traktor 2.8.0 Rane MP2015 Pioneer
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Traktor Pro 2.8 — the walls come tumbling down

 

traktor 2.8.0 Rane MP2015 Pioneer

With the new Kontrol D2 hitting shops in the UK and stores elsewhere around the world, with it comes a new version of Traktor. But Traktor Pro 2.8 comes with more than just D2 compatibility, and brings with it two very important additions — Rane MP2015 mixer certification and Pioneer CDJ-900nxs and XDJ-1000 support.

Here’s the full very long list as seen on the NI forum:

TRAKTOR PRO 2.8.0 contains some substantial changes to the core of the software, along with numerous other feature enhancements, improvement, and bug fixes. The list below provides a comprehensive overview of all changes since the last public release (TRAKTOR PRO 2.7.3) including the improvements in the two Public Beta releases (TRAKTOR PRO 2.7.4 and 2.7.5):

1.1. 64-Bit Application Architecture

TRAKTOR PRO now has 64-bit architecture. By making TRAKTOR PRO a 64-bit application, it allows TRAKTOR PRO to access all the available RAM on computers with 64-bit operating systems; previously, TRAKTOR PRO could only access a maximum of 2GB of RAM regardless of how much RAM was actually installed and available on the computer. By giving TRAKTOR PRO access to more RAM, it will increase performance of the software by allowing management of more items (larger Track Collections, more Remix Deck samples, better playback caching, etc.).

Are you still using a 32-bit version of Windows? With this release, the 32-bit version of TRAKTOR PRO can now also access an additional 1GB of RAM (if the computer has it available) providing additional performance and stability.

ATTENTION 64-BIT WINDOWS USERS: If you are using an audio interface which only has 32-bit drivers, be sure you are also using the 32-bit version of TRAKTOR PRO in order to access the low-latency ASIO drivers for the audio interface, otherwise your audio interface won’t be selectable in the TRAKTOR PRO Preferences. If you have a 64-bit operating system, the Installer will have installed the 64-bit version of the application by default and you will need to take a few extra steps to run the 32-bit version detailed in the readme.

1.2. Multi-Processor Improvement

A significant update has just been made to TRAKTOR PRO where multi-processor support is concerned: TRAKTOR PRO’s old audio threading model has been completely updated and optimised. For users of multi-processor computers who were experiencing degraded audio performance since the release of TRAKTOR PRO 2.7.0, the new threading model should fix these issues automatically.

1.3. Automatic Deck Flavor Switching

TRAKTOR PRO now features full Automatic Deck Flavor Switching for all users; previously, this was only working when loading items via the KONTROL S8 Browser. Now, loading or dragging a Track or Remix Set onto a Deck will cause the Deck to automatically switch to the appropriate flavor to play the content.

1.4. Parallel Audio Analysis

Also new in this version is a special analysis mode called “Parallel Processing”. This option can be found at the bottom of the Analysis window which appears when you right-click on tracks and choose “Analyze (Async)” from the context menu. If you enable the Parallel Processing checkbox before clicking “OK”, TRAKTOR PRO will then use multiple threads to process many tracks simultaneously. Our tests show that processing a large collection of files can now be done three times faster with this option enabled. Be aware, however, that TRAKTOR PRO will use lots of your computer’s resources to do this and it may affect playback of tracks. We therefore only recommend using this feature in an offline situation rather than during a live performance.

1.5. Support for the New TRAKTOR KONTROL D2

TRAKTOR PRO 2.8.0 supports the new KONTROL D2 hardware controller. The D2 will be officially released on May 4th, 2015.

1.6. Spin, Scratch & Hold a Playing Deck with KONTROL S8 or D2 Touchstrip

New is a preference for the KONTROL S8 and KONTROL D2 which changes the SHIFT-behavior of the Touchstrip while a Deck is playing. Previously, holding SHIFT and touching the Touchstrip would perform an Absolute Seek (the Deck’s position would jump to the location corresponding to the touch on the Touchstrip). With this new preference enabled, this behavior is changed so holding SHIFT will allow you to perform spins, scratches, and holds with the Touchstrip while the Deck is playing.

NOTE: Backspins are enhanced by the fact that TRAKTOR PRO will stop the spin as soon as you release the SHIFT button. You can therefore perform a backspin effect for 2 beats by turning on FLUX mode, holding SHIFT, and swiping backwards on the Touchstrip. Two beats later, release the SHIFT button and the spin will stop and normal playback will resume right on the beat you desire.

1.7. KONTROL S8 and D2 Beat Grid Edit Mode Zoom

When enabling Beat Grid Edit Mode on the KONTROL S8 or KONTROL D2, the left-most Performance Button will now be active. Pressing this button will zoom in on Beat 1 allowing you to set the position of the Beat Grid with greater precision. Press the button again to exit the zoom.

1.8. KONTROL S8 and D2 Position-Aware Beat Grid Tempo Adjustment

When in Beat Grid Edit Mode on the KONTROL S8 or KONTROL D2, the two center Performance Knobs are used for adjusting the Tempo of the Beat Grid—the left knob is a coarse adjustment while the right knob is a fine adjustment. The new improvement is that these knobs are scaled based on the viewing position of Beat Grid Edit Mode so that adjustments made far away from the Grid Marker don’t result in abrupt changes to the waveform position. For example, if you are near the Grid Marker at the start of a song and change the Tempo of the Beat Grid, you will see the waveform move under the Beat Grid by a particular amount. If you then scan later into the track, adjusting the Tempo will create a similar amount of motion on the waveform (rather than a large amount of motion) thus allowing for precise setting of the Beat Grid Tempo over the length of the song.

1.9. KONTROL S8 and D2 MIDI Controls

We’ve added a new feature to KONTROL S8 (which is also available on KONTROL D2) that allows you to use the Performance Knobs, Performance Buttons, and the Performance Faders below the Displays as MIDI output controls. You can therefore use these controls to send MIDI messages to other software or external gear. This feature is not enabled by default and requires some configuration, detailed in release notes.

1.10. Pioneer CDJ-900NXS and XDJ-1000 Integration

Full native support for these two Pioneer players, including all available new functions provided on the XDJ’s touch screen interface, is now integrated into TRAKTOR PRO.

1.11. Rane MP2015 Scratch Certification

The Rane MP2015 rotary mixer is now Scratch Certified and can be used as an audio interface for TRAKTOR PRO in conjunction with Timecode vinyl and/or CDs.

1.12. Additional Bugfixes

  • Beta #2 (2.7.5) had a problem with FX routing modes—this issue has now been fixed.
  • Beta #2 also had a problem with playback of long M4A (AAC) files in the 32-bit version of the application. This has been fixed.
  • Beta #2 sometimes exhibited crackling when loading new tracks into Decks. This version resolves this issue.
  • Beta #2 could have high CPU spikes when used on some low-performance systems. We have made a change which prevents this.
  • We fixed a problem where TRAKTOR PRO would unnecessarily update the tags of tracks which are in the Preparation List at startup.
  • An issue was reported where TRAKTOR PRO could hang when accessing the Explorer node of the Browser Tree. This issue has been fixed.
  • At the same time, we also fixed an issue that could cause TRAKTOR PRO to crash when opening an Archive folder containing over 2500 .nml files.
  • We fixed an issue where TRAKTOR PRO would unnecessarily update all file tags when clicking on a Playlist .nml in the Explorer node of the Browser Tree.
  • We also fixed an issue where TRAKTOR PRO would unnecessarily update file tags when deleting items from a Playlist.
  • We fixed the CPU Load spike that can sometimes occur when engaging Keylock or Filter for the first time.
  • There was a problem where you sometimes couldn’t re-order tracks in a Playlist without first clicking the “#” column twice and this has been fixed.
  • The Battery Indicator in TRAKTOR PRO’s header was broken on some 64-bit systems and wouldn’t show the battery level. This is now fixed.
  • An improvement has been made to MP4 (AAC) audio handling on Windows which should remove crackling during playback of these file types.
  • When adjusting the Master Clock Tempo via the S8 or D2, we have removed the “Hold BACK to Reset” text since this function wasn’t valid for the Master Clock.
  • This version contains a fix for some crashes on startup which were part of the first Beta (2.7.4)
  • There were also reports of crashes or hangs on shutdown on some Windows systems and we have made a fix for it.
  • A bug was reported in 2.7.3 where a Deck would stop when loading a track into the playing Deck regardless of preference settings. This issue has now been fixed—loading a track into a playing track will leave the Deck playing so you immediately hear the newly-loaded track.
  • We also fixed an issue where jumping out of an Active Loop via a HotCue would disable the Loop—the Loop will now remain active when doing this just like in TRAKTOR PRO 2.6.8.
  • Fixed a problem where memory corruption could occur when browsing and sorting the Explorer node under very specific conditions with the S8 or D2.
  • Lastly, we fixed two issues which occurred when making changes to tracks (such as changing the track Rating) in the Explorer node while that same track was already playing in a Deck; doing so could result in the analyzed tempo being lost (causing the track to fall out of sync) or removal of the “played” checkmarks from the track. These issues should no longer occur.

1.13. Controller Editor

Controller Editor has been upgraded to version 1.8.0.262 to support KONTROL D2 in addition to other improvements and bugfixes.

2. Known Issues in TRAKTOR PRO 2.8.0

2.1. No ALAC Support on Windows

This issue still exists since Microsoft doesn’t offer any native ALAC support and since Apple’s QuickTime library has been deprecated. While this beta version does not solve the problem for Windows users, we are still investigating ways of adding this support to TRAKTOR itself since we can no longer rely on the original libraries we used for providing this functionality.

2.2. Fullscreen Issues on Windows

Some Windows users with high-resolution monitors are experiencing trouble when setting TRAKTOR to Full Screen Mode. This problem appears to only occur when the “Change the size of all items” Display Preference is set to a value larger than 125%. Therefore, if you are experiencing the problem, setting the preference to 125% or smaller should temporarily fix the issue while we continue to investigate a permanent fix.

2.3. Crackling During Playback of WMA Files on Windows

We have now diagnosed the issue that is causing the WMA playback problem on Windows, but we still need to implement a workaround for the problem which will take more time. Therefore, WMA playback issues still exist in this release version.

2.4. High CPU Load when Loading Tracks on OS X 10.8

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion is no longer supported in TRAKTOR PRO 2.8.0. Users of OS X 10.8 may find high CPU load when loading Tracks into the Decks. If you experience this, please upgrade your OS to at least OS X 10.9 Mavericks.

Why v2.8 is important

That’s quite some list, but it’s the Rane certification and Pioneer support that signifies real change for Native Instruments. Having more or less cut itself off from the DJ world and adopting their own hardware and software ecosystem, it would appear that the drawbridge has been lowered, and former friends welcomed back, as well as embracing new friends who used to be exclusive with their long standing competitors.

Where this goes will be interesting. Making Traktor Pro work with CDJs and XDJs is a no-brainer strategically, but my guess is that making Traktor Scratch Pro work interface-free with the world’s club standard install mixers is likely to be much easier than making their own four channel model. There’s no point entering a crowded market with established standards and hoping to make a difference.

It also signifies a potential for a great many more USB audio interface enabled mixers to get the certification treatment. Imagine all those Rane and Allen & Heath mixers suddenly working with Traktor without lugging an actual audio interface.

Time will tell whether NI will begin to work with other controller makers, as that’s an entirely different kettle of fish. Because Serato and NI’s vision of DJing are quite different, making Traktor adequately fit into a Serato workflow and vice versa, not to mention the old issue of getting jog wheels to work properly.

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Mark Settle
The Old Owner
I was the editor around these parts for the first two decades of the DJWORX journey. I’m on a creative journey at The Worxlab, and drop in occasionally here. Expect the odd article from me every now and again.
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61 Comments

    1. One would imagine that the reasoning is because Traktor Scratch is the version that specifically has dvs features. Those features can still be useful for those of us that simply enjoy and prefer to cue with a record.

    3. in a lot of big clubs round the world the Bozack, UREI and Rane 2016 rotary mixers ran the roast. Many house DJs prefer to mix on rotary mixers and since they grew up using real vinyl and rotary mixers DVS and rotary mixers is actually a preferred method of dj’ing for them.

  4. OMG I’m so happy right now 64-bit, parallel analysis and certification for MP2015 and DJM900NXS that’s huge I mean still waiting for DB4 certification but I’m really happy looks like NI is taking switchers seriously.

    1. Unfortunately, you still won’t be able to use your DJM900NXS with 64 bit Traktor. Even though the driver is made for a 64 bit environment, Traktor x64 won’t recognize it as ASIO supported. The driver is made for a 64bit OS, not a 64 bit application. More of us need to scream at Pioneer and the OEM vendors for the support. The other option is Mac OS, core audio makes this null.

  5. While the mixer certs are big, that multi-core support, 64-bit and concurrent analysis across cores is MASSIVE, like, completely massive overhauls of major issues that have been plaguing Traktor users for years.

    I know more certified mixers are great (though more under the $3500 price point would be far more interesting), but it can’t be stressed how important the future of Traktor is wrapped up in better backend support, something we’ve been lacking for years. Not to mention, it’s one more step on the path of developers being forced to provide 64-bit drivers for Windows, since some *cough*Pioneer*cough* don’t.

    2. I’m not a hardcore Traktor user like a lot of you, but I can see why these would be important to you. I speak more bigger picture, and how NI’s new openness has the potential to shake up the industry, but in a very good way.

      1. My opinion (as an NI user) has always been that Traktors’ strength is in it’s ability to adapt to almost any environment. The ability to walk into a booth and use what is on hand. A pair of CDJs and/or a DJM with a soundcard and you are ready to go. It’s refreshing to see Serato starting to follow suit with the new club kit upgrade.

        The really big news for me was the access to more RAM, even the 32 bit mode allows you 3Gb instead of the 2Gb that was allocated to the application in previous versions.

        1. Yeah, but that third gig was dedicated for analysis. So we were still kind of left behind.
          Regardless, 100% agree with the rest of the points.

      2. I guess. The problem is I don’t see this as really useful for the majority of consumers. Is this going to move more MP2015s? I doubt it. I mean, maybe a few, but we’re all aware there aren’t going to be a ton of those sold regardless. And while direct integration with more $1000+ CDJs is great, what about the other guys? Why not integrate with the new Gemini CDJs, or Denon, or mixers that people are more likely to buy?
        Hopefully this is a first step, but as much as I love using Traktor (and boy do I), I’m generally cynical regarding Native Instrument’s movements, since I have been left behind by them so many times. (seriously, when are we getting Extreme Mapping directly in Traktor on PC? Come ON guys.)

        1. I think there are a lot more MP2015s being sold than you think (relatively) and this will help a lot for traveling house djs that use Traktor but didn’t want to invest the $2800 without it being certified..will help setup and workflow 100%…if the DB4 & DB2 were certified at launch I’m sure they would have sold more…

          1. Oh, it’s not that this isn’t useful. The more certified mixers the better. 100%. And it’s not that I think there aren’t ANY MP2015s being sold. I’m sure there are a bunch. But in the scheme of things, it’s going to be a blip in comparison to many, many other lower cost mixers. (Keep in mind, I say this as someone who is salivating over wanting to buy one)

            My main point in this conversation, however, is that the inclusion of the MP2015 is not nearly as important as a lot of other fixes Traktor has, like 64 bit support, a better audio engine and actual multicore support. We shouldn’t reward NI for making their software usable, but that stuff is massively important.

      1. I like to think they built up a “broken” credit with the last four releases, and we can have a few where things get back to the status quo of “Most of the stuff works”

  7. One major bug is the missing fonts (besides traktor font) in the preferences! Non english-latin characters are not displayed properly. Confirmed for greek language under osx.

    1. Seriously, especially with strange characters in various artist names with witch house and the whatnot, reading my collection is a practice in frustration.

    1. Service Centre needs a complete rehaul, like why an’t it pull in my purchased SN’s from the NI account page instead of me having to go there and put them in manually. This is my biggest gripe.

  9. Yay 64bit! Going x64 is an important step that can’t be understated.

    …but that also tells me a fundamental rewrite of their OLD codebase isn’t in the cards in the next 2 yrs, because it would be foolish to go x64 and then rewrite everything again right away. So, hopes for 3.0 dashed, alas.

    1. As far as I know, 3.0 is coming. It won’t be a ground up rebuild, but it’s coming. This version came with a LOT of ground up rebuilds, though, so hopefully more is coming.

        1. Do I know for a fact? No.
          Would it be stupid on Native Instrument’s part to go another year without a full whole-number upgrade to one of the most popular DJ brands in the world? Yes.
          I know Native Instruments isn’t staffed by complete idiots, and while we may not always agree with all of their decisions, I have more faith in them even than that.

  10. Thing is, nobody said MP2015 is going to be Traktor-exclusive, right? I wouldn’t be surprised to see official Serato support being added in the future. And then, it somehow seems similar to Virtual DJ supporting Rane 62…

    1. VirtualDJ support for the Sixty-Eight is easy – it’s one of the first things I did when I got the MP2015 in. It’s a matter of time before VDJ adds it as a plug and play option. As for Serato DJ — that’ll require a little code tinkering and building it into the DVS plugin, but it’s a no-brainer really. Again, it’s just a matter of time.

  11. I am very happy regarding Rane Integration. Frankly I am seriously happy.
    But Realistically I think is more “political” decision than real need.
    in the Real life will be very hard to see for a “normal” Dj a Mixer like Rane MP2015 in a small (impossible) medium and also big club. By the way I am happy for this “open” windows.

    Still don’t understand why with a Thousand of possibility with remix Deck, 4 Deck, etc.. they still are taking time to put a flexibile beatgrid and better grid management and editing (in a certain way you can also adjsut the grid…but is not like in ALL the other software). Maybe their betatester never play the wonderful (ironic) 70’s or they have time to scan and adjust all track in Ableton. I really don’t understand.
    Just my 2 cents…

    2. Trust me, NI knows they need that feature. I’ve been saying for a while that if the next version doesn’t have flex grids I’m gonna move to something else. Cause, seriously, this is absurd.

      1. Mr.Helfer,I really totally agree with You!! Clearly I was ironic about their “betatester” (that I am sure are Great!).
        Just I can not understand why they not implement with this “simple” features (that everyone have).

        I am old dj (I play regularly in a club/bar 4 times a week since 15 year). I am not a producer neither superstar Dj…just a normal low profile dj that play every genres..and without this implementation of beatgrid I still can not use the great potentiality of Traktor. In SeratoDj or Vdj or MV I can really potentially do my gig without pitch fader (due flex grid)…but NI that do a hardware without pitch is absurd that don’t have! (I love s8, I bought, but now i will re-sell. I would like to use..but how to afford 4 hr gig of funky or 80s without a flex grid or using only a tempo knob??)

        Regarding Mp2015…is true that fit perfectly in Traktor scratch. But I still think that is more “strategic” than real need. I can consider kissed from lucky if I find Pio 900, or xone (but usually 850) in club. You think really that will replace all club mixer? I will love..but I have, personally, some doubt.

        1. I’m not a superstar DJ at all. I have club gigs a few times a month and work a day job.
          And I agree with you. They need flex grids, like, bad. Personally, though, I don’t think the S8 needs a pitch fader. Adjust the sensitivity on the touch strip for pitch bending and use shift for larger changes in the pitch of the track using the knob. :) But, then again, a 4 hour funky 80s gig is not best served by the S8, at least not without turntables or CDJs attached.

    1. NI has already support their own hardware. The x64 drivers we are complaining about are other OEM companies like (wink, wink) Pioneer. My DJM850 and CDJ900’s are only supported in 32 bit mode, but my Z2 is supported in 64 bit. A bit of a kick in the groin since quite a few of us have been looking for 64bit drivers from Pioneer for between 6 months to a year now.

  13. If I update to 2.8 will my S2 Mk2 work or will I have to take the extra steps and use the 32 bit version still? I want access to all of that extra RAM. My 16 GB i5 equipped Toshiba Satellite machine isn’t getting enough exercise.

    1. The s2MK2 should work. I’d recommend making sure you have the installer downloaded for the version you want to use saved locally, just in case, so you can roll back.
      But, as far as I know, it’s really only Pioneer equipment that doesn’t work.

  14. Is anyone else experiencing the Library Browser toggle ‘function crash’? I loaded up version 2.8.0, and once I pressed in on my library browser knob, I lost the ability to scroll in my browser and pressing the button again did not recover the ability to scroll.

    This seems like a pretty commonly used function to let stand, to me.

  15. Apart from the obvious welcome updates with certification / HID what is really good about the above release from NI is the openness about what they have been up too to improve Traktor.

    This is really welcome, makes you feel like they are engaged with the users again. ;)

  16. Long-time Traktor Scatch user here, I’m interested what does “the old issue of getting jog wheels to work properly” refer to? I’m totally unfamiliar with Serato, but I’m interested in their differences.

  18. How did NI fall off so much? Look at the sheer number of bugs that needed to be fixed. Wow!!! I’m not sure what happened at NI. But its obvious that whoever they got involved with version 2.7, messed things up big-time. Its also obvious that whoever that person was/is was not involved in 2.6.8 and earlier versions. Amazing how a company can let someone destroy their reputation.

    This must have been a smooth guy. A salesman type guy that talked NI into going into a direction that abandoned a certain genre of Dejaying. An extremely selfish and shortsighted individual that NI almost let destroy the company.

    I could be wrong but the way that everything went to crap when version 2.7 was released suggests to me that something has changed. Either they got rid of someone or hired someone new. Whatever they did has caused the entire DJ industry to look at them as creators of poor buggy software. Before 2.7 everything was fine.

    1. If you look at any software bug fix list, it’s usually long, and often longer than the one above. What we’re seeing (just like Scratch Live/ITCH to Serato DJ and VDJ7 to VDJ8) is a complete codebase rebuild. The odd wheel is likely to fall off in the big change. But it quickly gets sorted.

      A closed ecosystem is NI’s problem, something that seemed like a good idea for them at the time but has proven to be a bad longer term plan. The industry changes every year, and NI needed to respond accordingly, as as far as I can tell they have. We’re certainly waiting for Traktor Pro 3 to see what that will bring.

  19. Just downloaded it and installed it. I can tell you that this “2.2. Fullscreen Issues on Windows” still isn’t fixed. I’m so done with Traktor. Horrible support for Non-NI gear, application doesn’t scale properly on windows machines (2.6.8 was fine). 5 Year old interface, Doesn’t recognize hardware as plug and play like the other softwares are now doing (unless its NI hardware then you are fine). This might get removed but I’m going to say it anyway. NI want to complete crap in the last 2 years or so. Horrible Software, Gimmicky new hardware that only caters to button pushers. I’m done.