Starting a Transition

A transition is on time when the incoming track's mix-in point and the outgoing track's mix-out point meet on the fusor's mix point. That is three things at the same moment:

• the outgoing track's mix-out point, where the listener's attention shifts from it to the incoming track. It is not the start of the transition, but it can be the end;
• the incoming track's mix-in point, where the listener's attention shifts to it from the outgoing track. It is not the end of the transition, but it can be the start;
• the fusor's mix point, the orange mark on the progress strip.

Each track also has a transition start point and a transition end point: where that track is when the run starts and when it ends. On a Middle fusor's 8-bar run, each track's transition start point is 4 bars before its mix-in or mix-out point and its transition end point is 4 bars after.

These examples give you time to check the incoming track and beat match it before the transition itself. The incoming deck starts 4 bars before its transition start point, with its channel fader at zero. The 4 bars are for illustration; in practice you will probably want more. When the intro leaves less than 4 bars in front of the transition start point, the deck starts on a silent loop instead. Every mix point has a silent-loop example, on an 8-bar run at 140 BPM.

The animation shows both decks, the mixer and the Fusor player through one run. On each waveform the mix-in or mix-out point is a marker, and the transition start and end points are small diamonds. Pick a mix point with the top row of tabs, and a way in with the second row. The steps under the timeline jump to each moment.

The rule

1. Press PLAY when the outgoing track reaches its transition start point. That is before its mix-out point by the part of the run that comes before the mix point, so the run reaches its orange mark as the mix-out and mix-in points meet.
2. Start the incoming deck 4 bars before its own transition start point, channel fader at zero, so it reaches that point as you press PLAY. The 4 bars are yours for checking the track and beat matching in your headphones. Give yourself more if you need it.

The run only has to fit inside the intro and outro, not fill them. The incoming intro must be at least as long as the part of the run before the mark, and the outgoing outro at least as long as the part after it. A Middle fusor on an 8-bar run has 4 bars before its mark and 4 after, so a 4-bar intro and a 4-bar outro are enough.

Starting on a silent loop

When there is less than 4 bars of intro in front of the incoming track's transition start point, make up the difference with a silent loop:

1. Set a 1-bar loop on the track's first bar, with the incoming channel fader at zero.
2. Start the deck 4 bars before you will press PLAY. With the channel fader at zero the deck is silent at the master output, and you hear the loop in your headphones while you check the track and beat match.
3. Let it loop once for each bar the intro is short of the 4. Release the loop just after you press PLAY, and the deck plays on from its transition start point.

When the intro is exactly as long as the part of the run before the mark, the transition start point is the track's first beat, so the loop runs all 4 passes. Each mix point's first example shows this. When the intro leaves some room but less than 4 bars, the loop makes up only the missing bars: Middle with a 6-bar intro has 2 bars of room and loops twice.

Start-with-Incoming is the other way in, and every mix point has an example of it. Starting the incoming deck starts the run too, so there is no separate PLAY press. Start the deck on its transition start point. The run starts the moment the deck does, so it gives you no time ahead.

Start and End

A Start fusor is on its mark the moment it starts, so the incoming track's transition start point is its mix-in point and it needs no intro. Cue the silent loop on the mix-in point. All of the run comes after the mark, so the outgoing outro has to last the whole run.

An End fusor reaches its mark as it finishes, so all of the run comes before it. The transition start points are a whole run before each mix-in or mix-out point, and the outgoing track's transition end point is its mix-out point.

With an effect tail

An effect tail does not change when you start. The bars you set are the run to End, as on any End fusor, so line the decks up exactly the same way. The tail comes after End. In Auto Run Mode the clock plays it out over a further 25% of the transition's length, 2 bars on an 8-bar run, and the player rescales its progress strip to make room for it, so the orange End mark sits short of the strip's right edge. To choose when the tail tapers off, run a tail fusor in Mixed Run Mode: the run stops at End and your crossfader plays the tail out. See A run with an effect tail.