Stanton SCS.3M - Manual (Page 56)

Using the Effects (FX)
Now that you’ve learned how to mix 2 songs together, try adding effects to your mix! Effects can add
a lot to a song when used properly. Along with the FX modules in Traktor, you can also use filter as a
dedicated effect. Let’s use the effects now to spice up your mix.
First we will need to select an effect. Traktor LE comes with 3 built-in effects:
Delay – This is just what it sounds like – a “delay” in the audio. Think of it as a long echo. Imagine
shouting into a canyon and hearing yourself back seconds later. THAT’s delay. What is better, the delay
in Traktor LE is synced to the tempo of the song that is playing, so the echoes are always in time.
You can create some interesting effects with delay, ranging from the typical long delay to syncopated
effects and even beat juggles.
Reverb – This is a shorter kind of delay. You know when you are in the shower and you sing, your
voice sounds more professional? That is the sound bouncing off the walls and coming back to your
ears. As the room gets bigger, those reflections in sound take longer to get back to you. In very big
rooms (like big churches) your voice can bounce all around the room and linger a long time after you
make a sound. That is what reverb is. It is used in recording to (among other things) smooth out vocal
tracks. DJs might use reverb when scratching over the top of another track to make the scratches
smoother sounding. It can also be used to make the sound feel like it’s coming from a much bigger
room.
Flanger – This is a little harder to explain, but you hear flangers all the time. Technically, it’s another
delay effect, but the delay is so short you don’t hear it as a delay. Instead, it sounds more like someone
is “sweeping” the EQ or a filter. Once you play with it, you’ll know it instantly, because it’s one of the
most used effects for DJs. Flangers are great temporary effects to drop over parts of a song – especially
the parts that build up to something big. They’re great for creating energy. A good slow flange sounds
great on one of the songs during a mix – especially right before the new song drops. This is a go-to
effect in the DJ toolkit.
To select which effect is loaded into FX 1 or FX 2, move your finger across the top slider. You will see
the effect change in the program as you do this. Remember that if you are using FX on deck A you will
need to use FX 1, which is controlled by selecting “FX” on deck A on the SCS.3m. Scroll left and right
using the top slider to select an effect, in this example we will use Reverb. (Figure 6.12)
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FX E QQ E QQ FX
MASTER MASTER
Figure 6.12