How to Sync Ableton Live and Traktor - The Right Way | DJ Endo

Check out the full article: bit.ly/a44LMU. In this new tutorial video, Endo shows you how to use both programs on one computer, using a single audio interface. As long as your beatgrids in Traktor are set correctly and your tracks are properly warped in Ableton, you can mix tracks in Traktor and play loops and instruments in Ableton Live and everything will be perfectly beatmatched!

[@DeeJayEndo]

@lukeijzer- Check out my other tutorial on how to route audio from Traktor into Ableton!

[@tanjeramusic]

This was super helpful. As a mixer gone live production, learning Ableton and syncing is now crucial. This tutorial rocks! Thank you :)

[@stevenbirdsall8654]

Dubspot tutorials are second to none, Thanks fellas!!!

[@Droideka]

do i need an external sound card to sync ableton and traktor?

[@DeeJayEndo]

Once you sync the two programs, the tempo of ableton will automatically follow Traktor's master clock. If Traktor is in "Auto" mode, the deck has been playing the longest will be the master clock and Ableton will continue to follow that. In theory it will stay in sync forever this way, but Traktor's master clock can be a little unstable sometimes, and you might have to hit the "Sync" button in Traktor's master clock to resync the programs, but this only has to be done a couple times during a set

[@fimpson]

Wow, this is so easy! Astonished at how simple it is... I was thinking it would certainly involve deeper stuff than just the preferences windows. Thanks for this!

[@DeeJayEndo]

@DJTedious My answer to that is you can do as much as your soundcards outputs will allow. So if you have an audio 10 you could for example use 3 channels for 3 traktor decks, 1 channel for Ableton, and 1 channel for prelistening in Ableton. You would just set the monitor output in ableton to its own output. Also Traktor has a prelistening deck called the preview deck which you can also map to its own output in preferences - audio setup - output routing.

[@ltitruck12]

This is Awesome... Finally both programs talk to each other...

[@DeeJayEndo]

@marcreck Traktor's Virtual MIDI Output is Mac specific, however there is a program called MIDI yoke that you can download for PC that does the same exact thing.

[@DeeJayEndo]

Please clarify your question. You would use the launchpad to launch sounds in ableton. You can set the output of Ableton to be the S2 soundcard, and you can also still use the S2 as your soundcard for Traktor allowing you to use the same soundcard for both programs and DJ in Traktor, and trigger sounds in ableton with the launchpad.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@colinmcsorley Check out my other video called "Syncing Traktor Pro 2 + Ableton Live: How to Route Audio | Dubspot's DJ Endo" and it will show you how to use Ableton effects over Traktor

[@DJSeanJ]

If you run the output of ableton into a channel on your mixer, you can cue it up that way. You can always take the ableton output and run into traktor as an "external source" if you are using an external sound card for Traktor.

[@ConsciousMonkeysEire]

Hi Dj Endo :) can you use the sound card on the Traktor S4 M2 to reroute Ableton into trakor ? Or do i need to buy a new separate sound card ? thanks in advance for the advice

[@DeeJayEndo]

@EletroIsMagnetic Another good reason is you could set up a session in Ableton that is full of loops and you can drop loops in Ableton over your Traktor set. Another reason is you could load up plug ins in Ableton and Jam out in time over your Traktor set.

[@EpureAF]

Dude...this is the best video since toasted bread...THANK YOU!!

[@DeeJayEndo]

@8BallsJ You would want to plug the output of your DJ Mixer to an Input on the Audio 8 and use Traktor's recorder to record the final mix

[@DeeJayEndo]

Thanks for watching. Be sure our online digital DJing with Traktor classes on dubspot.com!

[@DeeJayEndo]

If you use the the S2 as the main sound card you can still pre listen to your tracks using Traktor's preview player, yes.

[@glensound]

Great video and was able to follow all the way through except my 4/4 sound card - vci 100 mkii - allows for Traktor master to be heard but not the Ableton. I can hear the Ableton loop in the headphones of the mixer. I'd like to go internal in Traktor since it allows for full control of the fader volume but i don't require it. Hope it makes sense.

[@poissonpil]

Hi, hanks for your tutorial which is clear but..... When I create the ableton Clock in traktor controller manager, thre is no Traktor virtual out shown, the I cannot go further

[@DeeJayEndo]

For that, get "Traktor's 12". Its a plugin that has 12 of Traktor's effects as a plug in inside ableton. Or you could just route the audio via Jack Router from Ableton into Traktor and use a deck as a live input.

[@DeeJayEndo]

Thanks for the tip, but I would guess you wouldn't be turning off / on your APC live, but its a good bug to know about. Thanks!

[@scottishdollar]

Do you require 2 x stereo outputs on your soundcard to do this?

[@DeeJayEndo]

@Ndoor378 that is normal. its a combination of a cosmetic bug in ableton's master clock (which means the BPM actually isn't drifting that much), and traktor's MIDI clock being a bit unstable.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@esbardinator That is the point. When you press sync, you are telling ableton where the "1" is, and it restarts all clips to play on the "1".

[@DeeJayEndo]

This is because the MIDI clock in Traktor isn't totally stable yet. Sometimes you need to bring down the volume of ableton, hit Sync in Traktor's master clock, it will take a few seconds to re-sync, then bring the volume back up. Even legends like Richie Hawtin and Dubfire have to deal with this same issue. Its due to an unstable MIDI clock in Traktor. Hopefully this gets fixed soon but you should only have to resync a couple times during a set.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@TheApc40 you probably have a MIDI loop. Make sure your out ports in Traktor aren't set to "all ports"

[@DJPBNJ]

great tutorial guys good job. I'm going to be rocking the S4 and APC40

[@DeeJayEndo]

@dvillalta Thats a whole seperate subject, which I will be covering in future videos. This is just how to get the programs in sync. You can share the same audio output with both programs for now. You can use soundflower to route the audio from Traktor into Ableton

[@DeeJayEndo]

@msalamone11 I would check the link to the article above. Maybe there was a step you missed. Just FYI there is no virtual output on windows

[@DeeJayEndo]

@LBCProductionsInc Yes. You would sync Maschine to Traktor S4, then you can actually click and drag on the + sign of a pattern in Maschine and drag the audio directly into a deck in Traktor. If you want to do it in real time you would have to route Maschine into a Deck in Traktor. You can dot this by plugging an RCA cable from a seperate Audio interface into the S4, and making one of the decks in Traktor an Audio Through.

[@tubotuyo]

@cazcoronel I just did it. You only have to ignore the bit about setting the mixer to external, since you will be using it in internal with the S4, also I couldn't manage to listen to Traktor's metronome, but instead just looped a track, and synched it with Live's metronome, and now is working perfectly. I trigger loops in Ableton with the Trigger Finger over a Traktor pro 2 DJ set.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@DubSpot There is actually a program called MIDI Yoke that you can download for PC that will work the same exact way as in the video

[@DeeJayEndo]

Yes it works the same for internal and external mixing mode as far as the syncing goes.

[@toifel]

great tutorial.. finally got my traktor completely in sync and routed through ableton.. yay! ;) time for some playing...

[@djgavduffer]

Hey Great Video, Question If You record in Traktor is it Picking up Ableton and Visa Versa ? Thanks Gavin

[@DeeJayEndo]

You can map any controller to control Traktor's remix decks. You just have to map it like you would map any other controller in Traktor.

[@TomashGhzegovsky]

Hey thanks for the tutorial it's great! but I have one problem with Traktor, every time I enable send MIDI clock, and try to load a new track the sound jams, cracks, and lags. In general the program feels very over loaded, but when I disable MIDI clock its back to normal. Any suggestions?

[@DeeJayEndo]

Please elaborate "Messed up your Traktor". Thanks.

[@DeeJayEndo]

You need to enable Traktor Virtual output in Traktor and enable the "out port" for Traktors virtual output device in Traktor in order for it to show up in Ableton.

[@patricidiocristiano9718]

clear and still actual!!! Thx a lot! It opens hundreds of new possibilities :)

[@DeeJayEndo]

This method will also work when using Traktor in Internal Mixing mode.

[@DeeJayEndo]

I would suggest recording strictly inside of Traktor for the best possible sound quality. I suppose you could plug an RCA cable from the S4's Master Output into the input of Deck C to route the audio into ableton but I would just record in Traktor.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@8BallsJ You can run everything through a DJ Mixer and record the output of the DJ Mixer (Record Out or Booth Out) with Traktor's built in Recorder.

[@DeeJayEndo]

What you should do (if your changing tempo a lot) is start the Ableton session WITH TRAKTOR using Traktor's master clock (and turning off auto mode). That way they are already in Sync, and when you start a track in Traktor it will be in sync. Your other option (if your not changing tempo) is to simply type in the BPM of Ableton in Traktor's master clock, then use Traktor's master clock pitch bend buttons to sync Traktor, then it will stay in sync until you change tempo.

[@rickydlp]

@DeeJayEndo i did research and that's true, but there's also a way to do it on Windows, one has to download LoopBe1 and that has to be set as the midi out, works the same exact way if your windows users follow your instructions but just have that midi software installed. Thanks!

[@GV_777YT]

Thank you Endo, this works even now on version 3.

[@parkerLwebb]

@schijfgram depends on what hardware you want to use, but some things like the novation launchpad and akai mpk have multiple user modes that can be switched easily, and mapped to whatever you want.

[@DeeJayEndo]

Yes, you can use your Mixtrack for Traktor and another device for ableton and have it all work in harmony by following this tutorial. Thanks for watching!

[@DeeJayEndo]

You can run everything through your computers internal soundcard. Only thing you'd be missing is the option to route each deck or program through its own audio output, but yes it will work!

[@javierpolo6036]

Hi DJ Endo, do you know whether this can be done integrating Traktor Pro 2 and Sonar X1? I use the Traktor Kontrol S4 and F1, I have been using each software in separate computers (Sonar in a Windows Vista and Traktor in a Mac); I have been combining them via wires and interface but obviously I don't have the sync features, I would actually have to sync by ear. Any ideas? (besides buying another software)

[@iamDJFREAKY]

Hey. I'm just about to follow your vid, but need to ask two things. 1: you say that tracks need to be "properly warped in ableton" - well i only need to sync Traktor and Ableton together because I am running Maschine as a plugin inside of Ableton, and I want my patterns in Maschine to stay in sync with my tracks playing from Traktor. I dont want to put any tracks in ableton, so do i need bother to warp?

[@xyrial]

Very helpful tutorial! Thanks Endo!

[@DeeJayEndo]

Yes, check out my 4 part tutorial on the Dubspot Blog on the 4 ways to sync two Traktor systems. I walk you through step by step on how to sync your computers over Ethernet, wifi, manually, computer to computer network and with a MIDI cable.

[@halfaneighth]

@DeeJayEndo Oh right, that's awesome. If you could tell just from my reading my post that I hadn't downloaded T2 then the improvement must be significant to the point of eliminating the problem. I'd been putting it off but I'll grab a beer and update it tonight... Not sure I'll abandon the old school way of mixing into Live though. Done it this way since using Live as a 'third CDJ' and now I feel spoiled with how easy it is to mix into from Traktor! Having such an accurate BPM ref is a treat.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@lepaux Yes You can using soundflower. I believe there are tutorials online but I will work on a new tutorial for this.

[@TheJakobwinther]

When I turn my APC40 on/off the the system goes out of sync - it's not a big problem, I just press the sync button in Traktor again, but others might have the same issue and should be aware of it. especially when performing live ;o) Brilliant tutorial by the way!

[@DeeJayEndo]

@M2MiniMal yes, this is mac specific but if you have a program such as MIDI yoke or another virtual MIDI cable program you can do the same thing on windows. To route sound into ableton from traktor check out or tutorial on routing audio from traktor to ableton

[@imbirofficial]

set a track in ableton to record form the "what you hear" option as an input and hit record, or plug the output of what ever the sounds coming from into a SINGLE input group and record it. id recomend a stereo pair of rca or 1/4in. good luck

[@DeeJayEndo]

Yes this is possible by holding "Shift" on the X1 and pushing the Hotcue (MIDI) button. This will put the X1 into MIDI mode, where you can then control Ableton in MIDI mode. When you want to go back to controlling Traktor, push shift Hotcue again and it will go back into normal X1 mode. Note: This is for the older generation of X1's. Changing into MIDI mode on the new X1's is different.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@mileselou It works the exact same way except when you make your midi device in the controller manager, you would set the output port to your Audio 8 DJ (or whatever soundcard your using that has MIDI out) instead of using the Virtual Output. That will allow Traktor to send MIDI out of that MIDI port.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@Ndoor378 Yes, stay tuned for Part 2 of this video coming out in the next week or two! The program is called Jack OSX

[@marcreck]

@deejayendo - Is this just mac specific, i.e is this new virtual midi port using the existing built in mac virtual midi port? Doesnt show up in my pc s4 version. Can use alternative like midi yoke, but would be good to know as not specified in the video.

[@itsDJZee]

Awesome tutorial...really interesting to try this out

[@zoukalicious]

HI Dub spot, me too created under device a generic midi clock in Traktor, however in ableton > Preferencis >sync there is no iput from the Traktor virtual output nshown, what tot do next?

[@DeeJayEndo]

@chicagoterence this only works on mac, however there are other virtual midi cable programs out there like MIDI yoke

[@iamrichonworld]

Nice tutorial... but can i use my dj controler with this combination?

[@BogStomperz]

Could've mentioned somewhere at the very beginning that it was only for Mac. No Traktor Virtual MIDI on a PC. Apparently external software called Loop Be1 can work for PC users. Gonna try it now after wasting time scratching my head looking for Traktor Virtual MIDI.

[@IanCahill358]

I have Ableton Live 8.1.4 and Traktor 2.6.1, the interface I'm using is the NI Audio 10 and the mixer I'm using is the Behringer DDM4000. For some reason I can't get any audio from Ableton once I've completed all the steps in the video. No metronome, no clips, no audio, NOTHING. Any suggestions or feedback in order to get this fixed?

[@7taveira]

Hey! I'm using Traktor 2.11 and Ableton live 9.5 in the same computer (mac). I'm using soundflower as the output for traktor and as the input for ableton while using an Audio 10 for ableton's output and to connect to the mixer. After a while, the midi clocks get out of sync and the only way I have figured out to sync them back together is going to the ableton preferences and changing the MIDI clock sync delay parameter manually. Is this parameter mappable to a controller? Is there any better way to sync them back without having to do it manually and losing the flow? Thanks!

[@Olgierddd]

00:56 There were lots of virtual midi loopbacks soft from Atari ST times. No need to use hardware midi loopback at all.

[@DeeJayEndo]

If you plug your DJ mixer into your audio interface and then set the recording input of Traktor to the channel your DJ mixer is plugged into then it will record anything that comes through the DJ Mixer (including Ableton and Traktor)

[@ffgamersindia209]

Hi DJ Endo, How are you ? Please let me know the global quantization settings in ableton while linking the two. When I try to play any loop or one shot and if I play it a little off then it is not in synced. I have done what is shown in the video but still I am not able to sync both the software's in quantization. Hope you get what I am trying to explain and you would come up with a solution.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@DoidekaDUB No you don't need an external sound card to sync the programs. You can use your computers headphone jack if you want.

[@Dj.andyverdi]

Hi. Thank you for the great tutorial! I've made exactly like you show and syncs fine. But there's an annoying feature in it all. When I push "sync" or ">||" buttons on traktor my ableton starts playing automatically and I can't stop it until I turn sync off in traktor. I think there's some autostart function in ableton but I can't find it now. Is there any solution? Thank you!

[@DeeJayEndo]

Yes this will work with any soundcard

[@mjjmover854]

@2:32, What do I do if I select the out put and it's not there. Because I've blocked out all the other outputs and inputs for the other devices, and I have Traktor Pro 2, but "Traktor Virtual Output" wont show up! HELP?

[@DeeJayEndo]

@almahardcore Yes absolutely. There is a mapping included for the Mixtrack Pro built into Traktor. You would just have to import that by clicking "Import" and going to the default settings / controller / numark folder and loading the correct Mixtrack TSI. Then you follow the steps in the video to sync ableton, and you can use your APC 20 to control ableton. Have fun!

[@DeeJayEndo]

You might be on an old version of Traktor. Make sure your on the latest version of Traktor Pro 2.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@schijfgram Yes, in fact the Traktor Kontrol X1 was made to switch back and forth. If you go into MIDI mode on the X1 it can control Ableton or any other program that takes MIDI, and you can go back and forth between User Mode (Traktor) and MIDI Mode (Ableton). The same goes for the S4 and lots of other controllers as well.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@glysigakis Ableton doesn't start off beat if you sync it correctly and your Tracks / Loops are warped and beatgridded correctly.

[@DeeJayEndo]

The problem there is that you are assigning the MIDI inputs in Traktor and Ableton to the APC so when you hit a button on the APC its triggering both programs. One solution is to use a controller thats native to Traktor like the X1 since the X1 has a "Traktor Mode" and a "MIDI Mode". This is how Richie Hawtin does it.

[@DeeJayEndo]

@glassbreakz22 Traktor Routing - Deck A (Output 1/2) - Deck B (Output 3/4) - Ableton you can either share Output 3/4 (if you have a 2 channel mixer), or you can use Output 5/6 or Output 7&8 (or both!) for Ableton.

[@MatthieuPesesse]

Excellent tutorial, very clear and understandable. This is what I call a great support ! Keep up the good work :)

[@DJPitts]

I've done the sync between traktor and ableton but now my midi keyboard isn't recognized by ableton. It's a akai max49, what should I do?

[@DeeJayEndo]

@glysigakis You need to RELEASE the Sync button on the 1. I always press the sync button before the 1 and release it a few milliseconds before 1 so it gives ableton a split second to figure out it needs to start and starts playing on the 1. Make sense?

[@DeeJayEndo]

The new BPM detection algorithm in Traktor is amazingly accurate now, however if you want to be sure your tracks sync perfectly I always double check every track manually using a metronome. However, if you are using tempo sync (preferences - transport - sync mode) you have the option to nudge (pitch bend) tracks that aren't perfectly beatgridded, so this is always an option.

[@carlosjrn2727]

Anyone knows if there are any problems using the full screen size on traktor or ableton while both are synced?? Please i have this problem. While I am using both programs synced at the same time but in a normal window, i haven´t problems. But when I change to fullscreen size one of them, after a minute more or less, the sound of inactive window crash, sounding desynchronized and faltering. Thanks 4 your tips and advie in advance.

[@FranieDeep]

Thanks man, done it They are in synch now!!! great 👍, but now my external Gears only one is starting to play all the others via midi thru are not starting to play. Can You help me Please?

[@Velghe87]

Thank you so much! This made me choose for traktor instead of serato the bridge! Thanks!

[@iamDJFREAKY]

Okay, I followed Endo's video on how to sync Traktor + Maschine together, it was pretty simular to this, so is it possible to sync ableton with traktor, when I already have Maschine synced up with it? Because it looks like its done the same kind of way, im just wondering if it'll interfere with it all having both programs synced to Traktor. Let me know if I can just follow this vid to sync ableton with traktor with maschine already synced too. Thanks!

[@DeeJayEndo]

@naanod you can't change the BPM in Ableton if its in External Sync (Slave) Mode

[@DeeJayEndo]

@BlakMajikDJ Hit the sync button on Traktor's Master clock and it will restart ableton's clock at 1.1.1. Try not to change the tempo too quickly and drastically. Ableton might have problems catching up immediately. I heard the new update of Ableton is a lot better with MIDI sync. Going to be testing that out soon!

[@avaizhashmi]

i find when you have both programs playing, if i click [Sync] above the play pause button in MIDI CLOCK, live works with that clock send much effectively. Pleas let me know if this works or does not work for you.

[@omangas297]

wait so do you NEED to have all your tracks in traktor beat gridded for this? or will regular bpm detection work?

[@DJKeyWee]

@DubSpot is it me or in v 1.2.6 and on a PC, the virtual port don't appear at all?

[@FabioSirnaMusic]

Thanks.This is really helpful!i've got a question:if I use traktor s2 as the main soundcard, will I be able to use the pre listen function in traktor?thanks!

[@JACOPMICHE]

Hi Endo, tnx 4 this tutorial! It's great! What about routing Traktor's master & monitor signal into two Ableton's tracks? TNX

[@MujagaWudakhi]

Hi Endo and Dubspot... im a new S4 user, i love it, and i want to do this exact same way like you did it in this tutorial... im a wundows user and i use ableton 8.2.2. can you please tell me... 1. Is S4 enough for this? Do i need an extra external soundcard maybe? 2. Since i use windows, is there another way to have the trakto virtual output? (Jack for windows maybe?) hope i have all it needs to work :D tnx in advance

[@DeeJayEndo]

@hirrakki The new update of Traktor (2.1.1) has a broken / unstable MIDI clock. If you downgrade back to 2.0.3 everything should be stable again. If it goes out of sync, just hit the sync button in Traktors Master clock section