Native Instruments Traktor Pro - Digital DJ software: Can Traktor Pro beat(match) the competition?

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Native Instruments Traktor Pro - Digital DJ software

Can Traktor Pro beat(match) the competition?

Dominance of the laptop DJ market is hotly contested, with Rane's Serato and Stanton's FinalScratch both jockeying for top position. Keeping them both in check for some time now (especially in the electronic music community) has been Native Instrument's venerable Traktor.

First launched way back in 2000, the "DJ Studio" software has gone from strength to strength. Revisions over the years have included adding more decks, advanced looping, midi control, mixer emulation, and the all important vinyl and CD control, giving the virtual experience the tactile control surface many DJs prefer. Traktor 3 surfaced in 2006, boasting four decks, an integrated Beatport store, and a bewildering array of performance options.

Now Native Instruments release the latest version, simply named "Traktor Pro", and it's clear they mean business. Where Traktor 3 was all about extending the capabilities of the laptop DJ, Traktor Pro is about honing those additional features down to a core set that actually benefit the DJ, and sharpening the focus on the sometimes overwhelming options available in its predecessor.

The "Scratch" edition comes bundled with Native Instruments' fully featured Audio 8 DJ interface and a set of control records and CDs. The core Traktor application at the heart of the package is the same whichever edition you purchase, and whether you use internal or external MIDI controllers, so we opted to set the software up using the internal mixer and controllers. An audio interface of some sort is essential for effective laptop DJing of course - cueing tracks becomes impractical without - and our trusty Echo Audiofire was detected by the software without hitch.

There's not much you can do with any sort of DJ platform without some music, so the first task was to import our tunes. Right-clicking on the "Track Collection" button gives the option to import from the default music folders, while the left-hand side offers some intuitive file-browsing tools. Also present on the left is an iTunes playlist import, while the Beatport store is noticeable by its absence now. This seems an odd swap - a quick straw poll of other DJs suggested iTunes playlists to be quite low on any list of "pro" features compared to Beatport synchronisation - but with the promise of pre-loaded BPM info for new releases from the online music retailer, one we were happy to accept. The neat info bar at the top of the screen allows users to quickly switch layouts, including a handy "browse" option when working through those increasingly lengthy libraries of music.

Prepping the library for use, while not essential, can be useful when it comes to planning a set. This takes the form of calculating the BPM of the tune, easily done by right-clicking and selecting "analyze" from the menu. For the most part the software worked things out correctly. Deadmau5, Trentemoller, Tiga and Alex Gopher all passed with flying colours, although Traktor struggled with the stop-start structures of the likes of Herve and some of SebastiAn's noisier moments, frequently reporting these as half the actual tempo. We were a little disappointed to compare this with Traktor 3, which had no such difficulties on the problem tracks. Incorrectly identified tracks can be corrected once loaded into the decks using half/double options or the trusty "tap" button, but frustratingly not from the playlist info view.

Of course, the real test of any DJ software is how well it performs at the fundamentals, and we're pleased to say Traktor pretty much nails it here. The interface is clear, logical and well laid out, to the extent that a respectable enough set could be delivered relying on on-screen info alone. Obviously we would never condone such a thing, but it's reassuring to know should you forget your headphones one day!

The usual set of playback controls are all present and correct, with key-lock (similar to Pioneer's "Master Tempo" setting), comprehensive cueing options and an impressively flexible looping system allowing for some genuinely creative mixing. The pitch range options are a little odd to anyone more familiar with CDJ mixing (at 8%, 35%, 50% and 100%), and it's annoying to have to go back into the preferences screen to change these mid-mix, but nevertheless the audio engine handles the extremes of the ranges well with the minimum of audible artifacts, even with key-lock enabled.

The mixer area is well laid out, and the controls responsive even with the laptop trackpad. The mixer layout changes subtly depending on the EQ model used, with fans of Allen & Heath benefiting from the additional rotary control for that classic double mid-range split. The mixer area is also home to filter controls, gain and a useful key shift for anyone who fancies a bit of harmonic mixing. As with the pitch shift, the audio engine handles key shifting well and it's not until you start tuning the track well beyond the accepted limit that any glitching makes itself present.

Both channels of the mixer (or all four channels, if you're skilled / reckless / crazy enough to attempt a 4-deck mix!) allow for two FX inputs. Rather than succumb to temptation and throw a Kaoss-like selection of toys our way, the FX bank contains a genuinely useful selection, ranging from filters to phasers to beatmashers to reverb, all rendered with the sort of warmth and clarity you'd expect from an external hardware unit. The FX can be chained in groups of up to three, or deployed in an "advanced" mode, allowing for far greater creative control over the sound. Even loading both FX inputs to the max with all sorts of processor-hungy distortion, Traktor remained defiantly stable - even with all four decks loaded!

Traktor Pro also retains the "Studio" aspects from previous incarnations, with simple-but-effective recording tools and facilities for internet broadcasting using Icecast or similar protocols. And for those DJs yet to master basic counting - and there are some out there - they've even thrown in a metronome...

Summary

BPM niggles aside, Traktor Pro remains at the forefront of digital DJing software. The sound quality is second to none, the performance options are genuinely useful, and the looping tools are as persuasive an argument as you're going to get for the validity of PC DJ alternatives over the more "conventional" methods.

Combine this with the timecode media in the Scratch edition and you're looking at the one of the most fully rounded laptop DJ suites yet, and its only the frustrating blips with BPM and pitch control that prevent us from awarding Traktor the full five stars.

Updates

19/02/2009 : Version 1.1 of Traktor Pro is now available from the Native instruments website. Updates include:

"Advanced Relative Mode" for the Scratch edition, improving hardware response and allowing use of looping, cueing and search functions on CDJs
Support for 14bit-MIDI
Updated Z-Plane Elastique V2.1 timestretching algorithm
Improved setup wizard in TRAKTOR PRO 1.1 for interface and controller configuration
"Manual" clock mode
Synchro Start
MIDI and keyboard mapping enhancements