes. When you find this point (where the song starts getting out of beat) make a new beatgrid on that point, just like you do regularly at the beginning of a song. From that point on, the new grid will line up (unless there is yet another point where the song changes bpm). If you don't know how to do that, it's just making a cue point where the song changes, and changing the type from cue to grid in the cue section. Hope this helps.

[@WildeMike49]

Hey Ean thanks for the vid, the tip on mapping "move beat grid" was great . A follow up I and I'm sure a number of other Traktorheads have (and that I've been having trouble finding on the web as a whole) are strategies for approaching songs with tempo changes, any tips? Because this would make for a great video, especially for song with extended accelerandos/retardandos. For anyone reading this who knows you can only have the beatgrid at one tempo, so far I think the best method is this: 1-determine the different tempos of the sections that keep consistent time, record them in the comments. 2-map cues to the beginning of each section. 3-have a hotkey that allows you to toggle the cue type between cue and beatgrid, so you can switch the first section's off, and the next section on during the acceleration/deceleration. 4-(because you can only have one tempo attached to the track) for the sections at a different tempo than the bpm attached to the track, have another hotkey mapped that allows you to change the master clock. The process is super quick if you map all the hotkeys to the numberpad. Have cue toggle for each, as soon as you enter the acceleration/deceleration section, disable the first beatgrid (first hotkey) and enable the second (second hotkey) before hitting your hotkey to change the bpm (third hotkey, then numlock and your hands been on the pad the whole time). works for any number of tempo changes. Cheers gearheads!

[@abteinjaeger7005]

this was a useful comment.. I'm still becoming familiar with everything in the electronic world. will be referring to this once I get to that point of understanding how to execute it all

[@syntheticsol]

I have been a vinyl dj for 15 years and still have my Technics SL1210M5Gs from around 2002 and love them. I have Traktor Scratch now and while I do still value beatmatching (the phase meter makes it WAY easier though) I think if you are using more than 2 decks and triggering samples, loops, or doing live mash-ups or whatever sync is OK. However, I admit if someone mixed 2 tracks and an a Capella while triggering samples/scratching WITHOUT using sync I would be blown away.

[@IndigoDre]

Awesome video Ean. Learned so much from you guys!! Your the best!!

[@therealDJBoring]

@DJ TechTools The question I had, or what I was looking for is how do you get songs gridded that change tempo slightly? Like I have plenty of songs where they'll be in sync, on beat, tempo whatever for awhile but then within several bars the beat grid is now off the beat. And I can essentially only adjust the beat grid to be on time to a certain section of the song, you know what I mean? I figured Traktor might be advanced enough to place beat markers on every detected beat instead of putting them at consistent intervals throughout a song at a median place...

[@armanimakingbangers7016]

pottedcat I have the same problem. I also own Virtual DJ 8 with Pro licensing and I'm able to fine tune dynamic / live band songs like disco and classic rock to each individual beat and even dramatic tempo changes such in electronic music. I would expect Traktor Pro 2 to be able to do the same.

[@partofthepuzzle]

Beatgridding this way in Traktor is very similar to the way Ableton Live works where you Warp the tracks to the master tempo. Tracks that are Warped correctly to the master tempo always play in sync with each other. Nice to know that Traktor has the same type of option.

[@wodorify]

Thanks for the video. It is very clear however i cannot set grids in one song as it seems it has different tempo on the begining and the end. in fact it transforms itself into different song. how can i see grids then? all i prefectly set in the first 50% of the song but then grid is getting more and more off and why i try to adjust it , it is messing up all the previous grids.. hopeless...

[@harryrait3]

damn... just started using traktor. these tips of urs will really help me out. Thanks a lot Ean. You're Awesome. :)

[@RyanTredell]

Agreed, this video does miss out the most important part of mixing and that is your own knowledge of your tracks and what to play next. Its something that I see all over the place these days, like everybody is looking for some dj'ing by numbers formula to propel them into superstardom or something - good luck with that. The track in the background though is Everyday by Adana Twins. It's a massive tune, personally I like mixing it into Missing Love by The Mekanism because I like the way they sou

[@KnallKaeseRecords]

Thanks Ian superbly insightful video..

[@vintagemahogany]

This is something I do with all my tracks when I import them. Even though I don't use sync mode, I like to have beatgrids perfectly set to the start of the beat. I find Traktor auto beatgrids often put the beat at the loudest part of the kick, so you miss out on the attack of the sound if you put a cue point on it. I'm a DJ who likes to be prepared and know that every track in my library is properly setup with cue points and beatgrids.

[@Zero2Dj]

This is pretty similar to how I do it except I like to use a 1 bar loop as opposed to the metronome. For me it's easier to hear if the kicks are properly in phase when I have two of them playing together. I just use the same 1 bar loop every time and then check it against another track before I lock it and move on. Really love your work though man, you think of a lot of things that would never have occurred to me :D

[@titirawh]

You can do that, search for the Set Gridmarker button on the Grid panel, it will be shown after a couple of click on the tittle of the deck. You'll need to have the right bpm, and set the Gridmarker at the start of the beat.

[@joshhashimoto]

ok i got it now. if you download the song you will understand what I'm talking about. so what i did was rather then set the second grid marker at the the beginning of the first build up i set it at the drop. the only part that will be off if sync is on will be the first build up because its such a drastic bpm change.

[@dani_music1359]

It's sometimes funny that I can support people who have issues with traktor since I do not use it and just enjoy watching these videos.

[@jakesigal]

Nice, i'm an advanced traktor user... but i didn't know the difference between BeatSync and TempoSync in the settings for transport. good tip

[@gioguanche]

+Jake Sigal >.>

[@selin8912]

well it looks like you weren't a really advanced user of traktor

[@gearjunkies]

Thanks Ean! Awesome info and practices, ... as usual!

[@AngelOliva302]

Hello, I have a question, I have a DN-HC4500 with the latest Traktor Pro software but my problem is that when I try to Cue a song say on the first beat and then I hit the Cue button it does not Cue - It moves back a little. - Can you help me with this?

[@kleinpauldotcom]

I gave this a try and found out that some of my tracks have a totally wrong BPM as well :D It will take some time to get through al my tracks . but when it is done I bet things will be much easier!

[@AriSanX]

thank u man, i just aprreciate u doin all these vids, u rock ean!

[@djanishanand]

Hi Ean, hope all good at your part, I have tried all possible things to hear the internal metronome on my Traktor Version 2.10 but i cant hear the tick sound. I am actually trying to sync my Machine studio with S4. Though i know the process how to sync both, but the problem is the tick sound in traktor. Kindly advice the possibilities.

[@forenzic1]

This is all very well when using traktor friendly tracks (techno or house) with spot on bpm values (ie...128.000). But When using hard house tracks you'll realize that bpm values are not spot on and they only beatgrid with bpm values slightly off (ie...142.882). There is alot of videos on youtube explaining how to beatgrid using these traktor friendly tracks, but not one video showing how to beatgrid tracks with these difficult bpm values. I would love to see you produce a video explaining how you would resolve this issue.

[@philtro99]

+forenzic1 You could just start playing better music. Ok I kid I kid

[@analogdistortion]

It's got nothing to do with hard house. Hard house is mostly recorded on a computer and outputted digitally via wav/mp3/flac/etc. It's when you have recordings ripped from vinyl that you will get a straying BPM that will move around. It's much worse when the vinyl deck isn't a very good quality one.

[@analogdistortion]

If you're desperate you can find how to fix the entire tune down to a locked BPM in Ableton. It's not much work.

[@surfobsessed]

Can I adjust sections of a tracks beat grid without adjusting others? Some of my music has constantly drifting beat grids. In serato this can be managed by adjusting each beat individually if required.

[@Elbonio]

Beatgrids are about ensuring sync in tempo - not every song will sound good together, regardless of whether they are perfectly in sync. When Ean says that there's a high probability of it sounding good, he means in terms of tempo/sync - not that it magically makes any song mix with another.

[@fowardthinker6882]

Will this work for me because a lot of my miami bass tracks at 128 bpm , drift off beat grid by the second verse ? I'm in internal mode and using the built-in soundcard

[@teqlab]

You have to adjust the markers manually. Usually the drift isn't as bad as it would indicate and it's actually less work than it sounds. Also you can warp the songs in Ableton to eliminate the drift entirely which changes the song slightly but makes it mix very clean.

[@chasingshadows1543]

I cant afford the original controller , what could you recomend as a substitute budget model? Thank you

[@bastonefreddy]

thanks for your help. im having a consistant problem with traktoe now for a yr. it wont let me analyze tracks indivdualy , do u have a tutorial on that . it is very frustrating.

[@nelsonmercado100]

Hi. I get no sound from the mic when I want to use the Traktor recorder Is there a setting for this ?

[@labodeejay]

I adjust the beatgrid moving the first marker (even in live if it's not perfect, I remove the marker, I set new cue marker and I set it to beatgrid) and I use the beatsync... when the music tempo is variable I do this, i use the beatsync, I play the track, but I remove the sync almost immediately and I adjust the tempo manually while both tracks are playing.

[@reggylippens6259]

cool tutorial simple turn your synq of and do like us old skool dj all by the ear takes practice but if your software fails i find it easy to use your platters and your ears to bring them in synq if the grid is off but thanks for explaining that metronoom i whas always asking myself why is it there and whats the use of it now i know it :) :) :)

[@ssuperfly]

So lets say i have set the master clock to 130bpm.And i have two tracks playing,one with 132bpm,other with 134bpm.I want to sync the 134bpm track to the 132 bpm track.When i hit sync,the track will be synced to that 132bpm track or the 130bpm master clock tempo?I hope you understand my question..

[@joshhashimoto]

ok so i tried this and i set a second grid marker right as the tempo changes but when i go to adjust the bpm of the rest of the song it only moves the grid from the first marker up to the second marker. i can't seem to get the grid after the second marker to adjust. thanks for your help and the song I'm trying to do this to is L'amour By Bingo Players at about 38 seconds it changes tempo then it builds up and goes back to 127 bpm but when it goes back to 127 it doesn't match with beginning

[@djbouysid9889]

pls help me i can't record my dj set on traktor 2 on external mode i have audio mk2 traktor sound card but i don't no how to record my set ......

[@MisterShufu]

I think S2 or S4 are the best options. and turn of the auto sync for the first half year ;) i started wit the s4 and i am still happy ( of course i got some turntables now, too) but you can add additional stuff if you want to. there is a reason, why can uses tractor...its the best!

[@baddersyo3305]

Hi Ean, Im trying to beatgrid my tracks but am having real problems. Evertime i move the beatgrid forwards on the front of a track it goes out on the back!! Please help this is driving me crazy!

[@HeadsetHistorian]

In traktor, no it's not unfortunately although Serato does allow this. I'm not sure about the others like Mixvibes etc Traktor only allows you to have one tempo set, so only one beatgrid. You'll have to do the 90 by ear.

[@blacksunrise1349]

I've had problems with 2.5 there's definitely a huge learning curve with traktor. For example: I've had to analysed my music several times because half the tracks in a folder would reset the bpm to 0.00. what causes that?

[@stuntyannick2]

Either works. People have been manually beatmatching for ages. I remember the first time I played I was forced to use Serato ITCH with a VCI-300 instead of the N4 I had been using. Soooo.... I had to do everything manually, and it turns out you learn fast enough. It also felt like it forced me to pay more attention to the songs and mix itself rather than which effect or trick to throw in. I'd say, just try it for yourself, and see what you like!

[@freefallstylin]

Spot on.

[@idrinkk]

not sure if you'l get this ean but i have a question. maybe somebody else could help me out with this. i have a few songs that change BPM from about 128 to 90ish back up to 128. i have the beatgrid set up for the 128 to mix in and out from the beginning and end of the tracks, but what if i wanted to keep the 128 beatgrid but also wanted to have a beatgrid on beat where the bpm of the song drops to 90? is that possible to do?

[@mpusch88]

Is there a way to set 2 or more markers, then change the BPM of the track for each section? Everytime I try to change the BPM of my second marker it changes the whole track's BPM.. it's pretty annoying!! Thanks!

[@kevinfairweather3661]

I was using cdj's but decided to move to Tractor. I do not know a lot about the programme on a deep level. I brought the S8, got it out the box, hooked it up to my Mac book and i have done two, 1 hour drum n mixes that are flawless. Do i really need to start mucking about with the grids ? It seems to me that it works just fine without having to beat-grid everything..

[@deknight1212]

Eventually you will run into a track that wasn't analyzed by traktor as precise as you would like. In this case you will want to manually beatgrid the song. Luckily this is a simple thing to do.

[@OtherJesus]

What's your best advise for a song that sounds totally matched to the tick at the start but then drifts off at the end of the track? Thanks.

[@SimonEdkins]

I don't know what Traktor 2.5's new beatgrid is doing but I would recommend using Abelton to warp the track and export it at a constant BPM.

[@asafremler3252]

Hey Is there a way to control decks c+d from Traktor S2 controller?

[@thunder3135]

so should we do this to every song before we play it in a set? thats over 900 songs for me?

[@zulu26]

i partially agree with you. if your laptop broke on stage, would you have backup cd's and be able to use the bar's stock CDJ's? If the answer is no, then you should have listened to those haters and learned how to to play on CDJ's/turntables. But if you do come from a traditional dj background, then you are right.

[@anotherytnameyk]

im well aware that lots of people push there snares or claps a few miliseconds back or forward sometimes, in their productions! shold we still set in on the snares?

[@TheSilverDubberII]

Thank you!

[@DJJLaffan]

Brilliant mate, this is something I may never have otherwise found out about :) Regards @jlaffan

[@KraZyHonkay18]

Would you recommend the beatsync or the temposync for live djs? I feel like you wouldnt have enough time to adjust a grid while putting on a performance.

[@L33tPurple]

thanks alot man good shat

[@eoghainc]

Yo, if you go through the archives on djtt they covered how to do this maybe a year ago or even a little more.

[@tjthedj2612]

Sometimes when I sync 2 decks and hit my mouse button to start the song while one is already playing, it delays and thus I can never get them to align. But sometimes it works fine. I use Traktor Audio 2. Is this a latency issue or software problem? I have reloaded the software many times but the problem still exists. Thanks I’m your newest subscriber.

[@AAVEZARR]

check if the "snap" its on (you can find it upside as "S") , it stick n sync the beginnin to the beagrid when you press play

[@MrSwegga]

hey man, sometimes I just can't adjust/move the beatmarker, any idea how to fix that?

[@edglue6138]

reload software maybe

[@djiceman6590]

I just bought Traktor 2. I've been watching a lot of your videos to get familiar with the software. Your videos are very informative. I have a question. whenever I record a mix, where would i find the settings that allow me to make the mix not joined in one but separate so i can skip through the tracks during playback.

[@marksalter6284]

Evening Ean Thank you for the great tutorial on youtube please can you tell how I can batch process tracks if at all possible through tractor when beat gridding using the tick metranon although you have done a tutorial on this you did mention in your tutorial about batch processing your tracks please will you be kind enough to give me some tips on this loving the traktor programme and your tutorial respect Mark Salter

[@jokertube74]

Why do you set the grid of the second song (128Bpm) with a 127 bpm tick?

[@Shojin187]

good but how can i grid this with 70s funkdrums from livedrummers?

[@ItalionStallion1x]

Should I have beatsynch or temposynch for basic beatmatching?

[@AshleyBall95]

What about when the song its self goes out of time? For example im trying to mix MJ's Thriller. But it goes out of sync even when I adjust the beat grid.

[@mrndlprsnr]

mj plays around alot with tempo in some of his songs. its very subtle because its done on the half beat. there are a lot of songs out there that tempo is altered during the song, also not every musician is perfectly on time and beat i learned this the hard way...

[@TheMetrojohn2000]

Traktor and Serato which is the best for syncing?

[@TheIrishCartman]

if you were starting off as a dj , what set up would you go with?

[@OUWATZAHLE08]

i onley hold on the sync button and the pitch bender automatic sets on the same tempo as the first song is playin perfect inline without doing or messing around with options :) i have no boblems with sync 2 songs toheter perfect but its good to know more

[@castrocedric7565]

Hi, this technique works only when you have good-quality MP3's, where the recording still has enough dynamic for traktor to get gthe grid right. What when you have tracks, recorded low gain, or lesser quality, and/ or where the drumsection is not explicit (enough anymore)? Mostly you'll have problems with tempo varying tracks, or due to jitter because of recordings from vynil. Tnx in adv for answer :-)

[@Djsk514city]

I had all my songs locked with beat grid and all but after I think the step of analyzing a couple of new songs I obtained, traktor erased all my beatgrids and hot cues. Anyone can help?

[@joshhashimoto]

@eangolden how do you deal with songs that change BPM at some point in the song?

[@MegaJelto]

hi ean i am searching a midi controller who works with traktor and 4 decks do u know a controller u would really help me around the 250-300€

[@riccohen1]

awesome!

[@Yuusou.]

Art in general doesn't rely on techniques or technology. Art is about what you make out of your ideas. Everyone got his/her own style, some use their syncing skill to show off they're awesome, some want to concentrate on the MIDI-controlled effects. Just making life easier on the syncing that some don't like do to that much gives them much more effort because they can concentrate on what they actually want to do: be creative. As a controllerist you got some more complex topics to take care of.

[@amdyagifighter]

hello, I have a question. I am new to traktor (moved over from ableton djing)...Can you elaborate on what you meant by batch analyzing your tracks to the master clock and beat gridding. You stated this at: 6:20. This seems like an extremely helpful process and I would love to know how it works. Thanks a million.

[@SOKELArtanDesign]

I have 2 pioneer plx1000 turntables .....I can't synchronized with traktor scratch .....tell me what I do to sync time code vinyl

[@djtechtools]

SOKELArtanDesign do you have a Traktor soundcard?

[@SOKELArtanDesign]

I have mixer z2 traktor the sound card is inside

[@CaBeXaL]

+SOKELArtanDesign you need another sound card. One like the "Traktor Scratch A6".

[@milosimus]

+CaBeXaL nope, the z2 is traktor scratch certified

[@naysiploos]

can you pls share the font you are using inside traktor?

[@mikedubmixing]

what happens when one tries to do the same with shifting songs like 80's 70's music ? How does that go about ? Thx masta guru.

[@JZillaKickz]

How do you map hot keys to move the beat grid bwd it only lets u map it to move forward?

[@michaelsolano8733]

The exact question I have been asking! I'm tearing through the manual looking for the name of said button and none are aligning with what is listed as options for key command assignments.

[@JZillaKickz]

I know it say move beat grid but no fwd or bwd option just move. And it seems it's a default of just fwd.

[@JZillaKickz]

If u find out how to do it please let me know

[@Rusty511]

Anyone have any advise on using wavs with traktor? Wavs have terrible tag support so I'm struggling to edit any tags for them

[@Loyd_EM]

thanks this really helped me out :D

[@pjd100]

I have a few tracks like that and I think the only solution is to manually mix them ie.don't use sync I think there are ways to re-record the tracks to fix them but I don't think there's an easy solution ?

[@jewishlilboy]

Very helpful,how do you open the output menu? .

[@car1osee]

the link for watching the beatgridding tutorial does not work, and i don't quite understand the last tip of the kick and the snare if you could explain it better in another video, that would be great (I don't speak english very well but your videos have helped me a lot, i am from Venezuela)

[@JimmyGGG]

Thank you

[@mybabebetty]

What's the song near the end of the video please?

[@echowarrior1]

Firstly, thanx for your great vids! Quick question to Ean: I like to mix in TempoSync mode but is it worthwhile to edit my beat grids in Beatsync mode (in order to clean up tracks AMAP) as in your video and then switch to TempoSync for actual mixing? TempoSync is very important for mixing into other DJs last tracks and making a smooth transition.

[@garethmillers5453]

Hi Ian, any chance of doing a video on setting grids in 90's vinyl recorded to digital and being used in TraktorPro 3.3.0 108 Pretty much all of them dont line up al; the way through and just wondered if there was a work around of setting loads of beat grid markers after the first 8 Cue markers so that hitting loop would be correct every time? I don't have thousands of songs...only around 100 that I want to work with.

[@iTubeYou]

Just preset two loops that you will mix in and out of. Ean has a video about mixing rock songs that illustrates the principle. Otherwise Traktor fails at dealing with inconsistent BPMs. But setting multiple grid markers like you’re suggesting is a waste of time.

[@garethmillers5453]

@@iTubeYou Thank you. I've seen that video. I've actually set grid markers all the way through a few songs and it you turn on Master Quantized and snap and use sync they pretty much stay in sync so it does work go a point. As long as you grid mark to the closest point...so...every 4 bars in some instances and every two in others then it seems to work fine because every time the play marker reaches the grid marker the song pulls into line...at least, that's what it sounds like.

[@Jorge.O85]

Nice tutorial, thanks. I have Traktor Pro 2 the latest one. For any reason I cant move the grid beat. Thats ridiculous...not even with the T5 Controller. Any idea why ???? Im sure Im not the only oneeee.

[@Jorge.O85]

+top kekek oohhh I seee ! ok, I ll do that, see what happens. thanks for your help. Have a nice day !

[@xaerotoleranx]

tq so much

[@Marsovicmusic]

Anybody knows the song that goes in the background?

[@GavinSteiner]

Thanks for this! When you set a beat marker I'm assuming it's NOT telling Traktor "This is beat one of the bar"?

[@leviholiman]

solid. Thank you.

[@Skybydrone972]

Great video now i have to get to work to beatgrid all my songs LOL

[@d0p3vids]

I would say taking the time to make your beatgrids synced, sounds better than and is just as hard as traditional beatmatching

[@titirawh]

If you're trying to beatmatching either of those... If ain't wrong, Beatsync will sync your beats, Temposync will only sync the tempo of the decks.

[@googleboughtmee]

Great vid, but that last bit about snares always being aligned better than kicks, I don't get that. In house music it's not uncommon to shift the snares/claps slightly off the grid to loosen up the groove, but kicks are kept rigid.

[@Milesy1818]

how do you make hot cues to do this please Ean?

[@PhilthAdelphiA]

when that shit happens i just match the bpm try and hit it on beat if the grid is off beat and if i dont i just pitch bend until the beat is matched.

[@10Cicegim]

That's true but i just love the quantized looping possibility

[@megabot80]

does this mean u dont have to go and fine tune/beatgrid thousands of tracks u can just lock everything to master tempo?

[@geno8200]

hey i just got the software and it wont my music files