How to Sync TRAKTOR and Ableton Live – Native Instruments

Disclaimer

This article mentions third party software which is not manufactured or supported by Native Instruments. Though we have successfully tested it in-house for some time, we cannot guarantee its safety and correct functionality.

This article describes how to synchronize TRAKTOR (SCRATCH) PRO 2 with Ableton Live via MIDI Clock. This setup is particularly useful for adding your own edits or tracks to your DJ set. By enabling MIDI Clock sync, you will be able to maintain TRAKTOR's tempo when launching your clips in Ableton Live. The article describes the setup for three different scenarios:

Synchronizing TRAKTOR and Live running on the same Mac computer.
Synchronizing TRAKTOR and Live running on the same Windows computer.
Synchronizing TRAKTOR and Live running on two seperate computers.

If you are planning to synchronize TRAKTOR and Ableton Live running on two separate computers, the following additional hardware is required:

Two MIDI interfaces (some soundcards are also equipped with a MIDI interface. In our example we will be using our TRAKTOR AUDIO 10 soundcard).
A MIDI cable in order to establish a connection between both MIDI interfaces.

In our recommended configuration, TRAKTOR will run as the MIDI Clock leader and Ableton Live as the MIDI Clock follower. This means that the global tempo (BPM) will be generated and adjusted within TRAKTOR. Ableton's playback and tempo will follow the Sync signal coming from TRAKTOR.

1. Enabling the MIDI Clock in TRAKTOR

Go to TRAKTOR's Preferences > MIDI Clock menu.
Under MIDI Clock Settings, check the box Send MIDI Clock.

2. Adding a Generic MIDI Device

In order for TRAKTOR to send the MIDI Clock messages to Ableton Live (or any other following application), a Generic MIDI Device needs to be created in TRAKTOR's Controller Manager. In the Device settings, you will be able to define the MIDI ports for communicating with Ableton Live.

Select Controller Manager in TRAKTOR's Preferences.
Click on the Add... button underneath the Device field and click on Generic MIDI from the drop-down list.

3. Defining an Output Port

Now you need to define specific output ports for the Generic MIDI Device depending on your type of setup.

Setting the Output Port for Synchronization on Mac OS X

Click on the Out-Port field and select Traktor Virtual Output from the drop-down list.

Setting the Output Port for Synchronization on Windows

Close TRAKTOR.
Go to the website of the free virtual MIDI driver LoopBe1 here.
From the download page, download and run the file Download setuploopbe1.exe. This will install the application LoopBe1 on your system.
Now open TRAKTOR and select your Generic MIDI mapping from the Device list in the Controller Manager.
Click on the Out-Port field and select LoopBe Internal MIDI from the drop-down list.

Setting the Output Port for Synchronization between Two Computers

Close TRAKTOR.
Connect your MIDI interface device to the computer running TRAKTOR. In this example we will be connecting the TRAKTOR AUDIO 10, which offers MIDI connectivity.
Open TRAKTOR and select your Generic MIDI mapping from the Device list in the Controller Manager.
Click on the Out-Port field and select the port name corresponding to your MIDI interface. In our example, we have selected Traktor Audio 10 from the drop-down list.

4. Sending Out the MIDI Clock Signal

Next, you'll learn how to configure the Master Clock panel in TRAKTOR for sending out the MIDI Clock.

Ensure that the FX Unit modules are displayed in your TRAKTOR layout.

Note: If you don't see them, switch the layout to Mixer or Extended from the Layout Selector on the top right corner of your TRAKTOR screen.
Click on the metronome icon at the left side of FX Unit 1 in order to display the Master Clock panel.
Ensure that the AUTO button below MASTER is not active. This way, the MIDI Clock signal will be generated directly from the Master Clock. This is recommended in order to achieve a stable MIDI Clock signal.

Note: You may also use the AUTO function to automatically set the tempo master in TRAKTOR, or manually assign one of your Decks as MASTER. The Master Clock tempo will be updated according to the current tempo master. However, the MIDI Clock standard does not respond well to sudden tempo changes which may occur when the playback speed of a Deck is altered (via MIDI controllers or Timecode control). Therefore, it's preferable to set a constant tempo in the Master Clock panel and use the SYNC function in the Decks.
Click the 'Play / Pause' button in the Send section of the Master Clock panel. The button will light up to indicate that TRAKTOR is now sending out a Clock signal.

The Master Clock panel includes some elements that will help you to maintain the synchronization according to your needs. The current tempo of the MIDI Clock signal is displayed in the middle of the CLOCK section. You can change the tempo by clicking the + and - buttons, or temporarily bend it up and down with the <| and |> buttons. The SYNC button in the SEND section allows you to reset and resume the MIDI Clock signal. This can be useful in case the following application is not running in sync correctly any more.
Master Clock

5. Setting up MIDI Sync in Ableton Live

Setting the MIDI Port for Synchronization on Mac OS X

Go to Live's Preferences > MIDI Sync menu
Activate the Sync button for the Input of Traktor Virtual Output

Setting the MIDI Port for Synchronization on Windows

Go to Live's Preferences > MIDI Sync menu
Activate the Sync button for the Input of LoopBe Internal MIDI.

Setting the MIDI Port for Synchronization between Two Computers

Connect the output of your MIDI interface on the computer sending the MIDI Clock (i.e. running TRAKTOR) to the input of the MIDI interface on the computer receiving the MIDI Clock (i.e. running Ableton Live).
Go to Live's Preferences > MIDI Sync menu
Activate the Sync for the Input of your MIDI interface. In this example we are using TRAKTOR AUDIO 10. Ensure that Sync is only activated for this input.

6. Activating External Sync

In Live's tempo section (upper-left corner of the screen), you should see the indicator for incoming clocks blinking in yellow:

Activate the EXT button in order to sync Ableton to the incoming MIDI Clock from TRAKTOR. Ableton will now run as a follower of TRAKTOR.

7. Playing with MIDI Sync

You can now prepare and test the synchronized playback between TRAKTOR and Live. The following instructions explain the basic workflow.

Tempo Detection of Your Audio Files

Synchronized playback with TRAKTOR and Ableton will only work adequately if the tempo of the audio files has been successfully detected in both applications. In TRAKTOR, the tempo will be detected during the analyzation process for each track. Some tracks will require manual adjustments. Read this article in order to learn more about setting Beatgrids in TRAKTOR. In Ableton Live, the tempo of an audio file will be set automatically once you load it into a slot in the Session View or a track in the Arrangement View. For more information on this, consult your Live documentation.

First Steps in TRAKTOR

Follow the below steps to start playback in TRAKTOR:

Ensure that the 'Play / Pause' in the SEND section of the Master Clock panel is activated.
Load a track to a TRAKTOR Deck
Activate Sync for the Deck (it needs to follow the Master Clock tempo). If necessary, adjust the tempo in the BPM display of the Master Clock panel.
Press PLAY on the Deck to start playback.

First Steps in Live

Since Live is running as a Midi Clock follower, the global playback button is active all the time. All you need to do is launch the individual audio clips in the Session View. You should already be hearing the audio of TRAKTOR's Deck at this point.

In the Session View, load a loop or song into a clip slot.
Select the quantization value for your clip launch. We recommend 1 Bar.
Start your clip at the desired point in time relative to the track your are playing in TRAKTOR.

Now you should hear both the clip in Live and the track in TRAKTOR playing together in sync.

8. Fine-Tuning the Setup

MIDI Clock sync relies on a stable computer performance. Various system issues may introduce timing errors into the sync signal. This can lead to an offset between the playback in TRAKTOR and Live.

If you are on Windows, you may need to discard latency issues on your system first. This article provides information on how to deal with high latency in Windows systems.
If you are syncing TRAKTOR and Live between two separate computers, set the same audio latencies / buffer sizes for your audio interfaces on both systems.

The followings steps will show you how to compensate for timing offsets between TRAKTOR and Live:

In the Output Routing menu of the TRAKTOR Preferences, ensure that the Mixing Mode is set to Internal. If are using an external mixing setup, you can revert to it afterwards.
For Output Monitor, select the output channel that is connected to your speakers. If you have switched from an external setup, select any output channel that is connected to a channel on your external mixer and make sure that the mixer channel is pulled up to hear the signal via your speakers. Close the Preferences window.
In TRAKTOR's Master Clock Panel, activate the Tick button. You should now hear TRAKTOR's tick sound beating through your speakers.
In Live, activate the Live Metronome. You should now also hear Live's metronome sound beating through your speakers.
In TRAKTOR's Master Clock Panel, hit the SYNC button once in order to reset the sync signal being send to Live.
Use Live's MIDI Clock Sync Delay and TRAKTOR's Sending Offset functions to align the playback of both programs. Try both options in order to achieve the best result. You only need to adjust the offset / delay in either TRAKTOR or Live:
- In Live's MIDI Sync preferences, click on the the arrow in front of your MIDI Input to open up the detail settings. Drag the MIDI Clock Sync Delay slider up and down until the TRAKTOR tick and the Live metronome are running in sync.
- In TRAKTOR's Preferences > MIDI Clock menu, moving the Sending Offset slider up and down until the TRAKTOR tick and the Live metronome are running in sync.

Verify the settings by turning the Master Clock 'Start / Pause' button off and back on in TRAKTOR. After a short initial offset, Ableton Live's metronome should catch up and play in sync with TRAKTOR.