It turns out that the ability to map and customise the latest version of Traktor, and particularly its new features, may just be Traktor Pro 4’s biggest strength.
So now that the shock/surprise of Traktor Pro 4 landing has sunk in for users of that platform, it’s time to have a little think about new ways of using the software that make the most of some of the features that have been added.
What’s New
Just to recap, as well as flexible beatgridding (which lets you tame hard to sync tracks), Traktor Pro 4 now has real-time stems – or at least stems which are easy enough to prepare quickly. Among other things, it also has a pretty cool mini-step sequencer called the “pattern player” which was only available in the ill-fated and now discontinued subscription version of that platform, which means all users now get to play with this.
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The ability to take any music, make its beatgrid accurate, add to its drums using the pattern player, separate it into its four major stems (and therefore easily blend it with tracks on other decks), and finally to route any or all of these outputs through effects is definitely exciting.
However, none of this would mean much if you couldn’t control it. Luckily, while Traktor’s mapping feature could never be described as simple, it is the most comprehensive of any DJ software out there – and it turns out that this is possibly the greatest strength of the software right now, at least for creative DJs.
Stems, sequencer, effects, control = something unique
So here’s the thing with Traktor: DJs not only have a way to route audio through the effects from both the stems and the step sequencer/pattern player, but they also get the comprehensive control that’s been afforded to ambitious users of this software, who want to combine these new features to do things that leapfrog even the most advanced DJ software out there at the moment.
A glimpse of what’s possible
If anyone was going to make a video showing you the possibilities, you could have put your money on it being DJ TechTools, who’ve always been a very Traktor-centric platform – and so it happens that their head honcho Ean Golden has come out of hibernation to make a video showing you a mapping they’ve made for their Midi Fighter hardware that controls effects, the step sequencer and stems, allowing you to use the 16 knobs and push encoders of that controller to gain immediate and intuitive control over these things.
This is the best example we’ve seen of what’s now possible with this platform, and so rather than go and make a copycat video ourselves, we’re sharing Ean’s video here, and I strongly recommend you look at it if you’re a Traktor user wondering how to use these new features.
Flexible enough for ANY hardware
Just bear in mind that you don’t have to use the Midi Fighter hardware and this particular mapping if you don’t want to: We’ve got students who are excited about using the Allen & Heath Xone:K2 for instance, which is a popular modular controller, and of course Traktor would encourage you to use its own hardware for this – in that case, you may want to look at their modular controllers, such as the Traktor X1 Mk3.
For now, though, go and look at the videos, and if you’ve ever been thinking about buying a Midi Fighter, now could be a good time. However, just as stated at the end of the DJ TechTools video, no one has sponsored this post or paid us anything for doing it – we just think it’s something cool that’s worth seeing.
Enjoy!
Phil Morse
