The transition editor gives you precise control over how DJ.Studio transitions between each song. You can create unique transitions for each crossover in your mix.
This editor can work in a simple, preset-based way, or you can draw in custom transitions in as much detail as you want. You can even use stems to perfect your transitions.
There are several components involved with the transition editing process.
Carousel mode is the best for creating quick mixes using transition presets, and Studio mode is better if you want to create more detailed, custom transitions and automation.
This video shows you everything you need to know about the transition editor.
Transition Editing Workflow
These are the basic steps to work on your transition
Select on one of the blue transition frames to open the transition window. (number 1 in the screenshot below)
First you focus on the location of the transition:
Grab the handle with the 3 dots on the left top side of the blue frame, and drag it to where you want the transition to start. (number 2 in the screenshot below)
Now, Click on the olive colored header of the second track and drag it to the left or right, so it comes in at the point you want it to. (number 3 in the screenshot below)
Now, grab the right blue frame handle, and drag it to where you want the transition to end. When the playhead passes the right side of the blue frame, the first track will be muted/stopped. (number 3 in the screenshot below)
You should now have something that looks like this:
You can also influence the length of the transition window by clicking on the numbers of bars in the middle bar. (number 5 in the screenshot below).
Now, you can start to customize the way the effects and controls are used to make the transition.
The easiest way to do this is by opening the transition tab at the bottom of the screen. (number 6 in the screenshot above).
You can combine one of each type, for example, Volume, Bass, Filter, Mid, High, Effect In, and Effect Out - all in the same transition.Experiment with the options, and listen back to the transition until you are happy.
If you want to manually draw in the transitions, choose ‘Manual’ on the transition value, and then you can click and draw the value lines in the timeline.
You can activate Stem separation by clicking on the button with the 4 stripes in the blue transition window header. (number 7 in the screenshot above).
When happy, Lock the transition with the center bar Lock button, (number 8 in the screenshot above).and move on to the next transition with the Next transition button. (number 9 in the screenshot above).
This shows you the basic workflow for creating and editing transitions.
Transition Tab Interface
Use the Transition tab to combine a range of transition presets together, making smooth mixes.
Categories:
A. Equalizer
In the Equalizer area of the Transition tab, you have the options for EQ-based transition presets (Volume, Bass, Mid and High) You can combine all of these 4 types, each with their own fade presets.
B. Effects
In the Effects area of the Transition tab, you can use more advanced transition effects, including Noise, Effect In and Out, Filter, and Side Chain.
C. Stems
In the Stems area of the Transition tab, you can enable Stem Separation transitions for even more control over your blend. This lets you set the transition independently between the drums, bass, melody, and vocals.
D. My Presets
In the My presets area of the Transition tab, DJ.Studio Pro users (or higher) can save their own transition presets.
Create a custom transition in the timeline editor.
Click ‘Save’ in the top left corner of the first Preset column, and give it a recognizable name.
Your new custom preset will now appear in the My Presets tab.
Stems presets are orange, and EQ & Effects based presets are shown in grey.
Your custom transition presets can be used as the default transition type in the Harmonize function.
You can also delete your custom presets in this area.
Transition Settings
Click the cog icon in the top right corner of the DJ.Studio app to open the Settings menu > Transitions, to configure how transitions work in the app.
Default Transition - Specify which type of transition you want to be used by default when new songs are added to a mix.
Transition Length In Bars - Set how long the default transition frame is for any new transition that is created when you add a new song to a mix project.
Synchronize Tempo - Turn on/off automatic beat matching. Only disable Synchronize tempo, if you want to mix tracks with different BPMs, without changing their speed.
Tempo Transition - Choose when the BPM change should start within the transition.
Full - The tempo change starts at the beginning of the transition and reaches the 2nd track's natural speed at the end of the transition frame.
Second Half - The tempo only starts to change 1/2 way through the transition frame.
In-Mix Point - Set the default location at which the incoming track starts by default for transitions, and therefore deciding where the transition window is placed. If you for example set this at 8 bars, the transition will start 8 bars into the incoming track.
Out-Mix Point - Set the default out-mix point to define what part of the outgoing track should not be used. This determines where the transition frame is placed in track 2, letting it start. If set to 16, the last 16 bars of the outgoing track will be skipped.
Transition Preset Curves
Most of these values can be applied with the following preset automation curves:
None = The value is not used for the transition.
Crossfade = The selected value is slowly decreased for the first track, and increased for the second track in equal strengths. This creates a smooth fade from one to the other.
Fade In = The chosen parameter is slowly bought up for the second track, and is not affected for the first track.
Fade Out = The value is slowly decreased for the first track, while it isn’t changed for the second track.
Swap = The value is swapped at the crossing point. The user can drag the crossing point to the place they want the swap to happen.
Manual = This option lets you draw custom automation values using the automation line.
Preset Strengths
Note, that each type of automation preset can be applied with a percentage strength of: 25/50/75/100%
Simply click the percentage section of the interface to change the percentage.
Each of these percentages results in an automation curve of differing speed and intensity.
100%
75%
50%
25%
Transition Timeline Editor
This section explains the timeline section of the transition editor in more detail.
The main component of the transition editor is the blue transition frame. This is the centerpiece of moving, editing, and controlling transitions.
Clicking and dragging the top blue header lets you move the transition frame. It also displays a graphic showing the transition between the two keys.
The left and right handles determine when the transition starts and ends. Outside of these handles, the relevant track is muted. You can drag these to move them.
You can also drag the top yellow bar of a track, to move the placement of the song within the transition frame. This is useful, if you want to choose where the new track comes in, but are happy with the place the transition starts in regard to the first track.
The automation lines show the values for each transition parameter.
Manual Transition Editing
Manual transition editing gives you more flexibility and expression over your transitions.
You’re not limited to using the preset curves (if you use DJ.Studio Pro), and can create any kind of transition you want.
To manually edit transition automation, simply:
Open the transition tab.
Select the ‘Manual’ option for the parameter you want to automate.
You can now click the line to create new automation points and drag them left/right and up/down to adjust their timing and value.
You can create any automation pattern you want, and you can combine manual automation for all 5 of the transition parameters simultaneously.
Toggle Solo Visibility
If you have multiple parameters automated manually, it can be fiddly to click each line. So, we added an Automation Solo button, so you can make it easier to edit one parameter at a time.
Enable this mode for each parameter, clicking the ‘S’ symbol to the right of the parameter name.
Locking Transitions
When you are happy with the transition, click the ‘Lock’ Symbol in the center bar to lock it.
The transition is now locked, and won’t be changed if you use Harmonize again to reorganize other songs in your mix.
Automation
You can create automation throughout a whole track, not only in the transition.
For more information, see the full guide on Automation Editing.
Frequently asked questions about transitions
How do I do a Clean, Full Volume Drop?
You can make a Volume swap like this:
Select the transition so that you see the transition tab selected at the bottom of the screen
Click Equalizer > Volume > Swap
Click on the 1 to create a gap in the volume for x amount of beats
You can also grab the vertical white line in the transition to move the location of the volume swap.
Can I create presets of EQ curves and re use it for other mixes?
You can create your own custom presets of combination of EQ curves and effects and save them as your own preset. This feature is available for DJ.Studio Pro users (or higher).
Open the Studio tab in DJ.studio and select a transition.
Create your custom transition in the timeline editor using the Transition tab > Equalizer and Transition tab > effects area
Click Save in the top left corner of the first Preset column, and give it a recognizable name.
Your new custom preset will now appear in the My Presets tab.
Stems presets are orange, and EQ & Effects based presets are shown in grey.
If you want to apply those transition settings in a mix:
Click Harmonize
Open the Transitions tab
Select in the Transition Style dropdown the custom preset that you want to have applied to all transitions when harmonizing this mix.
If you add new tracks, this custom preset will also be applied automatically.
How can I stop the Transition Tab from being automatically shown when playing a mix?
If you don't want the transition tab to be automatically opened when playing a mix in the Studio,
Go to the Settings screen > Transitions.
At the bottom of the Transitions screen in Settings, you see the 'Automatically select transition tab' option.
With this option, you can enable or disable automatically switching to the transition tab when you're playing a mix and the mix reaches a transition.
Is there a way to control the volume of an effect, for example the downsweep, in the transition window?
You can influence the volume of the downsweep like this:
Open the Studio tab
Select a blue transition window
Make sure the Transition tab is shown at the bottom of the screen
Open the Categories > Effects tab
Go to Noise
Select Manual
Add manual automation points in the blue Noise line to create your own downsweep. How high or high low you draw the automation points will influence the Volume of the noise.
Why is the bass swap in the middle of the transition? for example at 16 bars when the transition is set to 32 bars?
Normally, the bass swap is always in the middle of the transition. That's why it grows when you resize the transition window.
You can change the location of the bass swap:
Grab the yellow vertical line of one of the basses and move the basswap to the position where you want to do the swap.
Or change the bass swap by leaving out one, two or four beats in the swap, making the swap more impactful. Go to Transitions > Category Equalizer > Bass Swap and click a few times on the number behind the word Swap.
I don't see the transition tab
If you don't see the transition tab at the bottom of the Studio screen, you are probably in a Mashup project.
Go to the left top corner of your screen
If you see Mashup, you are in a mashup project. Mashup project do not have transition windows. You need to close this project, click Create new and choose DJ mix.
If you see DJ mix, you should see the Transition tab at the bottom of the screen.
How to add transitions?
If you are in a DJ mix project, transitions will be automatically added in between a track on deck 1 and deck 2. When you add new tracks, they will be added at the location of the playhead and the blue transition windows will be added automatically.
The music stops playing at the transition
If the music just stops playing at the transition window, can you check the following things:
If you used stem separation in the transition window, can you go to Settings> Extensions and check if the Stem separation extension is installed correctly?
If the stem separation extension is not installed correctly, please follow the guidance on the screen.If that doesn't help:
1. Can you send us a screenshot of your mix in the Studio with that transition to support?
2. Can you play the music untill it stops and then send us your console.log file from your users/user/music/dj.studio/logs folder? That will help us to better understand what the problem is.