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You might be one of the top rising DJs in your town, but if you don’t have a portfolio of professional-sounding mixes, you’re just not going to land the gigs you want. We’ve had a number of new DJs asking us to go over the basics of recording a mix, so today we take a closer look at why recording great DJ mixes is extremely important. We’ve also put together some tips on how to make the process of recording those winning mixes simple and efficient.
WHY RECORD YOUR MIXES?
A few weeks ago in our weekly email, we included a tip that strongly encouraged recording every single mix that passes through your DJ equipment. While it might sound like overkill, we live in an era of extremely cheap data storage (cheaper by the minute), so there’s virtually zero cost associated with recording your mix session.
What’s the value of pressing record on every single one of your mixes? Your intentions for recording mixes should be multifaceted – we’ve split up the potential uses for recording mixes into three tiers for easy dissection:
1) Review and critique: Forcing yourself to re-listen to your DJ practices and performances offers a unique opportunity to make assessments as to your skill set from the viewpoint of a listener. Many different types of artists use this trick all the time (especially instrumentalists and dancers!) to see and hear exactly what the audience is experiencing.
Don’t be afraid in this process to take notes and set goals for yourself. This especially comes in handy when you’re trying new techniques – from perfecting those basic transition styles to practicing new styles of buildups – and want to assess how well those techniques worked in the mix. You’ll sometimes be surprised, for better or for worse, at what it sounds like when you’re not behind the decks.
2) Share the mix: Your fans and friends know that you’re a DJ, and in a media-saturated digital world full of content creators, sharing new content is the best way to remind them that you’re still in the game (and available to play their next house party). Online mixes tend to stick best if you’re also breaking new tracks or revealing deep cuts on them – this is the time to show off your digging prowess.
Not every mix makes it past the previous step of reviewing and critiquing – so use your good judgement here and only let quality favorites trickle down this list for you to dominate Soundcloud with. You never know where these mixes will get played – from long roadtrips to late-night work sessions, you want to makes sure the listener feels like rocking your mix was worth it.
3) Create an online brand: For many DJs, mixes are the best equivalent to a résumé and portfolio for potential gigs. While DJTT has written plentyin the pastabout craftingyour online DJ brand, the mixes are often the core meat and potatoes that promoters and potential clients look at. While we’ve all heard stories of the promoters who just look at Facebook likes when considering booking a DJ, but if you don’t have a solid catalog of a few mixes, most club owners won’t even look twice at you.
3) Create an online brand: For many DJs, mixes are the best equivalent to a résumé and portfolio for potential gigs. While DJTT has written plentyin the pastabout craftingyour online DJ brand, the mixes are often the core meat and potatoes that promoters and potential clients look at. While we’ve all heard stories of the promoters who just look at Facebook likes when considering booking a DJ, but if you don’t have a solid catalog of a few mixes, most club owners won’t even look twice at you.
This is again an even higher level of quality of mix that should enter this tier – these are the mixes you’ll feature and link to the most, so make sure only the most technically clean and solid mixes you make are used here.
YOUR MIX RECORDING OPTIONS
Let’s talk about how to record your mixes. If you’re like many DJs who don’t record regularly, during the actual mix it sounds amazing – but when you record them and listen back to them you find you sound worse than what you heard. Whether the recording is a low quality, levels are off or peaking, or even that you didn’t have the right inputs selected, there’s nothing more frustrating than having a great session and not having the taped version deliver the same level of quality.
Having a solid and consistent technical solution to recording your sessions makes sure that you never have that experience. Here are the three common forms that recording mixes often take:
- To CD/Tape: These are archaic media, and we recommend not recording to these formats unless you’re an extreme purist. Even then, remember that you’ll have to digitize these recordings – and seriously, who even owns a tape/CD recorder anymore?
- Digital Audio Recorder: These are typically found in higher end installations and studios, and there are portable versions that start at about $200 and allow you to record to an SD card and then extract the digital recording from that. (We’re partial to the Zoom H4 recorders) After recording, you then copy your mix to your computer, run it through your audio editing software to trim any dead air and then dump it onto your favorite MP3 player or DJ mix sharing site. We find that using an external recorder like this is ideal for recording shows where you don’t want to have anything else to worry about on your computer.
- Straight To Computer: Recording directly to your computer is the most sensible and simplest solution. This can be slightly more complicated to setup initially depending on your DJ workflow of choice, and provides you the flexibility to send your mixes anywhere and quicker.
Let’s take a closer look at how to make a great recording into your computer.
RECORDING AN EXTERNAL MIX
If you’re mixing externally, you’ll need to route the audio back into your computer before you can start recording your mix. Your specific setup will cause this vary, but for most typical digital DJ setups a simple male/male RCA cable or male/male RCA to 1/8″ cable will suffice. Check the back of your mixer to choose the best output for these cables – on Pioneer and Allen and Heath mixers, you’ll want to choose the Record Out. On Rane mixers, you’ll often find a Session Out.
For a number of newer and more expensive digital DJ mixers, like the Allen & Heath DB series, you’re actually able to route a Record Out signal back through the built-in soundcard and into your computer or DJ software.
The reason you want to use a record out or equivalent signal is because the normal master output on many mixers sends line level output which is tied to the output that you’re sending to the speakers. You also might, in the course of a gig, make dramatic adjustments to this master gain, but record/session outs are independently controlled and will maintain a level signal.
Case in point: the first time I tried to record my mix through a PC, it sounded horrible. I plugged my master out into my sound card and started a test record using Audacity. When I played it back, I noticed that the sound was clipping. I reduced the master volume on my mixer and tried again. The sound continued to clip, but not as drastically. I also tried reducing the record volume within Audacity to compensate, but no matter what setting I tried, the sound was unusable. The source of the problem: the signal I was sending from my mixer was too much for my PC’s sound card to handle. I was sending a powerful line-level output from my mixer into a a mic-level input on my soundcard and destroying the recording.
There’s only one way to make sure you’re capturing great recordings – testing and checking your recordings. We’ll get to that in a minute.
RECORDING INTERNALLY IN YOUR DJ SOFTWARE
For those of us who mix completely internally, great news! You’re probably already aware, but recording an internal DJ set is significantly less work in terms of wiring and getting everything sorted out. Here’s the rule – as long as all of your audio goes through your DJ software and is output in one master channel, your DJ software will be able to record just final performance audio. Nothing fancy to worry about here – but you’ll still want to test the recording and check your final audio and waveforms in Audacity (see below) to make sure you’ve got all the levels right.
TEST YOUR MIX & WATCH THE WAVEFORMS
Taking a few seconds to test your recording setup and check how it sounds and what the recorded files looks like always pays off – especially when you’re first setting up your recording process. One of the key tricks when setting up your recordings is to follow the signal path and make sure that nowhere along the line is your mix peaking – watch for your master signal in your DJ software, on your mixer, and in your audio input settings – and make sure that it’s not in the red or peaking at any step of the way. The image on the right shows what peaking looks like in many different forms, avoid it at all costs.
Not everyone is aware of what good-looking waveforms look like, so I’ve put together a series of screenshots from the above story for a quick crash course in waveform analysis. The following graphics demonstrate what the waveform looks like under different circumstances. These graphics are copied out of Audacity and represent the +/- voltage strengths of the signal that was recorded, and under each graphic is the recorded sound. Both right and left channels are shown.
The above was my first attempt at recording. Notice that the sound signal consumes the entire area. I was basically throwing too much signal at the port and it translated there is full volume of a really poor quality sound almost 100% of the time.
After reducing the master volume down to 10% of capacity and recording again, the above waveform was produced. This is better as we actually see grey space (less than 100% volume) but the peaks are all at maximum, so clipping is still occurring.
The above picture shows you what happens when your recording setup is done properly. Notice that the waveform never hits maximum volume. There are distinct peaks and valleys but the signal is clean and is not clipping.
CAN YOUR COMPUTER HANDLE IT?
Now let’s ask the question “if I use a computer in any way in my DJ kit setup, do I need a second computer to record my mixes?” This is a difficult question to answer because of a number of different variables. Can your computer handle the processing load of both playing and recording music? Do you have enough free USB ports for connecting your controller, USB hard drive (possibly) and an audio interface? Is there going to be contention for disk resources when you are reading MP3s for playback and writing the recording of your set?
For a lot of DJs who don’t necessarily have newer and better-performing computers, the answer might sometimes be that your computer can’t handle both DJing and recording simultaneously. For DJs and live performers who simply don’t want to have the risk or have additional computer-focused activities going on while performing (Mad Zach falls into this category), you might also avoid doing both. Instead of buying a second computer, this is where we would actually recommend purchasing a digital audio recorder. You would only need to maintain one computer and you’ll be able to have a standalone unit dedicated to just recording mixes. Handy!
NAIL IT EVERY TIME
Finally, here’s one key tip that will make your future recordings a breeze every time: set up the levels and inputs and outputs how you will have them when recording and take notes of where all of your levels are at. Even consider writing them down, and make sure that you can easily duplicate this setup in very little time. Getting set up to record should only take about two minutestops – you want there to be as little barrier as possible to you being able to press the record button and start making your next big mix-tape.
More Info:
- Download Audacity | Sourceforge
- Purchase a H4 recorder | Amazon
- You’ll need a sweet namedrop for that mix, right? | DJTT
How do you record your mixes? Experienced veterans, what tips do you have for the DJs who’ve never recorded a mix before?
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In the final instalment of our “Your First Day With…” series, we take a look at Native Instruments’ Traktor, undoubtedly one of the most popular DJ apps today. Just like in the previous articles and videos, I’m going to walk you through your first encounter with the software; downloading and installing it on your computer, hooking up your DJ controller if you have one, and getting your music onto Traktor’s library.
The many faces of Traktor
Like Serato DJ, Traktor comes in different flavours. Let’s run them down so you can get a better idea:
Traktor Pro 2
Traktor Pro 2 is Native Instruments’ flagship DJ software. It’s the present-day evolution of Traktor DJ Studio 3, which was discontinued in 2008. This is the software that comes bundled with Native Instruments’ own Traktor Kontrol S4 and S2 controllers, and comes with all the bells and whistles like Remix Decks and mix recording.
Unlike Serato DJ, which has an ongoing list of licensed compatible controllers, and unlike Virtual DJ 8, which needs a specific licence in order to use it with any controller, Traktor Pro 2 works with any controller as long as it’s Midi class-compliant, meaning you can make anything (even a guitar synth!) work with it, provided you can map it.
Traktor 2 Only One Channel Playing 3
Traktor LE 2
Traktor LE 2 is the “lite” version of Traktor Pro 2. It comes bundled with a small number of third-party DJ controllers (fewer than ever, actually), as well as Native Instruments’ portable Traktor Kontrol Z1 mixer. While you can DJ properly with Traktor LE 2, there are certain limitations with the software, such as only being able to mix with two decks and three FX. For a comprehensive list of differences between Traktor LE 2 and Traktor Pro 2, check out this comparison chart.
Traktor Scratch Pro 2
Traktor Scratch Pro 2 is the DVS (digital vinyl system) version of Traktor Pro 2. It’s identical to the flagship Traktor Pro 2, with the difference being this package includes two pieces of timecode vinyl and two pieces of timecode CDs for use with a pair of turntables or CDJs, respectively.
This is the version of Traktor that comes bundled with Native Instruments’ Traktor Kontrol Z2 two-channel hardware mixer, as well as the company’s Traktor Scratch A10 and A6 audio interfaces. Note that even if you’ve purchased a Traktor Kontrol S4 and have Traktor Pro 2 installed, you’ll still need to pay for the US$99 upgrade to get Traktor Scratch Pro 2 and the timecode package. Also note that you can’t use timecode vinyl/CDs with a Traktor Kontrol S2, as this controller doesn’t have any phono/line inputs to plug your turntables or CD players in.
Traktor DJ
Traktor DJ is the iOS cousin of Traktor. Available on the iPad and iPhone, Traktor DJ isn’t a direct port of its laptop counterparts as it has its own distinct feature set, but you can still use a Traktor Kontrol S4/S2 mk2 with it, as well as the Traktor Kontrol Z1 controller. For more information on Traktor DJ, check out our full review.
Installation
Traktor Pro 2 Demo
For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume that you’re using Traktor Pro 2. If you don’t have it, you can grab a time-restricted demo. Here’s how:
- Open your browser and head to the Native Instruments website
- Click on the “Demo” button on the upper right of the screen.
- Enter you e-mail address and click “Get Download Link”
- Check your e-mail inbox for a message from Native Instruments and open it. If it’s not there, look at your Bulk or Spam mail folder
- Click the link in the e-mail to go to the download page
- Download the installer
- Go to your Downloads folder and double click on “Traktor_2_XXX_Mac.dmg” (Traktor_2_XXX_PC.zip if you’re on a PC). Follow the onscreen instructions to install it on your machine
- When the installation finishes, it’ll ask you to Restart your computer. Go ahead and press the “Restart” button
Traktor Pro 2 Full
If you just bought a new Traktor Kontrol S4/S2, you should be able to find a voucher inside your product box with the serial number for Traktor Pro 2. Here’s how to download and install it on your computer:
- Once you’ve opened your box, locate the piece of paper that contains your software serial number and download link. Do not throw this away!
- Open your browser, type in the link provided, then create your own account on the Native Instruments website. This will serve as a repository for all your NI-related serial numbers, downloads, and vouchers if any
- Once you’ve logged in, download your copy of Traktor Pro 2
- Go to your Downloads folder and double click on “Traktor_2_XXX_Mac.dmg” (Traktor_2_XXX_PC.zip if you’re on a PC). Follow the onscreen instructions to install it on your machine
- When the installation finishes, it’ll ask you to Restart your computer. Go ahead and press the “Restart” button
Traktor LE 2
If you bought a DJ controller that came bundled with Traktor LE 2, go ahead and install it according to your controller manufacturer’s instructions located in the manual.
Running Traktor Pro 2 for the first time
Connecting your DJ controller
After you’re done installing Traktor Pro 2, it’s time to run it for the very first time. But before you do that, connect your DJ controller first if you’re using one. Remember that Traktor Pro 2 doesn’t need a controller connected in order to function properly.
- Connect your DJ controller using the supplied USB cable. Plug one end to your laptop’s USB port and the other in your controller’s
- If your controller comes with a power adapter and requires it for use, connect that as well to ensure proper functionality. When in doubt, consult your DJ controller’s manual
- If it hasn’t power up already, turn your controller on by pressing/flicking its switch. Again, consult your controller’s manual if you’re unsure how to do this
- If your controller has an onboard audio interface, connect your speaker leads to your controller’s output jacks
Activating Traktor Pro 2
If your copy of Traktor Pro 2 came bundled with your Traktor Kontrol S4/S2, you’ll have to activate it in order to use it beyond its time restriction. To do this, launch Traktor Pro 2:
- Go to your Applications folder (or on your Desktop if you’re on a PC) and look for the Traktor icon. Double click it, and the program starts
- At the top of your screen, click “Help”, then click “Launch Service Center”
- A new window called Service Center will launch. Enter your Native Instruments login details here like you did over at their website.
- Once you’ve logged into Service Center, you’ll see that Traktor Pro 2 is unactivated. Type in the serial number found on the Traktor Pro 2 pamphlet that came with your controller in the empty fields
- Alternately, you can login to your account over at the Native Instruments website. Click on “My Account” on the upper right, then click “My products & serials”
- Scroll down until you see Traktor Pro 2, then copy paste the serial number to the empty fields in the Service Center app
Using the Set-up Wizard
Easily connect and configure your controller by using Traktor Pro 2’s built-in Set-up Wizard.
- At the top of Traktor’s main screen, click “Help”, then click “Start Setup Wizard”
- You’ll see this screen, and since we’ve already connected your controller, go ahead and click Next
- Follow the onscreen instructions and answer the questions for each step. This will help you get your DJ controller setup properly, particularly if you’re using a third-party controller or other Midi device
- Close the Setup Wizard by clicking “Finish” at the very end
In use
With Traktor Pro 2 installed and activated, plus your controller hooked up to your computer, it’s time to get cracking! You can probably already see a few demo tracks in Traktor’s browser window, so go ahead and drop them onto either of the virtual decks, hit “Play” on your controller, and get spinning!
But what about your songs, how come you don’t see them in your browser window? That’s because we still have to get your music library onto it. Here’s how.
Getting your music onto Traktor Pro 2
Google translate blocked website free. Let’s get your music onto Traktor’s library. Just like in the previous two articles, there are three ways to do this: You can drag and drop from within Traktor’s browser, from the iTunes section within Traktor, or by dragging a song from the Finder window (Mac) or Windows Explorer (PC).
- Browser – On the lower left side of the screen you’ll see a window with a list of folders (eg Track Collection, Playlists, Explorer etc.). This is the browser list, and clicking on any of these folders populates the window in the middle of Traktor’s screen with songs that are contained within that folder. This lists all the audio files that Traktor sees on your hard drive. Try clicking Explorer -> Music Folders to see songs you have in your hard drive’s “Music” folder
- iTunes – Near the bottom of the browser you’ll find a folder called iTunes. This is where all the playlists and music you have stored in iTunes resides, which is good news if that’s what you use to organise your music because you can just choose songs from this list as if you were picking within iTunes
- Drag & drop – You can also just drag a song from your hard drive (Finder for the Mac, Windows Explorer for the PC) onto any of the virtual decks located at the top of the Serato DJ screen
Now that your songs are in Traktor, you should consider analysing them ahead of time. Analysing your tracks enables Traktor to calculate BPM, auto-create beatgrids, and set other attributes and metadata to your music for you. Analysing tracks prior to a DJ set is an essential part of preparation, and one that also saves CPU power as opposed to analysing your songs “on the fly” as you’re DJing, particularly with less powerful laptops.
To analyse your songs, highlight the tracks that you’d want analysed, then right-click and choose “Analyze (Async)”. A new window pops up, just click OK for now. You’ll return to the main Traktor screen and see a progress bar at the bottom of the main interface, letting you know how much longer analysis will take.
Your first mix
Let’s play some tunes! Drag a song from the browser window onto the left virtual deck of Traktor. You’ll see the song’s name appear on the deck, and you’ll see a waveform appear in the middle of the screen. Move your controller’s crossfader to the left, make sure the volume fader is all the way up, and hit the play button on your controller. You should be hearing the song playing back through your speakers.
Do the same thing for the right deck: Drag a song from your browser onto it to load. With the left deck playing, move the crossfader all the way to the right; notice how the volume of the song that’s currently playing begins to dip until it’s silent. With your right volume fader all the way up, hit the play button on the right deck of your controller. You’re now playing the song that you’ve loaded onto the right virtual deck after you faded out from the song on the left: In other words, you’ve just executed your first mix!
Beyond beginners
Now that we’ve gone through basic set-up procedures and getting your music into Traktor’s library, here are a couple of more advanced tutorials from our archives to keep you going:
- How To Use Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2′s Touchstrip – Thinking of adding the Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 to your set-up? Here’s Phil’s tutorial on how to use them effectively during your DJ set
- Bluffer’s Guide to Traktor’s Remix Decks – If you want to try a different style of DJing that’s a little closer to live production, here’s my series of tutorials on using Traktor’s Remix Decks
Conclusion
At this point, you’ve installed Traktor Pro 2 on your computer, you’ve activated it (or at least have tried it for the maximum of its time restriction, if you’re on a demo), and you’ve connected your DJ controller. You also have your music library within Traktor Pro 2, and have executed your first mix. Congratulations on getting this far!
This week’s video
• That brings our “Your First Day With…” mini-series to an end. I hope it helped walk you through your first encounter with your DJ software of choice, and I also hope that it encouraged you to try out other DJ software in the market as well! One of the best ways to heighten your DJ skills and overall appreciation for DJing is to get out of your comfort zone (whether it’s software you’ve been using for a long time, or a controller that you’ve mastered) and enter uncharted territory. Like they say, you truly find yourself when you “get lost” in an effort to learn more!
Check out the other parts in this series:
Did you encounter any problems getting Traktor Pro 2 up and running? We’d like to know if we missed anything, so go ahead and let us know in the comments below.
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im getting a controller in a few months' time, after lurking around in this subreddit and googling for recommended controllers to buy, i have a question in mind:
should i buy a 4-channel controller (traktor s4) or go with a 2-channel one (traktor s2/ MTP3 / DDJ-SB/SB2)? i have a rather tight budget, that's why s4 is probably the most i can afford, although i haven't seen any other recommendations for 4-channel controllers? (sorry if i missed out)
am a beginner but really willing to learn, and i hope that the controller wont go outdated (sort of like a BIFL but i know if i reach that level i'll need to upgrade). i dont plan to do gigs in the future, just sticking to being a bedroom dj (i might think about it again), because the scene in my country is rather small and im not that confident of my skills since i havent laid my hands on these equipment yet.
sorry for the long post and possible bad english, i just want to hear some opinions, will greatly appreciate them, thank you.
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