Traktor DJ Studio

Infobox Software
name = Traktor 3
caption = DIgital DJ Software

developer = Native Instruments
latest_release_version = 3.4.1
latest_release_date =
operating_system = Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
genre = Digital DJ Software
website = [http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=traktor3&L=0 www.nativeinstruments.com]

Traktor DJ Studio (now known simply as Traktor) is a software DJ solution developed by independent software developers and later licensed to Native Instruments. The latest version, Traktor 3, offers a full range of features, including seamless looping, effects on decks and the master bus, mix and audio recording, 4 playback decks, full MIDI implementation, Master Tempo deck synchronization, and independent key and tempo.

History

Traktor was first released in 2000 and has gone through several major application changes. The initial versions of Traktor were Traktor Studio and Traktor DJ, with Traktor Studio being more full featured (and expensive). In 2002, Traktor DJ Studio 2 was released. Traktor DJ Studio 2 offered several new features, including scratch macros. It also expanded its looping, MIDI, and cue point functionality. In 2003, Traktor DJ Studio 2.5 was released. This new version expanded the time stretching functionality, added OpenSound Control (OSC) support, and gave the user limited ability to customize the look of the interface.

In 2003, Native Instruments partnered with Stanton Magnetics to develop the software for their Final Scratch product. This partnership not only gave Stanton a Win/Mac version of the Final Scratch software (which previously ran in a version of Debian Linux), but it allowed Native Instruments to use the Final Scratch timecode engine in their own Traktor line. In 2005, Native Instruments added vinyl emulation capability to Traktor DJ Studio in version 2.6 of the software. 2.6 also included live input, streaming internet broadcasting, support for more file formats, and greatly expanded MIDI capability. Soon after, Traktor DJ Studio 3 was released. Traktor DJ Studio 3 added 2 more playback decks (for a total of 4), built in effects, Beatport online store integration, a 4 channel mixer, a Universal Binary version, deck caching, as well as many small improvements to existing features..

Features

Four Playback Decks

The DJ now has the ability to layer music in ways previously not possible. These decks have Sync functionality, either to a designated “Master” deck or the Master Tempo. Decks also have independent key and tempo adjustment, giving the DJ the ability to freely change the pitch or key of a song to facilitate harmonic mixing.

Each deck offers 2 views of the waveform. The top display is a close up, zoomable waveform scrolling against a fixed play marker. The lower display shows a fixed waveform of the entire song with a moving play position marker. Clicking with the mouse in either display will start playback at that position. Also in the display are the tempo, automatic gain control value, file bitrate, beats elapsed, time elapsed, time remaining, and phase (which in Traktor indicates the deviation between the song in that deck and the master).

Effects and EQ

Each playback deck has an assignable effects processor, as does the master output channel, giving the DJ a maximum of 2 effects layers. Each effects processor has the following effects options…

Filter T2 – This is the classic filter section from previous versions of Traktor.
Filter 92 – This filter is an emulation of the Allen & Heath Xone92 filter section.
Delay – Delay with tap tempo.
Reverb – Standard reverb with Tone adjustment.
Flanger – A common Flange effect
BeatMasher – Allows for hyper edits of the song á la Aphex Twin or Squarepusher.

The EQ section offers several modes of operation, including emulation modes for the popular Pioneer DJM-600, Ecler Nuo4, and Allen & Heath Xone92 mixers.

Looping, Beat Jumping, and Deck Caching

Traktor 3 has extensive support for looping. Loop lengths are selected by the DJ and are musically logical in length (from 1/8th of a measure to 32 measures). Start and end points are quantized based on the BPM of the song. Once a loop is set, that loop can be moved using the Loop Move buttons, again in musically logical values. If the DJ desires, loop start and end points can be set manually to non musical values.

Beat jumps work in much the same way as looping does, allowing the play position to be moved forward or backward within the song at a value determined by the DJ.

Both looping and beat jumping features benefit from the new deck caching functionality introduced in Traktor 3. In previous versions of Traktor, moving a loop or beat jumping would introduce a small pause in the audio. As its name implies, deck caching allows the user to determine how much RAM is assigned to each set of decks, and songs loaded into those decks are cached into that RAM for instant access by Traktor. This, combined with the “Snap to Beat” functionality, allows a user to move seamlessly within a song and opens up more possibilities for on the fly remixing. And like most of the features in Traktor, the looping and beat jumping functions can be mapped to a MIDI controller.

File Browser

Traktor’s file browser is similar to that of iTunes. It lists audio files by row, with columns available to describe various track properties, including comments, tags, and ratings. Information from each song’s ID3 tag is parsed by Traktor and made available in the browser, and can be edited from within the program. All information that cannot be written to ID3 tags (such as comments for a wav file) is stored in a single proprietary database file.

Traktor in the Wild…

Traktor is being bundled with many of the newer MIDI devices recently released, including the Allen & Heath Xone 3D, Behringer BCD3000, Numark Total Control, and the Vestax VCI-100. MIDI templates for Traktor are also bundled with the Feena Electronics FMDJ9303, the KontrolDJ, and the Ecler Nuo series of mixers. But a dedicated controller isn’t necessary because any MIDI device can be used to control Traktor’s features. Likewise, Traktor is compatible with a wide variety of audio interfaces on both Mac and PC.

External links

* [http://www.native-instruments.com Official website]
* [http://www.digital.dj/articles/dj-software/native-instruments-traktor-dj-studio-3.html Traktor Review on www.digital.dj]