The Native Instruments elves have been busy working on further improving Traktor Pro 2, bringing the version number up to a, frankly, mind bending 2.11.3 beta12. After a long while of seemingly stagnating (and possibly dying) in the minds of many users, the Traktor team are pushing a lengthy list of fixes and improvements, which include official support for a host of Pioneer DJ’s flagship hardware, and even more crash fixes, making this quite possibly the most stable version ever.
From the horse’s mouth:
TRAKTOR 2.11.3. is a performance update that mainly serves to improve the experience on CDJs and to support a range of additional Pioneer players and mixers.
ChangeLog
New in TRAKTOR 2.11.3.12
ADDED Colored waveforms on CDJ-2000nxs2
The CDJ-2000nxs2 now show local moving waveforms. The waveforms can be displayed in 4 different color schemes following the settings of the waveforms on the computer screen.
ADDED Colored stripes on CDJ-2000nxs2
The CDJ-2000nxs2 now also show colored overview stripes. Like the local waveforms, the stripes can be displayed in 4 different color schemes following the settings of the waveforms on the computer screen.
ADDED CDJ Display BeatJump Buttons
The on-screen touch buttons for triggering 2, 4, 8 beat jumps are now supported.
ADDED CDJ Display Phase Meter
The on-screen phase meters (both the continuous and the beat-wise representation) are now supported and allow for visual beat matching.
ADDED Scratch certification for DJM mixers
The following DJM mixers can now be used for DVS and automatically configures the input and output channels:
- DJM-TOUR1
- DJM-750
- DJM-750 MK2
- DJM-450
- DJM-250 MK2
ADDED CDJ-TOUR1 HID integration
The Pioneer CDJ-TOUR1 Player is now fully supported as HID control interface in the same manner as the CDJ-2000nxs2.
ADDED Sync Song info from iTunes
Syncing Song Info from iTunes, more specifically the Artists, Title, Album and Rating for all tracks listed in the iTunes node is now provided by a new context menu entry of the iTunes node, called “Sync Song Info”.
REMOVED Keyboard Shortcuts for Loop Recorder
The key commands for the Loop Recorder have been removed from the default keyboard shortcuts, because they used the ENTER key, which was the cause for erratic behavior in context of the Search window.
FIXED “Macintosh HD” not visible on High Sierra
The “Macintosh HD” entry in the Traktor Explorer is now visible on computers running High Sierra.
FIXED Crash when switching deck assignment
When switching assignment of a display controller (S8, S5, D2) from decks A/C to decks B/D.
FIXED Startup & Runtime Crashes with Jack Asio 64-bit drivers
This issue is related to the usage of Jack 64-bit drivers. We have resolved the issue by disabling the Jack drives in Traktor until we better understand the cause of the problem.
FIXED Crash when switching deck type
Traktor crashes when switching from a not playing Track Deck to a Stem Deck using the D2 controller.
FIXED Consistency Check can’t be cancelled
FIXED Tree selection lost when connecting USB drive
When connecting or disconnecting a USB drive the currently selected folder in the Traktor browser tree is no longer lost.
FIXED About missing in Windows Help Menu
My take
Every time we meet someone from Native Instruments, since their €50,000,000 cash injection thanks to investors, we’ve had to watch them use Benjamins to light their hand rolled Cuban cigars (obviously a lie as all UK venues are non-smoking- Ed). They’ve also pulled the dust sheets off their DJ division lab tables, and started talking about Traktor again, which has got the team here all excited again. These betas are a part of a wider strategy to become more visible within the community while guiding the future development of the software.
Like Ray, I’m a member of the inner circle of VIP beta testers, privy to some experimental features and strategic information, so I have to be careful what’s said, but it doesn’t take an expert to see that Traktor is heading in a more open and inclusive direction. The addition of support for all that Pioneer gear is long overdue, and I hope they open up support for gear from the likes of Denon DJ and Mixars too (I mean, the Mixars Quattro is basically a Kontrol Z4, isn’t it?). Short term, the strategy looks to be about creating a strong bedrock by sorting out the niggling stability issues people have come up against.
The future of DJing is bright, the future of DJing has Traktor back in it…
Your take
Are you happy with the changes in this beta? What do you hope to see in the future?
Current owners of Traktor Pro 2 can get in on the public beta over at the NI forums.