Today, the DJ has more choices about how they spin their tunes than ever before. While for some the traditional feel of vinyl will never be replaced, the proliferation of digital music has seen an explosion in the number of digital DJ applications available. The rise and rise of DVS (Digital Vinyl Systems) has been a feature of this digital revolution, essentially allowing people the ability to control MP3s on their laptops with a traditional turntable or CDJ setup.

Once the domain of a few select DJs willing to trust their musical collections to the vagaries of a laptop, DVS ummm…. ‘systems’ are now increasingly being utilised by some of the world’s biggest and most forward-thinking DJs – think Grandmaster Flash, John Digweed and James Zabiela. One of the leading names in the word of DVS is Native Instrument’s (NI) Traktor with the latest incarnation of the software, Traktor Scratch Pro undoubtedly their most sophisticated version yet. Here ITM takes a look underneath the hood to see how Traktor performs.

What comes in the box?

You get your two control vinyls (which feel like a solid, well-pressed release), two control CDs, the Audio 8 DJ soundcard, software, all the cabling you require, and a “Getting Started” manual. The full manual is only available as a PDF on your system once installed, which is a shame as it involves too much toggling between screens to learn functionality properly.

The Audio 8 DJ soundcard is solid. Cased in aluminium and obviously designed to take a few knocks, it performs well beyond simply controlling your digital files. Numerous ins and outs, MIDI I/O and a mic input are all welcome additions along with headphone outs for direct monitoring. If the unit also included a mic pre-amp and even some unbalanced XLR jacks, it would probably be an unbeatable soundcard in its own right for DJs who are also recording musician/producers. However as it is, it is still a handy piece of kit.

Setting Up

Possibly the biggest drawback of DVS systems is that you can’t simply rock-up to your gig and start playing. Setting up requires patience; you’ve got your laptop, soundcard and plentiful cables to connect before any beats can be dropped. NI have done their best to simplify the process, providing “multicore cables” that combine numerous individual RCAs into a single unit along with colour coded RCA plugs that take most of the guess work out of initial set-up. However, for the uninitiated (ie. me), the little diagram that comes in the manual explaining how all of this fits together with your existing mixer and turntables is woefully inadequate, and much trial and error is likely to ensure. However, once you grasp the principles involved the process does become easier.

Busting Out

Once everything is set up, it does not take long to realise the potential of what’s under your fingertips. The feel of the 2khz timecode vinyl’s control over your digital files is incredibly direct. The main job of Traktor Scratch Pro is to emulate the feeling of playing your records with digital files, and on this count it succeeds resoundingly. Subtle hand movements and delicate variations in pitch control are all clearly translated by the software. Beatmatching with your MP3s feels as natural as it would with your whitelabels.

The in-built effects are perhaps the most exciting and versatile part of the whole program. With two settings – chained and advanced – Traktor allows for numerous combinations and permutations of over 20 effects. In chained mode, you can link a gater, flange and filter effect, all of which can be controlled with a single wet/dry control. In advanced mode, you can really get into the nuts and bolts of how each individual effect is built, and customise it to suit your sound. In fact, it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of possibilities that the effects offer, and how the slightest tweak can drastically create sonic changes.

The inclusion of 4-deck compatibility in this version also opens up a world of sonic possibilities, as essentially you can use the additional decks as an in-built sampler, triggering loops and cues with ease. Traktor automatically detects the BPM of any tracks it plays, and while it may sometimes get the beats a little off, it does allow for seamless looping on the fly, even when using the timecode vinyl to control your files (the software automatically switches from “absolute” to “relative” mode). The addition of key control knobs to finely control the pitch of your tracks also allows for the blending of songs, where previous key clashes would have made your ears bleed. A simple click of the key lock button means that tweaks to the platter on your turntable can be done without the telltale increase or decrease in pitch. Cheating? Yes, but fun cheating.

One of the biggest surprises was the discovery that mixing without vinyl using the internal mixer and beatmatching functions was just as fun as mixing with vinyl. Without concentrating on beat-matching and keeping tunes in synch, all of a sudden your mind wonders to combining effects, accapellas and loops in ways that simply would not be possible with one ear constantly on the beats. To get the most out of Traktor, you will need an effective way to control the internal parameters (such as the effects and filters) via MIDI, as your laptop keyboard will certainly come up short. With the range of midi controllers available on the market, you will have choices aplenty and yet another layer of flexibility to your set-up.

To really go into depth about the various features of Traktor would simply require too many pages. The intricacies of applying filters, customising your visual layout, utilising the internal recording, saving unique effects parameters, cataloguing and organising your music collection, going nuts with auto-looping, customising beatgrids, all require special attention. Suffice it to say that Traktor does more than you may have initially thought, and it does almost everything exceptionally well.

Gripes

Well to be honest, there are not many. Traktor is by no means the most CPU intensive program out there, but it is thirsty so you’ll need to ensure that for optimum performance your machine is above the minimum specs. I run a 2.0Ghz Macbook with 1 gig of ram, and did encounter quite a few software stutters and skips (although never any crashes). Admittedly, my Macbook does everything for me (email, images, music production) so it’s already pretty bloated with software.

The manual and included instructions could also use a little revision. If you print out the manual, you don’t get a contents page (only a very brief index which is far from comprehensive) with the last resort often being google. However, with the wealth of knowledge online through forums, YouTube tutorials and dedicated DJ websites, there are plenty of other channels to brush up your Traktor skills

It’s also advisable to check and ensure that your mixer is compliant with Traktor. While NI has released a list of certified mixers, we haven’t been able to track down a ready list available of mixers that are not 100 per cent compatible. As it happens, my Ecler SMAC 30 has some issues playing “real” vinyl alongside Traktor digital files (for reasons that are not really worth explaining). Check the various forums before dishing out your hard-earned to ensure your system will work.

In Summary

While Traktor is infinitely more versatile than two decks, a box of records and a mixer, it also requires more patience. There is plenty to take in – from learning how to best organise your digital music, how to harness the various effects, how to set and load cue points – yet a little patience goes a long way. If you devote some serious time to exploring the intricacies of what’s on offer, it’ll make your Traktor experience infinitely more enjoyable. And opening up your entire digital jukebox also opens up the possibilities for the inclusion of music in your sets that you may never have considered mixing before.

Traktor Scratch Pro is the most expensive DVS system on the market, and for good reason – you get more for your money. The beauty of the Traktor software is that will do as much, or as little as you want. It’s endlessly versatile, and will suit DJs of all genres. However, as the Rolls Royce of the market place, some may find that it does a little too much for what they require – a problem that looks to have been solved through the release of Traktor Scratch Duo; a stripped back version of the flagship model that incorporated the smaller Audio 4 DJ soundcard, 2-deck control and a more limited suite of effects. It is fair to say that Traktor is now leading the way in DVS systems yet as with all digital DJing, go and have a play with what’s on offer to see what’s right for you.