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DM1200/DM1235/DM1285
BEATKEEPER TROUBLESHOOTING
T1 The BPM goes way off when using the search
button on my high tech CD mixer.
Some high tech CD mixers have a cueing feature which allows you to cue
precisely to an exact spot in the music so you can slam mix. The only
problem is that this mode repeats the first beat of the music at a rate which
is unrelated to the actual BPM of the music. As a result, the BPM goes off
track. The best way to avoid this is to restart the music after a search.
Make sure the Beatkeeper is resynced to the music and then press the
Cue button on the CD player. The Beatkeeper will remember the BPM and
track the music once it starts.
T2 The Beatkeeper doesn't resync to the downbeat
of the music when the music restarts.
Either the downbeat isn't strong enough to be detected, or the music was
started well before a strong downbeat. You can easily resync to the
downbeat by tapping the Beat Assist button once with the beat.
Alternatively you can cue the music to a strong downbeat so that the
Beatkeeper starts on this downbeat.
T3 Either the BPM display is blank, or it is
noticeably off.
This is common at the beginnings of songs where the beat is not well
defined. To sync simply tap the Beat Assist button two or more
consecutive times on the downbeat. The Sync Lock LED turns on
automatically, indicating that the Beatkeeper is now tracking the beat of the
music.
T4 The BPM display is correct, but the beat LED isn't
flashing on the downbeats of the music.
If this happens tap the Sync Lock button (turning the Sync Lock LED on)
and tap the Beat Assist button once to make the Beatkeeper track the
downbeat. You can also use this to force the Beatkeeper to track an offbeat
for more advanced mixing.
Alternatively you may sync manually by tapping the Beat Assist button 2 or
more times on the beat.
T5 The Beats per minute number seems to jump all
over the place.
The Beatkeeper is analyzing different sections of the music to find the
BPM. If there is a temporary suspension of a distinct beat or if the rhythm
is too complex, this number may not follow the actual BPM.
a) You can wait for a passage of music with a steady beat for a more
accurate BPM indication.
b) Hit the Sync Lock button once the Red beat LED starts following the
beat
or c) Tap the Beat Assist button at least twice along with the music beat.
Either method (b or c) will cause the Sync Lock LED to turn and lock on,
indicating that the Beatkeeper is now tracking the music.
T6 It takes too long for the Beatkeeper to find the
beat on its own.
To speed up the BPM detection process, tap the Beat Assist button at least
twice. At this point, the Beatkeeper will turn on the Sync Lock LED,
immediately providing a BPM estimate, while resynchronizing to the beat
you tapped.
T7 I hit the Sync Lock button, but the flashing Red
beat LED doesn't seem to follow the beat.
This means you hit the Sync Lock button before the Red beat LED actually
started tracking the tempo. You can easily fix this by tapping the Beat
Assist buttons as many times as necessary to resync to the beat of the
music.
T8 The beat tracking suddenly gets off track.
This may happen if the music has several beats missing, or the
rhythm suddenly becomes extremely complex or variable. You can
either resync the beat using the Beat Assist button or wait a few
seconds for the Beatkeeper to automatically recover.
T9 The Beatkeeper seems to track the music for a
short time right after using the Beat Assist
and then drifts off.
This could be one of two things:
a) The Beatkeeper is averaging the time between each of your Beat
Assist button taps. If the first tap is way off, the tempo will be way off.
b) The Beatkeeper was synced during a section of the music without
a well defined beat.
In either case, the problem can be overcome by waiting a few
seconds before preceding to tap the Beat Assist button two or more
times with the beat of the music.
T10 Either the BPM number or Red beat LED
doesn't track the music fast enough while
using the pitch bend on my CD player (or
speed control on my record player).
You may have exceeded the tracking capability of the Beatkeeper.
The Beatkeeper can normally handle speed changes of +/- 5% per
beat if the music's rhythm is steady. If the rhythm is complex (or
some of the beats are missing) the Beatkeeper will require more
gradual changes to track properly.
* If you are using a record player or a wide range pitch bend on a CD
player, note that the Beatkeeper only tracks +/- 11.5% from the tempo
at which it was synced. You may need to resync the Beatkeeper if you
exceed this range while attempting to align tempos.
* You can also manually resync the beat using the Beat Assist button.
T11 Neither the Tempo Difference graph or the
Beat Offset graph seem to work.
The bar graphs are only operational when both Sync Lock LEDs are
illuminated. This ensures that you don't inadvertently try to mix two
songs without their tempos being synced.
To make the bar graphs operational, either:
a) Wait for the Red beat LED’s to follow the music and tap the
respective Sync Lock button or
b) Tap the Beat Assist button twice with the beat of the music.
Either method will cause the Sync Lock LED to illuminate.
T12 The Beat Offset graph is not illuminated, but
the Tempo Difference graph is.
This indicates that one or both of the inputs are not playing. The Beat
Offset graph turns off when there are no beats available for tracking
on either or both inputs. The graph automatically restarts once both
inputs become active again.
T13 The Beat Offset graph has the GreenLED
illuminated when the Red beat LEDs are a half
beat off from each other.
This indicates that the songs are synced at their half beats. With rap
music and some house, mixing is often done on the half beats rather
than the down beats themselves. The Beatkeeper intentionally syncs
this way to give the DJ the option of beat-to-beat mixing or beat-to-
halfbeat mixing.
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