Serato DJ Pro General Discussion
Is there something completely wrong with SDJ's sound engine?
Talk about Serato DJ Pro, expansion packs and supported hardware
Is there something completely wrong with SDJ's sound engine?
DJVaage
2:37 AM - 18 September, 2013
Hi all!
I have quite recently made the leap from CD's to Digital DJing, using Pioneer's DDJ-SX.
I remember when I saw the first presentations of this controller and thought that now the time seems to be right to make the transition to digital DJing and leaving the world of CDs behind.
I have got to say, the DDJ-SX is a really good piece of hardware and I can't say anything negative about it. My problems however arise with the software I'm "forced" to use.
From earlier I own a smaller controller from Hercules which I did not use professionally but just for testing out at home when I started looking into the potential for digital DJing. This controller was made for Virtual DJ so that's the only DJ software I had prior experience with before moving onto serato. Hercules RMX Console + VDJ worked quite good together and it was really easy to beatmatch and set auto loops (99% of the time the auto loops were perfect).
As I come from a world of CDJs, I'm used to manually setting my loops and when I got my first experience with VDJ's autoloops, I thought to myself "wow great, now I can spend more time on doing cool transitions instead of adjusting loops that are just a few frames off".
Now when I've finally taken the step into Digital DJing with DDJ-SX and Serato, I was hoping this past experience would pass on to Serato. Sadly, I feel I'm more busy on the decks with Serato than I was with CDJs. Auto Loops are nowhere near as good as they are in VDJ as they often go wrong by some frames. Even when I'm not looping and have matched the BPM's between the players, songs still slip apart.
I have noticed that neither the Pitch or BPM show more than 1 decimal which also makes the adjusting of the pitch quite sloppy as it does not matter if my pitch is set to 6% or 50%.
No matter what range I use, I can't adjust the tempo with anything smaller than .1 even though there are 10 increments between each decimal point.
Yesterday I was mixing a bit and I had two songs that just simply would not match. I even tapped in the BPM to make sure that it would be correct. The loop kept slipping out and even without looping, the tracks would not match.
I believe the root of the problem here must be the BPM and Pitch control not being precise enough. To test this even further I decided to activate the Sync in case the sync function would "see" the bpm information that I can't because I only see 1 decimal. Even the sync could not beatmatch these two songs. Obviously there MUST be something wrong here.
Because of all this frustration, I have started looking into the possibilities of using other software as I have read a lot about people mapping the DDJ-SX for other software such as VDJ and Traktor. I just tested out Traktor with the controller and tried mixing together the same two songs that I could not match with Serato. With Traktor, this worked as a dream and without me needing to use any Sync function as the pitch and bpm displays are much more accurate. So now I feel quite frustrated over that Serato can't do the same and obviously there is nothing wrong with the hardware. Even though the controller works with Traktor, it still has so many changed midi mappings that I still feel it is a half way solution.
Has anybody else had to deal with the same kind of problems?
Is there anybody in the Serato Team who can confirm they will take care of this in the near future?
I have quite recently made the leap from CD's to Digital DJing, using Pioneer's DDJ-SX.
I remember when I saw the first presentations of this controller and thought that now the time seems to be right to make the transition to digital DJing and leaving the world of CDs behind.
I have got to say, the DDJ-SX is a really good piece of hardware and I can't say anything negative about it. My problems however arise with the software I'm "forced" to use.
From earlier I own a smaller controller from Hercules which I did not use professionally but just for testing out at home when I started looking into the potential for digital DJing. This controller was made for Virtual DJ so that's the only DJ software I had prior experience with before moving onto serato. Hercules RMX Console + VDJ worked quite good together and it was really easy to beatmatch and set auto loops (99% of the time the auto loops were perfect).
As I come from a world of CDJs, I'm used to manually setting my loops and when I got my first experience with VDJ's autoloops, I thought to myself "wow great, now I can spend more time on doing cool transitions instead of adjusting loops that are just a few frames off".
Now when I've finally taken the step into Digital DJing with DDJ-SX and Serato, I was hoping this past experience would pass on to Serato. Sadly, I feel I'm more busy on the decks with Serato than I was with CDJs. Auto Loops are nowhere near as good as they are in VDJ as they often go wrong by some frames. Even when I'm not looping and have matched the BPM's between the players, songs still slip apart.
I have noticed that neither the Pitch or BPM show more than 1 decimal which also makes the adjusting of the pitch quite sloppy as it does not matter if my pitch is set to 6% or 50%.
No matter what range I use, I can't adjust the tempo with anything smaller than .1 even though there are 10 increments between each decimal point.
Yesterday I was mixing a bit and I had two songs that just simply would not match. I even tapped in the BPM to make sure that it would be correct. The loop kept slipping out and even without looping, the tracks would not match.
I believe the root of the problem here must be the BPM and Pitch control not being precise enough. To test this even further I decided to activate the Sync in case the sync function would "see" the bpm information that I can't because I only see 1 decimal. Even the sync could not beatmatch these two songs. Obviously there MUST be something wrong here.
Because of all this frustration, I have started looking into the possibilities of using other software as I have read a lot about people mapping the DDJ-SX for other software such as VDJ and Traktor. I just tested out Traktor with the controller and tried mixing together the same two songs that I could not match with Serato. With Traktor, this worked as a dream and without me needing to use any Sync function as the pitch and bpm displays are much more accurate. So now I feel quite frustrated over that Serato can't do the same and obviously there is nothing wrong with the hardware. Even though the controller works with Traktor, it still has so many changed midi mappings that I still feel it is a half way solution.
Has anybody else had to deal with the same kind of problems?
Is there anybody in the Serato Team who can confirm they will take care of this in the near future?
nojretlas
12:58 PM - 18 September, 2013
How about just adjust the pitch manually when it rolls off a bit.....ah the good old days when DJ's had to actually listen to a mix!
DJVaage
1:13 PM - 18 September, 2013
nojretlas: I know how to use my ears. I've been manually mixing my whole career and I know to trust my ears more than the bpm counter. Why is it that everytime a problem like this is discussed on the forum there is always someone telling them to use their ears instead of trying to figure out the root of the problem? I'm not deaf and I always listen to my mix and manually change the pitch control. Back in the old days when we were using vinyls it was all manual and ANALOG. With that kind of technology, I'm sure the pitch control was more precise. Now with SDJ, I get a feeling that the pitch is not precise enough so no matter how much I work with it, I won't ever get a perfect match if the pitch for example needs to be 2.32%. With serato the pitch would either be 2.1% 2.2% 2.3% or 2.4%. Do you see where I'm going with this? If the software has not been coded for the pitch to be that fine tuned, it won't help to "manually changing the pitch and listening to the mix". You will find yourself constantly changing the pitch to compensate for the tracks slipping apart and yoy will never hit that perfect pitch setting as it does not seem to exist in serato.
nojretlas
1:18 PM - 18 September, 2013
I do see your point, I guess I have never ran into a problem or maybe I am just so accustom to changing the pitch manually I don't notice it.
DJVaage
1:38 PM - 18 September, 2013
I am accustomed to changing the pitch manually and I have ALWAYS done it manually. That's the way I've learned to beatmatch. The pitch on older gear I've worked on, works on a smaller scale and allows me to move the pitch just a millimeter to really fine tune the tempo. With serato, these small adjustments either does nothing to the pitch or does too much so I can't set the pitch to the perfect setting.
DJ Quartz
1:42 PM - 18 September, 2013
It takes some adjusting, I spin with Turntables and NS7FX.
It took a bit of practice to get used to the pitch on the NS7FX.
It took a bit of practice to get used to the pitch on the NS7FX.
DJVaage
5:56 PM - 18 September, 2013
Sure it takes time getting used to new gear but as I wrote in the first post of this thread. Trying to mix to certain songs together in serato was next to impossible as I could not set the pitch in the right spot. Trying to mix together the same two songs using Traktor and still using the same controller (DDJ-SX), worked as a dream in comparison. I could quickly beatmatch them and set the right pitch.
So to me this really comes down to software and how that software treats the pitch as I got two different results with two different softwares while using the same hardware.
Just take a look at this picture of a CDJ 1000
www.scavino.it
Notice how the bpm does not have decimals but the tempo display is as detailed as + 0.02%
In serato the pitch does not show the extra decimal (0.1% for example). I believe it is not even a simple UI issue. I believe serato does not even take into account the extra decimal, therefore making the pitch control less precise.
For the record, in Traktor, both the BPM and pitch display showed two decimals and moving my pitch a tiny bit would show smaller changes to the pitch in Traktor while on Serato it either does nothing or skips to far in change.
So to me this really comes down to software and how that software treats the pitch as I got two different results with two different softwares while using the same hardware.
Just take a look at this picture of a CDJ 1000
www.scavino.it
Notice how the bpm does not have decimals but the tempo display is as detailed as + 0.02%
In serato the pitch does not show the extra decimal (0.1% for example). I believe it is not even a simple UI issue. I believe serato does not even take into account the extra decimal, therefore making the pitch control less precise.
For the record, in Traktor, both the BPM and pitch display showed two decimals and moving my pitch a tiny bit would show smaller changes to the pitch in Traktor while on Serato it either does nothing or skips to far in change.
nojretlas
6:34 PM - 18 September, 2013
Should be an easy fix if they are so inclined to do something about it.
djemdub
1:11 AM - 19 September, 2013
I am assuming that you have beat grids on since youre using the auto loop functions. Have you reanalyzed your tracks?Did you check if the beat grids are set correctly?Sometimes they can be off, causing the bpm to display the wrong bpm, hence the songs slip away in mix. Im not sure if SSL has beat grids, that's why I ask. I dont know if youre familiar with the beat grids so if you're answer is that you know this information already, then i apologize.
signs
9:39 AM - 19 September, 2013
Hey DJVaage,
well I see your Point but i never expected this issue. Maybe it's a new bug in 1.3? The BPM and Pitchdisplay only get to .0 what is enough for my eyes. But i always got my Songs beatmatched, even if serato doesn't Show it, the small Pitch-Changes are used in the Software.... Maybe this is really a bug in 1.3. I only used my DDJ-SX once since 1.3.
Do you have the latest Firmware installed on your DDJ-SX? Maybe Pioneer changed something behind the Scenes.
well I see your Point but i never expected this issue. Maybe it's a new bug in 1.3? The BPM and Pitchdisplay only get to .0 what is enough for my eyes. But i always got my Songs beatmatched, even if serato doesn't Show it, the small Pitch-Changes are used in the Software.... Maybe this is really a bug in 1.3. I only used my DDJ-SX once since 1.3.
Do you have the latest Firmware installed on your DDJ-SX? Maybe Pioneer changed something behind the Scenes.
DJVaage
7:10 PM - 19 September, 2013
djemdub:
I am aware of beatgrids and all my songs are analyzed for it. I am not using beatgrids though as I experienced this to cause more problems for me than it solves in terms of my songs slipped even easier apart due to beatgrids that were not correctly set. Honestly I am lazy to manually set beatgrids for my entire library and a lot of the songs I need to play during most of my gigs are songs from before the era of drum machines and the beatgrids are pretty much impossible for me to get right even we I tried manually adjusting them. Other software I've used does not use beatgrids and I don't see why I need to use beatgrids in order to do simple beatmatching and looping as this works perfectly fine in other software without beatgrids. I do understand that beatgrids probably start making a lot of sense when a DJ is doing 4 deck mixing + sampling and mashups, but as I have not entered this arena, I don't see the need for beatgrids at the moment.
signs:
To me it does not matter too much if I see the pitch change visually or not. What does matter is what's happening behind the scenes and as far as I can tell, Serato does not work with a pitch resolution where it takes into account .01 .02 .03 .04 etc.
Even ordinary CDJs takes this into account and as I've stated earlier, using the same hardware controller with two different softwares did give me different results and in Traktor I could both see and hear that subtle changes to the pitch control does matter.
I am also using the latest firmware for the DDJ-SX. I believe the firmware isn't necessarily the problem as I've used the same controller with the same firmware version with Traktor and gotten a higher resolution on the pitch.
I am aware of beatgrids and all my songs are analyzed for it. I am not using beatgrids though as I experienced this to cause more problems for me than it solves in terms of my songs slipped even easier apart due to beatgrids that were not correctly set. Honestly I am lazy to manually set beatgrids for my entire library and a lot of the songs I need to play during most of my gigs are songs from before the era of drum machines and the beatgrids are pretty much impossible for me to get right even we I tried manually adjusting them. Other software I've used does not use beatgrids and I don't see why I need to use beatgrids in order to do simple beatmatching and looping as this works perfectly fine in other software without beatgrids. I do understand that beatgrids probably start making a lot of sense when a DJ is doing 4 deck mixing + sampling and mashups, but as I have not entered this arena, I don't see the need for beatgrids at the moment.
signs:
To me it does not matter too much if I see the pitch change visually or not. What does matter is what's happening behind the scenes and as far as I can tell, Serato does not work with a pitch resolution where it takes into account .01 .02 .03 .04 etc.
Even ordinary CDJs takes this into account and as I've stated earlier, using the same hardware controller with two different softwares did give me different results and in Traktor I could both see and hear that subtle changes to the pitch control does matter.
I am also using the latest firmware for the DDJ-SX. I believe the firmware isn't necessarily the problem as I've used the same controller with the same firmware version with Traktor and gotten a higher resolution on the pitch.
djemdub
5:05 AM - 20 September, 2013
I am aware of beatgrids and all my songs are analyzed for it. I am not using beatgrids though as I experienced this to cause more problems for me than it solves in terms of my songs slipped even easier apart due to beatgrids that were not correctly set. Honestly I am lazy to manually set beatgrids for my entire library and a lot of the songs I need to play during most of my gigs are songs from before the era of drum machines and the beatgrids are pretty much impossible for me to get right even we I tried manually adjusting them. Other software I've used does not use beatgrids and I don't see why I need to use beatgrids in order to do simple beatmatching and looping as this works perfectly fine in other software without beatgrids. I do understand that beatgrids probably start making a lot of sense when a DJ is doing 4 deck mixing + sampling and mashups, but as I have not entered this arena, I don't see the need for beatgrids at the moment.
signs:
To me it does not matter too much if I see the pitch change visually or not. What does matter is what's happening behind the scenes and as far as I can tell, Serato does not work with a pitch resolution where it takes into account .01 .02 .03 .04 etc.
Even ordinary CDJs takes this into account and as I've stated earlier, using the same hardware controller with two different softwares did give me different results and in Traktor I could both see and hear that subtle changes to the pitch control does matter.
I am also using the latest firmware for the DDJ-SX. I believe the firmware isn't necessarily the problem as I've used the same controller with the same firmware version with Traktor and gotten a higher resolution on the pitch.
I see your point. I mainly spin hip hop and edm so i never see the songs slip away from each other. The beatgrids are most useful for smart sync. Maybe the algorithm for detecting the beats per minutes is wrong or not accurate for the music you spin?
Quote:
djemdub:I am aware of beatgrids and all my songs are analyzed for it. I am not using beatgrids though as I experienced this to cause more problems for me than it solves in terms of my songs slipped even easier apart due to beatgrids that were not correctly set. Honestly I am lazy to manually set beatgrids for my entire library and a lot of the songs I need to play during most of my gigs are songs from before the era of drum machines and the beatgrids are pretty much impossible for me to get right even we I tried manually adjusting them. Other software I've used does not use beatgrids and I don't see why I need to use beatgrids in order to do simple beatmatching and looping as this works perfectly fine in other software without beatgrids. I do understand that beatgrids probably start making a lot of sense when a DJ is doing 4 deck mixing + sampling and mashups, but as I have not entered this arena, I don't see the need for beatgrids at the moment.
signs:
To me it does not matter too much if I see the pitch change visually or not. What does matter is what's happening behind the scenes and as far as I can tell, Serato does not work with a pitch resolution where it takes into account .01 .02 .03 .04 etc.
Even ordinary CDJs takes this into account and as I've stated earlier, using the same hardware controller with two different softwares did give me different results and in Traktor I could both see and hear that subtle changes to the pitch control does matter.
I am also using the latest firmware for the DDJ-SX. I believe the firmware isn't necessarily the problem as I've used the same controller with the same firmware version with Traktor and gotten a higher resolution on the pitch.
I see your point. I mainly spin hip hop and edm so i never see the songs slip away from each other. The beatgrids are most useful for smart sync. Maybe the algorithm for detecting the beats per minutes is wrong or not accurate for the music you spin?
DJVaage
12:29 PM - 20 September, 2013
When needed, I manually tap in the bpm to correct any wrong calculation on that side (if the bpm clearly is 128 but it's calculated to 64 for example).
When using other software and changing the pitch very very slightly, I do get feedback from that software on these small changes. With Serato, either nothing happens to the pitch or it goes much higher than it would with other software so I strongly believe that the algorithm for pitch bending is not coded for the "industry standard".
There is even a thread under "Feature suggestions" about this topic.
serato.com
acemc's post in this thread is really spot on about what the problem is.
When using other software and changing the pitch very very slightly, I do get feedback from that software on these small changes. With Serato, either nothing happens to the pitch or it goes much higher than it would with other software so I strongly believe that the algorithm for pitch bending is not coded for the "industry standard".
There is even a thread under "Feature suggestions" about this topic.
serato.com
acemc's post in this thread is really spot on about what the problem is.
MichaelVersteeg
8:19 PM - 21 September, 2013
First of all, correctly set your beatgrids for good autolooping, it probably sorts out most if not all your problems. Does not help beatmatching but does help looping. I know it takes a lot of time and everything, but especially with the kind of songs you talk about it helps a lot. Tip: set manual beatmarkers with the 'x' key.
For beatmatching: when in trouble, focus on the closest 'rounded' bpm. What I mean by this is you just have to be careful to set for example 125 at exactly 125. Ride that pitchfader from 124-something carefully till it ticks over to 125. Rinse and repeat for the song coming in. Serato software does take in account the decimals but just doesn't show them (it did for Itch and Serato DJ is based on Itch)
Hope that helps.
For beatmatching: when in trouble, focus on the closest 'rounded' bpm. What I mean by this is you just have to be careful to set for example 125 at exactly 125. Ride that pitchfader from 124-something carefully till it ticks over to 125. Rinse and repeat for the song coming in. Serato software does take in account the decimals but just doesn't show them (it did for Itch and Serato DJ is based on Itch)
Hope that helps.
DJVaage
1:26 AM - 22 September, 2013
MichaleVersteeg:
I appreciate your help :-)
Unfortunately I have to say it does not work :-/
When it comes to beatmatching, I am quite accustomed to the way of working as you describe but with serato and certain songs, I can end up riding that pitch forever as I can never hit the perfect spot (this is even when I'm not looping). If Serato truly does take into account the decimals for the pitch (which I still don't believe it does) it must be really sloppy. If I move the pitch just a millimeter (maybe not even that much) with the lowest pitch range set, the pitch changes by .1 (.10). If the software does take into account these decimals, it still must be rounding it up.
I've tried Itch and I have seen that these minimal changes to the pitch would only affect it like maybe .03 and it does make a huge difference when beatmatching to have this level of detail with the pitch.
I would like to think that Serato DJ is based on Itch as Itch was also made for MIDI controllers but I have a feeling that Serato DJ is not built on the same source code. I think that the developer team has started completely from scratch with their code for Serato DJ.
If Serato DJ is truly based on the code for Itch, I find it strange that so many features from Itch are missing (I have seen numerous feature requests on the forum that users are missing from Itc) as well as many small "child diseases"
Even here is another thread regarding the BPM which is also to me directly connected to the pitch:
serato.com
So it should be quite obvious that I'm not the only one who has noticed this issue.
And I would really appreciate if anybody from the Serato developer team or anyone who can speak on their behalf who reads this thread could confirm if what I'm suspecting is true or false.
I appreciate your help :-)
Unfortunately I have to say it does not work :-/
When it comes to beatmatching, I am quite accustomed to the way of working as you describe but with serato and certain songs, I can end up riding that pitch forever as I can never hit the perfect spot (this is even when I'm not looping). If Serato truly does take into account the decimals for the pitch (which I still don't believe it does) it must be really sloppy. If I move the pitch just a millimeter (maybe not even that much) with the lowest pitch range set, the pitch changes by .1 (.10). If the software does take into account these decimals, it still must be rounding it up.
I've tried Itch and I have seen that these minimal changes to the pitch would only affect it like maybe .03 and it does make a huge difference when beatmatching to have this level of detail with the pitch.
I would like to think that Serato DJ is based on Itch as Itch was also made for MIDI controllers but I have a feeling that Serato DJ is not built on the same source code. I think that the developer team has started completely from scratch with their code for Serato DJ.
If Serato DJ is truly based on the code for Itch, I find it strange that so many features from Itch are missing (I have seen numerous feature requests on the forum that users are missing from Itc) as well as many small "child diseases"
Even here is another thread regarding the BPM which is also to me directly connected to the pitch:
serato.com
So it should be quite obvious that I'm not the only one who has noticed this issue.
And I would really appreciate if anybody from the Serato developer team or anyone who can speak on their behalf who reads this thread could confirm if what I'm suspecting is true or false.
Mark Quest
5:09 PM - 22 September, 2013
Which Sync mode are you using? Simple or Smart? One matches tempo regardless of BPM, the other matches up the beatgrids.
The BPM's are actually 000.00 in the software, yet only represented by 000.0 onscreen. This has been a ppont of contention for sometime now & Serato are well aware of it. If you hang around until 1.5 gets released, you will be pleased to find out that they will show the extra decimal place.
It's frustrating & time consuming, but you need to really make sure your beatgrids are accurate the whole way thru the songs you plan on playing the most. Changing the BPM range to the closest range you plan on analysing will help also. You can manually enter BPM's also, and as long as the beatgrids are matched, it wont interfere with the tack or do anything weird.
At the end of the day, it IS possible to just beatmatch manually without looking at the screen & ensuring the BPM's match (well, visually anyway), just like we did when everything was analog & we were lucky to have BPM counter on the mixer haha - and just simply because this is possible, it shows that the software isn't rounding up.
The BPM's are actually 000.00 in the software, yet only represented by 000.0 onscreen. This has been a ppont of contention for sometime now & Serato are well aware of it. If you hang around until 1.5 gets released, you will be pleased to find out that they will show the extra decimal place.
It's frustrating & time consuming, but you need to really make sure your beatgrids are accurate the whole way thru the songs you plan on playing the most. Changing the BPM range to the closest range you plan on analysing will help also. You can manually enter BPM's also, and as long as the beatgrids are matched, it wont interfere with the tack or do anything weird.
At the end of the day, it IS possible to just beatmatch manually without looking at the screen & ensuring the BPM's match (well, visually anyway), just like we did when everything was analog & we were lucky to have BPM counter on the mixer haha - and just simply because this is possible, it shows that the software isn't rounding up.
DJVaage
10:21 PM - 22 September, 2013
Mark Quest:
I'm using Simple Sync. I come from a background where I'm used to beatmatching with my ears without looking at any BPM values. I still find it surprising that I can more easily beatmatch and set manual perfect loops that don't slip apart using CDJs.
If Serato is taking into account the extra decimals, why does the pitch value change so quickly (even with the lowest pitch range set)?
If it simply did not show the extra decimal, I would expect it to take a bit more movement with the pitch fader to reach for example +0.1%. If there is 10 increments in between 0.0 and 0.1, I would believe it's taken into account if I had to move the pitch slider further than barely 1 millimeter.
I know everyone is talking about setting proper beatgrids, but back when I'm using CDJs, I can't imagine those are using any beatgrids and I managed to loop and beatmatch with these devices just fine so I don't understand why it shouldn't be possible to do the same in Serato with simple sync.
I'm using Simple Sync. I come from a background where I'm used to beatmatching with my ears without looking at any BPM values. I still find it surprising that I can more easily beatmatch and set manual perfect loops that don't slip apart using CDJs.
If Serato is taking into account the extra decimals, why does the pitch value change so quickly (even with the lowest pitch range set)?
If it simply did not show the extra decimal, I would expect it to take a bit more movement with the pitch fader to reach for example +0.1%. If there is 10 increments in between 0.0 and 0.1, I would believe it's taken into account if I had to move the pitch slider further than barely 1 millimeter.
I know everyone is talking about setting proper beatgrids, but back when I'm using CDJs, I can't imagine those are using any beatgrids and I managed to loop and beatmatch with these devices just fine so I don't understand why it shouldn't be possible to do the same in Serato with simple sync.
signs
8:17 AM - 23 September, 2013
short tipp: double klick the BPM field of the track in the library an press control + arrow up to double or control + arrow down to half
Quote:
if the bpm clearly is 128 but it's calculated to 64 for example).short tipp: double klick the BPM field of the track in the library an press control + arrow up to double or control + arrow down to half
DJVaage
4:29 PM - 23 September, 2013
signs:
Sorry for giving such a bad example regarding tapping in bpm manually. I often make use of mixing songs together that are either half or double the bpm of each others (I would know it is possible to beatmatch 128 vs 64 bpm)
I really appreciate your tip for quickly doubling/dividing the bpm as I didn't know about this trick and I'm sure it can be useful :-)
When I made the original example I should have said the song is analyzed to f.eks. 109 bpm when it really should be 120bpm (in this case doubling or dividing the bpm value won't do) and I have to manually tap it in.
Sorry for giving such a bad example regarding tapping in bpm manually. I often make use of mixing songs together that are either half or double the bpm of each others (I would know it is possible to beatmatch 128 vs 64 bpm)
I really appreciate your tip for quickly doubling/dividing the bpm as I didn't know about this trick and I'm sure it can be useful :-)
When I made the original example I should have said the song is analyzed to f.eks. 109 bpm when it really should be 120bpm (in this case doubling or dividing the bpm value won't do) and I have to manually tap it in.
signs
9:03 PM - 23 September, 2013
Yes. I just wanted to tell you that tip.
Tapping in of course isn't really accurate.
but i think thats not really necessary for you, because you don't want to use sync.
can you tell me two tracks you aren't able to beatmatch? I will try it.
i think serato has to say something about the resolutoion of the pitch.
Tapping in of course isn't really accurate.
but i think thats not really necessary for you, because you don't want to use sync.
can you tell me two tracks you aren't able to beatmatch? I will try it.
i think serato has to say something about the resolutoion of the pitch.
nik39
6:37 AM - 24 September, 2013
Well... it's not a hidden/unknown trick as this is a part of the user manual ;)
Quote:
I really appreciate your tip for quickly doubling/dividing the bpm as I didn't know about this trick and I'm sure it can be useful :-)Well... it's not a hidden/unknown trick as this is a part of the user manual ;)
DJVaage
11:23 PM - 25 September, 2013
signs:
Yes I agree that tapping it in isn't really accurate either but if the software hasn't managed to analyze the tracks correctly and set a wrong bpm by 10 or 20 units, tapping the bpm in manually will at least get me a lot closer to the correct number.
The tracks I have been referring to are:
Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit]
Jiva - I Realized
I was trying to mix from Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit] to Jiva - I Realized.
This was in a set where I had a goal to keep 128 bpm all the way through.
It's of course not completely impossible to mix these two tracks together, I can beatmatch them but it will result in me being busy on the jogwheel with Jiva - I Realized until the transition is complete. It is next to impossible to find the perfect spot for the pitch slider using SDJ. I had no problem with this if I used Traktor, VDJ or Cross DJ with the same Controller (DDJ-SX).
I tried sync with these tracks just to test to see if the sync could do something I could not (like the sync function is working with something behind the scenes which makes it able to set the perfect pitch). Using sync did not help, it did a worse job than I can myself which is a major reason to why I don't use sync. I don't have much against sync as I can see the usage for this with the DJ's doing 4 deck mixing it is important that stuff stays on beat so they can focus on the mix itself. Using sync however, does take away my control over the pitch and makes me completely dependent on the software and that the software has properly analyzed the music. If there is an error in this area, then using sync is a train wreck waiting to happen which is why I prefer to stay in control manually.
Yes I agree that tapping it in isn't really accurate either but if the software hasn't managed to analyze the tracks correctly and set a wrong bpm by 10 or 20 units, tapping the bpm in manually will at least get me a lot closer to the correct number.
The tracks I have been referring to are:
Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit]
Jiva - I Realized
I was trying to mix from Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit] to Jiva - I Realized.
This was in a set where I had a goal to keep 128 bpm all the way through.
It's of course not completely impossible to mix these two tracks together, I can beatmatch them but it will result in me being busy on the jogwheel with Jiva - I Realized until the transition is complete. It is next to impossible to find the perfect spot for the pitch slider using SDJ. I had no problem with this if I used Traktor, VDJ or Cross DJ with the same Controller (DDJ-SX).
I tried sync with these tracks just to test to see if the sync could do something I could not (like the sync function is working with something behind the scenes which makes it able to set the perfect pitch). Using sync did not help, it did a worse job than I can myself which is a major reason to why I don't use sync. I don't have much against sync as I can see the usage for this with the DJ's doing 4 deck mixing it is important that stuff stays on beat so they can focus on the mix itself. Using sync however, does take away my control over the pitch and makes me completely dependent on the software and that the software has properly analyzed the music. If there is an error in this area, then using sync is a train wreck waiting to happen which is why I prefer to stay in control manually.
signs
9:02 AM - 26 September, 2013
I tried sync with these tracks just to test to see if the sync could do something I could not (like the sync function is working with something behind the scenes which makes it able to set the perfect pitch). Using sync did not help, it did a worse job than I can myself which is a major reason to why I don't use sync. I don't have much against sync as I can see the usage for this with the DJ's doing 4 deck mixing it is important that stuff stays on beat so they can focus on the mix itself. Using sync however, does take away my control over the pitch and makes me completely dependent on the software and that the software has properly analyzed the music. If there is an error in this area, then using sync is a train wreck waiting to happen which is why I prefer to stay in control manually.
Well, I don't use SYNC, too. It's boring to use that. Simple Sync doesn't work pretty good. At least if you tapped in your BPM. When useing SmartSync, you will get the beatgrids and can adjust the BPM really really acurate. If you want to test this, then here is a "How To": serato.com
But back to the Topic. I think SERATO has to say something about your issue, now. If they really don't use 0,00 Resolution for the Pitch. Or what there is wrong.
Quote:
I tried sync with these tracks just to test to see if the sync could do something I could not (like the sync function is working with something behind the scenes which makes it able to set the perfect pitch). Using sync did not help, it did a worse job than I can myself which is a major reason to why I don't use sync. I don't have much against sync as I can see the usage for this with the DJ's doing 4 deck mixing it is important that stuff stays on beat so they can focus on the mix itself. Using sync however, does take away my control over the pitch and makes me completely dependent on the software and that the software has properly analyzed the music. If there is an error in this area, then using sync is a train wreck waiting to happen which is why I prefer to stay in control manually.
Well, I don't use SYNC, too. It's boring to use that. Simple Sync doesn't work pretty good. At least if you tapped in your BPM. When useing SmartSync, you will get the beatgrids and can adjust the BPM really really acurate. If you want to test this, then here is a "How To": serato.com
But back to the Topic. I think SERATO has to say something about your issue, now. If they really don't use 0,00 Resolution for the Pitch. Or what there is wrong.
phatbob
1:44 PM - 26 September, 2013
Yes I agree that tapping it in isn't really accurate either but if the software hasn't managed to analyze the tracks correctly and set a wrong bpm by 10 or 20 units, tapping the bpm in manually will at least get me a lot closer to the correct number.
The tracks I have been referring to are:
Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit]
Jiva - I Realized
I was trying to mix from Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit] to Jiva - I Realized.
This was in a set where I had a goal to keep 128 bpm all the way through.
It's of course not completely impossible to mix these two tracks together, I can beatmatch them but it will result in me being busy on the jogwheel with Jiva - I Realized until the transition is complete. It is next to impossible to find the perfect spot for the pitch slider using SDJ. I had no problem with this if I used Traktor, VDJ or Cross DJ with the same Controller (DDJ-SX).
I tried sync with these tracks just to test to see if the sync could do something I could not (like the sync function is working with something behind the scenes which makes it able to set the perfect pitch). Using sync did not help, it did a worse job than I can myself which is a major reason to why I don't use sync. I don't have much against sync as I can see the usage for this with the DJ's doing 4 deck mixing it is important that stuff stays on beat so they can focus on the mix itself. Using sync however, does take away my control over the pitch and makes me completely dependent on the software and that the software has properly analyzed the music. If there is an error in this area, then using sync is a train wreck waiting to happen which is why I prefer to stay in control manually.
I just bought both of those tracks (good selections, it was worth it!), and they both beatgrid perfectly. Had to nudge the downbeat marker on Observer a little to the right, but after that it was dead on.
So whatever your issues with mixing them manually, I can't really understand why you'd have any problems syncing them. They sync just fine for me.
Quote:
signs:Yes I agree that tapping it in isn't really accurate either but if the software hasn't managed to analyze the tracks correctly and set a wrong bpm by 10 or 20 units, tapping the bpm in manually will at least get me a lot closer to the correct number.
The tracks I have been referring to are:
Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit]
Jiva - I Realized
I was trying to mix from Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit] to Jiva - I Realized.
This was in a set where I had a goal to keep 128 bpm all the way through.
It's of course not completely impossible to mix these two tracks together, I can beatmatch them but it will result in me being busy on the jogwheel with Jiva - I Realized until the transition is complete. It is next to impossible to find the perfect spot for the pitch slider using SDJ. I had no problem with this if I used Traktor, VDJ or Cross DJ with the same Controller (DDJ-SX).
I tried sync with these tracks just to test to see if the sync could do something I could not (like the sync function is working with something behind the scenes which makes it able to set the perfect pitch). Using sync did not help, it did a worse job than I can myself which is a major reason to why I don't use sync. I don't have much against sync as I can see the usage for this with the DJ's doing 4 deck mixing it is important that stuff stays on beat so they can focus on the mix itself. Using sync however, does take away my control over the pitch and makes me completely dependent on the software and that the software has properly analyzed the music. If there is an error in this area, then using sync is a train wreck waiting to happen which is why I prefer to stay in control manually.
I just bought both of those tracks (good selections, it was worth it!), and they both beatgrid perfectly. Had to nudge the downbeat marker on Observer a little to the right, but after that it was dead on.
So whatever your issues with mixing them manually, I can't really understand why you'd have any problems syncing them. They sync just fine for me.
signs
1:46 PM - 26 September, 2013
First: He uses SimpleSync (no Beatgrids). AND he tapped the BPM in.
Second: He want's to match them without Sync ;)
Quote:
So whatever your issues with mixing them manually, I can't really understand why you'd have any problems syncing them. They sync just fine for me.First: He uses SimpleSync (no Beatgrids). AND he tapped the BPM in.
Second: He want's to match them without Sync ;)
phatbob
1:51 PM - 26 September, 2013
Ok, but as the beatgrids analysed correctly for me, that means the BPM was analysed correctly by the software.
So overriding that by tapping in the BPM 'roughly' means that any info displayed on the screen is basically redundant, thus making mixing manually much harder than it needs to be.
So overriding that by tapping in the BPM 'roughly' means that any info displayed on the screen is basically redundant, thus making mixing manually much harder than it needs to be.
Sodom
6:41 PM - 26 September, 2013
I don`t want to use the whole sync blabla, but its not possible to get them synced manually! after about 10 seconds they are not synced anymore. if i sync them before and disable the sync. then its working manually! first i liked the software but after a while of using it, there are too many things that have to be changed!!! with my cdj`s the same tracks running perfect together so what the fu** ?
DJVaage
7:32 PM - 26 September, 2013
I feel like I need to pitch in here to correct some misunderstandings :-)
It is true that I'm using SimpleSync so I don't use beatgrids.
I did tap in the bpm manually to check if it was completely off but as tapping in the bpm was in the same range +/- 1 bpm, I re-analyzed the tracks with Serato and stayed with the default values given by Serato. When Traktor and Mixvibes also analyzed the tracks and came up with the same BPM (just with the extra detail of 2 decimals), I felt I could trust the Serato that it has analyzed the tracks correct. The problem however comes down to how the resolution is for bpm and pitch.
phatbob:
As I've already stated over, I don't use beatgrids as I come from a background of CDJs. If it so happens that CDJs do actually use beatgrids that would be interesting to know as I am convinced they don't have such a feature. With that in mind, I really don't see why I should be dependent on using beatgrids to beatmatch as I can manually beatmatch these two tracks on CDJs without any problems while I do have to work with the jogwheel constantly in SDJ until the transition is finished.
Sodom:
You are absolutely right, for me the tracks were in perfect sync for a very short time and then they slip apart if I'm on SDJ. With CDJs however, they sync perfectly once they're beatmatched.
Seems like you might have also experienced the same as me on this issue then.
Have you tried beatmatching these tracks with another software (Traktor, VDJ, Cross DJ) ?
It is true that I'm using SimpleSync so I don't use beatgrids.
I did tap in the bpm manually to check if it was completely off but as tapping in the bpm was in the same range +/- 1 bpm, I re-analyzed the tracks with Serato and stayed with the default values given by Serato. When Traktor and Mixvibes also analyzed the tracks and came up with the same BPM (just with the extra detail of 2 decimals), I felt I could trust the Serato that it has analyzed the tracks correct. The problem however comes down to how the resolution is for bpm and pitch.
phatbob:
As I've already stated over, I don't use beatgrids as I come from a background of CDJs. If it so happens that CDJs do actually use beatgrids that would be interesting to know as I am convinced they don't have such a feature. With that in mind, I really don't see why I should be dependent on using beatgrids to beatmatch as I can manually beatmatch these two tracks on CDJs without any problems while I do have to work with the jogwheel constantly in SDJ until the transition is finished.
Sodom:
You are absolutely right, for me the tracks were in perfect sync for a very short time and then they slip apart if I'm on SDJ. With CDJs however, they sync perfectly once they're beatmatched.
Seems like you might have also experienced the same as me on this issue then.
Have you tried beatmatching these tracks with another software (Traktor, VDJ, Cross DJ) ?
djstefy74
9:46 PM - 26 September, 2013
Hi DjVaage..the fun thing is that in Serato Itch(software version before Dj)the bpm are displayed with the cents..(128.32,130.25ecc)i'm using a Vci 300(after almost 18years of 1210's)and i'm little annoyed with some missing\feature of DJ,nothing critical but i hope that Serato's team solve these issues with the next release..
DJVaage
10:43 PM - 26 September, 2013
djstefy74:
Yes I've noticed that Itch seems to have a lot more of the features missing in SDJ. I don't have a compatible controller so all I've had the pleasure to see so far is the offline mode but I can even see interface solutions in Itch I wish existed in SDJ. The ones coming from Itch with controllers that are now supported with SDJ must feel really ripped off over their "free upgrade" to SDJ.
Yes I've noticed that Itch seems to have a lot more of the features missing in SDJ. I don't have a compatible controller so all I've had the pleasure to see so far is the offline mode but I can even see interface solutions in Itch I wish existed in SDJ. The ones coming from Itch with controllers that are now supported with SDJ must feel really ripped off over their "free upgrade" to SDJ.
Sodom
8:49 AM - 29 September, 2013
yes seems like the same problem and no haven`t tried with another software!
i opened a thread with this issue and paul from serato said they know this and try to fix this bug! so i am waiting.... mmmmmppff
i opened a thread with this issue and paul from serato said they know this and try to fix this bug! so i am waiting.... mmmmmppff
signs
11:04 AM - 29 September, 2013
hey DJVaage. Just another question because i'm not that familiar with Traktor.
What finest Pitchrange does Traktor offer? Has it +/-6% or +/-8%?
Midi only supports 128 Steps (8-bit) per Channel. The Pitchfader are used in 16-bit Mode. What means that you have one normal Channel and one "fine" channel. So the fine one goes from 0 to 127. If you move the Fader a bit more the fine jumps back to 0 and the normal channel jumps from 0 to 1. Now the fine channel starts again and goes from 0 to 127 and so on....
This means you have a total Resolution of 16bit (8bit * 8bit)--> 128*128= 16384 steps.
Soooo. for +/-8% Pitch range you have a Pitchresolution of 16%/16384 steps = 0,0009766% what means 0,125BPM when using a track with 128BPM.
If Traktor uses +/-6% Pitch you will get 12%/16384 = 0,0007324% what means 0,09375BPM when using a 128BPM track. What is defnitely more accurate.
This was just an Idea i had when i was mixing the last time with your Problem in mind. ;)
What finest Pitchrange does Traktor offer? Has it +/-6% or +/-8%?
Midi only supports 128 Steps (8-bit) per Channel. The Pitchfader are used in 16-bit Mode. What means that you have one normal Channel and one "fine" channel. So the fine one goes from 0 to 127. If you move the Fader a bit more the fine jumps back to 0 and the normal channel jumps from 0 to 1. Now the fine channel starts again and goes from 0 to 127 and so on....
This means you have a total Resolution of 16bit (8bit * 8bit)--> 128*128= 16384 steps.
Soooo. for +/-8% Pitch range you have a Pitchresolution of 16%/16384 steps = 0,0009766% what means 0,125BPM when using a track with 128BPM.
If Traktor uses +/-6% Pitch you will get 12%/16384 = 0,0007324% what means 0,09375BPM when using a 128BPM track. What is defnitely more accurate.
This was just an Idea i had when i was mixing the last time with your Problem in mind. ;)
signs
11:06 AM - 29 September, 2013
P.S. you can NOT compare this with CDJ's because they don't use MIDI for the Faders what means that they are MUCH more accureate! I think about 0,00001% (0,00128BPM) or something about that
Sodom
9:31 AM - 30 September, 2013
Hey there!! i got answer from serato:
Karl Y 12:41 PM - 27 September, 2013
Hi guys,
this is technically not a bug, but was a spec change.
I know that is not the answer you want to hear, but it may be good for you to know that this is being discussed based on the feedback we got since, and will potentially change back in a future version. I can't provide a date though.
As a workaround for now, if you don't want to match by ear and don't want to use sync either, i recommend the following
- On the target deck, move the pitch fader slightly until the last digit jumps, e.g from 90.0 to 90.1
- Move the pitch fader on the new deck until the same happens. They should now be as close as they can be. (For the new deck, this must be in the same direction, i.e. jumping from 90.0 to 90.1. NOT: jumping from 90.2 to 90.1)
The explanation why this workaround actually works is that we do track much finer pitch changes given that the hardware is capable of sending them. We only currently don't display them.
So you use the jumping of the one digit as a reference when you are close to the end of that pitch value. e.g. 90.07, 90.08, 90.09 (they all show as 90.0) , next value is 90.10 which will show as 90.1
I hope that is a little bandaid for you until the requested change makes it into a release.
Sorry i don't have better news so far.
I will close this one now as a feature request.
Cheers
Karl Y
Karl Y 12:41 PM - 27 September, 2013
Hi guys,
this is technically not a bug, but was a spec change.
I know that is not the answer you want to hear, but it may be good for you to know that this is being discussed based on the feedback we got since, and will potentially change back in a future version. I can't provide a date though.
As a workaround for now, if you don't want to match by ear and don't want to use sync either, i recommend the following
- On the target deck, move the pitch fader slightly until the last digit jumps, e.g from 90.0 to 90.1
- Move the pitch fader on the new deck until the same happens. They should now be as close as they can be. (For the new deck, this must be in the same direction, i.e. jumping from 90.0 to 90.1. NOT: jumping from 90.2 to 90.1)
The explanation why this workaround actually works is that we do track much finer pitch changes given that the hardware is capable of sending them. We only currently don't display them.
So you use the jumping of the one digit as a reference when you are close to the end of that pitch value. e.g. 90.07, 90.08, 90.09 (they all show as 90.0) , next value is 90.10 which will show as 90.1
I hope that is a little bandaid for you until the requested change makes it into a release.
Sorry i don't have better news so far.
I will close this one now as a feature request.
Cheers
Karl Y
bejay blaze
12:46 PM - 1 October, 2013
how can i adjust the pitch range with out adjusting the bpm on the pioneer ddj sx
Rhadesh
8:42 AM - 7 April, 2014
Do you think you are the only one that beatmatchs by ears???????? this is a software problem.... not ears problem..............
if this doesn´t bother you just forget it.......
Quote:
maybe use your ears more and not your eyes,Do you think you are the only one that beatmatchs by ears???????? this is a software problem.... not ears problem..............
if this doesn´t bother you just forget it.......
Mark Quest
2:02 PM - 7 April, 2014
so much face palm going on in this thread. especially with the name 'DjVag'
more like DJSandyVag, emirate? ;) lol
wonder if OP ever figured out how to beatmatch by ear & use pitch on the fly? Or got around to reading the manual & learning how to use the software? or is he still coming up with way more difficult than they need to be reasons as to why he can't do what he could on CDJ's?
more like DJSandyVag, emirate? ;) lol
wonder if OP ever figured out how to beatmatch by ear & use pitch on the fly? Or got around to reading the manual & learning how to use the software? or is he still coming up with way more difficult than they need to be reasons as to why he can't do what he could on CDJ's?
DJ Demolition
2:28 AM - 8 April, 2014
short tipp: double klick the BPM field of the track in the library an press control + arrow up to double or control + arrow down to half
Wow.., thanks for that tip. I never knew. There should be a button you could click on, but I've just been calculating the sum, and manually entering.
Quote:
Quote:
if the bpm clearly is 128 but it's calculated to 64 for example).short tipp: double klick the BPM field of the track in the library an press control + arrow up to double or control + arrow down to half
Wow.., thanks for that tip. I never knew. There should be a button you could click on, but I've just been calculating the sum, and manually entering.
DJVaage
8:08 AM - 8 July, 2014
Mark Quest.
I know how to beatmatch by ear and change my pitch on the fly as I have done this all my years as dj.
If you're so fucking skilled and blaming me for not being able to mix by ear, why don't you beatmatch these two tracks using a DDJ-SX with Serato:
Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit]
Jiva - I Realized
You are not allowed to set any beatgrids either. If you can successfully beatmatch these and keep them in sync for 2 full minutes without touching the platters or pitch, I will agree with you I'm doing something wrong. If you can't beatmatch this by ear then you might also realize that no matter how much you try to find that perfect pitch, you'll never find it and the tracks constantly drift apart.
I know how to beatmatch by ear and change my pitch on the fly as I have done this all my years as dj.
If you're so fucking skilled and blaming me for not being able to mix by ear, why don't you beatmatch these two tracks using a DDJ-SX with Serato:
Alankara, Jazzy D - Observer [2013 Edit]
Jiva - I Realized
You are not allowed to set any beatgrids either. If you can successfully beatmatch these and keep them in sync for 2 full minutes without touching the platters or pitch, I will agree with you I'm doing something wrong. If you can't beatmatch this by ear then you might also realize that no matter how much you try to find that perfect pitch, you'll never find it and the tracks constantly drift apart.
cheekyme
11:42 AM - 9 July, 2014
Hi Vaage
The problem is, the Jiva track is not a constant tempo (Alankara is). The tempo wavers throughout the track constantly.
So, it is impossible that you can just get the first 16 bars in tempo and then just leave it. Consider this track like a 70's disco track with live drumming.
This is not the fault of the software.
Keefy
The problem is, the Jiva track is not a constant tempo (Alankara is). The tempo wavers throughout the track constantly.
So, it is impossible that you can just get the first 16 bars in tempo and then just leave it. Consider this track like a 70's disco track with live drumming.
This is not the fault of the software.
Keefy
Karl Y
1:20 PM - 9 July, 2014
Hi Vaage
for songs with changing tempi, you can set multiple downbeat markers in the beatgrid, and if you use smartsync, the software will adapt the tempo change constantly and remain in perfect sync. You should probably enable keylock then to avoid audible pitch changes :)
for songs with changing tempi, you can set multiple downbeat markers in the beatgrid, and if you use smartsync, the software will adapt the tempo change constantly and remain in perfect sync. You should probably enable keylock then to avoid audible pitch changes :)
Asymptotic
1:10 AM - 13 July, 2014
@DjVaage
So you issue is that you want to be able to set the tempo's and pitch in perfect alignment and then never touch the platters again? If that is what you want then you are probably going to have to just use Traktor for the time being. Simply put, Serato is trying to replicate the feel of DJing on vinyl/CDJ's where having to touch the platters/record to keep them in alignment is a necessary part of it if you aren't trying to be perfect with the pitch, IE; when you are mixing fast. Just nudge the damn platter every so often and it will stay in line, like every other DJ in the world. Stop being so nit picky that you can't lock in tempos perfectly using the pitch fader, most other DJ's will get it close enough and then just nudge the record/platter when they need to to keep it in alignment.
So you issue is that you want to be able to set the tempo's and pitch in perfect alignment and then never touch the platters again? If that is what you want then you are probably going to have to just use Traktor for the time being. Simply put, Serato is trying to replicate the feel of DJing on vinyl/CDJ's where having to touch the platters/record to keep them in alignment is a necessary part of it if you aren't trying to be perfect with the pitch, IE; when you are mixing fast. Just nudge the damn platter every so often and it will stay in line, like every other DJ in the world. Stop being so nit picky that you can't lock in tempos perfectly using the pitch fader, most other DJ's will get it close enough and then just nudge the record/platter when they need to to keep it in alignment.
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