Mixed In Key

[funky shit]

Heyyy abe heads!
How was your weekend?

Any of you djs use Mixed in Key? Looking to check it out as it would save alot of time if i want to dive into harmonic mixing.

Thoughts?

[djandywoods]

yeh I use mixed in key,
well worth using if you havent alredy,
i also use platinum notes!

put your tracks through platinum notes, once they are improved, put them through mixed in key.

I used mixed in key at my first major gig this year at ministry of sound, and, following key made my set alot better!

[trevorc]

i've used it for years, it's simple, reliable and well supported. i see plenty of people saying it's not always 100% correct, but whatever.. if you're looking for a good guide to key relationships between your tunes it's really useful.

i wouldn't use it slavishly though, plenty of house music is constructed simply enough for many tunes outside the same key or circle of fifths to work well together, so it shouldn't restrict your choices. if you're trying to narrow down your tune selection for playing basslines, pads or melodies against each other, or layering tracks a lot, it's a great tool.

[funky shit]

Yeah it seems good for the progressive stuff!
Wonder how it would compare to my bleepy techy shit

this is quite genious also!

[Minimal Justice System]

i wouldn't use it slavishly though, plenty of house music is constructed simply enough for many tunes outside the same key or circle of fifths to work well together, so it shouldn't restrict your choices. if you're trying to narrow down your tune selection for playing basslines, pads or melodies against each other, or layering tracks a lot, it's a great tool.

I quite agree, I've used it for a few years now and it is a great tool for creating a flow to your mixes whatever you decide to mix with but it's not something that must be obeyed at all times. The overall key of a tune does not account for the fact that ceratin other parts of the same tune are in opposing keys. Playing majors and minors off against each other is also a good way to create atmosphere although mixed in key does not really account for this. Only through knowing your tunes and good old practice will you get the most out your mixes but it's a great tool.

[funky shit]

Yeah id imagine sticking to the diagram would get pretty damn boaring after a while!

[McQ714]

use both MIK and PN here too!!! they are accurate and harmonic mixing does make a difference in most cases although i've tried a few mixes that just didn't work..

[timwright]

It's great I think. Been using it for a while now. You still have to find the tracks that mix together perfectly, a lot just sound ok, but it saves a lot of time and points you in the right direction.

[Dan Dare]

So are you guys using mixed MIK with Live? I haven't really checked it out yet but I'm really interested in it. Do you re name your tracks to have a 'Key" in the title so you know what's what. It would be great to hear how people are sorting the information that mixed in key gives you. Cheers

[funky shit]

Gona see what the funds are like this week and see if i can give this a spin. Still to get Live 8 yet.
And my weekly beatport binge is due. And i dont get my usual pay this week.
And i have to pay for my theory test

But i suppose im not on the drink untill i get these assignments done

is this win or fail?

[base615]

Every track I have gets converted to WAV then goes through mixed in key and is renamed with the key at the end ie:

Steve Bug - Trees Cant Dance (Original Mix) - 2A

I then warp it and it goes into its own key folder. That way it's easy to select a track that works key wise and because the key is in the title it's easy to see the key for each of the tracks I have in Session view.

In addition to all this, I've got a loops and tools folder with a whole bunch of conga loops, shaker loops, bongos, tablas, acapellas etc. These are also keyed and organised into folders in the same way so I'm able to drag a whole bunch of loops in the right key and trigger them to remix on the fly. The file structure looks like this:



It works for me and has improved my sets dramatically as I'm able to loop multiple parts of different tracks together along with other percussion elements to make something interesting.

I don't always stick to the 1 up / 1 down rule though, there are quite a few other combinations that work nicely. For example, from a minor key, going 2 keys up on the wheel and swapping to the corresponding major key works well.

Cheers,

Craig

[Dan Dare]

Craig, thanks that's amazing set up, it looks pretty well organized. Does having it in folders labeled by key inhibit you if you are looking for a track that you can't remember the key off. Does mixed in key do the renaming for you?

[base615]

Dan,

it doesn't show on that screenshot but when I put the tracks into the key folders, I create a shortcut and that goes in a folder called A-Z Shortcuts. In fact, if you loop in the tools folder you can see the similarly named shortcut folder for tools.

I have the first browser set up for the key folders, 2nd browser tab set up for A-Z and the 3rd set up for loops & tools. I've found it pretty easy to also type part of the name into the search box also.

Mixed in Key does the renaming automatically. You can set it up in the 'Personalise' tab.

By the way, I'm using version 2.5. I upgraded to 3 and it did have a more accurate engine but I found the fact that you had to connect to the net a bit of a pain so I reverted to 2.5.

Cheers,

Craig

[Dan Dare]

Cheers Craig, that's really helpful. Dan

[Alien Leg]

How good is the key detection of MIK concerning non-songs like percussion, acapella etc?
Really interested to know!
Has anyone compared Rapid evolution to MIK?