How to Create a DJ Mix: Traktor & Ableton Live w/ Using Auto-Gain

[finjfluffer]

is this a vid on how 2 make ur own songs

[edwardjones0000000]

I've been doing this for a while but have been having the same problems as Omas1000. Traktor often shows an autogain of +5 or +6 but if you were increase the volume by that much in Ableton I find it distorts. Any suggestions?

[DeeJayEndo]

@edwardjones0000000 Yes - try getting all of the clips the right volume - the select ALL of the volume faders and turn them down until none of your levels are in the red. Let me know how that goes - Endo

[Omas1000]

i followed this tutorial and it turned out great, but when traktor says, lets say a song has +7.7 db, when i adjust that song in ableton to +7.7, the songs bass is ruined. Is it possible that traktor calculated wrong? Also what kind of warping do you use? I use complex which is great its just lots of tracks sound different in traktor than in ableton (lots of them sound better in traktor).

[DeeJayEndo]

@Omas1000 Yes I agree. I do not like the sound of ableton either. However you might be losing bass because your audio channel in Ableton is distorting. Make sure none of your levels are in the red - Endo

[6th818]

Or you can just use Soundforge and just batch convert normalize all your files

[DeeJayEndo]

@6th818 I definitely do not recommend normalizing your tracks. This can have a negative effect on the audio. - Endo

[UnCL0NED]

... uhhh. Why would you first export your playlist to html, when you can already see the auto gain settings in Traktor itself?

Just toggle between Traktor and Live. I don't see any difference between toggling between Safari and Live or Traktor and Live.

[DeeJayEndo]

@UnCL0NED true good point. However I'm glad I put the exporting in the video because a lot of people don't know you can do this. - Endo

[MustHearMetallica]

to bad traktor kills my pc.

everytime i started it after i installed i get a BSOD. also when i start Virtual DJ

but only when i have traktor installed :P

[DeeJayEndo]

@MustHearMetallica you just said it yourself "also when I start Virtual DJ". Its not a problem with Traktor. Its a problem with your computer. Trust me.

[MustHearMetallica]

@DeeJayEndo yeah but when i dont have Traktor installed Virtual Dj is working fine

[DeeJayEndo]

@MustHearMetallica I would contact Native Instruments tech support and tell them about your problem. Maybe there's a reason why this is happening.

[missmixxer]

HUM.....

[Alexvlastaras]

Traktor's auto-gain is far from accurate anyway and pre-arranging the tracks in ableton like he did (each track on a different audio track) is just bad workflow. Why are YOU teaching people?

[DeeJayEndo]

@Alexvlastaras Actually Traktors autogain is VERY accurate unless your dealing with Acapellas or Vinyl rips, or tracks that are mastered very poorly. I put each track on its own Audio track so I can have more room to do re-edits of each track and so I can edit the volume fader for each separate track rather than drawing it in. There's different ways to skin a cat dude.

[rubiboy90]

im sorry but im just starting into this what is gain for?

[Bildabong123]

@rubiboy90 Volume differences in songs, some may be very loud compared to others, which may be really soft, the gain helps to make all songs about the same level of noise, hence making more smoother mixes ;)

[djkrypto1103]

is it the same with PC?

[DeeJayEndo]

@djkrypto1103 Yes it is the same for PC

[kuyomayasaka]

lol ok never thought about this

You could also use your ears , but I guess that's old fashioned hahaha

When you always let the program decide you will never get a feeling for it.

Besides sometimes you would intentionaly make it louder.

Not a bad idea tho if you really want to even it out , but if you already use a limiter on each channel and master in ableton you can just visualy push it near the max which is much faster.

[Djcol1990]

how did you get traktor to get key in numeric code example 1A ect, i got mixed in key 2.5 but it only puts the key in the comment section

[DeeJayEndo]

@Djcol1990 in mixed in key click on "View" at the top and choose "Key System" - "Camelot Keys". You should upgrade to the latest version of Mixed in Key. 2.5 isn't accurate. You can also go into the preferences and choose where you want mixed in key to write the keys into (e.x. Traktor's 'initial key' aka Key field, Before Comments, Overwrite Comments, Before artist name, before track name etc.) I choose comments and initial key tag

[13lacknight]

A much better/easier way of doing this is to use Platinum Notes. If you have a spare $98, you can analyse all your traks to the same average volume (approximately -13db). Be warned though it can take a while if your analysing hundreds of tracks. When I used it for the first time it took about 15hrs to analyse about 500 tracks (left the computer to do it over night). It was worth it.

[DeeJayEndo]

@13lacknight I don't trust platinum notes. It adds too much compression sometimes. No sense re "mastering" a track thats already mastered. I just use platinum notes on old low quality tracks or vinyl rips

[DubSpot]

@DeeJayEndo I agree with Endo here, if something has already been mastered then adding another layer of mastering will make it sound worse not better. Also PN claims to do things like fix digital clipping which just seems unlikely to me.

[13lacknight]

@DeeJayEndo Ive been testing out Pro 2 and find that there is an audible sound difference between tracks analysed in PN and tracks that aren't. PN analysed tracks sound really flat. Probably down to the volume adjust.

[DeeJayEndo]

@13lacknight do NOT use Platinum notes. It will ruin your music! Only use Platinum notes on tracks that are TERRIBLE quality. It will remaster already mastered tracks. Stay Awayyyyy! 

[13lacknight]

@DeeJayEndo Lesson learnt.

[djradbit]

Thanks for the video. I have a question on the traktor. Why is the key of the track is shown as a wheel of Camelot? How do I do the same? I have version 1.2.7 of the traktor.

Sorry for my English, I used a translator.

[DubSpot]

@djradbit the camelot wheel number is found using Mixed in Key, a third party program. Check out the Harmonic Mixing tutorial on our channel.

[djradbit]

@DubSpot Thx!

[yann27]

i've tried this and doesn't work for me some tracks still sound a little less than others like 4 example the bass doesn't come out enough compared to other tracks

[DubSpot]

@yann27 that may be down to differences in the mixes between the two tracks. For that you're going to want to use EQ. This method only addresses volume.

[fdr100100]

@DubSpot can you actully make mixes with this program i dont mean mix songs i mean like if i wanted to make a 45 min mix for cd etc

[DeeJayEndo]

@fdr100100 Yes, you can make DJ Mixes in Ableton. A lot of professional DJ mixes that are sold in stores are made in Ableton Live

[techthrow]

Also, you're tabbing in and out between Ableton and your list. You might as well just tab between Ableton and Traktor. Same thing.

[KumpdeeDumpdee]

Not to hate Dubspot or anything, but this is stupid... it would be way easier to adjust the clip volumes manually, unless your hearing impaired...

[techthrow]

@KumpdeeDumpdee Agreed, and Traktor's auto-gain isn't always to be trusted, IMO.

[ProofNZ]

Err.. this is somehow quicker than using your ears?

I use it as a quick reference point - but would still actually, like, listen to tunes to tweak relative levels.

Is the auto-gain referencing to Peak or RMS? I would assume peak, which again, is only going to make it an estimate..

[DubSpot]

Thanks to all who commented. This is definitely not the ONLY way to achieve good levels in a mix, just a tip that Endo uses and you may find useful.

[SuperPanthour]

Dam traktor is so much beter than serato, to bad I own my serato =(

Can this be done with Serato?

[DubSpot]

@SuperPanthour you should check out The Bridge at Serato's site. It offers some great integration features between Serato and Ableton, especially for making mixtapes.

[slackmode83]

complex pro is definitely NOT the best sounding.

[yann27]

@slackmode83

but with complex pro the pitch says the same as normal and u can

mix in key ;)

[slackmode83]

@yann27 you can mix in key with any warp setting, you just have fewer options lol.

complex pro introduces a lot of artifacts (thus sounds like sh!t) even at the file's original tempo.

personally i prefer to use repitch, as i feel it sounds much better for this sort of thing. this way you can still mix in key, but it's a little more "finesse" and a little less "ham-fisted" which is mainly the difference between a Dj, and a kid a with laptop.. but that's just my two cents.

[DjPc3]

That seems hella complicated and time consuming to do that for every track... I'd rather just use Traktor to make my mix... and if I mess up, use Albeton (or Maschine or Audicity) to fix the mess up

[xlingk]

couldn't you just put a limiter / compressor setup to do this for you? or, if you don't have traktor, couldn't you export the tracks and click the normalize button? than reload them back into live?

[DubSpot]

@xlingk applying a limiter/compressor is going to change the sound a bit more if you don't do this, having your levels set precisely as a starting point will help you to avoid OVER compressing.

[miksy92]

interesting solution, yet you're not using traktor's built-in auto-gain re-wired to ableton, you're just "copying" the velocity...

+1 because I didn't think of that earlier... :D

[draxx1200]

good stuff!