Digital DJ Tips reader Jon writes: “I have made the transition from the Traktor Kontrol S4 to two Pioneer CDJ-350s and a DJM-400 mixer. I would like to integrate Traktor into my sets, but I’m a little unsure of what audio interface to purchase. I will not be using any extra hardware; only what I mentioned previously. I’ve been told so many different things, from not needing any interface at all, to needing Traktor Scratch not Pro. Also, the cheaper, the better, so any help with would be much appreciated. Thanks!”
Digital DJ Tips says:
Good news – you don’t need any extra hardware at all, and Traktor Pro is fine. Your CDJs have both of the things you need to use them with Traktor: Namely, they can be used as Midi controllers (for controlling Traktor’s decks) and they can be used as audio interfaces (for turning your digital audio files into audio signals).
As your mixer is analogue, you’d then plug your CDJs into the mixer and treat them as if they werre simply playing CDs – the mixing will be done with Traktor in “external” mode, and Traktor is effectively simply behaving as a music library and two digital decks. This is all pretty straightforward to set up, and will involve you installing audio driver software (if you’re on a PC, not necessary on a Mac) which is on your CDJ-350 CD or can be downloaded from Pioneer’s site, and also installing Traktor mapping files.
I say it’s easy, but you will need to read through the instructions to be sure you understand it all, then proceed systematically! Luckily, it’s all detailed in a guide available from Pioneer: Pioneer Multi Player CDJ-350 Traktor Pro Connection Guide. Good luck!
Do you use Traktor in a similar way to this? Or do you have some other, different way of using Traktor that doesn’t involve a simple all-in-one controller? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Phil Morse
