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Solco · Beat grids

Grids that followthe drummer

Solco listens to each track on your computer and hears its beats and bars in the audio itself. A four-to-the-floor kick gets one exact tempo, like 137.72. A disco band or a live drummer gets a grid that moves with them, bar by bar. And the downbeat lands on the one.

When it isn't sure, it says so, and puts that grid in a short list for you to check by ear.

1Real grids

Every beat, every bar.

Four tracks from a DJ's library, drawn exactly as Solco grids them: every beat and bar line, and the tempo at each beat underneath. Pick one.

Real output, not a mock-up. Solco's analysis, drawn as it comes out.

Exact when it is steady
Club tracks get one tempo for the whole track, to two decimals.
Follows the band
Disco, funk, old rock and live drummers get a grid that moves with them.
Bars, not just beats
Downbeats are found too, so cues, loops and phrase counts land on the one.
Asks when unsure
The few uncertain grids wait in one list, each with the reason.

2Checking

9,434.
16.

Check a handful, not thousands.

Of the 9,434 tracks in my own library, 848 change tempo, and Solco asked me to check just 16 grids. The Beatgrids step lists only the ones worth a look.

  • Uncertain. Grids the analysis couldn't settle, with the reason: maybe twice too fast, maybe half speed, tempo wanders.
  • Changing tempo. Tracks whose tempo moves, such as a live drummer, so you can hear them through.
  • Checked. Grids you marked right. A later change asks again.
  • From the export. Grids an export would like you to look at, in a tab of their own.

3Fixing

When a grid is wrong, two clicks.

Every fix keeps your marks: analyse the track again and they stay, and on your USB the players get the grid beat for beat.

  1. Open the grids worth a look. Click Beatgrids in the sidebar; Uncertain lists the grids Solco couldn't settle.
  2. Listen with the click. Load the track and play it with Click on: a metronome on the grid, accented on beat one.
  3. Fix the tempo. ½× or ×2 beside the BPM, or click the BPM to type an exact value. The track still plays at its own speed.
  4. Fix the downbeat. Put the playhead on beat one and click Downbeat. If the grid drifts later, mark it there too.
  5. Mark it right. Click the tick at the end of the deck's toolbar. For a track Solco hears wrong, Manual grid makes your marks the grid.

4Measured

Tested on music people marked by hand.

On the 998 song excerpts of the public GTZAN set, where people marked every beat and downbeat, Solco's grids matched the downbeats 38% better than rekordbox 7's and the beats 12% better. GTZAN is ten genres of 30-second excerpts, not DJ sets: it shows the grids hold beyond four-to-the-floor, not that Solco is ahead on any one club genre.

Downbeats: 38% better
Than rekordbox 7.2.6 in its Auto mode, ahead in all ten genres. How we measured
Beats: 12% better
Clearly ahead in five genres, within the margin in four, level on reggae. How we measured

Questions

What DJs ask about grids.

Does Solco handle tracks whose tempo changes?

Yes. A track played by a live band or drummer gets a grid that follows it bar by bar, and the deck shows the tempo at the playhead. A steady club track gets one exact tempo for the whole track.More in the help centre

How do I fix a grid that is twice too fast?

Click ½× beside the BPM, or ×2 for one at half speed. When Solco can't tell whether DJs count a track at 70 or 140, the deck asks, with Use 70.00 BPM and Keep 140.00.More in the help centre

Are my rekordbox grids imported?

No. Cues, loops, playlists, ratings and colours come over from rekordbox, but Solco grids every track itself, so its grids stay behind. Your rekordbox library is only read, never changed.More in the help centre

Do the grids go on my CDJ USB?

Yes, beat for beat, including grids that follow a changing tempo and the downbeats you marked. Grids Solco isn't sure about go on with the grid it has, and the export plan names them. How the USB export works.More in the help centre

Is my music uploaded to make the grids?

No. Every analysis runs on your computer, on the graphics card when there is a supported one and on the processor otherwise.More in the help centre

Read on

Every step, written down.

Guides

Help centre