Sign In:     

Forum: General Discussion

Topic: Changing Tempo With Keylock on Makes for Imperfect Beat Matching

This topic is old and might contain outdated or incorrect information.

This is one thing that's always bugged me. It is nearly impossible to exactly match two songs because the tempo isn't exactly correct. Really doesn't make a huge difference in sound it is mostly I can hear it slightly. Adjusting the jogs helps for a few seconds then it gets knocked out of phase again. Will VDJ 8 address this? Does anyone have any solutions for this.

Love,

Alpaca
 
Posted Fri 02 Dec 11 @ 1:43 pm
runslikealpaca wrote :
It is nearly impossible to exactly match two songs because the tempo isn't exactly correct.


Use "Keylock" function will do it for you. If keylock doesn't work on your VDJ maybe you are in the "Pure Scratch (no master tempo)" Go to "Config/Setting" then "Performance Tab" then under the "Master Tempo" choose "Fast Stretching or Advanced Stretching" this function is in VDJ even the older version.
 
Did you know you can adjust the CBG (computer beat grid) so that the tempo is exactly correct and the beat markers are in exactly the right places? I have a keyboard shortcut set up for it so I can adjust on the fly at a gig, for quick adjustments the "bpm tap" feature is pretty good, but perhaps not as accurate as you want it to be.

Also, don't forget, if you see the songs going out of time when you're previewing your mix in the headphones before you do it for real, then work out which one is slightly too fast and use the pitch slider to slow it down slightly. That's what they're for!
 
I thought VDJ is excellent in analyzing the BMP and very accurate in marking the BEAT GRID. I'm using also serato on my Xone DX controller as it has the worst CBG marking, serato is not good at all in this part and thats why serato have an option for the user to edit the CBG which is the "SET & ADJUST" buttons on boards. Does VDJ supports editing the CBG?
 
cesarcastillo wrote :
Does VDJ supports editing the CBG?

Yes...
Just map a button on your keyboard: BPM_edit
 
I guess i wasnt clear. The keylock works fine. Adjusting the beatgrid works perfectly only when the key ISNT locked. When the key is locked and the tempo is adjusted, the output is on average the correct tempo but if you analyze the actual beat grid it is not exact (record and import into logic). I was wondering if vdj was going to be able to fix that.
 
Try to use the Advanced Stretching Algorithm (from your Options/Performance settings)
If that isn't sufficient enough for you then there's not much that can be done...

Please keep in mind that MT algorithms have side-effects like this especially when you go over a specific range...
 
runslikealpaca wrote :
The keylock works fine. Adjusting the beatgrid works perfectly only when the key ISNT locked


If everything is working fine and you were not able to have at least match them correctly then maybe it is your mixing process, you maybe missed to setup something like: setting up the "KEY" of both deck 1 & deck 2 tracks together. Remember always that you must see your tracks in deck 1 & deck 2 are the same KEY/NOTES before setting the BPM/TEMPO then you will have a very nice and smooth mixing. It is impossible for the software like VDJ to have the wrong key or out of the key when mixing as it is already locked. VDJ is very good in recognition the keys as it is an excellent features of VDJ that others don't have i'm pretty sure and suspects that it is your way of mixing that gives you the results that you doesn't like try to experiment some other ways and you will find it somehow what is wrong in it. If you have a music background it will be then very easy for you to understand why it is not getting along with the tempo or on the key it is because of the beats of the song each song has a certain beats like some are have 4/4 beats in a measure and some are having 3/4 beats in a measure some are 6/8 you cant mixed the song having 3/4 beats to a song having 6/8 beats even if they are in the same BMP it is because it has different measure in a beats.
 
I've been confronted with what you describe, in extreme cases the waveforms and grid display don't match the audio, the mixing 'flutters' and feels un-tight, the groove feels to be uneven in tempo... aka.. all feels fucked up but hard to describe how exactly unless you start to analyze it as you did in Logic.

Eventually it comes down to performance. The way I see it (and please someone correct me if i'm wrong) the timing can be affected by both your hardware/audio drivers and virtualDJ itself.

In case you haven't tried it..

- shut down your virusscanners and firewall
- disable all network connections
- disable all internal soundcards
- Set your powerprofile to 'High performance'
- Pick a non aureo theme
- Set your system to prioritize background processes
- Start up virtualDJ, open the task manager, use 'show all processes of all users' and after that set VDJ to realtime priority

Than.. get the lowest latency value in your soundcard you can without things getting unstable

Than.. mix again and record and share so we can listen!
 
vdj probably resamples the song when processing the master tempo but it probably take miliseconds to do, why don't you just allign the cbg with key lock on..
 
Additionally, I dont know with your MC6000, but I own an RMX and you should be able to give away a very tight mix with keylock on.

I always mix in key and hence always use keylock. This is my last mix done with the RMX, you decide yourself if you hear your issue http://i.mixcloud.com/CuPRL (and forgive me the f*** up at the end :P)
 


(Old topics and forums are automatically closed)