Yep, this happens often with tracks that have slight tempo variations. The “slip” method you mentioned usually works just nudge the grid by a beat. Also, manually check the first downbeat and adjust if needed. For tricky tracks, drop a cue at the first beat to help align the grid. If tempo fluctuates more, tapping the tempo along the track can give a more accurate grid for DJ prep.

Can you please elaborate on how to adjust the first downbeat?

When it comes to fixing the downbeat on the grid in Serato Studio, it’s really important to get your project’s BPM locked in correctly first. Sometimes the audio file’s transient markers can be slightly off, which causes the downbeat to feel out of place. A few tips:

1. **Adjust the Grid Manually:** Zoom in on the waveform and drag the downbeat marker to the exact first beat of the bar.
2. **Tap Tempo:** If the track isn’t detected correctly, use the tap tempo feature to match the project BPM to the song’s tempo.
3. **Use Quantize:** Once your downbeat is set, applying quantize can help keep all clips and MIDI aligned perfectly to the grid.
4. **Check Supported Plugins:** Some third-party plugins can slightly shift timing if they introduce latency—make sure your track is in time before applying heavy effects.
5. **Hardware Sync:** If you’re using controllers or external hardware, make sure they are properly synced to Serato Studio to avoid drift.

Getting the grid right is crucial, especially if you’re planning to export stems or remix tracks later. It saves a lot of headache in the mix!

Thanks, but I'm not interested in instructions on how to grid manually on Serato Studio. If I beatgrid manually, then I'll keep doing in on Serato DJ.

What I am interested in is this: If it's possible to set the first downbeat marker on Studio, and THEN to analyze the track, while using the downbeat marker as given.

But I assume unfortunately this isn't possible, and the only way to achieve another outcome is by manually editing the track before analyzing it.

+1

But I do have to say, Studio beatgrid analysis are a HUGE improvement from the ones on SDJ. It's completely beyond me why they haven't ported this to SDJ yet. Just more proof that Serato unfortunately is pretty much EOL.

I'm done beatgridding manually, but for those old tracks for which it works, I can at least use Studio now. I wish there were a way to move beatgrids from algoriddim to Serato.