Traktor is DJ software developed by

Native Instruments Native Instruments is a German company that develops, manufactures, and supplies music software and hardware for music production, sound design, performance, and DJing. The company's corporate headquarters and main development facilities are lo ...

. It is also used as a sub-brand for

' associated DJ hardware products.

History

Traktor was first released in 2000. The initial versions available were ''Traktor DJ'' and ''Traktor Studio'', with Studio being the version with the most functionality. Version 2 of the software (known as ''Traktor DJ Studio 2'') was released in 2002. The new features included scratch macros and expanded looping,

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

, and cue point functionality. Version 2.5, released in 2003, expanded the

time stretching Time stretching may refer to: * Audio time stretching and pitch scaling, in audio * Time stretching, in video * Time dilation, in physics (relativity theory) * Time stretch analog-to-digital converter The time-stretch analog-to-digital converter (T ...

functionality, added

Open Sound Control Open Sound Control (OSC) is a protocol for networking sound synthesizers, computers, and other multimedia devices for purposes such as musical performance or show control. OSC's advantages include interoperability, accuracy, flexibility and enhan ...

(OSC) support, and introduced

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

customization options. In 2003 Native Instruments expanded Traktor from purely software. They partnered with

Stanton Magnetics Stanton Magnetics, doing business as Stanton, is a business unit of inMusic Brands that designs and markets turntables, cartridges, DJ mixers, DJ media players, and DJ controllers. History Stanton Magnetics was founded in 1946 by Norman C. ...

to develop ''Traktor Final Scratch'': the software for Stanton's

Final Scratch Final Scratch is a DJ tool created by the Dutch company N2IT with input from Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman) and John Acquaviva that allows manipulation and playback of digital audio sources using traditional vinyl and turntables. It seeks to cros ...

digital vinyl system (which used timecode-stamped vinyl records to control

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

s), whilst Stanton developed the hardware. This partnership also allowed Native Instruments to use the Final Scratch timecode functionality in their own Traktor products. In 2005, Native Instruments added vinyl emulation features to version 2.6 of Traktor DJ Studio, alongside live input, internet broadcasting, support for more file formats, and expanded MIDI capabilities. Version 3 of Traktor DJ Studio, announced in November 2005, added two more playback decks (for a total of four), built-in EQ & effects,

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that can be used ...

online store integration, a four-channel mixer. It was re-branded to ''Traktor 3'' on October 11, 2006, when the partnership between Native Instruments and Stanton Magnetics ended. At this point, Native Instruments began manufacturing their own DJ hardware components. On October 16, 2008, Native Instruments announced ''Traktor Pro'', to replace Traktor 3. It included an updated

, revamped effects interface, and updated cueing and looping features. The subsequent software, ''Traktor Pro 2'' was announced on February 10, 2011, and released on April 1, 2011. New features included multi-channel support and support for a larger number of concurrent loops. Native Instruments announced in early 2018 that an entirely new version of Traktor (both hardware & software) had been under development. The new version, entitled ''Traktor Pro 3'', was released on October 18, 2018. In May 2021, a Beta release of ''Traktor Pro 3.5'' added integration with Beatport Link. This new feature allowed DJs to make track selections from Beatport on the fly for the first time.

Functionality

Core functionality supported by Traktor includes the following: * 4 virtual decks for audio playback *Automatic

beat detection In signal analysis, beat detection is using computer software or computer hardware to detect the beat of a musical score. There are many methods available and beat detection is always a tradeoff between accuracy and speed. Beat detectors are comm ...

and grid-alignment of tracks *Automatic

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

synchronization of tracks, including phase alignment options * Sampling and looping * Effects (such as filter,

flanger Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and not ...

, and

delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * ''The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and acto ...

) *

Waveform In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time.David Crecraft, David Gorham, ''Electronic ...

displays for visual mixing *

Key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

detection for tracks * A 4-channel mixer (one for each virtual deck) for controlling relative levels and frequencies (via multiple equalizer & filter models) * Automatic

gain Gain or GAIN may refer to: Science and technology * Gain (electronics), an electronics and signal processing term * Antenna gain * Gain (laser), the amplification involved in laser emission * Gain (projection screens) * Information gain in de ...

control *Real-time track management with

incremental search In computing, incremental search, hot search, incremental find or real-time suggestions is a user interface interaction method to progressively search for and filter through text. As the user types text, one or more possible matches for the text ...

Artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

browsing *

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

synchronization options * Integrated recorder, supporting internal and external audio input * Support for multiple

controllers and mappings *MIDI clock functionality to synchronize external hardware *Support for

Ableton Ableton AG is a German music software company that produces and distributes the production and performance program Ableton Live and a collection of related instruments and sample libraries, as well as their own hardware controller Ableton Push. ...

Link, to synchronize across multiple devices

Variations of Traktor

also offers lower-priced version of the Traktor software, known as ''Traktor Duo.'' Duo features only 2 virtual decks (compared to the 4 available in the regular version), a single 3-band EQ for each channel, and six effects. The company have also released ''Traktor Scratch Pro'' and ''Traktor Scratch Duo'', which contain the same respective features as their standalone counterparts, along with additional

Digital Vinyl System A close-up of a time-coded vinyl record Vinyl emulation allows a user to physically manipulate the playback of digital audio files on a computer using the turntables as an interface, thus preserving the hands-on control and feel of DJing with vi ...

(DVS) functionality, allowing control for timecoded

CDs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

& vinyl. The entry-level version of the software is known as ''Traktor LE''. It is sometimes bundled with third-party DJ controllers. A version of Traktor is also available for

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...

devices. It is known as ''Traktor DJ''. On August 17, 2010,

also released ''Traktor Pro S4'', a new version of the software specialized for their new Traktor Kontrol S4 hardware.

Traktor controllers

Traktor software can be controlled via hardware MIDI controllers. Native Instruments offers several controllers and mixers designed specifically for control of Traktor software: * Traktor Kontrol S2 - The entry-level all-in-one Traktor Controller. A two-deck, 2-channel controller that has had MK1, MK2, and MK3 variations. * Traktor Kontrol S4 - A four-deck controller that has gone through 3 variations. MK1 included cue points, plastic jog wheels, and soundcard included. MK2 upgraded to an aluminum jog wheel, and added RGB cue point buttons and a Flux Mode toggle button. MK3 added a small HD display for more information, and motorized jog wheels with haptic feedback features. * Traktor Kontrol S5 - With touch strips and LCD displays similar to the Traktor Kontrol S8, but with less functionality. * Traktor Kontrol S8 - The flagship touch strip Traktor controller, with LCD displays, four-deck control and on board soundcard. * Traktor Kontrol F1 - A single deck controller with 16 RGB pads to access all loops and samples available on one page of Traktor's remix deck. * Traktor Kontrol X1 - A simple cue point-based controller * Traktor Kontrol Z1 - A two-channel mixer compatible with both Traktor Pro and the Traktor DJ iOS app. * Traktor Kontrol Z2 - A 2-channel DJ mixer for Traktor Scratch software, with hot cue and remix buttons for turntablists and scratching enthusiasts. * Traktor Kontrol D2 (discontinued) - A single-deck controller similar to one section of the Traktor Kontrol S8. Includes 8 RGB pads, touch strip, LCD display, and controls for STEM audio files.

References

External links