traktor to ableton - recording lag

[dj_technick]

hi!

i synced ableton to traktor and was able to route the audio-signal from traktor into ableton (internal - finally the ableton output is routed to my audio dj4 - for dj-mixer-setup)
- the click is perfectly synced - but:

when i try to record some loops (thats one of the basic ideas of this setup) - ableton seems to move the sync-time of the recorded file (shurely from the beginning but it starts to get realy strange) close to 8 bars.....
and its pretty strange because:

i tried to record just the traktor click (with the ableton sync on) - on the pa its perfecly in sync for like forever but the record i take from this signal starts to move in time?

i found some info in another forum that ableton places a warp marker into the recorded audio-file at every point/time the tempo changes ... so the sync with traktor causes some (light) tempo issues (126.5-129.5 at 128bpm synctime straight) - could this be a/the problem (marker placement)?

is it because there is some delay on the audio signal and ableton tries to warp it correctly (i tried complex and beats mode) - the audio file shows some milliseconds of recording delay at the beginnig of the track but this cant be the answer for the strange tempo change at the end?
or is it because my macbook pro is too efin slow?

i hope i am way to complicated in this case - some ideas?

thx for thinking!

[myxomat0515]

There are going to be tempo fluctuations when you're syncing these two programs. I've never been able to achieve a solid enough sync between the two. Truthfully, I've never been able to get a solid enough sync between Live and any other program, as master or slave. That said, my setups are geared more towards live performance. I assume you are synced via Traktor's Virtual MIDI port to Live's EXT sync. If you play with the sync delay time in Live's midi preferences, you can get a more accurate sync, but in my experience, any moderate amount of FX or VST use will cause Live to drift out of sync significantly (beyond what my ears would consider acceptable).

Whether you are using Live to record/supplement your DJ set or trying to record loops from Traktor into your Live set, my advice is this: Run the two programs separately (without MIDI tempo sync), and use Live's click track to sync to Traktor's audio. With a little practice, Live's nudge buttons are all you need to keep the two in sync. That said, I personally use the master clock in Traktor set at a whole number tempo, and make tempo changes manually, rather than having the longest-playing track determine the tempo (which is the default in Traktor). Set the tempo of your Live set to the same, and route Live's click track to your cue. Press play in Live (with no tracks playing, or with the volume all the way down) and use the nudge buttons to fine-tune your sync. Once they're lined up, they will pretty much stay that way. The only time Live will drift noticeably is with some CPU intensive VSTs or FX, and this is easily and quickly compensated for with the nudge buttons when you know to watch for it.

Hope that helps.

[dj_technick]

hi! thx - this is a way i was already thinking about - running these two programms separately.
with the nudge buttons of the apc40 (or any other controler) it easy to get and keep them in sync.
i just was thinking of "how much prework you need when you setup this devices in a club/stage/... and the midi-sync was an option to keep the sync in an easy and quick way - but it seems to be more disturbing than helping.

thx for your comment - i give it a try and report my experience(s) here!