Improved handling of BPM Fluctuations that Sound terrible because of the Fluid Beat Grid

Suggestions
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1

Hello Algoriddim Team and Fellow DJs,

The Fluid Beat Grid works great most of the time, but it has its downsides as well.

I think many of us encounter issues every now and then due to how the Fluid Beat Grid interprets tracks with intentional BPM interruptions or breaks.

In the attached video, I’ve used “No Diggity” by Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre as an example. The track has an overall BPM of approximately 76.4, but at 4:17, there’s a vocal break where Djay falsely detects the BPM as 109. This section is actually an “open” part without any rhythm. After the break, the track returns to its original BPM, and Djay correctly resumes the grid from that point. However, during the vocal break, the BPM detection goes crazy.

This causes sync issues as Djay tries to maintain the 76.4 BPM during the rhythm-less section, resulting in unwanted and distracting sound during live performances.

The Problem:

These types of abrupt BPM fluctuations are often deliberate and artistic choices by the producer. They are not subtle and typically aren’t points where DJs would mix in or out. When Sync is enabled, these misdetections create awkward moments and disrupt the track’s sound quality.

Proposed Solution:

I suggest Djay implements a safeguard within the Fluid Beat Grid to address these scenarios. For example:

  • If a sudden BPM fluctuation exceeds a defined threshold (e.g., 8%), Djay could ignore the Sync function at that point and assume the BPM remains consistent with the value before the break.
  • Optionally, a toggle in the settings could allow users to enable or disable this behavior for tracks with such characteristics.

This feature would prevent unnecessary tempo adjustments during pronounced BPM breaks, ensuring smoother transitions and more reliable Sync functionality.

I’m curious to hear feedback from other DJs and the development team. Do you think such a feature would enhance the experience with Djay?

Thanks for considering this!

Best regards,
DJ Big Blender

4

Hi @DJ_Big_Blender, thanks for the careful details about this suggestion and the video. This is very helpful. I will pass this onto the dev team for consideration. In the meantime, does it help if you switch from Dynamic BPM to Straight BPM. Maybe the version of “No Diggity” is different, but this worked for me.

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Hi again,
Thank you for your quick response and for passing this suggestion on to the development team! I appreciate your suggestion about switching from Dynamic BPM to Straight BPM. I’m aware of this workaround, but the issue lies in the practicality of applying it across an entire music library.

It’s not feasible to manually check every track for these types of BPM fluctuations and address and change them one by one. With large collections, this can quickly become overwhelming. I understand that your phrasing, “in the meantime,” suggests you’re aware of this limitation, which is why I believe an automated safeguard or detection mechanism would greatly benefit all DJs using Djay.

Thanks again for considering this, and I’m looking forward to hearing more about potential improvements in this area!

Best regards.

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6

You can turn off tempo change detection globally if you prefer straight.

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Hello @Slak_Jaw ,
That works for me too,
But if you can do me a favor, keep an eye on that edit you made.
After a while…Djay will revert that edit.
It happens to me on some songs, don’t know why, don’t know when, but I’ll keep an eye out too.

@PKtheDJ turning off tempo works better for ROCK genre

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I agree, along with resetting beatgrids…oh the beatgrids🤕

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Hi @DJ_Big_Blender, there is a global setting to always use Straight BPM. Go to Settings>Library>BPM ANALYSIS

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On my god @Slak_Jaw
Rock mixes will thank you eternally for that tip

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You’re welcome @LaidbackFred

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Yes, I know… but like said; I want to use fluid for all the other advantages…

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Got it! Well this has already been passed onto the dev team so I’ll report back here if there are any developments in this area. Thanks again for the feedback!

14

To avoid these issues, I only switch on sync during blending and after the blend directly switch it off again.

I would like to add a suggestion on top of the one made by @DJ_Big_Blender: I think this is a nice addition to have an option to “skip sync” for large tempo changes. To be clear and notified that the sync is ‘skipped’ the sync, the button could be automatically switched off. Then you see the button being switched off, then you could check the beatgrid and enable sync again when the beat is ‘safe’ or at the normal speed again

This is a good test case for the dev team: Why does the beat detection has this behaviour for this song. If that is improved than the suggestions are not needed at all :wink:

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Thanks for the additional feedback and info @EwoutdeBoer. I’ve passed this onto the dev team.

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I was testing this on my own system and then found out an even better workaround:

  • Play a song
  • Load another song in another deck
  • Hit sync to sync the bpm
  • Then on the playing track switch off sync. Note the sync will still be enabled on the ‘cued’ deck. While the playing deck does not have Sync on, the artifacts or slowing or speeding the song does not occur.
  • When hit play on the ‘cued’ deck, to mix / blend / crossover the songs, the sync on both desks will be on
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Thanks for sharing @EwoutdeBoer!