Best Track Organiser for DJing

Fetimo · Post by **Fetimo** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:18 pm

Hi all,

Basically I've been using iTunes to organise all my music at the moment but I was looking for a more lightweight (in terms of CPU drain) alternative that would display BPM, key, etc to run in conjunction with Live when Djing. Tbh Live's file selector just doesn't cut it when trying to find songs fast!

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:31 pm

Live's browser works great for me. When I warp and render a song, I include the tempo and key in the file name. I also include a 'code' that shows which type of intro/outro the song has. ] = instant outro, > = fading outro, etc

It's then easy to search for compatible songs.

Fetimo · Post by **Fetimo** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:35 pm

Good idea! What is the code you mention though? Like slow start fast start or something else? Will give it a go though. Thanks =)

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:40 pm

It's just a code I made up.

[ = instant start on beat 1

< = fading intro

] = instant outro at end of 4/4 measure

< = fading outro

Example: Doctor Pressure 130 9A < ].aif

130bpm, Camelot Notation key, fading intro (for crossfaded beatmatching), instant outro (good for instant transitions between tracks without a dropping a beat, which is a good technique when transitioning large tempo jumps)

Fetimo · Post by **Fetimo** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:54 am

Good code! Think I'll do it in the future but for now I kinda need a quick fix. I'm at college weekdays and don't really have time to label my whole library between now and Saturday =p but post then I definitely will.

Also the main problem I have with Live is working out exactly what the BPM is meant to be, it's usually something like 128.32 or something weird. Even when manually warping it's very tricky. Am I doing something really blatantly wrong?

furrybum · Post by **furrybum** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:42 am

My god, what happened to knowing your tunes??

I used to take 200 records to a show, play for 4 hours and all without a list of bpms and intro notes.

You kids don't know youre born!!

freshdrumma · Post by **freshdrumma** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:14 am

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:18 am

furrybum wrote:My god, what happened to knowing your tunes??

Probably easy when you're doing nothing but playing somebody else's songs.

Add in live percussion, on-the-fly looping, doing video, lighting, and cameras, and drinking, and it's easy to get task saturated!

furrybum · Post by **furrybum** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:20 am

Practice makes perfect young hambone.

Try 4 decks without track warping

stallos · Post by **stallos** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:38 pm

I use the live browser but I have all my tunes in Excel so I know where everything is

downside of excel is that I look like some sort of accountant while DJing/performing live

furrybum · Post by **furrybum** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:40 pm

downside of excel is that I look like some sort of accountant while DJing/performing live

I know some accountants that are very good DJs

Patch · Post by **Patch** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:54 pm

Rapid Evolution. Even if you don't use it for key detection, as a database it fookin' rools.

I had some input into creating a Live skin for RE, too. Use Winflip or ALT+TAB to flip between Live and RE (if you've got the RE Live skin it feels like one program).

RE is a great little app for organising tracks. Make notes on mixouts/compatible songs and you're laughing. After you've been using it for a while, and you've built up a nice bit of experience and notes, everytime you choose a track, RE will give you "suggestions" (based on you're own notes) of all the songs you've previously mixed with that song and made a note of.

It's basically a DJ Memory that never forgets. I really should use it more...

Rapid Evolution is free. Tell 'em Patch sent you.

Fetimo · Post by **Fetimo** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:11 pm

Ahhh RE! I had it on my PC a while back but never got the hang of it. It's come on a bit since I last used it though. Looks very good. Thanks for the recommendation Patch.

And yeah, as a young 'un I'm not too in tune to doing it by ear and stuff. But gosh darnit I will be

Thanks all.

friend_kami · Post by **friend_kami** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:42 pm

so how does RE cope with multiple/"odd" time signatures, multiple bpm values, and things of that nature?

reason im asking is because i need an organizer too, but when doing djsets and whatnots im mostly into breakcore, idm, glitchcore and that sort of thing, not your average straight boring 4-4 electrohouse crap.

live cant warp a single track ive got anyways. lives warping sucks.
sometimes it cant even warp my own tracks that ive made with live, how bad is that?

Fetimo · Post by **Fetimo** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:10 pm

You can set it so it's more/ less accurate at getting the bpm and key at the expense of time/ CPU but it's worth giving it a go I think. Although even on the lowest my MacBook's fan goes into takeoff mode so I'm scared to do more than like 2 albums at once before letting it cool down for 5 minutes.

Similar situation really with a lot of genre's but you never know for sure unless you try! Love how it gives recommendations on what might fit.