I do all my track analysis and preparation in Traktor, then import certain playlists into Lexicon and then export from there to Engine Prime. From Prime I export to USB and play on a Denon Prime Go. All of my information, including hotcues appears fine. Engine does its own analysis but I set it to maintain as much tags and info from Traktor as possible. So nothing but the necessary is overwritten.
I am happy to say that the results are quite good, and all my tracks sync well and are easy to mix on the Prime unit. I can leave tracks playing in sync for the whole time and they will stay in sync. The problem occurs when I set a loop on one of them. At first the loop is tight, but after about 10 seconds one of them starts to drift slightly and you can hear the beats coming out of sync. The sync button will start flashing indicating that the misalignment has been detected. I have fiddled with settings like loop count and whatever I found in the Prime’s settings, but have not been able to solve this. Perhaps someone here has a suggestion. I am even considering the possibility that it has something to do with the export/import process from Traktor/Lexicon/Engine.
I am only using MP3s and the latest versions of all software. Mac OS Monterey for all prep work.
Can you try copying a track on your hard drive, then add it to Engine so you have that track twice. Use Engine to analyze and set cues/loops in the same way as the other track. Then test that track on the Prime and see what the loop does there. That would be good to know
Hi Christiaan, thanks for your thoughtful reply and sorry for my delayed response. I have been working a lot since you wrote and have not been able to get around to trying your suggestion.
Nevertheless, out of desperation after a few hours with this bothersome issue happening often, I figured something was def not right, and changed my SYNC settings on the Denon unit from BEAT to TEMPO. This seems to have helped for the moment.
I now have to initially match the beats with a slight nudge of the jog when triggering a new track, which is not a problem as long as they stay in sync for the duration of the mix even when activating loops and during hotcue jumps and such.
Having to get the beats in sync by hand initially takes a bit more of work, but the the tracks stay in sync consistently and it serves as somewhat of a solution. I don’t know if this is the way it is supposed to be, or if I am missing something. Perhaps the SYNC mode is the way to work for my needs and somehow I am missing how to have it quantized.
I had this setting set to BEAT because that’s the way I work in Traktor, where it performs flawlessly. Tracks that I drop land on the exact beat (quantized) that I want them to (like BEAT Sync on Denon) and they stay in sync endlessly (like TEMPO sync on Denon). I would still prefer to keep it like that in Prime, but I just can’t really work with the drifting sync which I have to constantly be on the lookout for and adjust with the jog wheels.
Anyway, posted this in case it helps in some way give a better insight as to where the problem lies (including my own error or ignorance). Meanwhile I will try to get around to trying what you suggested.
I also realize that this whole issue might be more appropriate for the Denon/ Engine Prime forum, but having all of my Denon tracks come from Lexicon workflows makes it relevant enough for sharing here ase well.
Perhaps someone else has this same issue and could benefit from the conversation.
Hello. I never quite fixed this, cause I could just correct the small sync drift with a little nudge on my jog. It does happen all the time, and only when looping at the end of the live track while mixing in a new one. By this I mean that if I mix in a new looped track while the live track is playing, there is no problem. Strangely, looping the live track and mixing in new one will result in a sync drift, requiring manual adjustment after the whole size of the loop has played for one or two times. It is not immediate, and only happens after one or more iterations of the loop.
Anyway, the reason I am coming back to this old message after some time, is that I see in the latest Lexicon update that there is a fix for Denon DJ where “Synced loops would not return to their original position”. I am very excited for this, hoping with crossed fingers that it is indeed a fix for my persistent issue.
If this fix does indeed address my issue, how would I go about it? Should I re-import all my playlists from Traktor into Lexicon and then send them over to Engine? Thats what I do on a weekly basis anyway. Just wanted to know if I should do it again this week before the upcoming gigs.
That bugfix is for this issue: Hot cue Colour help!
So not related to any drift, I’m afraid. You can check again with the latest Lexicon, just in case.
What would be good to know for me is if this issue also happens with fresh tracks that Lexicon never touched. So if you can copy a “bad” track, then add it to Engine and see if it also drifts.