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How to Record in Traktor Scratch Pro 2

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Are you trying to figure out how to record your mix in Traktor Scratch Pro 2?

When I first wanted to record my mix in Traktor Pro 2 I got a bit confused as there didn’t seem to be any way to hit the record button.

Then I figured it out.

Once you know how to do it, it’s pretty easy.

Here’s a short video I recorded showing how to do it:

Don’t like videos?

Here’s some screenshots of how to do it instead. 🙂

Step 1 – Record Settings

 

First you want to make sure your record settings are configured properly.

Go to the FILE menu and hit PREFERENCES.

Then select the “Mix Recorder” section.

Set your source to “Internal”, and select the file directory where you want Traktor to start putting your recordings.

You’ll also want to select the maximum file size you want Traktor to create before splitting the files into multiple files.

I just selected the largest size – 2048 MB – so that it doesn’t split my recordings into multiple files unless they get really long.

Step 2 – Find the Record Button

How to Record in Traktor Pro 2

Next to actually enable recording you’ll have to find the record button.

You may need to set your view mode to “Extended” first.  You’ll find that at the top of your screen, just left of the search icon.

Then, on the left side you’ll see a tab for FX and then underneath it you’ll see an icon that looks like a cassette tape.  Click it.

That will reveal the record button.

Set your gain levels to the right level you want, and then just click the RECORD button and then click PLAY on one of your decks.

Do your thing, and when you’re done your mix, just click the record button again to end recording.

You’ll find the file inside the directory you selected in Step 1.

If you’re lost, watch the video above. 🙂

How to Structure Your Blog If You Have Multiple Interests

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One very common question people often ask is if it’s possible to blog about different topics and interests on the same blog.

My answer is YES!  ABSOLUTELY!

There are some gurus out there who create various Internet Marketing courses who tell their students that to be successful online you have to pick a very narrow niche and FOCUS on just that one thing.

When people hear this advice, they automatically assume that Blogging works the same way, however it doesn’t.

See, there is a difference between a Blog that you run, and a product you decide to put together, or an eBook, or a YouTube channel or a Facebook page etc.

These are all different THINGS and the same advice doesn’t apply to all of these things.

Let me explain.

Think of it like this:

  • BLOG – This is your “home” on the Internet.  People come here because they are interested in YOU.  If you are a specialist with only one major interest in life, then blog about that.  If you are the type of person who has a lot of interests, then blog about that!
  • YouTube Channels – You can create one YouTube channel for your main blog where you can post generic content from your Blog and then any number of FOCUSED YouTube channels per main interest.
  • Facebook Pages – Usually you’ll want to create a Facebook Page for your blog and then one FOCUSED Facebook page per interest.
  • Products – Products you create must be ULTRA FOCUSED not just one specific interest, but also on solving one or a few problems that your target audience has in that specific niche.
  • Email Lists – You can have one main list, and then many other smaller lists for various topics.

Maybe the best way to illustrate what I mean is to use myself as an example and to use a diagram, so here goes.

(You can click on the diagram below to see a larger size if you’d like.)

As you can see in the diagram, in the middle we have my main Blog ( https://www.freeyounow.com ).

This Blog is about ME, not about any one special niche or interest.  It’s about ME and all of my interests.

When I create content for various different interests I categorize that content by selecting one or more categories that the Blog post belongs under.

So for example, I might have categories like “Personal Development”, “Blogging Tips”, “Music”, “Health and Fitness” etc.

This way, whenever I write a Blog post I can select which category it belongs under.

This way my Blog readers can decide which category or categories they’re interested in and read Blog posts from those categories.

For my Blog I’ve setup several social media properties that go along with my Blog.  For example:

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/freeyounowdotcom

YoutTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/paulymathdotcom

Twitter Page – https://twitter.com/paulpiotrowski

etc.

So on my Blog I blog about various different interests.

On my main Facebook page for my Blog, and my YouTube Channel and my Twitter Page I also post content on there on EVERYTHING.

So that takes care of my main Blog and all the various topics I want to cover.

Then, let’s say that I want to take one specific interest of mine, and to build out a community around that specific interest.

Well, let’s use the interest I have in producing music and being a DJ.

So to set that up, what I did is I created a separate YouTube Channel and a Facebook Fan Page for this.

Here they are:

YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8dmsHVLuLsTYtobYO0-6nw

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-Freeyounow/531610173645614

Are you starting to see how this works?

So now when I record some videos, as an example, for my DJ-ing interest, I upload those videos to my “DJ FreeYOUNow” YouTube Channel and then I post a link to that video on my Facebook Fan Page for “DJ FreeYouNow”.

If I write a Blog post that goes along with those videos, I would post that Blog post on my main Blog.

By setting things up this way, I am starting to give my audience more control over what content they want to consume from me.

For example, those people who are interested in DJ-ing and producing music, they might subscribe to my YouTube channels and my Facbeook Fan Page, and get updates that way…

… however, if someone is not interested in those topics they can just remain subscribed to my main Blog and get more general content, not just specific to one topic.

Of course I wouldn’t recommend setting up a YouTube Channel or Facebook Fan page for every single interest that you have.

For the most part you can just use your main Blog for most of your topics.

It’s only when you have an interest that you really want to start pumping out content for on a regular basis, outside of what you normally cover on your Blog.

So for example, if you’re just going to be creating one or two pieces of content on a specific topic once every month or two, then you don’t need a Facebook page or YouTube channel dedicated to just that one topic.

But if you’re going to be pumping out 20-30 pieces of content per month on some specific topic on top of what you normally Blog about on your Blog, then it might be a good idea to setup more specific pages or accounts with various social media sites.

Now, if I wanted to create a PRODUCT to sell to my audience, what I would do is I would firstly choose which specific category this product would be in, as well as choosing a very specific problem that the product solves.

So for example instead of trying to create a generic products on “how to be successful” which is totally ambiguous, I might choose my music production category of interest and then within that niche market I would do resarch to find out what is the main problem that people are facing and I would create a product to solve that problem.

I hope this clarifies for you how to structure your blog if you have many interests.

My First Ever Mix as DJ FreeYOUNow

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In yesterday’s post I announced that I got the Traktor Kontrol S8 DJ controller.

Today I had a chance to actually spend some time learning how to use it.

Since I’m pretty much a total beginner when it comes to DJ-ing, I decided to subscribe to a website called DJCoursesOnline, so that I can learn from someone who knows a lot more than I do.

I’m a huge believer in investing in courses and training programs that can cut your learning curve significantly, and online courses usually provide a lot of value for the price you pay.

The course only cost me about $20 to get started, and I got access to dozens of videos that walk you through the basics of becoming a DJ.

Of course this type of course only teaches you the fundamentals, and there is so much more to learn, but at least I know more tonight than I did 24 hours ago. 🙂

After going through hours and hours of course-work, I decided to try making a mix of my own to see how it goes.

Theory and learning is great, but you also have to remember to APPLY what you learn.

I ended up putting together a 23 minute mix with 7 tracks I chose from the Electro House genre.

This is a TOTAL beginner’s mix.

After getting a little bit overwhelmed at first, I decided to stick to just doing one simple type of transition throughout the mix, and even then I missed a couple of setup parameters during the mix so one of the tracks didn’t actually start playing on cue as it was supposed to.

I had to quickly improvise and the transition didn’t sound as good as I would have liked it to, but it wasn’t that bad and I decided to keep the recording just so I can have a historical record of my very first mix – LOL.

If you’d like to check it out, here it is…

** Note: Parental advisory – The first track in this song drops the f-bomb a few times, so be aware of that.

If you like the mix, do me a favor and hit the like button (little heart) on Mixcloud and leave a comment below.

Dirty House Electro by Dj Freeyounow on Mixcloud

Enjoy!

Getting Started as a DJ With Traktor Kontrol S8

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Today I finally made the decision to buy my first DJ Controller.

I’ve been seriously considering buying some DJ gear for quite some time now, but just quite some time now, but just couldn’t quite get myself to pull the trigger on the purchase until today.

Why the hesitation?

Well, mainly because I’ve had this mental conflict in my mind related to DJing.

The conflict I have is that I don’t really have any desire to perform as a DJ in front of live groups – like zero.  Maybe that will change in the future, but right now I have zero desire to do that.

However, while my desire to be a “live” DJ is not really there, I have a HUGE desire to mix music tracks and put together remixes and mix sets.

When I listen to other DJs put together mixes, it just completely blows me away… it’s like the coolest thing ever!

I love music and songs, and listening to them individually is great, but to me nothing really compares with a DJ mix that puts together tracks and remixes them in a creative way.

I’m in complete awe whenever I see a talented DJ doing his or her thing.

So what I want to do is I want to learn how to do that so that I can put together my own mixes.

When I saw Native Instruments releasing their Traktor Kontrol S8 Flagship DJ controller a few months back, I instantly wanted one.

Here’s the video they released to introduce the product:

I mean isn’t that the coolest thing you’ve ever seen? 🙂

The first time I saw that video I started drooling.  I totally wanted one! 🙂

Since they finally released the controller a few months ago I have been going back and forth in my head as to whether I should buy this controller.

A part of me just didn’t want to spend this kind of money on a high-end controller like this since I’m not planning on doing live DJ gigs…

… and so I would start looking at different DJ controllers at a lower price range, which would be a much easier to justify the purchase of as a “bedroom DJ”…

However, each time I would look at these other controllers, I would keep seeing features that they are missing, which are available in the S8, and I don’t want to be missing certain things. 🙂

Anyway, after going back and forth in my mind I finally decided to invest in the controller today.

I’m a complete beginner when it comes to being a DJ, but I’m really excited to start learning what it takes to put together some great music. 🙂

One of the benefits of building an Internet business from home is that I get to play with stuff like this, have fun, blog about it, and then make money as well!

I can’t wait to really dive into learning the basics of this thing.

Aerogarden Ultra LED Tomatoe Garden Update

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Here’s a quick update video of my Aerogarden Ultra LED Tomato Garden 46 days into the growth cycle.

Last month I wrote about my first attempt to grow a hydroponic vegetable garden last year and how it didn’t really work out.

Growing these tomatoes is my second attempt.

I’m actually getting pretty excited now that I actually see my tomatoes starting to flower.

When I grew my tomato plants in my larger hydroponic setup last year they grew really tall but never flowered, so it’s exciting to see these ones actually starting to flower.