Traktor Pro - Tutorials, Tips & Tricks & Discussion

Quick waffle here on what i have learnt re setups:

There are a multitude of different ways you can use Traktor wit different setups - it will work with any Midi controller - so really its down to personal preference:

The M-Audio Evolution UC33e is a solid reliable controller with loads of Faders, Knobs and Buttons to which you can assign loads of different things to Traktor. As far as value goes for multi use Midi Controllers, this seems to be the best. Comes very highly recommended from Kid Handsome too!

If you want a more DJ-Specific all in one controller, one of the most popular setups is the Vestax VCI-100 - I also believe this to be a good all round safe choice for a setup using Traktor.

Both the VCI-100 and the UC33 are just MIDI controller's - they do not contain Soundcards (The Xponent and the Vestax VCI-300 Do however). So, to Monitor with Headphones you will need a soundcard. The Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ seems to be a good choice.

What i like about the Vestax VCI-100 is is DJ specific and not just a generaic controller that can be mapped for use with Traktor etc. This may not matter to some but I'm just used to all in one DJ controllers so its my preference. It has the basic's laid out as you'd expect and it if you are used to using CDJ's and a mixer etc, with a few extras on there too - some which are assignable for multi use. It also has platters which many say are pointless in Traktor but again, its a personal thing as some people still like to use them on occasion.

The other thing I like about it is that it has a very solid userbase and a dedicated following. From my background of working in the software industry I know how advantageous this can be. www.djtechtools.com is one of the leading websites for digital DJ's and they have their own custom version of the VCI-100 that they have made a custom mapping for, and then applied an overlay on the actual unit itself. It can be bought from here ($600 including shipping, works out at €400).

What I plan to do, is use both the VCI-100 and the UC33 together. The Vestax will do the normal stuff and I'll map the UC33 for some effects and other features I might want to use in Traktor. I'd live to give some of the more advanced features that Traktor has to offer - I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out and I'll let you know more in a few weeks.

Cheers, will do.

Another thing i was thinking of doing is having some sort of Traktor Meetup? I'm happy to have a few people around to my place where we can share tips and tricks etc. Who here is a bit of a Traktor expert that would volunteer to come over and teach us noobs a thing or two?

Anyone interested?

Nice articles on Traktor add-ons on DJ Tech Tools here: http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/11/16/third-party-utilities-for-traktor-pro/

Will be organising a meetup soon pm me if interested

Nice post from Ean Golden from DJ Tech Tools on Traktor Effects
http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/02/03/traktor-fx-tutorials/

Ugh, long story but I never got a renewal notification and someone else bought it and is now trying to rip me off to buy it back.

Yeah I have a few but not sure if I can be arsed. I really enjoy making the sites and they are usually quite successful at the start, but you have to keep putting the effort in and updating it constantly - and I often do not have the time or just cannot be bothered, so I might just leave it be. Pity really it was getting 5,000 unique hits a month and I had planned to put advertising on it and see if I could make some money on it - cause those .dj domain names are dam expensive, €90 a year!! With djtechtools and skratchworks it hard to compete so I might just let it die... I do have the registered details of over 3000 users should i ever want to do something else though.

Anyway we digress - here are a few more videos on Traktor:

Traktor Pro FX Tutorials with Kontrol X1
http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/02/03/traktor-fx-tutorials/

VCI-100SE Mapping Tutorials:
http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/02/15/vci-100se-mapping-tutorials/

Just fount this post on the djtechtools forum: http://www.djtechtools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3545 - it's an FAQ with loads of links to topics of interest, not just on traktor but all areas of Dj'ing etc too - definitely worth a read.