Vinyl users had it even worse – though some turntables (like the Numark TTX ( review) and the Stanton STR8-150) actually had key lock built in, its low quality effectively made it a useless feature. On older CDJ units, especially the Technics SL-DZ1200, the results were awful.
This is why speeding up a track with key lock on generally works better than slowing it down – but the process always affects sound quality. When you decrease the tempo, they move apart, creating blank spaces which the algorithm then tries to fill in. When you increase the tempo, they move closer together and overlapping parts are left out. With key lock enabled, those pieces are locked down to their original speed (and thus the original key). When you change the tempo with key lock disabled, those pieces are sped up or slowed down accordingly and their key changes naturally. In very simple terms, a digital audio stream consists of small bits of sound. It originated on early CD players, briefly touched the turntable world and blossomed when digital DJ software became commonplace. Knowing the root key of a track and locking it down allows you to achieve perfect blends between tunes that might have sounded off key when beatmatched, and it also covers subtle manual tempo corrections.
Though it generally affects sound quality, key lock – also referred to as “master tempo” – is an indispensable tool for DJs who care about harmonic mixing. Link: Serato | Price: $29 via Serato Store Pitch ‘N Time DJ: KEY WHAT?
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