This question was raised in the forum and is also important for future owners of the VCI-100SE (which has drum roll built in). In this video I demonstrate how to create the drum roll effect in Traktor 3 by using just 2 buttons set to “Set Loop” and “loop end move backward”. The trick is in getting your Traktor settings right and then its easy to create perfect drum rolls that will drive the crowd wild. That is until you do it 20 times in one night at which point they will most likely riot.
While we are on the subject, I felt like bringing back a part of this older article that I wrote for Remix magazine on the future of visuals in music. Mike Relm had some interesting things to say about his transformation from a turntablist to a visualist (?) Many people including Dj Kentaro, seem to feel that visuals are the next big thing:
The introduction of Pioneers DVD player for djs had everyone, including myself, drooling over the possibilities. It fast became apparent that moving MTV from the boob tube to the club was not exactly going to be the most revolutionary thing on the planet. Instead, guys like Mike Realm have shown how a little video editing can produce some really fun results that are totally original.
The very capable team behind Serato Scratch has made that goal even easier to achieve by rolling video into their ubiquitous DVS system. Dj Mei-Lwun, the face behind our now infamous Fisher Price review, gives us a quick run through and demonstrates a very cheeky home made video combo.
In one of our tutorials 2 weeks ago I showed you how to layer 2 filters on top of each other and assign one knob to many different functions on those 2 filters. This “super knob” is a handy way to create wild sounds with minimal effort. In that case the desired effect required a Zone 92 LP filter on the deck and a HP filter on the master effect. So if you suddenly get inspired to create some wild filter builds in the middle of a set, you would probably want to have 2 controllers dedicated to that function. A button to engage the required effects and the super knob to tweak them out. So how do you make one button do that?
In the search for a perfect tactile button you need not look further than your local arcade. More than over 20 years of R&D by millions of teenage boys has proven arcade buttons to be reliable, fun and rapid fire fast. So its not surprising that the concept has started to take off after I posted my arcade button tutorial many months back. One of our readers duplicated the mod flawlessly and even added a few faders. MidiFidler is making a small run of arcade button midi controllers for the Dj TT community. Now I noticed this brilliant mixer based on the DIY MIDIBox64 kit that takes all of them to the next level.
One of our readers here at DJ TT mentioned that he had recently sat down with Felix the HouseCat in the studio and demonstrated the benefits of Traktor. While interested, Felix commented that many pro djs felt that the sync function was cheating. This argument has popped up several times in the past so we felt the need to address it.
To be specific, Traktor (and most other dj programs except for Serato Scratch) offer 2 types of sync: Tempo and Phase. You can either automatically match the tempos of 2 songs up or also allow the computer to attempt and keep them in phase with each other rhythmically. Lets address each of these independently and offer arguments for both sides.
Continue reading To Sync or not to Sync
Last month BentoSan posted a great tutorial about routing Traktor audio into Live in Windows. It’s here and I recommend you at least skim his article if you haven’t already read it, it has plenty of relevant links. Here is how to do exactly the same thing on a Mac, using free software.
What to expect:
What you need:
We are going to introduce a new feature where I talk to a professional digital dj about his techniques and personal way of using dj technology. This month I interviewed Dj Lorin for my Remix magazine column. The printed version was only a part of the full interview bellow. Some of you may be familiar with Lorin’s sets and some of you may not. Here is a clip from the article which describes his sound:
“DJ Lorin’s (aka Bassnectar) sets are a mind-blowing affair for everyone. The constant barrage of tempo changes, intestine-rattling bass and wide swath of genres keep your interest without sounding too A-D-D. Lorin explains, “I tend to refer to Bassnectar as ‘omnitempo maximalism,’ which means any or all speeds, time signatures, rhythms and every sound source possible. I seem to gravitate toward really heavy tempos, lots of play with double time and half time and using electronic methods to embellish and reinforce other styles of music — maybe ragtime or punk rock or the blues or batucada or polka or salsa or film scores or gangsta rap or beatboxing or Balkan gypsy music or ska.” His genre-defying mixes are a highly personalized blend of beats, edits and remixes that few other DJs can offer, easily separating him from the pack without the normal bucket-load of PR hype. I sat down with Lorin to find out how he gets such a bombastically personal sound”
The basic principles of this technique will not require a rocket science degree. I know we usually just turn over the TKS file but in this case I would like to walk you through the basics so you can learn the principles yourself. I was asked the other day “why guitar hero”? The answer is simple, its a medium that the audience can relate to. Tapping on arcade buttons or keyboards may look cool and in many cases work much better but unless the audience can understand and relate to what your doing, they just wont get it. At this point just about everyone has either seen or played guitar hero so when you bust it out in the club the learning curve just got a lot shorter.
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