Hi, I searched the community and didn’t see anything that might answer my question.
I’m creating anchor points in a track that has multiple BPMs. When I do this the software changes my BPM entries. For example, I’m adding anchor points for 80, 84, and 112, and then the software will change it to 79.81, 84.58, 112.10.
Any ideas why this is happening?
Thank you in advance.
I think your anchors aren’t exactly on the grid for the BPM you want.
Try this. Set an anchor. Enter the BPM for the next section. The grid will change to match the BPM. Move to near where you want the next anchor. Set a cue temporarily, which should lock to the grid, then set the anchor.
If the beats aren’t matching the grid at the BPM you want, then the anchors set on beats are showing the true BPM.
Thanks for the reply. I must be missing something. I have cue points at all the tempo changes and adding anchors to those. It lines up the grid, but changes the BPMs that I entered before, which then makes the grid get off from the beat after a few measures. The songs I’m working with have an arbitrary amount of space before the tempo change, so it’s not like the tempo changes are in beat with the previous BPM.
It sounds like a complicated track. What is it?
Take a look at it in Djay Pro. There’s a seven day free trial, plus I think the free version will let you see the beatgrid.
Engine DJ does not warp tracks. So, if the BPM are radically fluctuating, you’d have to set anchors all over the place. All that does is allow another track to sync up.
Honestly, you don’t need to obsess over setting a beatgrid throughout the track. Just set it for sections where you need to mix in and out of and where you might want loops and cues.
It’s a couple of tracks I made in Ableton strung together. I did have success with the individual tracks and the beatgrid. The BPM should be consistent in the individual tracks since they were created on the grid in Ableton. The reason why I want a few of these strung together is so I can play live instruments at the same time, juggling individual tracks is a bit of a challenge.
I wish there was a way to disable engine dj’s unwanted recalculations from what I enter as the BPM, I don’t mind putting in anchors for that. But, I think you are right that I don’t need to obsess if the loops and cues are in the right spot and working.
I appreciate the replies, thank you for your help!
@n8gz43z I agree, since you made those with Ableton Live, it is puzzling that Engine doesn’t honor those BPM. I use AL to warp and make edits and Lexicon DJ for prep. Those always match up (so far). Plus, the LDJ to Engine OS is working perfectly.
I only use aiff (lossless). If you use mp3, maybe there is a beatshift anomaly? If you can check in other software, such as DJay Pro, you might get an idea as to whether this is really specific to Engine DJ.
I agree it is puzzling, it feels like a bug, IMO. I’m exporting my files to WAV format and the beats clearly get out of line when Engine DJ overrides my manual anchor BPMs. I was hoping there was a setting to turn off auto adjusting in the settings that I was overlooking.
Which version of Lexicon DJ are you using? I’m mainly trying to find something for cue points and auto loops that works well with my Denon DJ hardware.
Think about it: if you set the anchor manually, no matter how precise you are, you’ll never hit a perfect BPM. But this isn’t a bug; it’s actually a strength. Engine intelligently stretches the transients between anchors, which speeds up the process.
Rekordbox doesn’t work this way. After setting an anchor, you have to adjust the tempo, see where it lines up, and then lock it in with another anchor—a much longer process.
But if decimals bother you, you can still emulate Rekordbox’s workflow like this: set the first downbeat, adjust the tempo so it lines up as closely as possible, go to the last aligned transient, press cue, and then release the anchor. You’ll see that the BPM doesn’t change.
However, with older, funky tracks, it’s a process that becomes unnecessarily long.
Sorry for my English.