Best DJ Software For Mixing Classic Disco

Discussion in 'general discussion' started by TonyG, Jul 2, 2017.

  1. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    Wait. Are you looking for DJ software, but Traktor (and Serato, Deckadance, PCDJ, etc) can't do it?

    Then I suggest you try a DAW (and do your stretching, beat-sync'ing, crossfades, filter automations, fx layering, etc in it.
    1) Not just Ableton Live can do this.
    2) It doesn't have to be so time consuming, if you know your DAW and know how to do it. I just offered you a way HOW TO DO IT, which you asked for.
    Damn, you are stubborn.
     
  2. jayxflash

    jayxflash Guest

    You do realise that ALL mixing software allows disabling the grid and using app-specific pitch bend commands, therefore you can live mix drifting tracks with no problem whatsoever. In addition, Pioneer CDJ are the standard in most of the clubs, they too allow grid decoupling.

    Unless the point of the thread is to let people know that OP knows how to warp in Ableton Live, this thread is completely useless.
     
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  3. recycle

    recycle Guest

    yeah right, this guy make a question and ignore the answers, there is no dialog
     
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  4. TonyG

    TonyG Guest

    Stubborn? I told you I had tried it AND it does not work with all Disco songs. And because I have tried it I do know that it is time consuming. How about if I send you a couple of Disco songs and you do mix them and then tell us how long it took you? That is why the majority of DJ's mixing Disco now days find a section of the song with steady BPM, loop it, and then use it as transiction point to and from the next or prior song.
     
  5. Hamudi2000

    Hamudi2000 Member

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    you can quite easily quantize audio in Cubase ( and I´m sure the same is true for most other DAWs) and mesh it up with other material. In fact there a several techniques in Cubase to accomplish this. I´d use a combination of timestretch and free audio warp
     
  6. TonyG

    TonyG Guest

    I only posit a simple question as to what software used by DJs to mix Disco music. It was not intended as to it being a tutorial on Live (which we both use) or any other software. Nevertheless, the suggestions as to how to do it are welcome
     
  7. TonyG

    TonyG Guest

    Recycle, how can you say that when I have replied to every single post on this thread including yours?
     
  8. TonyG

    TonyG Guest

    Thanks. I have not tried Cubase. I will give a try in upcoming days. By the way have you tried with Disco in Cubase with success?
     
  9. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    Sure. Just the crossfade?
    Send it! Post a link so we all can try it, since we all use different DAWs.

    I'm using Cubase (if you wanna know). "Best" DAW on the planet (IMO ofc, since it's all subjective. The "best DAW" is the one you know).
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2017
  10. jayxflash

    jayxflash Guest

    I makes zero sense to try any other daws (since you already own one) in this specific case, as the result will be exactly the same: a warped song.

    I have yet to meet the artist that started DJ-ing 40 years ago so eager to pass his tracks through a daw because it can't manually beatmatch in using a DJ software...

    By the way, if you started DJ-ing at the age of 20 now you should be 60 years old. Just go to the beach ffs.
     
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  11. TonyG

    TonyG Guest

    Dont tell it to Logic users.LOL. For what ever reason I have not given Cubase a shot yet. I will post a couple of songs that are a pain the the you know what to mix live.
     
  12. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    Most Logic users, by now, know that there is no "best DAW". Emagic and Steinberg had a good run, and eventually they became like Coca Cola and Pepsi.
     
  13. mozee

    mozee Audiosexual

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    All the big players on DAW (not DJ based live mixers) have a from of beat detection, beat mapping and tempo-automation. What is easiest is a matter of perspective, taste, and depends on how one wants to approach this 'mixing' as either a very detailed micro match or quick and nice 2 track join.

    If Abelton works very well because it was kind of designed to be a Live clip launching and performance building solution, so the features necessary are on surface. Bitwig is also clip based and has tools effects tailored to the task. Both Abelton and Bitwig integrate well with DJ controllers and software.

    If you remove the requirement of real time performance and want to "mix" or join finished tracks into a set more with granularity then it really doesn't matter because "easiest" might was well be "tastes better."

    I doubt many of us could agree on for very long on which food tastes better.
     
  14. TonyG

    TonyG Guest

     
  15. jayxflash

    jayxflash Guest

    This is what you wrote in your first post

    Igonoring the fact that once you have a functional solution (and a really handy one) you just keep using it,

    A REAL DJ would ask for something like this "hey guys, I am a long time Traktor user and I've noticed that old songs can't be aligned to grid due to the fact they're vinyl recordings, played by real drummers and they are drifting. I've beed using Ableton Live to warp them, is there any better alternative to Ableton Live for this process?" - The answer would still be "no" but this is the question a real DJ would ask. A DJ that knows some sh!t.

    For professional use the menu selection is quite small: Traktor, Serato and rekordbox - the rest are gimmics for kids. How in the world a DJ with 37 years of experience is asking for what DJ software works the best or what DAW does the same thing as Ableton? If this is how it goes with the seniors, I'm starting to believe that the guy asking about Avenger on the other thread could be very well Giorgio Moroder.

    Either you started DJ-ing 37 years ago and lasted a whole year, put DJ-ing behind and now you're starting again, either you're not who you lead us to believe you are because things are not adding up, sir.
     
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  16. TW

    TW Guest

    By all means i would not call myself a DJ. But hey back to the roots. Two turntables and some actuall skill maybe?
     
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  17. Matt777

    Matt777 Rock Star

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    Can you please be more specific by what you mean "difficult to mix" - transition, sound, vinyl/turntable feel,... or just beatmatching.

    I really don't get it - if you put (almost) anything in a DAW you can stretch it to some exact tempo, add metronome (before, after..), various helpers.. (in that case any shitty DJ software, not only Traktor, will catch the grid). And if you are talking about disco - doing something like that IMHO it's a crime! LOL

    Yes you said that this thread is not about turntables, so take Traktor, switch any sync and similar stuff off and try to replicate a disco DJ (I'd still use real stuff for real disco tho). As an example this one i dig:


    ...
     
  18. jayxflash

    jayxflash Guest

    Actually Traktor supports hot cues as grid markes. It's very convenient for someone who's doing a linear mix to save the first two grids at the begining of the song and 3+4 grids towards the end of the song (or the places most suitable for overlap). Normally in this genre one needs up to one minute of overlapping (also can loop an 8-bar straight segment), this will work on most songs regardless how drunk the drummer was at the time of recording. As the grids are also hot cues, with a little planning you can hit two birds with one stone.

    This is the first grid at the beginning of the song (in sync the song is not drifting yet):
    [​IMG]

    And this is the new grid which will resync as soon as the playhead crosses the cue point (you can see the grid out of sync before the cue point and in perfect sync after)
    [​IMG]

    This is why the OP non-question on both this and the other thread perplexed me. 30 years of experience my
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 2, 2017
  19. TonyG

    TonyG Guest

    Beatmatching in Traktor does not work on all Disco songs. This shortcoming has been discussed in NI forum for a long time. I continue to use my 1100s and 1200s with either a Bozak or Urei whenever I do a gig. I have never used any other equipment for my live mixes. This include weekly radio shows I do.
     
  20. Matt777

    Matt777 Rock Star

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    Agree, been there done that.. even when the cue was just a vocal transient, brass stab or similar. 1,2,.. grid markers, done. If you make them start and end.. you can also walk away, lol. I just wanted to point out that if you make disco so "exact" it looses "mojo".. but right now I got instructions from the pro. Now starting to get on my nerves too!!

    @tonyg0499
    I hate to do this. Beatmatching does not work only if you CAN'T beatmatch! If you are talking about syncing that's another story. YOU HAVE FUCKIN' OUTER RINGS ON YOUR CDJS OR whatever controller you use to control TRAKTOR. Use those + TEMPO FADER to BEATMATCH. Traktor only translates what you do with your controllers FFS!!! Edit: no matter the genre!!
    :deep_facepalm:
     
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