When Traktor 2.5 was announced with suggested improvements and re-written beatgrid analysis, everyone got excited. I however, was sceptical. Upon updating to 2.5 the first thing I had to check was the auto-beatgrid analysis.

What I found of course was yes the new autobeatgrid analysis has been vastly improved. As I analyzed a batch of 20 tracks for an existing customer, about 70% of those tracks synchronised perfectly with Traktor’s own metronome and didn’t require any major tweaks. These were perfectly usable in a live situation. It has to be said though, that I was analysing and working on a batch of rigid tech and deep house tracks.

But what about the other 30% of that batch, what happened to those I hear you ask? Well, the analysis worked, ie it got the correct bpm right for them so the grids were right in size. The problem was the positioning or more the start of the autogrid. These last few tracks had the beat markers set off beat and out of phase which meant mixing and more importantly syncing these tracks would sound like a train wreck. You can see by my video below what I mean…

So my advice is to continue using autogrid, but check every track analysed before playing live. This might sound like a chore but it will save your skin if you use the sync button. I am afraid that until time stretch warping technology is introduced this double check should be the norm.