The DM2/TK3 Patch by Lucid

[lucid]

Here it is:

www.mediafire.com/file/qiiowtotqzj/DM2TK3 Patch.rar

Here's how it works:



Just do as it says in the guide and you'll be mixing like a pro faster than you can say DM2!

[LastDM2adminDJP]

look forward to trying it when i get back from vacation glad to see you got it setup

[lucid]

Traktor +1. LOL. Thanks Protojeex.

[LastDM2adminDJP]

traktor boooo but nice setup

[lucid]

When I got started I had an EJAY Dancestation which was just a rebrand of the NUMARK CUE / ATOMIX VDJ.

I tried Traktor 2 at the same time and stuck with my VDJ. The color scheme didn't work for me and I just couldn't figure out the features.

VDJ confused me with too many options in the end, trying to map my DM2, I just didn't know where to start.

I'm sticking with Traktor 3. I prefer the library set up. Also I prefer Traktor because it has the similar features to Ableton live. When mixing in Live I learned to rely on watching the audio strips, which Traktor has.

VDJ offers some effect plugins that were fun to play with and their looper is more intuitive than Traktors beatjuggling and looping system, but in my sets I really don't use any effects or looping.

Some useful Traktor tweaks:

In audio prefs:

Set your cue and master outputs.

In deck prefs:

Find the setting to lock out loading tracks in a playing deck, (just in case).

Find the setting to auto-load the next playlist item in the available deck.

USING AUTOPLAY - In window 1 this will be on the far upper right in the booth board where the master volume is. Watch if that's highlighted, if it is whenever you move the track volumes it will start playing the next track which may confuse noobs.

If you want to use the crossfader and still take advantage of the autoplay auto beatmatching feature, you can toggle the autoplay on and off; on when you are ready to start the next track. When done, toggle autoplay off, turn up the next track volume and crossfade accordingly.

Set the Auto crossfade time to 16 seconds to get a perfect mix everytime, however if you want to get fancy with the crossfader, set it to 2 seconds or less or you will have problems.

In Page 1, Effects and Mixer, there is a button called Key in deck A and B. Click those and leave them highlighted always. Using Traktors Autoplay beatmatching works similar to using turntables pitch control. You will have crappy out of tune mixes if you do not LOCK the key setting.

In the favorite's section, bottom assignable slots, have one for your Current Playlist, one for Search Results, one for Track Collection, one for your Recordings, one for your Playlists and the others for your various music folders. They can be toggled with the Function keys F1 through F8.

I'm always bouncing between F1, Current Playlist, F3, Track Collection and F4, playlists, which are just different positions in your browser. When I do sets I like to pull tracks out of my track collection and put them in playlists, so you'll need to be working in those windows all the time.

I use the Properties window and the rating system to sort out the wheat and the chaff in my massive music collection. Which is why I mapped a button for it.

In my List window I keep the monitor button, genre, artist, album, mix, title, rating and file. That's it. When making a playlist, anything that I don't ever want to hear again gets a one rating. As I'm listening I'm moving files out of the collection into the current playlist and then into a set playlist. When I've made a playlist that I'm happy with I'll rate the items 5 for set worthy, 3 for good effort filler stuff and 1 for pending deletion. When the playlist is made I'll put in the mix property the name of the playlist and then lock the playlist. That way when I'm browsing the collection I can keep track of what sounds good where and what's been heard and rated etc.

This is why I work with Traktor 3. It just clicked for me when I developed this method, which was developed after unsuccessful efforts DJing with Live.

Props to VDJ though, I can see why people like it, skinnable, lots of bells and whistles, remixing and such.

[lucid]

LOL, I don't want to argue about which product is better, VDJ or Traktor, but here's the thing, with 'digital djing' if the auto beatmatching is available why not utilize it?

In VDJ you watch the songs sync up in the top window. VDJ boasts a lot about their beatmatching feature and its a great feature, you see the bass drum move along and you line them up.

In Ableton, once you've set the tempos and locked the cue points you use their Quantization feature to get perfectly synced mixes.

In Traktor, it was confusing to me at first because there are I think 3 syncing options. The Autoplay option seemed to offer the best and simplest syncing option.

Using Ableton I learned a TON about the audio engineering aspects and also to rely more on reading the numbers. Ableton and Traktor have very stripped down interfaces, but the crucial info is made available.

Now when I DJ, admittedly, I watch the cue points rather than listen to them. Also I mix mainly Trance and Drum and Bass. Dance songs have long repetitive intros and outros for a reason, and if you notice, they all follow a rigged formula. They either have a 16 or 32 bar intro / outro. Because dance songs all play out between a 130 and 140 BPM tempo, on average, 16 bars will play out in about 8 seconds, which is why a 16 second crossfade will give you the end of the last track overlapping the next track and the next track will kick in exactly when the last one fades out. The beatmatcher takes the BPM info and makes the slight tempo modification, anywhere from +- 3 intervals.

After listening to a LOT of dance music I learned from DJs what NOT to do and that is to mix a track before it's intended, like half way through a song. I like to leave all the production aspects to the producers, (being one myself) and as a DJ, if I pick a song for a set, it's going to play out fully. My sets are pretty stripped down and uniform, the only artistic credit I take from it would be the selected order that the mixes play out in.

We just come from different camps. I'm coming more from the computer programming, 'set it and forget it' arena.

My 2 cents.

[LastDM2adminDJP]

i dont utilize it cause it shows skills. cause if some vinyl junkie walks up to you and gives you 2 records, could you do the same mix as if you had those features? cause if not then how can you call yourself a real dj. its like a keyboard that lights up. you cant call yourself a pianist if you can only play the keys that are lighting up. What you know how to do is follow a pattern. Same applys to djing i always add it to my setups out of the fact that 9/10 kids that own a dm2 to dj couldnt beat match with out an "auto" feature if they tried for a year. But to each his own i guess im a purist. to me its like playing a game with cheat codes cause you cant ever say you beat the game if you cheated the game.

[lucid]

Yes I noticed your set up has the Techniques packing time-coded vinyl. The DM2 is more of a quaint afterthought. What are you spinning these days anyhow?

[LastDM2adminDJP]

Mar 30, 2010 19:30:33 GMT -5 lucid said:

Yes I noticed your set up has the Techniques packing time-coded vinyl. The DM2 is more of a quaint afterthought. What are you spinning these days anyhow?

no those aren't technic's, technic's would be a waste of time and money cause they are f**king garbage and only noobs with more cash then skill buy em. not talking crap to you just i hate technics.

i spin lots club music still tag team dnb and do hardcore

the dm2 is used regularly and those are numarks i have a mount that goes in the rack so the dm2 sits over the mixer. much like a laptop mount. but at that time i took that picture while drunken djing with friends it was in my mobile rack.. i actually plan to make a 2nd but havent gotten to the machine shop to bend the metal.


and if you read what i have posted in my guide for setting up the dm2 with virtual dj. The dm2 and really any usb controller should only really be used to see if you actually will enjoy djing before buying a 1500$ setup and realizing you dont like it. unless its like a ns7 or one of the ones that has moving platforms that simulate timecode vinyl.

but that setup in the picture i only paid about 150$ for bidding on ebay. originally was 450 then got 150 back from the seller when it didnt have needles and square trade paid me when the pitch broke and i fixed it myself for 9.99. so in the end i only paid for the mixer. and the laptops i got for free torq i actually paid 200 for brand new and the dm2 well i have so many of those its insane.

but 10 years ago i new after learning how to do everything its what i wanted to do in 2003 i got the dm2 to midi dj for like 20 dollars. with some old dj program i forget the name. something like red dj or something. i got it working back then put it on a shelf and went vinyl with a friends old belt drive setup cause any vinyl setup seems way cooler to people then a dm2. then i worked my way up to all the setups i have to day...


i consider it like if you buy a guitar you dont buy a 10,000$ guitar for your first guitar hell people dont buy a 1000 dollar guitar for there first guitar. they buy a cheap 200-300 dollar one. then decide wether or not they want to do it beyond that. same applys to djing.

you know in the past till budget cuts didnt allow me to donate my time for free to teach kids to dj at the ymca. but before that i taught them all to dj on dm2s cause it made them comfortable with djing and half the kids never went beyond the class the other half went on to spend 500-3000$ investing in setups and some have gotten really big in the past 5 years locally which is really nice to see. not talking crap to any one im just super realistic about it cause alot of people think they can be the best dj in the world. and when you teach them to dj they say i hate this and its not fun at all.

me nothing i love more then standing for 6 hours running a non stop super mega mix of almost 500 songs. but to each his own i know djs who are better then me who cant dj longer then 2 hours. so its all in your dedication and love for it.

[LastDM2adminDJP]

hope i didnt scare` you away lucid

[lucid]

Sorry I was reverse enginerring Windows for a couple of days. Wikked setups you gots.

[lucid]

Hey what controller are you using for pitch control?

I'm thinking of modifying the patch to make all deck controls, i.e. volume, monitor, seek etc on one deck. Currently both decks have duplicated controls and the rings control the deck volume, but if I set one deck to work as both as 'focussed' I can use the second deck for extra controls. Currently I'm using deck buttons for pitch control but I may use the second deck ring as a pitch controller, for faster more tactile control. Maybe a Patch V2 is in the works...

[LastDM2adminDJP]

i use midi set 2 the lower left buttons and the jog wheels r pitch control

[lucid]

You know, I've been shopping around for another controller and for the size and price, there's nothing that compares to the dm2. Amazing work on the patch, it's really opened up a world of possibility for me. I have the new patch, I took out the track jogging buttons and put in cue setting buttons and the pitch control / nudge. I should put together some new documentation before I release it, (this week sometime). I just got an NI 2 channel soundcard and it does as promised, the size of a matchbook but this thing is LOUD. That and my DM2 and I think I'm ready to hit clubland.

[LastDM2adminDJP]

Apr 25, 2010 22:47:39 GMT -5 lucid said:

You know, I've been shopping around for another controller and for the size and price, there's nothing that compares to the dm2. Amazing work on the patch, it's really opened up a world of possibility for me. I have the new patch, I took out the track jogging buttons and put in cue setting buttons and the pitch control / nudge. I should put together some new documentation before I release it, (this week sometime). I just got an NI 2 channel soundcard and it does as promised, the size of a matchbook but this thing is LOUD. That and my DM2 and I think I'm ready to hit clubland.

nothing compares to a dm2 its just so much bang for your buck that its like the boomstick of djing. Glad to see youve made it and hope to see you on the club scene.. i had wanted to do a dm2 tour a year ago but couldnt get enough decent dm2 djs together.