ThudRumble posted a video this weekend of Qbert comparing the scratch response of Serato Scratch to Traktor Scratch. Predictably, there was little real difference between the two systems as both performed really well compared to traditional vinyl. With only a few minor performance differences between the 2 DVS leaders, most viewers were probably still left wondering which system is better for them. Dj TechTools will attempt to tackle that question in this article.
SCRATCH RESPONSE
As the video above clearly demonstrates, both systems have excellent response. If you start to dig into the details there is one small difference that might affect hard-core turntablists – that Traktor Scratch uses a 2khz carrier signal on its control records (Serato uses a 1khz). This higher frequency means better tracking of super slow record movements.
CONTROLLER IMPLEMENTATION
Serato has midi implementation but it’s very limited. It’s easier to use than Traktor’s midi-window thanks to their direct midi learn utility but that also greatly limits what you can control. Basic midi mappings are available but very simple modifications to those mappings are not. One example would be the new effects in Scratch live. I would like to map a button to turn on the FX only while I am holding down a button but right now it only supports a toggle action with no way to modify the behavior. For those that just want to map a cue points or other simple commands this is really not a problem but for the more adventurous DJ’s you’re going to hit a dead end quite rapidly.
Enabling the creative power of the crowd through API’s and flexible midi mappings will mean better products and new ideas. In our opinion, all companies should embrace this concept and tap into the creative ideas of their users.
STABILITY
After putting the trials of Final Scratch behind them- Traktor re-engineered their system from the ground up to make it rock solid. The results are significant- consistent stability and performance for the live DJs that rely on their software night after night.
The Rub: With each company trying to take over the other company’s territory- they are both basically meeting squarely in the middle of the performance and features balance. Traktor has greatly streamlined their system to make it easier to use resulting in a better product with less features. Serato on the other hand has been adding features, which has built out the offerings but effected stability to some degree. Both are good to go for a solid crash free set but neither is exactly bug free.
POPULARITY
You have to admit that the opinions of others are a big sway in purchases. If all your friends drive Fords, it’s going to be tough to go with Chevy. In general its safe to say that Serato is very popular in the US and Traktor has a solid hold on the market in Europe. These generalizations aside both groups are making in-roads into their competitions territory.
Based on search volume, interest in Traktor in picking up in the US and is now almost equal to search traffic for Serato:
Popularity will have a big effect on your experience with a system. Serato, for example, is ubiquitous in almost all nightclubs in the US. Walk up with your laptop and headphones, plug into the pre-installed Serato box and you are ready to go- no fumbling with cables or awkward switchovers. This is a big incentive for DJs that want convenience. If Traktor manages to re-engineer the TTM-57SL and make it a Traktor approved sound card they could eliminate that problem in one quick move but that’s not likely to happen any time soon.
BUILT IN FX
With Traktor totally dominating this space for so long, Serato finally sucked it up and added effects to their software. To make up for the midi-mapping situation they even threw in a nice nod to this site and controllerism by adding super knobs to the interface. Customize and control multiple effect parameters with one single knob- way cool. Interface features aside though, the effects themselves still leave a fair amount to be desired. The usual suspects, delay, filter, and beat crush are all their but its going to take a while to perfect the sounds and get everything working really well.
NI has been engineering stellar FX in Reaktor for many years so this is one space that they excel in. While the FX are harder to use right out of the box thanks to their legacy effects interface- the actual sounds and potential of the effects in Traktor are definitely the best on the market. With contributions from people like Tim Exile and their Reaktor team expect more mind bending effects combos in the future that will sonically re-arrange any tune instantly.
MULTIPLE DECKS
Traditionally a 2-deck software, Serato recently announced the addition of 2 more decks to their software. To access these decks, however you must purchase the associated hardware (the standard SL1 box will not work with more than 2 decks). For 3 decks, you will need the new SL3 box and to get all 4 you need to purchase the $2500 Rane 68 mixer.
Having 4 decks is one thing. Actually using them all is another problem entirely. Serato still does not offer any real automatic beat matching or beat grids, which means you have to keep all 4 pieces of music in time manually- quite the task indeed. The new Ableton bridge implementation may solve this problem to a degree. In theory, running an Ableton session in a deck would allow you to keep multiple loops running in the background without worrying about train wrecks.
Traktor has had 4 decks for several years and thanks to their internal mixing paradigm- you can use all 4 without the need to extensive external mixing hardware. Traktor’s real strength however is in their beat gridding and automatic beat matching system, which can very effectively keep multiple pieces of music in time for you. While some may call this cheating- we think its just common sense. Manually beat-matching multiple loops live is dangerous, time-consuming and does nothing for the crowd. I would prefer the piece of mind and extra time to do other more enjoyable activities.
For those that want to keep it real without the danger- You can also go half and half by manually beat matching 2 songs and then keeping the extra 2 decks locked to one of those 2 tracks automatically.
FEATURES
Instead of a full blow by blow feature comparison. Here are a few of the more important points of differentiation.
SOUND QUALITY
Sound Quality is a very subjective beast, so I am going to stay clear of making any pronouncements and just let you know what I have heard from other professional Djs. The SL1 was notoriously “crunchy” and many Djs that did side by side sound comparisons with Traktor’s audio 8 said that the NI hardware outperformed Rane’s audio interface. The new Sl3 interface with its higher sample rates seems to have vastly improved the sound quality but some Dj’s still swear that Traktor “sounds” better. This is hard to quantify, but we can tell you that the audio 8 and audio 4 are slightly louder than the scratch live interfaces.
A note from our favorite benefactor ” Dr. Reality Check“
Kids- With regards to sound quality- you need to keep in mind that your deaf- they are drunk and the sound system is in mono and distorted. In this kind of environment subjective listening tests go out the window.
BOTTOM LINE
Both systems have their strengths and weakness so it’s better to pick a platform that’s a good fit for your needs. Traktor now makes a tool that converts Serato libraries into their format making it easier to try both, and I would not be surprised if Serato soon does the same.
For electronic music djs that want access to multiple decks and a flexible auto sync system across multiple decks- Traktor is going to be hard to beat. For the 2-deck party DJ that wants simplicity and ease of use – its clear why Serato remains the popular option with hip-hop and party DJs in the United States. For controllists, the field is starting to get slightly more level but Traktor’s effects and midi implementation is still in the lead.
At the end of the day, we don’t care what you use to play music- as long as the dance floor is rocking.
However, if you DO choose to go the Traktor route… we hope you’ll buy your setup from the DJTT webstore!
The following products include Traktor 2 software: Audio 2, Kontrol S4, Kontrol S2.
Further Reading:
- All Serato Articles
- All Traktor Articles
- More info on Vynil TimeCode
- KeyLock Shoot-Out: Torq Vs Traktor Vs Serato Vs Ableton
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[…] Traktor Scratch VS Serato Scratch | DJ TechTools – ThudRumble posted a video this weekend of Qbert comparing the scratch response of Serato Scratch to Traktor Scratch. Predictably, there was little real difference …… […]
Love it! My Serato box just crashed… And after reading this, I think my interests are growing toward traktor.. I would love to champion both interfaces… Also look forward to using your midi controls, they look awesome!
like
Auto sync in unnecessary. Both of these softwares give you a BPM readout on each song, so why would you still need auto sync? Say the song you have playing is 65BPM and the one you want to mix in is 70BPM, if you cant figure out how much you need to adjust the pitch for them to be in sync, then trying to decide between Serato and Traktor should be the least of your worries right now. I’ve never been in a situation where sync would come in handy.
Oops! I meant “Auto sync is unnecessary….”
I like serato .Like what you like and are used to for whatever reason. play well , enjoy the music . be creative and on do it whatever platform you are happy with
And now, I don’t know what to buy, although I had read the article
clearly written by a Traktor fanboy
Not necessarily, I thought the article was quite neutral to both. Remember, people don’t become “fanboys” unless you give them a reason to. And maybe NI gave him a reason to like Traktor better, in comparison to Serato, which maybe didn’t.
It’s a difficult choice but I choose Traktor for my DJing needs. Great article! thanks for taking the time to post this 🙂
Thanks dude,
Really Good and Helpful
Traktor or Serato.. it doesnt matter!! what matter is how creative are you.. so its like youre driving a ferrari but you drive like an 80 year old grandpa, but this other guy driving a Ford but drives like Schumacher..
I wonder why nobody ever compares those with Ableton Live and Ms. Pinky. If you plug the Denon DN-X600 with 2 TT’s into this setup you’ll get a great alternative. The bridge just seems like an afterthought, which just allows you to edit your recording in Ableton…after! Ms. Pinky allows you to do stuff live in Ableton and the X600 allows you to drop that clunky extra box with cables. I have been waiting for that for years. This setup kicks butt and if you still want to go with Traktor then the X600 is ready for it out of the box.
I used Final scratch Ver1. I bought Fs2 when seratto came out because Seratto was usb 1.0 while the FS2 was fire wire.I like the controller mapping in traktor, and have used everything from drum pads to full control surfaces with Traktor.
italian review..
http://carlodigitalway.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/serato-vs-traktor/
Traktor is on sale for 50% off right now
making it much less expensive than the serato box
I used Serato for a while but finally i decided to switch to Traktor, i tried it and i really saw a big difference. First the layouts in Traktor afraid me but with time & practice, i really enjoyed playing with Traktor and i don’t think i’ll get back to Serato! more FX more creativity than just playing tracks as Serato do!
I have owned Traktor Scratch since 2007. Since most of my dj friends have Serato, I have had numerous occasions to use it when they let me sit in. As far as mixing and scratching, they are about the same, but to go beyond that, I will go with TS. I love the effects and it’s just as stable as Serato.
But the bottom line is…I can rock a crowd with either one!! lol
Dude, that was awesome! Nice work!!
[quote comment=”30275″]Let’s merge these two companies and end the discussion: Long live SERAKTOR!
AND while we are at it let’s merge Rane and Pioneer into the new super hardware company: RANEIONEER! Yeah, i just end it![/quote]
I notice you said that traktor scratch has a sampler, how do i initialize this ?? Or do i need reaktor ?
[quote comment=”33447″]One very important feature (at least to me) that has been overlooked is native FLAC support in Traktor, and none for Serato. I’ve been periodically keeping an eye out for FLAC support in Serato on a thread in their forums. It’s pretty riddiculous how long that thread has been going on for. I think it’s over 5-6 years! Seems like the developers at Serato don’t really care what their loyal customers want. I’m a Serato user for a year now, but I’m planning on making the switch to Traktor very soon. At first, it was only because of the FLAC support, but as I read all these comparisons, I have a slew of other reasons for switching up.
Check out the thread (started in 2004!) link below for FLAC feature request for serato. Totally unacceptable! Farewell Serato! Hello Traktor!
http://serato.com/forum/discussion/161%5B/quote%5D
You know what, I’m glad you brought this up. FLAC or Lossless music was the main reason why I chose Traktor. To the average person, sound quality isn’t too much of a difference from high bitrate mp3s. However I would recommend everyone here trying listening to more tracks that are FLAC, the difference is definitely noticeable and sounds amazing.
One very important feature (at least to me) that has been overlooked is native FLAC support in Traktor, and none for Serato. I’ve been periodically keeping an eye out for FLAC support in Serato on a thread in their forums. It’s pretty riddiculous how long that thread has been going on for. I think it’s over 5-6 years! Seems like the developers at Serato don’t really care what their loyal customers want. I’m a Serato user for a year now, but I’m planning on making the switch to Traktor very soon. At first, it was only because of the FLAC support, but as I read all these comparisons, I have a slew of other reasons for switching up.
Check out the thread (started in 2004!) link below for FLAC feature request for serato. Totally unacceptable! Farewell Serato! Hello Traktor!
http://serato.com/forum/discussion/161
so far, serato is for me an updated version of itunes, i have lost so many gigs to wanna be dj who turn up with serato and pretend they can play for a quarter of money that what a good DJ should get paid. i can beat serato with two ipod and a mixer, Now traktor scratch pro that is for the pro out there. the one who dont just simply beat match two song together and play music but for the one who will create and perform live. that is the difference, a true Dj perform, he does not play, i remember the old days when vinyls were kings, and CDJ were just coming out, you could never reproduce what a vinyls DJ was performing on a cdj, because CDJ were built to simply play music.
Remember one thing we as DJ we are no music player, we are artist, we create music live.
if you want to DJ, use scratch pro, if you want play music use serato or use itunes with genius turn on ( i have seen it)
DJ FX
[quote comment=”30263″]Thanks for making this! I have been researching these for months trying to figure out which to obtain. Been using Traktor on Xponent and has worked beautifully so far.[/quote]
I have also been using traktor with Xponent, it’s amazing and midi mapping is great with it, i’ve also recently bought Cdj900’s and they work flawlessly with traktor!
with it’s amazing FX, 4 decks and Midi mapping capabilities….
traktor for sure!!!!!!!!!
Great article thnx,
I’m using traktor pro scratch for one year. And I sync it with ableton live. Just bought two x1 controllers. And now I can use these x1’s in realtime when i play with traktor and ableton at the same time. Just lovin’t.
Gr, Mark.
This reminds me of the great DJM 800 vs Xone 92 debate and once again, there’s no right answer as it all depends on what you intend to do. As someone pointed out further up, serato is for playing songs and Traktor for making interesting mixes. Just make sure that you use the time saved from beatmatching productively, otherwise is IS cheating!
As for me, I’m going for Traktor alongside Maschine, Kore 2, Komplete 6 and a pair of KX1 controllers. I could probably do the same thing with Ableton but I wanted to at least attempt to be a bit different and Kore works wonders with Maschine and Komplete. MIDI syncing that all from Traktor is nice and easy and the effect should be great!
Also, 25 hot cues = awesome, 5 = not so great. Live remixers beware!
[quote comment=”30264″]You missed saying that ScratchLive has the ability to do video and Traktor does not. That would sway some people looking at both options.[/quote]
They actually did in the red and blue table…!
[quote comment=”30265″]been using scratch pro for a year now and x1 for a few months….dumped the time code thing after a few hours and worked with controlers ever since…. traktor is for folks who want to work the music and make it their own, serato is for playing songs….[/quote]
You hit the hammer right on the nail.
I think these comparisons can all be thrown out the window. First of all. What rev versions for the software are in the test matrix? There are always big fixes in the latest and greatest ScratchLive builds but you’re always warned to use the most stable version before using a Beta version. Also, Q is using SL1 box but we don’t know what audio interface he’s using on the Traktor side. The tapping of the record/table and ScratchLive moves and Traktor doesn’t? #comeone Q! real vinyl does that too. Automatic beat matching? Im my humble opinion…ALL DJ’s should learn to beat match properly and learn about phrase and patterns in all genres of music. I see a lot of Ableton Live DJ’s dropping clips in odd places because they don’t understand phrases and patterns. Simple fundamentals separate good DJ’s from horrible ones.
My experience with both: One of the things that stopped me from purchasing Traktor was when i’m using time coded vinyl (my preferred control system) was when back cueing seemed like it needed more effort even with a low buffer setting. Every time i would back cue a vocal sample or a kick or snare the record would lose it’s place. In ScratchLive this is minimized and I think it’s just a tighter response. The other issue I had with Traktor is dragging and dropping files. Twice, in two different settings on two separate apple mac laptops(I realize i have to test this using various wintel XP setups) Traktor mangled the audio playback of a file whilst another file was loading. These same files never had any issues on various builds of Serato on different OS’s and i’ve used G4 powerbooks, P3 intels, intel macbooks, and P4/Centrino laptops. I’m willing to give Traktor another try but after that type of fiasco I’d grab my SL1 over Traktor any day. Of course these are my two cents. The other thing people need to realize is that mp3’s are really bad examples for testing audio fidelity. I’ll also second ”Dr. Reality Check“ opinion.
both are equally the same if your just going to do basic mixing!!! but if your a dj who likes to dj with a midi-controller and do routines w/ technicalities go with TRAKTOR.. if your a dj who likes to play video on his sets go with SERATO..
[quote comment=”30264″]You missed saying that ScratchLive has the ability to do video and Traktor does not. That would sway some people looking at both options.[/quote]
are you blind???? read again!! its in FEATURES!!! bobo!!
The main reason Serato is so popular now is because of its stability in the past. Unfortunately the FinalScratch days were a disaster for Traktor & NI. I have been a Traktor user since 2005 and I have seen how Traktor’s stability has improved. Now, I never worry about freezes or crashes. Everything works the way it should. As far as saying Serato is for DVS and Traktor for controllerist, thats absurd. Traktor works just as fine as Serato as a DVS, but with many advantages, such as EFX, beat jumping, loop moving, etc. Don’t get me wrong, Serato is still Industry Standard here in the states, but Traktor is rapidly catching up.
@ the bridge
[quote post=”5950″]I still think that traktor is for controllerists and serato is for DJ, but this traktor chatroom will probably disagree[/quote]
you are right, its true traktor is better for using controllers than serato and serato is for sure the better solution: just dj, beatmixing and scratching – if you like the oldshoolway with beatmaching, hearing and feeling. 🙂 but this depends on every single person.
greetz
Been following this site for a while and must say this is a great article..
I am currently debating on switching to serato. I’ve been a traktor faithful for some years now.. but sad to say its let me down a lot of times. From freezing to God know’s what.. I honestly can never do a gig without worrying the next time the software will freeze. I’ve done my research,and its stated in this article as well – Serato is stable. As a DJ.. and im sure many others agree, stability is key. I think this outweighs features at any time when youre playing in front of a huge crowd. NI needs to improve in that department to keep people around imo. I live in Canada so like the U.S, Serato is used in most clubs…I guess its a sign.
Any anouncements from Serato creating a program to convert traktor crates into theirs?
– Ken L Jones
…
The Bridge 1.0 is totally fail against Traktor+maschine combo.
The Bridge 2.0 (the secret weapons of Serato) is a myth.
Ableton is more controllerist than Traktor and Serato is not adapting very well to new times…
I think that NI is ready for give some competition with news.
just my2cents.
…
I also use SSL, have used both traktor and VDJ. Despite 2.0 and the Bridge, if Traktor ever came up with a mod to give me stacked waveforms, and let me use my SL1 for timecode; i’d switch in a second.
[quote comment=”30438″][quote comment=”30378″]
I repeat. This video is nothing but thinly veiled NI/Traktor marketing, as is this site. IMO. Much like the legitimacy of Rana the ipad DJ.
I don’t care what Q-Bert uses as a DVS, but I seriously do not believe he just “put this together” for shits and giggles.[/quote]
Whats so hard to believe..? Good luck being so cynical in life.
This video was 100% nothing to do with N.I.
In the article Ean originally said that it was an NI video and then changed it to a Thudrumble video, possibly at my request and I totally respect that. Ean always acts correctly.
The guys at NI were as surprised to see this video as anyone else. In fact they were shocked as
Qbert has had no contact with NI for some time, in fact not since the timecode was licensed to him for his own vinyl pressings. I know this as fact . Any silly conspiracy theories are just that.
Quote from one of the Heads at NI to me “i think Q just thought he had something to say”
Thats it. NI didnt kill Kennedy , NI didnt land on the moon , NI didnt shoot J.R. and NI didnt make that video.[/quote]
Since he even comments that he just uses vinyl why in the world would he wake up one day and randomly decide to put this video together if he does not even use either of the products. since he uses vinyl this brings more to question why in the world this video is out besides the fact that traktor sales is dropping.
If you are not cynical when it comes to marketing then you are just putting your head in the sand. If I had seen this on youtube and not a pro traktor website. Since the guys who run this website profit off controllers that use traktor software it is hard to remotely think that this is an not a biased video.
Be smart, question everything. Let me guess you guys believe what you hear on the news are well!
good video….wish they would have used the new sl3 to do the test.
I agree that the effects out of traktor are much better but you have to agree that once ableton gets their head out of their ass and gets 8 working well and the bridge built that this will give serato a huge+. Why else do you think that NI is offering a deal on upgrading the dj system. Cause they recognize that with the bridge it puts them at a huge disadvantage.
That being said I think it will be a good bit before the bridge is safe to use in a performance manor….but it will be fun to play with till then.
I still think that traktor is for controllerists and serato is for DJ, but this traktor chatroom will probably disagree
[quote comment=”30336″]Great article. I’ve recently been seriously considering the switch to traktor after being a serato user for a good 3 years after picking up the X1 and realizing its incredible potential in traktor over SSL.
The only major things holding me back are the colored waveforms and transient views in serato, and iTunes library integration.
For those that dont know, the waveforms in serato are extremely informative as to what frequencies are playing in a song. I’ve gotten to the point where i can practically tell exactly what an upcoming part of the song is going to sound like just by looking at the waveforms, even if ive never heard the song before. This becomes extremely helpful when youre looking ahead for good breakdowns, or even just where the vocals drop out for a second. Serato makes this very easy to do visually.
I also think that for manual beat matching, serato’s transient views make really quick mixing a lot easier than traktor’s phase meters. This could be because im more accustomed to serato, but the side-by-side waveform views feel much more informative at a glance than traktor’s waveforms.
As far as iTunes integration, i love that star ratings show in traktor, but i dont like that i can only view album art from within the collection. Even after importing/analyzing songs from an itunes playlist, if i go back to that playlist to browse songs, the album art does not show even if it DOES show in the collection…?[/quote]
This is exactly why I’m still using SSL. If Traktor implemented stacked and colored waveforms with full iTunes integration I’d switch to Traktor.
a few more thoughts to add the pot,
-I tried to use burned timecode cd’s from http://www.rane.com with the CD Architect project file, they came out crappy, and just didn’t behave correctly for cueing and tk.2 track selection. Things worked much better with the original cds.
-After reading some forum posts, it seems that absolute mode is for cd players and relative mode is for vinyl. The rational is you wouldn’t be able to use the cd players loop and cue buttons if you were in relative mode. Drop to absolute position in relative mode only works with vinyl, not cds. Serato’s workaround was to record the timecode signal from vinyl to a cd, but it all doesn’t make sense.
-One feature I like better on Serato is colored level meters. Colored wave forms are cool, but the all blue level meters in Traktor Pro are lame. I’d love a simple green yellow red section on the master and channel level meters
I’m still somewhat skeptical. But i accept your guys responses regarding the objectivity of the article. I also probably led a bit strong, but alot of stuff on this site is so pro Traktor that i have a hard time not reading the articles (which are generally quite good mind you) with a fistful of salt.
DJTT seems to have a jump on the more progressive end of DJing technology etc which is really cool, but the product promo (i.e flogging the midi fighter or modded VCI in every article) takes away from the objectivity and ultimately the integrity (be it perceived or real) of what has been written.
No harm nor foul. Just my opinion.
[quote comment=”30378″]
I repeat. This video is nothing but thinly veiled NI/Traktor marketing, as is this site. IMO. Much like the legitimacy of Rana the ipad DJ.
I don’t care what Q-Bert uses as a DVS, but I seriously do not believe he just “put this together” for shits and giggles.[/quote]
Whats so hard to believe..? Good luck being so cynical in life.
This video was 100% nothing to do with N.I.
In the article Ean originally said that it was an NI video and then changed it to a Thudrumble video, possibly at my request and I totally respect that. Ean always acts correctly.
The guys at NI were as surprised to see this video as anyone else. In fact they were shocked as
Qbert has had no contact with NI for some time, in fact not since the timecode was licensed to him for his own vinyl pressings. I know this as fact . Any silly conspiracy theories are just that.
Quote from one of the Heads at NI to me “i think Q just thought he had something to say”
Thats it. NI didnt kill Kennedy , NI didnt land on the moon , NI didnt shoot J.R. and NI didnt make that video.
I’m a Traktor head. all my boys use Serato. The only change I would like to see is the wave for the songs. they sould be on top of each other or side by side so you can beat match better.
[quote comment=”30332″]In the video Q-Bert says mistakenly that A-Trak uses Traktor, when in fact he uses Serato. I’m 90% sure this is incorrect, if I’m wrong please correct me. Just noticed it at the end when he starts naming the users of Scratch and Traktor.[/quote]
You are correct – A-trak has been a Serato user since day 1 (and even was the first person to talk openly about the Serato/Ableton project via mentioning a non-disclosure agreement he had to sign for The Bridge on Twitter), and it wasn’t until recently that Craze switched to Traktor Scratch(he switched to SSL from Final Scratch not long after FS2 came out; you can still see his Rane TTM57SL mixer sitting out in his home studio in newer videos, and he used SSL at the Roc Raida memorial jam even though he was officially endorsing Traktor Scratch at the time) and Klever switched to Traktor Scratch (also a former SSL user; there are still tons of videos on Youtube of Klever rocking SSL using a TTM57SL mixer).
I like traktor but it still messes up. 1,2,6 is my latest version and sometimes I get a track that won’t make a sound. Till I reload it. I hate it when that happens! I made a youtube of it and didn’t get any reaction of NI.
Maybe a newer version loses this problem. I didn’t try yet because I need time to make sue new version work. So I do it if I won’t have a gig coming up.
Sorry about my terrible spelling….
It is not strictly tru that Taktor cannot run alongside Ableton Live. It is possible, and relatively simple with a little tinkering…..
ITS ALL A SCAM!!!! IF YOU THOUGHT DJTECHTOOLS WAS RAN BY NATIVE INSTRUMENTS YOU ARE WRONG, DEAD WRONG.
DJTECHTOOLS IS RAN BY THE ARCADE BUTTON MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
THEY WANT YOUR MONEY, THEY WANT YOUR SOUL.
EAN GOLDEN NEVER CARED ABOUT DJING, HE ONLY WANTED TO SELL MORE ARCADE BUTTONS, MORE MORE MORE.
What mixer costs $13000? Damn! Thing is, sound quality is affected by a number of things. The SL1 sound card will definitely decrease sound quality vs a Audio8. But if you’re playing 128k mp3s it won’t make a difference how good your sound card is. And sure vinyl sounds great until you use a crappy worn out needle on it (or really dusty vinyl). One faulty cable can ruin the sound of your 13k mixer pretty good too. There are a number of points of failure. Instead of banning Serato the owner should invest in an SL3 (or a Rane 68!!) so that people who want to use Serato won’t be hamstrung by the SL1 soundcard.[/quote]
well a custom built one using parts usually seen in mastering studios……this guy actually tries everything to make it sound better EVERY DAY… so I assure you only top of the line cables and and needles…also cdj 1000’s (he’s not high on theirs sound but that’s like 1200 really)
really think of it – what club owner elsewhere in the world spends so much energy on sound? basically when ever serato is playing it sounds not good…i only play there with WAV files in traktor cd’s or vinyl (with mint like condition)…so come on – we are not kids here – we know good sound…and BTW – i heard places where sertao sounds very very good…not biased or anything
okey i got it, you have to push the store button more than 8 times than you can use them from the box next to the store button on the left.
but: is there an easy way to erase the cues from 1-8 eg. if i have some beatgrid problems in a track and put some autogrid markers or loadmarkers at cue point 9 and so one, but i would like to use 1-8 for my prepared hotcues.
ps: all those cuepoints over 8 have no numbers.
greetz
@ piopro
thx 4 your post, but i have no idea what do you mean with [quote post=”5950″]it will store 25 per deck but 8 are only shown and are present on each deck and to map them in midi the hot cue value is up to 8 as well[/quote], where do i have to store them and how does it work i can only store those 8 and not more?!?!
[quote post=”5950″]how are the 25 hotcues possible ???
yeah i don´t even know that there are 25, I only see 8 at each deck[/quote]
it will store 25 per deck but 8 are only shown and are present on each deck and to map them in midi the hot cue value is up to 8 as well so i think these are more cures are to help align beet grids and fade in and out points instead hot cue jumps
[quote post=”5950″]how are the 25 hotcues possible ???[/quote]
yeah i don´t even know that there are 25, I only see 8 at each deck
hi folks,
i can not believe this post:
[quote post=”5950″]hahaha. Cheers for the deleting my comment DJTT.
I repeat. This video is nothing but thinly veiled NI/Traktor marketing, as is this site. IMO. [/quote]
i didn´t read the original post, but in my opinion Ean is totally in the right to delete the post when someone is offending someone or something!!!
I think this article shows clearly what is all about: about mixing music with a software and not which software is better than the other. Ean never said you have to buy traktor pro or serato or what else!!! Here in Europe most people are using Traktor, cause most people I know are Techno DJ or in general electronic music DJs, and there are not so many Hip Hop or something similarly DJs. So on the bottom line it makes no sense for a techno DJ like richie hawtin or carl cox playing with serato on 4 decks when there is no beatgrid or autosync, and it also makes no sense when Ean is doing his thing with beatjuggeling and controllerism with serato when the midimapping is not that good as the traktor ones or the included FX are less, and put so much hard work in developing this midi mapping. This site demonstrates an originally version of Controlerism with a software and traktor is the best way to do it at the moment, thats a fact.
about the video, i do not know Qbert or the other names as sad in the video so i don´t know who spins with traktor or serate. Also if it is a promotion of Native Instruments, Who cares! Everyday i get promotion at my email account. I am a student of media and communication and this terrain is just creepy and so much manipulation.
This video should only demonstrated the difference and i hear or see no difference, so target accomplished, next video please. And if someone whats a reliable media analysis just ask me I can help and I know the theory behind the scene for doing this 😉
I really thank Ean and his crew, that they share their knowledge and help with the community.
greetz from Europe
“Ean” in the comparison charts its mentioned that
traktor has 25 hotcues vs serato has 5.
how are the 25 hotcues possible ???
somehow, my last post also got deleted.
hmm, i just answered @ss714ss, that for my ears it sounds like he’s right. i own and use a lot of different software and interfaces and there’s a lot of things that don’t work for me in traktor and serato, but are fine in torq. timestretch and keycorrect is definitly better than traktor and serato.
but since there’s no official snow leopard support, i’m thinking about switching to serato sooner or later.
is it forbidden to say that? then i’m sorry.
[quote comment=”30360″]L
BTW – i had the ultimate pleasure in playing the block club last week at a james brown tribute.if you google it you will find that here in israel we have one of the top 5 clubs in the world sound wise.Guys like kenny dope ,theo parrish, danny krivit and giles peterson are raving mad about it where they can.the point? the place has a one of a kind mixer that cost 13,000$ and has the best clarity i ever heard in my life….and when kenny dope played there with serato,the local dj’s with vinyl sounded better…kenny dope….the club owner is concidering to BAN SERATO due to its poor sound.in his mind,vinyl is the best and traktor is a better than serato.and it took him 5 years to build the sound,after talking to people like david mancuso (anyone here that doesent know who david mancuso is – well,shame on you!!!).[/quote]
What mixer costs $13000? Damn! Thing is, sound quality is affected by a number of things. The SL1 sound card will definitely decrease sound quality vs a Audio8. But if you’re playing 128k mp3s it won’t make a difference how good your sound card is. And sure vinyl sounds great until you use a crappy worn out needle on it (or really dusty vinyl). One faulty cable can ruin the sound of your 13k mixer pretty good too. There are a number of points of failure. Instead of banning Serato the owner should invest in an SL3 (or a Rane 68!!) so that people who want to use Serato won’t be hamstrung by the SL1 soundcard.
[quote comment=”30373″][quote comment=”30328″]TRAKTOR RULES!
TRAKTOR is superior on features and sound quality.
I use this setup and everything is midi mapped to traktor
TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO
NI AUDIO 8
NI MASCHINE
2 NI KONTROL X1 CONTROLLERS
AKAI APC 40
PIONEER DJM 800
2 PIONEER CDJ 2000[/quote]
Me, I just DJ on a big pile of money 😉
Luckily I think theradness is in the minority here. 🙂
[quote comment=”30378″]hahaha. Cheers for the deleting my comment DJTT.
I repeat. This video is nothing but thinly veiled NI/Traktor marketing, as is this site. IMO. [/quote]
I will not allow our site to turn into a flame war. Un-founded accusations thrown out by un-identified people that have no merrit WILL be deleted. They are bound to inflame conversations and serve no beneficial purpose to the conversation of this thread. If you REALLY think that we are a thinly veiled marketing effort of NI- then I want to talk to you and find out why- because that is truly sad. Email me directly to: ean@djtechtools.com and we can discuss it further but please do not send this thread off topic.
Fact: We promote djing and the education of technology across all platforms- no one platform pays us anything to push their software.
Perhaps Q made that video on his own- and perhaps he didn’t. I don’t know. What we do know is that we provided an honest and fair comparison of both pieces of software.
I’m sick of all the scorned children on both sides of the fence. Thankfully there are companies like Serato and NI that take digital DJing seriously enough to invest heavily in developing products that are of such high quality. Comparisons like Qbert’s will only drive both to make better products, long live competition.
..
Phil.
hahaha. Cheers for the deleting my comment DJTT. Too close to the truth huh?
I repeat. This video is nothing but thinly veiled NI/Traktor marketing, as is this site. IMO. Much like the legitimacy of Rana the ipad DJ.
I don’t care what Q-Bert uses as a DVS, but I seriously do not believe he just “put this together” for shits and giggles.
Maybe its just me but even the Hi-Q key lock in traktor sounds awful, just a different awful than the normal algo… the low quality algo in traktor sounds much closer to what serato does, the Hi-Q destroys the high end and low end and turns it into soup it seems. like play something with a really buzzy synth like a simian mobile disco track with Hi-Q pitched down 3% or so… youch…
++
I vote that both serato AND traktor need major work in the time stretching algo department… maybe apple will buy one of them and we can finally see Logic’s proprietary (and magically superior) time stretching in our DJing. 🙂
I say everybody goes out and buys a Ion Discover.
Screw both traktor & serato.both over priced.
I vote for Mixvibes cross LE & Ion Discover.
[quote comment=”30328″]TRAKTOR RULES!
TRAKTOR is superior on features and sound quality.
I use this setup and everything is midi mapped to traktor
TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO
NI AUDIO 8
NI MASCHINE
2 NI KONTROL X1 CONTROLLERS
AKAI APC 40
PIONEER DJM 800
2 PIONEER CDJ 2000[/quote]
Thats Dope!!!
names i used in the past were sindreyworks and jimi levy (when was a jungle MC,a tribute to general levy)
What about Serato Itch in conjunction with the NS7/V7? When I have messed around on it, the quality seems to be comparable to time-encoded vinyl.
[quote comment=”30360″]LOL yeah my name really sounds like ean’s…but that’s my real name that my mom gave me….
[/quote]
I know its hard to believe but Ean Golden really is my legal name. My first “dj” name was “GoldenBoy” but then I dropped that after a few years and stuck with the given name.
Well, by providing feedback and sharing as a DJ community…I have found out that if I go TRAKTOR, I need to set the keylock to HQ. I bet it sounds amazing then…Bye Bye SL1.
I still like Matt Edwards(RADIO SLAVE) technique of promos on CDR at 320kps. Just relaxin and mixin on CDJ’s. Easy. Burn maybe 2 CD’s and do your goofy 1 hr set w/ 2 CD’s. I did it at a rave here in RENO a couple of months ago and could relax, pump fist,dance and really focus on crowd. Why? Cause I wasn’t “checkin e-mail” all night. I could face FW and DJ like I did in 83′
Chevrolet = Traktor, Ford = Serato. Everyone should test drive the competition at least once. Chevy for life!!
this was actually more help that qberts drippy confused rambling about the 2 systems.
er i can scratch… and i can scratch… and this makes a funny noise and this doesn’t….
wtf?
big help
cheers ean! 😀
Ive been Serato from the start, and love it.
Alot of my friends who use traktor have moved away from it recently. They feel its unfinished,less polished in a way. They are all forever having problems with it. While seeing me just turn up plug in and play!
LOL yeah my name really sounds like ean’s…but that’s my real name that my mom gave me….my stage name is |Funk Sinatra…
BTW – i had the ultimate pleasure in playing the block club last week at a james brown tribute.if you google it you will find that here in israel we have one of the top 5 clubs in the world sound wise.Guys like kenny dope ,theo parrish, danny krivit and giles peterson are raving mad about it where they can.the point? the place has a one of a kind mixer that cost 13,000$ and has the best clarity i ever heard in my life….and when kenny dope played there with serato,the local dj’s with vinyl sounded better…kenny dope….the club owner is concidering to BAN SERATO due to its poor sound.in his mind,vinyl is the best and traktor is a better than serato.and it took him 5 years to build the sound,after talking to people like david mancuso (anyone here that doesent know who david mancuso is – well,shame on you!!!).
+its time traktor come wid better waveforms….like in virtual dj i.e, u can see d waveforms o; d 2 songs overlapping…that makes beatsyncin easy.(i know how 2 sync by my ears….but 2 save it,n 2 do odr things)!!bdw dis is my first post!!m so happy!! 🙂
+its time traktor come wid better waveforms….like in virtual dj i.e, u can see d waveforms o; d 2 songs overlapping…that makes beatsyncin easy.(i know how 2 sync by my ears….but 2 save it,n 2 do odr things)!!bdw dis is my first post!!m so happy!! 🙂
hey!!traktor rocks!!although many djs use serato for its simplicity.In traktor keep the pitch quality 2 normal or off!!(keylock) it sounds better…..i dunno y!! i hav a pretty powerful cpu(T9300,6mb l2 cache,2.5 ghz)but i keep it normal!!bdw m confused bw audiofire2 nd audio 2 dj!!know its off topic…but still!!audiofire exceeds audio 2 dj interms of i/o,gain etc but m confused/scared abt the fireware interface,saw in some forums dat its unstable….n also nees a power supply!!i dn want 2 end up in abrupt silence suddenly in a club!!pls help!!ok back 2 topic…i think traktors missing out marketing!!i mean look at serato de hav teamed up wid allen n heath(xone dx),numark 2 develop legacy controllers even vestax,serato even teamed up wid ableton(bridge)http://www.ableton.com/thebridge…..ni has sm cool vstis but i think daw integration/partnership wud be cool.
Didn’t torq have the best key lock and time streching ??
I guess I’m still killin’ TS & SSL with my Torq setup.
Easy midimapping, sampleplayer, effects, … all I need.
I’m using it with turntables in external mode with timecodevinyl and mapped some stuff to a Korg nanokey and Native Instruments Maschine.
Traktor still doesn’t have a sampleplayer and using a third deck with cuepoints and stuff is no solution at all. Waveform in Traktor is pretty strange and after importing Tracks to the library and analysing them in Traktor a few of them were not working in other programms anymore. Also used the Traktor SSL Importer to import Scratch Live library and playlists into Traktor. Same problem, even tracks I played for more than 7 years using different DVS just didn’t show up on the HD of my Macbook anymore and/or didn’t work anymore. I bought Traktor Scratch Pro, but because of all the problems I’m only using the Audio 8 DJ interface for Torq now.
Serato Scratch Live is currently pretty nice, but still way too expensive over here in Europe allmost (800.- Euros). For me the SL 2 is pretty close to Torq and since M-Audio seems to be dead for allmost a year now and not even giving us proper Leopard Snow support, I think about switching soon. I also use Serato Itch, so it also makes sense to only use one library, since both programms use the same one.
Is Deadmau5 really this much of an asshole?
“deadmau5 : #1 evil fucking thing to do to laptop DJ’s… yup. bring your apple remote to a gig… maybe even an IR booster… chances are they didnt turn off the remote shit on their mac… launch itunes / media center at will… then check out his face when Brokeback Mountain pops up in front of his serato and starts playin. 🙂 you didnt hear this from me.”
Its been a while since I’ve used Serato but I’m glad I have the software and two control records just in case I have to. I originally chose Traktor because it had midi in the Audio 8 meaning I could use the Audio 8 in the studio with hardware as well as in the club. For me that was the done deal. That and 8 ins and 8 outs. I’m still using it in the studio but I have hit the sound ceiling of the Audio 8. Meaning that, after learning its characteristic sound I have decided that its time to start looking for a new studio sound card that is a bit more dynamic. However, I am still growing with the Traktor software and that speaks volumes. Serato is good at pretending to be vinyl, but I think that the depth of capacity for growth is what makes Traktor really the way to go. Get ready to learn about conditional controller statements, nerds 😉
I think a lot of people are maybe not changing their Key Lock to Hi-Q mode when using traktor – in low quality mode it stinks, snares will start breaking up at – 1.5%, sounding even worse than Serato.
High-Q mode is a different story. I use both systems, difference is I actually use keylock in Traktor
from this vid it makes me think that live could control vj soft ware so an idea could be traktor midi > live > vj software have and use certain video usb video adapters and spliters of your comp use 3 monitor to expand desktop so year same way to smart mix i reckon it can be done not just directly this is another reason why traktor is better for me traktor + ableton = plugins there is a vinyl time code plug in for ableton there might be direct control there hut this set up is complex n would probley require high power spec comp
videomixing can be done with live just not on it’s on example here
http://vjkungfu.com/archive/cut-up-video-using-lucifer-and-ableton-live/
[quote comment=”30333″]
Except for videomixing (use it with Ableton for that)[/quote]
You can only show one video at a time in Ableton so that doesn’t make for good videomixing
Sorry for the redundant post-took a while for it to show-oops!
Anyone else notice that Q-Bert mistakenly says that A-Trak uses Traktor, when in actuality he uses Serato Scratch?
Great article. I’ve recently been seriously considering the switch to traktor after being a serato user for a good 3 years after picking up the X1 and realizing its incredible potential in traktor over SSL.
The only major things holding me back are the colored waveforms and transient views in serato, and iTunes library integration.
For those that dont know, the waveforms in serato are extremely informative as to what frequencies are playing in a song. I’ve gotten to the point where i can practically tell exactly what an upcoming part of the song is going to sound like just by looking at the waveforms, even if ive never heard the song before. This becomes extremely helpful when youre looking ahead for good breakdowns, or even just where the vocals drop out for a second. Serato makes this very easy to do visually.
I also think that for manual beat matching, serato’s transient views make really quick mixing a lot easier than traktor’s phase meters. This could be because im more accustomed to serato, but the side-by-side waveform views feel much more informative at a glance than traktor’s waveforms.
As far as iTunes integration, i love that star ratings show in traktor, but i dont like that i can only view album art from within the collection. Even after importing/analyzing songs from an itunes playlist, if i go back to that playlist to browse songs, the album art does not show even if it DOES show in the collection…?
[quote comment=”30332″]In the video Q-Bert says mistakenly that A-Trak uses Traktor, when in fact he uses Serato. I’m 90% sure this is incorrect, if I’m wrong please correct me. Just noticed it at the end when he starts naming the users of Scratch and Traktor.[/quote]
A-trak is a big fan of traktor. Again I think most people use serato because of it’s ease, this doesn’t mean that they use this setup in their studio.
I agree with most of the comments above. I think Traktor is far superior to Serato. The GUI is amazing, the design is beautiful, and the colors are neutral.
++
I think the only thing that serato has going for it, at least here in the states it’s popularity so it makes it very easy to use when your at the club. Simple Swap.
++
But sonically, you can’t compare. The effects are primo, and they allow you to get creative with different combos.
+1 @eyal goldman’s Israel example
Traktor:
– sounds better
– has superior fx
– it’s software is way more advanced
– allows for way more creative mixing/ editing on the fly
– has more & better hardware (audio 2/4/8 dj + Traktor certified: http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=tscratchcertified&L=1
– sweeps the floor with Itch or any non-DVS midi controller set-up
– when used with Kontrol X1 it kick’s the shit out of any DVS combo
– is nowadays as stable as Serato
– can also be used with Ableton: http://www.djtechtools.com/2008/04/04/smart-mixing-traktor-with-ableton/
Except for videomixing (use it with Ableton for that) and compatibility in US clubs (never go there anyway), I see no reason why one would choose for Serato. It will take ages for Serato to catch up and become as versatile as Traktor. The fact that Traktor has a bigger music software company behind it with more developing power and experience doesn’t help either.
Don’t believe me? I have a golden tip for you: search this site for video’s of EAN GOLDEN.
In the video Q-Bert says mistakenly that A-Trak uses Traktor, when in fact he uses Serato. I’m 90% sure this is incorrect, if I’m wrong please correct me. Just noticed it at the end when he starts naming the users of Scratch and Traktor.
[quote post=”5950″]TRAKTOR RULES!
TRAKTOR is superior on features and sound quality.
I use this setup and everything is midi mapped to traktor
TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO
NI AUDIO 8
NI MASCHINE
2 NI KONTROL X1 CONTROLLERS
AKAI APC 40
PIONEER DJM 800
2 PIONEER CDJ 2000[/quote]
thank god for midi top end sound at less price lol
DDM 4000(MODIFIED & HACKED)
CDJ 800 MK 1
NUMARK TT1650
TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 1.2.1
2008 MACBOOK WITH
AGGREGATED SOUND DEVICE
M-AUDIO CONNECTIVE
CUSTOM 4 IN 4 OUT USB SOUND CARD (COST $40 LOL)
PLUS BUILT IN AUTO OFF MACBOOK
CONSIDER YOU SETUP HACKED LOL
GREAT IF YA GOT THE MONEY
One comparison not brought up(prolly not in the realm of this article) was time-stretching quality. I believe a previous article indicated that Torq and Scratch had time-stretching sound quality far and away superior to Traktor. I use Torq via MIDI control only and am looking into Traktor or Scratch or Itch to replace it, since stability AND time-stretching quality are important factors to me.
TRAKTOR RULES!
TRAKTOR is superior on features and sound quality.
I use this setup and everything is midi mapped to traktor
TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO
NI AUDIO 8
NI MASCHINE
2 NI KONTROL X1 CONTROLLERS
AKAI APC 40
PIONEER DJM 800
2 PIONEER CDJ 2000
I said this on the forums Qbert is a scratch dj.. 2k on traktor vinyl.. u get better scratching..but look at what vajra does on serato.. he said he likes both but likes the feel of traktor… hehe watch all his followers jump ship lol…
You are right- I “miss-remembered” that detail. We wrote about time code a while back and I had to dust off the cob webs.
http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/08/03/timecode-exlplained-basic/
As nemonic already stated, there is a minor factual error in the article; Traktor uses 2kHz carrier wave (while Serato uses a lower frequency, that I can’t recall from the top of my head). The higher the frequency allows for better tracking at lower speeds (and vice versa, the higher the frequency, makes tracking fast platter movement somewhat trickier). Also, in absolute mode, the higher frequency allows the “timestamp” to be decoded faster (each cycle of carrier wave stores a single bit of timestamp; higher frequency means you get the full timestamp decoded faster – assuming the timestamps are of the same length, which they are not between Serato and Traktor). Just saying…
Can we get an article on video DJing? It seems like it’s an area of digital DJing that gets overlooked a lot. Maybe I’ll have to try to write one.
I´ve been on this train for 25 years now. From Funk to rap, scratch to acid, vinyl to CD, timecode to midi. “And right about now” i can do it all in one kit. To me its halleluja time.
My Arcade VCI-100, midifighter and traktor Pro on my Mac. Always ready to kick some serious ass. Rokk on Soul brothers. Peace, MiX.
I’ve been using Serato forever, due to the flexibility. But I have noticed the bad sound on the SL1, a definite downer.
The biggest reason I haven’t switched to Traktor is SSL’s colored waveforms, and that Traktor’s beat grid doesn’t work well with music that’s not made with a digital metronome..
I will wait around for serato BRIDGE, and if it’s not all that amazing, I’ll switch to Traktor.
for me traktor wins hands down if you just dj then serato is for you … but if your a bit of a music tech geek traktor is where its at. although traktor has not got ableton built in like the bridge in serato, but google smart mixing for traktor it’s a method where the audio is virtual routed in to ableton and back out so you get able to running in the back ground hook up a second monitor from you comp 1 traktor, 1 ableton, midi map both accodingly hey presto…
the bridge for traktor (but if ableton get video fun times ahead.)
I’m definately in the Traktor camp, simply because my band mates use other NI software and have had a great time really twisting their sound with it. The only jealousy I have about Serato is the Numark NS7 or V7. I’d love to have the motorized controllers under my fingers instead of dragging my turntables/control vinyl everywhere. Easier setup & less cables.
nice article definitely learned me some more about both, but traktor having been there for some time i expected more, im more of a Serato Guy
[quote post=”5950″]Native instruments posted a video this weekend of Qbert comparing the scratch response of Serato Scratch to Traktor Scratch
[/quote]
Ean can i respectfully correct one thing from the article. NI had nothing to do with this video, it was posted by Thudrumble. In fact i was told today by NI that they were totally surprised to see Qberts video. I guess its quite fair for people to assume NI had some part in the video but i can promise 100% that they didnt. The NI timecode was licensed to Qbert quite some time ago but he is not an “NI Endorsed Artist”… well not yet anyway but heres hoping eh!!! Karlos
Ean, I believe that the Traktor timecode is based on a 2K tone, not a 4K tone. And as was stated before, Traktor only gained the 4 deck option in Traktor 3, which was only released in 2005 (Traktor has been around since 1999).
Thanks for the comparison guys, very informative.
OT – Doesn’t Eyal Goldman sound like Ean Golden’s Israeli counter-part? 🙂 Or is that what was intended?
+1 on what he said though
I like traktor better for scratching. It sounds better, but thats SL1 comparison. Never had and SL3.
I like SSL better for beat juggling.
Please NI, no colored waveforms. I is madd color-blind, as bad as it gets, zero color perseptions. SSL waveforms confuse me. I can’t see the cue points. I could never tell what I was doing with SSL. I’m not alone. They something like 85% of males have some level of colr-blindnes.
ANd for Serato, other than the above mentioned, how about some other GUI looks?
[quote post=”5950″]Traktor has had 4 decks from the beginning and…[/quote]
Traktor did not have 4 decks from the beginning, Speedy J and Chris Liebing talk about it in this video:
.
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/dj/traktor-scratch-pro/?content=998
serato works fine for me, but i really like the idea of maschine and the traktor control implementation. serato will do this eventually im sure
Great point about the keylock! I use SL1 and have keylock on 24/7. Was leaning towards traktor after watching clip for soundcard and better sound overall. But, not if in keylock mode it stinks. I’d have to stay w/ Serato then if it rocks in keylock. I think Ean did an article on it awhile back also.
[quote comment=”30298″]I considered Serato when starting out but think going the Traktor route was wise since I’m EDM. Any EDM spinner’s use Serato & disagree?[/quote]
I definately disagree even though I use Traktor. I’d say 95% of EDM DJs in my area use SSL. I don’t understand why that over itch or traktor. But they still kill the dance floor so it doesn’t really matter to me.
great article “thumbs up”
@eyal goldman, well said
Great Artcile once again Ean.
I just love those comparison articles, and I love how you keep them imparcial since from beginning of the site 🙂
[quote comment=”30299″]
If I was a pure house/techno DJ I would HAVE to consider Traktor because the feature set is pretty compelling for that kind of use. But I’m a working DJ who is called upon to play all kinds of tracks in all kinds of situations and Serato is the best compromise of stability and creativity for what I do.[/quote]
As i live in israel, we dj’s here don’t have the luxury to play a certain genre – i play anything from blues to hardcore jungle, top 40 to techno, and of course hebrew speaking music. i play in clubs, bars, parties, weddings, beach parties and such for at least 4 nights a week for more than a decade (or two? wow i’m getting old)
so?
traktor with x1 does any kind of music justice. i play every genre of music possibly known to man and traktor makes it easy to mix and match styles in a flash (anyone here ever mixed iranian music with trance? or hip hop with middle eastern pop?)
some might say why do that.but that’s called working the crowd.when i dj in weddings, israel’s only way for a dj really making bucks, i have to mix all that shit up.and again….taktor….i’ve seen guys work with serato and fail with rocking the crowd due to bad beatmixing done under stress…traktor takes that away and leaves you with plenty of time to find the exact song for that amazing moment in time.isn’t that what we are here for?
8 cue points lets you re edit the song live and kick ass
EFX makes some of the best moments in a set
(don’t get fooled.my personal taste in mainly dub and funk music.would love to play it every night)
long live traktor….
NI must be creaming there pants, having Q’s seal of approval. Considering most say scratch dj’s use serato, I’m sure Q’s view has raised a few brows. In my opinion most scratch dj’s went for serato as it was the first dvs to do what it said on tin, tho time’s have obviously moved on. The fact that these two heavy weights are now getting more similar with each update is such a bonus for the user. Traktor will soon have a sampler and because of the serato bridge, I’d guess NI will be working on something pretty big in reply.
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Eventually it’ll be a case of which one you prefer the look of rather than features you want to go for(as they’ll be the same), it’s a shame people get caught up in looks, colour of waveform ect… wasn’t too long ago when all we had was different shade’s of black on your vinyl or a time remain text for you cd, pay less attention to your screen and start focusing on your controller,mixer,decks and dance floor.
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“At the end of the day, we don’t care what you use to play music- as long as the dance floor is rocking.”
3 factors I think this article definitely overlooks, would be video, and Itch, as mentioned above, but also the quality of support should be taken into account.
I’m a video jock, so obviously Traktor is not an option for me at all.
Serato have, so far, kept Scratch Live as a ‘pure’ DVS, and are going down the controllerism road with a different product, Itch. If you don’t want to use decks, and you want beatgrids and sync, well, to borrow a phrase, there’s an app for that. It isn’t Scratch Live. I haven’t used Itch so I can’t comment on how good it is, but I think you were remiss to not mention it.
Finally, when you commit to a platform you are committing to a company, and clever though NI are, I honestly don’t think NI can hold a candle to Serato when it comes to supporting their product. Aside from the upgrades issue (I’ve used SL for 4 years and never paid for an upgrade, NI have got better at this but major releases still cost), the Serato staff on their forums are quick to help and have made my life much easier over the years.
If I was a pure house/techno DJ I would HAVE to consider Traktor because the feature set is pretty compelling for that kind of use. But I’m a working DJ who is called upon to play all kinds of tracks in all kinds of situations and Serato is the best compromise of stability and creativity for what I do.
Wasn’t expecting huge differences in opinion from Qbert really, he can’t rightly pay out one major player over another without stirring up trouble! Interesting video and article though. I’m a Traktor man myself, and it’s interesting to hear that people consider Serato (no experience with it myself) as more of a party player than a performance tool. I considered Serato when starting out but think going the Traktor route was wise since I’m EDM. Any EDM spinner’s use Serato & disagree?
If only you posted a few days earlier I could have used it in my marketing essay.
but nice article.
Nice article definitely learned me some more about serato as I’m more of a traktor guy.. shame it is full of grammatical errors :p
I don’t know what algorithm they use, but Serato’s key lock sounds far better to my ears than Traktor’s, esp pushed to extremes. But it’s a small price to pay for the customization beast that is Traktor. I don’t dig the idea of having to buy amazingly expensive hardware just to unlock the potential in Serato that you get out of the box with a controller and cheap Traktor upgrade. IMHO both are a pleasure to use. But damn if some Traktor sets don’t sound more like a production than straight djing. It’s an exciting time!
Just got to add two cents……
I think you can tell (imo) from the comparisons that both were evolved for different means. The Serato system seems it was born out of the hip hop/ turntablist being able to have a solid system that would enable people to work with the “convetional” 2 decks and a mixer set up, the way you still have the line on the record hub on the screen, visual representation for beat juggling and the like, you get the idea.
Traktor however seems to have evolved for the EDM user who wanted absolute control with effects, beat griding, 4 decks etc and with the total mapping ability it means each person can taylor it how they want with a bit of know how.
Both products however have slowly but surely crept more and more in to each others realm and as mentioned above the small differences in quality will not effect anyone day-to-day and same old storey, it’s what you do with it that counts!!
I like both and used Serato much more than Traktor when my friend had it but I have got Traktor now i have my own digi set up and it feels much more suited to me.
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Traktor is better nowadays if you want video and HID support go for VDJ. If you want Djing in ableton go Ms. Pinky.
Anybody could answer me if Traktor sends OSC from vinyl control?
It could be possible link those with resolume/VDMX.
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[quote comment=”30265″] traktor is for folks who want to work the music and make it their own, serato is for playing songs….[/quote]
so true.
i do like the Serato’s waveform colors and optional layouts more than Traktor’s. Surprising we don’t have more control over how the waveforms are displayed.
I’m also really glad the companies haven’t merged. It would be like Macromedia and Adobe. No competition = a product with no ambition.
colourful waveforms please NI!
[quote comment=”30261″]How does Qbert play traktor with a random record? Is it regular press on one side and timecode on the other?[/quote]
Thud Rumble has a new record out there that has control signal on one side and scratch tones on the other.
[quote comment=”30264″]You missed saying that ScratchLive has the ability to do video and Traktor does not. That would sway some people looking at both options.[/quote]
We put that into the feature comparison graphic- I agree its a major differentiation.
[quote comment=”30280″]serato now has 4 decks[/quote]
Yes- it sure does but you need to spend a boat load of money to access them.
serato now has 4 decks
Traktor Pro rocks. Screw DVS. Get a controller and rock the house. Serato is the past. Pioneer are thieves and I will always keep my 1200’s to rip vinyl and impress naked girls late at night.
[quote comment=”30266″]
BUT, turning keylock/master tempo on and off was very noticeable on Traktor, the sound quality went drastically down with keylock on. The kick seemed to lose punch, so much that I found it unusable. Scratch Live was more subtle with keylock and I found it barely noticable, and more usable. I’ve heard people state its the other way for them, but these are just my findings.[/quote]
I agree that the default keylock on Traktor is very noticable. However, you should realize that there is a setting that changes it. There is a slight but noticable difference between Traktor on the high setting and Serato, but it’s far too subjective to say which is better.
fair comparison and good read! one minor thing, there is no sl-2 to the best of my knowledge, there is the sl-1 and sl-3
Let’s merge these two companies and end the discussion: Long live SERAKTOR!
AND while we are at it let’s merge Rane and Pioneer into the new super hardware company: RANEIONEER! Yeah, i just end it!
A minor thing not mentioned is the sound of the time code. It’s a minor annoyance in both DVS systems; if you’re not in the club environment you can hear the highpitched scream of the timecode hitting your needles while playing and it drives you nuts. Well the TSP timecode is much worse than Serato’s in this realm — so much louder and higher it’s hard to ignore. I’ve all but given up on timecode vinyl at home and use my VCI controller almost exclusively except when scratching (and even then I’m more apt to use actual vinyl for the task). Most people say they just ignore the timecode sound but I find it difficult to do so; it was a lot easier to do so with Serato.
I’ve been using the Kontrol X1 with Serato and I found a way to change the effect on/off to gate instead of toggle but it only works on the X1 because on the Controller Editor software.
I’d go back to using Traktor in a heartbeat if they got support for mixing videos
i think Itch might be a better comparison for traktor. i love both programs though =D. i think for those guys that are just about to invest in some hardware, the Xone DX would be perfect! you can use it for both programs and it has an A&H soundcard =D. nice article, makes me want to actually map some stuff out and make the switch from ableton to traktor lol
how can serato not have a master clock if it has ableton?
Thanks for writing this article Ean. I have been saving up for a DVS system, (college student so I don’t have a lot of loot), i’m getting close to the amount I need, and this article came in at the perfect time. I still don’t know what one to get, as both fit my needs. But it helped give me a clearer understanding of what each is capable/uncapable off.
Appreciate it man. Your helping a lot of people out with all the resources available on DJTT, including me.
Though we are Talking about the future of djing , I still find that i can walk up to either of these interfaces and rock a show . Serato to me is more user friendly , and i use it to play gigs now. But even when I have had to play a show on traktor i liked the four deck access , and being able to move from deck to deck is very simple. I believe that even two years from now we will see both of these programs move closer and closer together . I still a big fan of the warmth of vinyl and the 50 lbs it take to get your point across !!!
Great article… I def agree that its not the there is no right answer. Every software has its strengths and weaknesses. Thats why each is so popular…
But what I will say, is that Traktor NEEDS VIDEO!!!
I have used both systems, and for Traktor Beats grids, and auto-sync, are impossible to beat. I just need them.
So now I currently only use Serato when I have to Vj… which is a real bear because I am not used to the system.
Hey DJTT, awesome article.
You wouldn’t believe that I am living this article on my kitchen counter right now. I’ve been using Traktor Pro with a Audio 2 DJ and a Trigger Finger controller for over a year. A friend let me borrow his SL1 Friday. So I’ve been testing back to back for 2 days now.
Tried to use Scratch Live 2 both Friday & Saturday nights, and had to switch back to Traktor for comfort.
My lighting guy both nights felt that the SL1 sounded warmer but distorted, and the A2DJ sounded brighter and louder. I had to turn up the gain 20% louder on my mixer for the SL1 to match a CDJ1000 playing the same song. The A2DJ gain on the mixer was equal to the CDJ.
BUT, turning keylock/master tempo on and off was very noticeable on Traktor, the sound quality went drastically down with keylock on. The kick seemed to lose punch, so much that I found it unusable. Scratch Live was more subtle with keylock and I found it barely noticable, and more usable. I’ve heard people state its the other way for them, but these are just my findings.
Now I need to find a friend with a SL3, and borrow that against my friends A4DJ, and get some more testing done.
been using scratch pro for a year now and x1 for a few months….dumped the time code thing after a few hours and worked with controlers ever since…. traktor is for folks who want to work the music and make it their own, serato is for playing songs….
You missed saying that ScratchLive has the ability to do video and Traktor does not. That would sway some people looking at both options.
Thanks for making this! I have been researching these for months trying to figure out which to obtain. Been using Traktor on Xponent and has worked beautifully so far.
How does Qbert play traktor with a random record? Is it regular press on one side and timecode on the other?
SERATO all the way
Is this what the seeking of Google analytical help was for ;)? Great article once again
I love em both but for house n most electronic stuff Traktor does do really well. Just hate those wave forms not having color. =\
Native Insturments if your listening please…
“If Traktor manages to re-engineer the TTM-57SL and make it a Traktor approved sound card they could eliminate that problem.”
JUST DO IT!
I’ve been using Serato for a couple of years and love it. I recently purchased a Kontrol X1, which comes with Traktor LE. I haven’t had much time to play with Traktor, but it is definitely a cool piece of software.