Re: [xl7] Beat matching (MicroSync - long)
2003-01-13 by erik_magrini@Baxter.com
I posted a review of the Red Sound to the this list awhile back, so I'm just going to copy that: "Most of the time (90%) it's pretty good about finding the tempo correctly and tracking it nicely. However it's not something you can just hit Start on and forget about. Drops in the song can cause it to fluctuate slightly, and your midi playback DOES stutter a bit when this happens. You can put it into "free-wheeling" mode however, so it won't try and find the tempo during quiet parts and that helps. It also has Nudge buttons too, which you'll need to use occasionally to keep it synced up, as it's quicker than letting it catch up automatically sometimes. Also, sometimes the tempo will be right, but the first beat will be off, so you'll need to nudge it for that reason too. It's not hard to do, and once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy to use. Mostly it's reliability comes down to the records you spin. Surprisingly my 4/4 trance records threw it off more than any of my breaks or DnB tracks, so you'll need to play around a bit to get a feel for how it will react to different styles. How do I use it live? Well I took off one of the end caps on my XL-7 and mounted it to that using the included hardware (took some creative bending, but it works fine). The tricky part is taking the audio feed from your DJ mixer and routing it to the Micro Sync. Technically you're not supposed to route the sound modules outputs back into the same mixer as the tables, but I found that EXTREMELY impractical for real world DJ use (who wants to hook up an extra mixer? Most clubs wouldn't let you anyway). The issue, is that you don't want the Micro sync to be analyzing the signal from the XL-7, as that causes a feedback loop (not an audible one, but in terms of calculating tempo). The Micro Sync will be calculating the same tempo it's sending out, so it won't work right. What I did (depends on the mixer) is to use the effects sends to send the audio signal to the Micro Sync. I just leave the effect send on the channel the XL-7 is plugged into always off, so that audio never gets routed to the micro sync. That way, you just select the channel you're trying to sync to, and route it to the FX sends. BTW the input level for the Micro Sync is extremely finicky, it seems to overload very easily (and then stops calculating). Another reason to use effects sends is so you can control the send amount. On say a DJM500 or 600 (what I typically request for live use), this works too, but you lose the ability to use the effects at the same time, so you'd need to make sure the micro sync is free-wheeling before disengaging the effects sends on the mixer." ---------------------------------------------- That was right after I got it, and I've had a year to play with it, so here's my thoughts now. It really does a pretty good job of doing what it's supposed to, provided you don't mind getting a little 'hands on' with it. You may need to spend a lot of time nudging it forward or backward slightly if you want it to be ultra-tight timing wise, and don't we all. The biggest issues are: 1. The fact that they ideally want you to hook up your XL-7 and the turntable mixer to another seperate mixer. You can read the review above or the free instructions (download) for the reason why this is. If your DJ mixer has FX sends, it's typically ok to use those, but there's been few times I didn't have that option and was left high and dry. 2. During quiet passages with no drums, the Microsync just stays at the current tempo, which is nice. However, sometimes the beat kicks back in and the Microsync needs to adjust itself, and that causes some timing hiccups occasionally for a few seconds, it's not as smooth as it could be. This is rare, but it sounds bad when you're working up that huge drop and then the XL-7 is out of sync slightly with the record. While the fact that the BPM display on the XL-7 only goes to whole numbers in terms of resolution, I REALLY wish the display read tenths too. If that was the case, I'd probably just use the Micro Sync to get me pretty darn close, and then fine tune it manually (and ride it) via the XL-7's tempo control/entry wheel. When my girlfriend spins, sometimes I'll add XL-7 parts over her mix and I just do it that way, seems to work better. Currently, the Red Sound line is still the only gear that accurately detects tempo information from an audio source AND generates a MIDI clock to use with your external gear. So there's not any other options out there if this doesn't work for you. I hope this doesn't sound TOO negative, because 90% of the time it works great and performs like you'd expect. It's that other 10% that makes you really need to know how to use the Red Sound before you take it live. If you know it's limitations and how to deal with them, then it's really not a big deal. Most of the time I use it just to transition from tables to the Xl-7, and in those cases, it works great. (Oh, it's got a HUGE wallwart too, I'm still trying to find a smaller one myself). I'd give it a 8/10. rEalm Hello, I have been dying to ask about beat-matching using an xl-7 and decks. I sold my 1200s in order to pay for the xl-7 (I know, how could I? They were old but mint and I got top dollar on eBay). Don't worry I didn't sell the vinyl. Can you effectively match the beat of the record using that Red Sound Microsync device you mentioned with your xx-7? I found that a Numark beatkeeper, which rounds to the nearest whole beat per minute, is virtually useless for beatmatching two records. How does the xx-7 manage the sync if the Red Sound carries a decimal point? Thanks a bunch for your thoughts on this!!!! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]