Traktor Pro 3 DJ software (3)

Traktor Scratch is dead — long live Traktor Pro 3

While we’ve all been salivating over new hardware releases, news on the next release of Traktor are still a tad thin on the ground. But to support the hardware PR, Native Instruments has pushed out some detail on the next release of Traktor. Traktor Pro 3 is here (well almost — it’s more an announcement of an announcement), and it’s a single all-encompassing one stop shop that rolls Traktor Scratch into a single version.

Details are slim — we have seen it, and some of the DJWORX team are part of the VIP team so have had a hand in shaping it a little. But here are the words ahead of the full September 25th announcement:

TRAKTOR PRO 3, the full version of which is included with both new hardware releases, is the most stable version of the software yet, and uses the new Elastique 3 time-stretching engine for noticeable audio improvements. The user interface has been redesigned with a sharper and flatter look for better readability in club environments, while the intuitive workflow, to which many performers have become accustomed, remains intact.

Several brand-new features have also been added: TRAKTOR PRO 3 now includes Mixer FX – one-knob effect and filter controls that can be assigned to each channel independently and used for big buildups and transitions. And DJs using an external mixer can now route unprocessed audio directly from TRAKTOR, thanks to a new mode that bypasses the software’s internal mixer. A full feature set will be announced on September 25. 

TRAKTOR PRO 3:

Two decades after TRAKTOR conquered the club, TRAKTOR PRO 3 brings punchier sound, powerful one-knob Mixer FX, and a sharper, clearer interface to the booth.Available October 18, 2018

99 USD, 99 EUR, 12800, YEN, 89 GBP, 149 AUD, 129 CAD, 799 CNY

Upgrade: 49 USD, 49 EUR, 6280 YEN, 44 GBP, 79 AUD, 69 CAD, 379 CNY

JUST TO CLARIFY THIS

Traktor Pro 3 is a progression of the current codebase, but named as v3 to underline the new wave of Traktor activity. It is not however the all new version alluded to in this previous announcement. That will come in the future.

But it’s more than just a number change — it looks quite different, and has a number of key additions that reflect in the new hardware. I suspect there are more changes under the hood that are apparent too.

TRAKTOR SCRATCH IS DEAD — LONG LIVE TRAKTOR

Now here’s a biggie, one that we had to push hard to get announced for this release — Traktor Scratch is officially rolled into Traktor Pro 3. This means… well let me post the official words that came our way to clarify the position:

Traktor Pro 3 will be ‘Scratch’ as standard and you can use any digital phono interface to work as Traktor Scratch, so rather than buying the UPG kit, you can use any digital interface which takes the signal from control vinyl etc.

So essentially if your system can see an audio interface, so can Traktor Pro 3, and you’ll be able to use it as a DVS interface with Traktor vinyl — without hacks, cracks, or any other backdoor tomfoolery. It just works.

This is huge news. The walls that divided are being pulled down, or at least doors are being knocked through those walls. We shall see if this means a return to the glory days of Traktor being the goto works-with-everything software, a crown that VirtualDJ currently wears.

Traktor Scratch is dead — long live Traktor Pro 3

MARK’S TAKE

Time for some honesty. Traktor has never been my cup of tea. I do appreciate the power that it has — the tinkerability has always been a key part for many people (including everyone else in Team DJWORX). But I’m more of a plug and play kind of guy. I don’t have the time to dabble like I used to before starting DJWORX, so the under the hood flexibility and potential power comes second to usability.

I need to be able to walk up to it, for it to immediately appeal and engage, and for it to just work. And for the longest time, Serato’s offerings have always appealed more. But having seen the new Traktor interface (sadly no play time yet), I’m immediately drawn to it, to the point where I want to install it and have a play. Being part of the VIP test team, others in DJWORX have played for a while now, but I’m not part of their secret club.

The interface doesn’t try to bamboozle with too many features on display at once. It is cleaner, simpler, and more accessible. Everything seems easier to locate and use. I no longer feel like I need to learn it, and can immediately use it. The power is there, but not smacking in the face.

The comment I’ve always made about Traktor is that it gives off an air of superiority, as if it deliberately sets out to make itself elite. It imbues a “you must be smart to use Traktor” vibe, and never really set out to be easy to use, and NI seems to have cultivated this feel too. That has clearly changed, and the combination of more accessible hardware and easier to use software should not only keep users in the Traktor fold, but also bring new users too. It’s certainly got me interested.

There’s a bigger picture being played out here, and we have to be careful about what we say for now. But needless to say that this the start of something good. Traktor is back (albeit it tentatively), but I feel that the best is yet to come. This however is a very good start.

DAN’S TAKE

Traktor Pro “three…ish”. So, it’s a big news day for Native Instruments, with loads of information that we can finally talk about. I’ve personally been roughly aware of the Traktor plans for a while, and have even been playing with a beta that would eventually become what NI have named Traktor Pro 3.

There isn’t a huge amount officially announced here, but there are a few takeaways which need dissecting. First is the most obvious: the new GUI. I’ve watched it mature via the beta updates, and have been happy with it overall. It still doesn’t support high density screens, but that’s a limitation of the graphics engine, and not something they can get round easily. It’s not really a huge issue with the new look, and I know that some of the design decisions were made to compensate.

It is very dark, though. And I hope that down the line, a ‘light mode’ will be made available for use outdoors. To be honest, it’s pretty much a universal issue with DJ apps, and if NI can get a light mode implemented soon, they’ll have an innovative head start.

I’ve been playing with the updated GUI for a few weeks, and my only bugbear with the changes is that the CUE/GRID/MOVE tabs were moved to the right of the advanced deck panel, which seems like a minor thing, but massively increases mouse movement when you’re gridding new tracks or making adjustments.

There’s the addition of Elastique 3 (from v2) for time stretching, which should handle huge tempo changes with very little artifacting in the music. It’d be nice if this allowed for variable tempo in tracks, but it’s not to be quite yet. NI have also added Mixer FX, which are basically Traktor’s answer to the Pioneer DJM color (sic) FX, which let you quickly switch between a few instant gratification effects that replace the filter knob. This is something I’m sure a lot of DJs will make use of.

One of the big points is that the upgrade cost will be fifty quid. Based on what’s been officially released here, it could look a bit disappointing with how much they’re asking to upgrade the software. Thinking back, we’ve had some pretty huge features launched in Traktor Pro 2 as free version updates. Remix Decks, Stems, and step sequencer to name a few. But… as we’ve discussed above, the big payoff is that Traktor Scratch is no more, or rather… it comes as standard in Traktor Pro 3. You’ll now be able to use Traktor DVS with any compatible audio interface. ANY. And this is pretty huge, for £50.

RAY’S TAKE

Oh man, it’s been so hard keeping my mouth shut about this (you did — well done -Ed). I’ve been on the closed beta since the beginning, following and taking part in the incredible amount of constructive back-and-forth on the secret portion of the NI forums. Because of this, and the fact that I’ve used Traktor since 2001, I’m a little closer to the whole thing than I perhaps should be in order to offer a truly unbiased opinion – but that’s why we all offer our individual perspectives here. It’s also not quite easy to give you the full extent of my thoughts, because I have been told things that can’t possibly make it onto the internet until NI decides it’s time. This is the trade-off, but I’ll happily take that over not being involved at all.

What I can tell you is that this version of Traktor is the result of a lot people with vastly different use cases working their asses off testing on countless different setups, and fighting hard to see their favourite features implemented. Every person reading this article right now is represented by someone in the closed beta circle. That someone may not necessarily have been me (because I’m a bit insane in regard to my workflow), but I assure you we’ve all been heard. Seeing all this happen makes me want to change NI’s #FutureOfSound to #WeGiveAShit. Because these guys really, really do. And if you’ve never managed anything of this magnitude in software development (I’ll wager most of you haven’t), you’re likely to underestimate how hard it is to try and prioritize so many user requests and open yourself to the community like they did. It takes serious cojones.

Still, whenever NI announces anything DJ – and yes, we all know it’s been a while, no need to beat the dead horse – a noticeable portion of our trolls users will go in the comments and say “NI hates turntablists”, “why doesn’t this new thing have jogs” and so on. I almost admire the persistence required to keep this nonsense up. It’s like you couldn’t DJ with Traktor using vinyl for the last TEN YEARS or something. Now this version comes out, and most of the users will work just as they have before. Because let’s face it: most people DJ on 2 decks. Maybe they’ll hit a hotcue here and there, set a loop. Maybe they’ll use a filter, maybe a simple delay. That’s it. I’ve yet to see another DJ use Stems or Ableton Link “in the wild”, even though those tools can really elevate your game and (like Remix Decks, which I actually see people use here and there) have been a part of Traktor for quite some time. This proves that the “aspirational” user base is a small one, and we should be happy we’re still on the radar at least in one place.

As Dan and Mark have said, Traktor Pro 3 is not a revolution. Cynics could (and probably will – this is the internet, after all) say that it’s as much of an upgrade as Serato DJ Pro was to Serato DJ. But that wouldn’t do it justice. It looks better and it sounds better. Élastique Pro 3 can easily compete with Pitch’n’Time, and one thing Traktor does better than any other DJ software is key control. We’ve been able to adjust the key in cent steps (a cent is 1/100th of a semitone) since day one, but now you have the same time-stretching algorithm from Maschine to make even drastic changes sound a lot less jarring than they normally would. With the right controller mapping, you can pitchbend a track smoothly and create a looped buildup/breakdown whenever you want, easily creating blends between tracks that would normally never go together in terms of harmonic mixing. The software also noticeably works better – the preferences window now pops up immediately, among other things.

Most importantly, however: Traktor will now support ANY audio interface for DVS functionality. This, ladies and gents, is a HUGE deal, and well worth the upgrade cost. I can’t stress this enough. You can pretty much use any mixer with Traktor now! I should point out what the difference is between a “scratch certified” and a regular interface/mixer. A certified unit will have all audio routings baked into the software config, giving you a plug-and-play experience. With a regular unit, you will have to go through the input/output channel settings manually. That’s literally the only difference. Setup takes a minute at best, and then you’ll be able to use whatever you can make work. At your own risk, yes – but I’ve been doing this with the Sixty-Four for five years, without a single hiccup. Now, there’s no need to whip out a hex editor every time a new update comes out – and isn’t that freakin’ cool.

Traktor Scratch is dead — long live Traktor Pro 3

Edit: one last thing about daytime/night skins. Keep in mind that both OSX and Windows 10 at the very least give you the option to invert the screen colours (on Windows, you can go a little bit deeper to compensate for various visual impairments). While that will mess with the general palette of the GUI, it will certainly make the dark parts bright – and if that’s what you need in an emergency, well, there’s your workaround.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Traktor Pro 3 is almost here. When it is, the team will be tearing it apart for you and reporting back on what they find. And for a change, this old Serato user will be giving a fresh perspective too. Can’t wait!

  1. Woohoo!

    Are we allowed to talk about the S4 yet? The product page is up on N.I’s site & the video’s on Youtube (definitely selling my Denon MC7000 & buying that badboy!)

      1. The instagram video doesn’t hide them. Talks about 9 new hardwares being almost 6 shown in there (from maschine mikro mk3, various komolete kontrollers and S2/4 mk3)

        Hurry up! We live in the internet era which burns out all of us in the voragine of “gotcha!”
        ;)

      1. Absolutely, as a customer that´s an ideal situation. But I guess users would be responsible for a proper mapping. Which I wouldn´t mind, there´s enough capable nerds out there and the Traktor dev team can stay focused on the software itself.

        Over on NI forum someone posted something about a Z4 in a webshop (no real details obviously) which held my hopes up for a Z2 MK2 but after this news it kind of feels like a waste of resources to develop a mixer by themselves when you can use any mixer/interface you want.

        1. I often wonder what people are loyal to though. Do they use a Rane mixer because they love Rane or Serato? Maybe a Seventy Two buyer migrated to Serato because fo the lack of Z2 update, but can now have all that Rane loveliness with Traktor Pro 3. It’ll be interesting to see how things work out.

            1. From a turntablists point of view it´s either a Pioneer S9 or Rane 72 since I don´t see any new product from NI coming in the near future catering this segment. They became a standard in that field for a reason and the price difference between the two is 100,- € (just did a quick search though). 100,- € is 100,- € but in this price range it wouldn´t stop me from choosing the Rane even though I couldn´t use the screen. The screen is what I care least about anyway… maybe someone can hack it to play Pong or Space Invader on it or something :)

                1. Main reason: two soundcards. When playing B2B it makes life so much easier that it´s worth the price for me. Periphal controllers cover functions the Z2 doesn´t offer out of the box but why make it complicated (meaning carrying around more gear and cables) when you can have it easy (one mixer and that´s it).

                  When playing out it´s already hard enough to squeeze your own mixer in not to mention extra controllers.

                2. Once I got the Traktor with no DVS interface restrictions the first thing I did was sell my DJM Nexus 2 and go on a quest to explore Rane mixers with Traktor. The allure for me is that the 61,62 and both 57 mixers are real deal battle mixers, also they offer flexibility with hardware fx I/O and they use Traktor in external mode which opens up the Loop Recorder for independent post fader channel sampling vs master output only post fade sampling when in internal mode (which was the main reason for me owning a Nexus 2).

                  Traktor DVS works flawlessly on the 61,62 and 57mk2, tho due to the naming of the channels they took a fair bit of trial and error to set up correctly. I ran into a few head scratching moments in other areas but thats to be expected when trying to use Taktor on mixers that are so heavily integrated with Serato.

                  Currently Im using a Rane 61 with Traktor and I love it! The only annoyance is that the 61 is discontinued so I have to keep El Capitan on a partition jus so I can get midi on the 61 to work. The 57mk2 would be the ultimate but thanks to it having independent USB send FX I/O for either deck your limited to what is possible with Traktor’s one FX send I/O in regards to post fade fx/Loop recorder stuff.

                  What Im keen to experiment with next is finding out what is pos with aggregate interfaces, for instance combining the Z2 with a studio desk that has multiple USB I/O.

                  After years of festering jealousy at all the hardware options Serato users have, the flexibility of DVS certification being dropped is a dream come true for Traktor turntablists.

                  1. Aggregated devices worked with previous Traktor version (even without HexEd since labeling equal to System make them unnoticeable by the soft) so I emulate it with a Xone 2D back in the day.

                  2. So I’ll be able to use my RME Fireface 400 audio interface with Traktor 3 “out of the box”
                    I’ll just have to buy Traktor timecode vinyls and plug my turntable in the sound card ?
                    (what I do with my actual DVD : Mixvibes Cross which work with any ASIO audio interface)

                    Or I didn’t understood well the meaning of this part…?

                    “So essentially if your system can see an audio interface, so can Traktor Pro 3, and you’ll be able to use it as a DVS interface with Traktor vinyl — without hacks, cracks, or any other backdoor tomfoolery. It just works”

                3. I love my Z2, but it has always needed 8 pads/side instead of 4. If they could put 8 in like the S9 and then put in the same pad functions as an S8, that would be a win for me.

  2. The S4 MK3 is out in the wild, with indeed… motorized platters.

    (look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feOVbUHcDyA for the demo)

    it requires (no surprise here) Traktor 3.

    Now I’m a bit puzzled about the whole naming convention. And yes I’m part of the happy few VIP beta test program.

    I thought “Traktor 2” would developed/improved further. And a new Traktor 3 would be developed parallel from the ground up. Some official NI info would be helpful on the subject. I’m In the same camp as Ray and very happy to see that my beloved preparation platform of choice is very much alive and kicking.

    1. The best way to “key match” is to use your ears. Personally, I’ve never once used this feature in Serato. Traktor’s key analysis isn’t perfect, and neither is MixedInKey’s. My advice is to always rely only on your hearing and treat the displayed key value as a helper tool.

  3. $50 to be able to use Traktor with any audio interface? Hell yes. I am sold. Take my money NI…. well take my money a month from now, but you get the point. I am more than excited! :-)

  4. Thanks for this article. I’ve found it to have the most information on the software side of TK3.

    Traktor-3 highlights for me:
    – Preferences window:
    – they finally fixed the preferences delay when having many mappings. This alone will have me paying the 50eur upgrade.
    – Mixer FX:
    – finally macroFX are elevated to a firdt class citizen. Just like pioneer colorFX.
    – Its crucial that they have their own dedicated FX units.
    – about macroFX, please see at 2:10 of this video for my efforts: https://maps.djtechtools.com/mappings/8671
    – Different types of DJs (namely mobile):
    “Every person reading this article right now is represented by someone in the closed beta circle.”
    the incredible amount of constructive back-and-forth on the secret portion of the NI forums”

    unknown:
    – Video
    – Library improvements

    unclear/other:
    – Elastic beatgrids: “Elastique 3 (…) It’d be nice if this allowed for variable tempo in tracks, but it’s not to be quite yet”
    – “Choose from eight FX and three filter types to assign to four hardware FX slots”
    – “Windows 10 (latest update, 64-bit)” << only!

    dates:
    – features: 25 Sep 2018
    – availability: 18 October 2018
    – upgrade cost: 50eur

    1. Élastique Pro 3 is the (greatly improved) time stretching algorithm. It has nothing to do with flexible beatgrids – this version of Traktor doesn’t have them.

      The preferences window pops up instantly on my machine. I can’t possibly tell what will happen on yours. I do have a sizeable library and quite a few custom mappings – but I also have a couple of the fastest laptops you can get for money.

      I will be testing this on a low-spec entry-level machine over the next couple of weeks though – best stay tuned for the full review. This is just a “first look” commentary on a product announcement.

    2. 100% with you on the library improvements.
      I want my Traktor to be able to sync/import complete Folders from iTunes and exported Traktor collections at once including their containing playlists. Instead of having to import playlist by playlist and then drag them in the correct folder. (the Traktor versions will create a flat playlist out of a nested folder with playlists).

      BTW having this implemented would also open the way to include a Rekordbox to Traktor conversion maintaining folder/playlists something that is not possible with the current Traktor release.

  5. stems phlegms
    still the same old native instruments, a little more cleverly disguised
    it’s all very frat-house, isn’t it?
    what happened to the all new code?

    did you see that video phil made, with all them couches and foosball tables and stuff
    imagine, you have all the best resources available, to do any musical projects you want, and you’d still want to play foosball?

    waste your money on this mess, and it will be gone when pioneer drops the serious no laptop gear, that YOU ARE GONNA want

  6. Oooooh. Colour me curious. Definitely can’t wait to see what things brings out in the wild, and also if the “omg nobody can live without it” (according to some on the internet) Maschine integration as a deck will happen. If it doesn’t, no skin off my back as I sold my Maschine and Maschine Jam yesterday, but I’d laugh at the irony…

    That new S4 is insanely tempting to say the least…. Don’t get me wrong, I barely use the features my Z2 has, but my my, that is a pretty all in one device…

  7. Traktor Scratch licence holders have paid a premium to get the original licence and now have to pay to upgrade when the upgrade for standard version gets the scratch functionality for free?? Surely Traktor Scratch licence holders should get the upgrade to 3 for free???

    1. The original Traktor Scratch upgrade kit came with vinyl and only worked with a limited range of NI only hardware. The upgrade opens up the whole world of audio interfaces, mixers, and controllers for DVS to everyone, as well as getting whatever the new version brings too. Thus the Traktor Scratch feature set has just been massively improved. Everyone is getting something in this paid update.

    2. Traktor was not in the majority when it comes to free sofware updates. In the production world, software updates and upgrades have been paid for a long time (with the exception of bug fixes). This holds true even on NI’s own platform (Komplete). NI understands that the first iterations of the software will not be purchased by those that are first timers getting into Traktor. They need to make money in order to cover the costs of things like R+D and Development. $50 is significantly less than the average deposit you will receive deejaying. You will be okay. Trust me. ;-)

    3. I’m ok paying them once in a while.

      Keep in mind that it’s not only the initial features of Traktor Pro 3 that you’re paying for. They will most likely add stuff for years to come.

      Also, while Serato and rekordbox DJ have free updates, you have to pay for certain modules (e.g. effects). That’s something NI has never charged you for.

      1. My surprise when I didn’t know this. Bought an SL3 brand new. Showed up to an event that had a 900NXS2 and wouldnt let me set up my SL3. Powered up Serato to find out that I had to pay for the DVS add on. Luckily I always have my Traktor Timecodes on hand and Traktor was able to save the day. Later that week, I purchased the Serato DVS expansion.

  8. So I guess DJ software platforms aren’t interested in having their GUI look professional anymore. It’s like a race to the bottom on who can look the most childish. Who’s designing this ‘ish? The artists for Rainbow Bright? My Little Pony?

            1. I respected Traktor for bucking the trend. Sure, they added colored waveforms (that is actually useful) but for the most part Traktor remained professional looking. Now it just looks like every other DJ Software GUI. Lame!!

              1. But I DO HAVE TO compliment them on adding a “Daytime” mode. Holy Hell, the request thread for this on Serato is SEVERAL YEARS old and they (Serato) haven’t so much as blinked an eye in response. So, kudos to N.I. for adding this as it’s a really USEFUL feature!!

                  1. Yeah, I misunderstood the article. I thought Traktor were implementing a daytime mode. I was clearly wrong about that. *don’t read articles after throwing more than a few down.

            1. Skeuomorphism is a relic of time long gone by. The majority of DAW users didn’t grow up on hardware thus needing it to ease the transition. The majority of DAW users now started with a DAW. While it’s part of what helped Reason to get where it is, if it came out today brand new, you can bet your life it wouldn’t be shaping its design ethos on equipment so much of its user-base would never have even seen first-hand

  9. Denon DNX600 finally got its Traktor DVS certificate, lol. Seriously, will it work now or there are other problems with it?
    And what about DJM 450? Pioneer seems to somehow lock the DVS routing for non Rekordbox software, iirc.
    Ooooor…maybe A&H PX3 is coming soon?

    1. The DJM450 is already Traktor Scratch Certified as of version 2.11.3. There is a firmware update from Pio ever that should unlock DVS routing for Traktor as well. And I used to have the DNX600. It worked perfectly out of the box with Traktor DVS years ago! Lol that was on a Windows machine tho.

      1. I keep forgetting those DJM certificates.

        About DNX600…That was unofficial iirc, wasn’t it? One was supposed to trick Traktor reporting the DNX600 as DNX1600 which was certificated.

  10. Taking key lock out of the equation for a second there…
    …does it sound “better” or “punchier”? I’ve seen many forum posts about Traktor sounding either too weak or punchier or better (depending on who you asked) and users reporting the equivalent of “punchier==better”.
    We all know how subjective “better” is so I can’t help but being wary of these claims.
    How technically better is it? as in, more transparent, less THD?
    I would expect improved fidelity as a result of the internal mixer bypass – which allegedly was reported to be transparent _if set to the default traktor style and with the eqs centered_.

    Also, nice one on unlocking DVS. Serato, your turn.

    1. THD is a product of system non-linearity, and therefore primarily due to analog electronics. It’s nowhere near as influential as you might think; the impact of THD is very difficult to hear once it’s below about -12dB.

      Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself with this listening test: http://www.klippel.de/listeningtest/lt/

      Make sure to select the type of speaker you’re using to listen from the “Reports” drop-down menu (it changes the music sample selection to make it appropriate for your listening equipment.)

      From what I understand of the subject matter, intermodulation distortion (IMD) is a far bigger problem in terms of affecting the sonic quality of playback than THD.

      1. Thanks for the info on THD. I should have named more so-called performance metrics but that’s all that came to mind in the moment – it seemed to be one of the few numbers I’d seen in some audio interface reviews some time ago. Intersample distortion briefly came to mind but I guess it shouldn’t happen with Traktor’s 32 bit mixing… or could it? IMD sounds like a good one too (the way I understand it, it’s harmonics resulting from interfering signals).

        This should have read less specifically:

        “How technically better is it? as in, more transparent? Which numbers have improved, and how much?”

  11. Now waiting for Serato and Pioneer to respond to NI’s opening of DVS compatibility with MIDI mappable jog wheels for scratch & nudge ! That would be quite a huge deal as well !

          1. I saw it on their website before posting here – but I didn’t get that this was “it”.

            That is some serious marketing mess.

            They announce some features (don’t get me wrong, they are not bad) and tease people they’ll announce the full feature set on a later date. That date comes – and basically, they have nothing new to announce.
            How is that not leading to disappointment amongst users?

            That’s how you give a bad spin to something good.

            1. Who thought it would be a good idea to delay and build anticipation for such a non-reveal? They should have announced it all together with the hardware. After all, it comes out before the S4III does. They are really leaning hard on this whole “too little too late” thing.

              “After years of anticipation we can finally reveal that our brand new smartphone can send text messages, display images and…. occasionally make calls”

      1. I missed that one, that is interesting.

        But actually I would like more powerful midi mapping:
        * more than 8 variables
        * more than 8 states per variable
        * more than 2 conditions per entry

    1. Wait… is that the Sep 25th announcement? Ha..you’ve got be kidding me. I just checked the site and thought it was still yet to drop. It basically amounts to “Our DJ software allows you to sync tempos, set hot cues and loops”. Mind-blowing stuff.

    1. You know what, I completely missed this. Flux-locked reverse actually intrigues me. Could be a pretty killer feature.

      Takes a little sting out of this (seemingly) non-event

  12. Looks like I can finally use the S9 with Traktor without any hacks, and then midi map that cracker to do all of the things that the Pioneer development team should have done when mapping it to serato… There is no more important feature being added to this update than this hardware compatibility (whether that’s the S9 for you, or some other digital mixer).

    1. Bit late replying to this, however are you saying you had the S9 working with Traktor before now? I tried the Hex Editor hack but it just wouldn’t play ball. However I’m running 2.11.3. It’s the only thing stopping me picking up an S9 because I love the layout and dual soundcard!

  13. Been a long time Traktor user, must be near 15 years or so. Used the S4, and a Pioneer CDJ / DJM Nexus setup. Recently I moved to Denon Prime. Love the gear but miss Traktor so much. Was thrilled to see some sort of integration coming, but disapointed to see it wasnt HID suport. Have now sold the majority of my DJ gear and have moved to Traktor S4 MK3-

    So far the software seems more internal rebuild than new features. But it feels absolutely rock solid. Its truely one of the most versatile and customisable DJ software avaialble. Excited to see what NI bring out in terms of software updates of the next few months :)