Last November I started using Traktor. I wanted something that allowed me to take advantage of the remix decks, and I've always liked the way Traktor does things. I purchased an S4 and started learning the software.
I learned on Serato and the bar I DJ at uses Virtual DJ. Up to this point I had just been using Virtual DJ for weddings - I use it every day, and it's a pretty good piece of software. This wedding season I decided to change things up. I have been using Traktor exclusively when I practice at home, I know, though, that the only way to truly know a piece of your kit is to use it out in public.
Before the wedding I loaded my core library of about 6,000 songs into traktor. I also added my "extra" library of 60,000 songs into iTunes. I did it this way because I didn't want to see all of the tracks I have every time I search, but I did want to have easy access to everything that I could possibly need. I also did some prep putting together a playlist for the wedding.
I got to the wedding this past saturday (may 23) and set up my gear. In Traktor I set up Decks A & B as normal track decks. Deck D was for the F1 I was using. Deck C was set up for live input. I plugged my wired mic into the mic input in the back of the unit. I plugged my wireless mic into the live input using a 1/4" to RCA adaptor. This setup worked great. I had all the decks I needed for playing and 2 inputs for mics, which is all I need.
During the cocktail hour/dinner music I ran autoplay from a playlist. There were a few hiccups where I ended up accidentally stopping the autoplay, but this was my first time using the autoplay on traktor. I just have to learn what I can and can not do.
I had 1 issue with the mic - the best man had no idea how to talk into a mic. I had everything maxed out, and I still couldn't get enough sound. There's a "main" dial in the software that I didn't find until later that I could have used to turn him up even more. Lesson learned.
When the dancing started, it was a piece of cake. When I first started using traktor I hated the library management. After using it for 6 months, and setting up the playlists right, I had no problem finding the tunes I needed for the next song.
I had a few things happen that were quirks of the software, and I'll need to figure out how I am going to work with them.
- In virtual DJ I use sync to match up tempo, and that's it. Virtual DJ is also smart and knows the difference between 72 and 144. In Traktor, sync isn't as simple. There were a few times when leaving sync on caused the next track to be too slow, or too fast.
- I also use the software to change tempo of both tracks at the same time in Virtual DJ. It's a nice gradual tempo change. I still haven't figured out a way to make it sound as good in Traktor.
All of these bugs were minor, and the only one who noticed was my girlfriend, but she's heard me DJ enough she knows when I screw up.
Overall it was a good experience, and I'm looking forward to the wedding I have coming up next weekend. I really like DJing on the S4, and I'm glad I've found a way to use it and tractor in a mobile setting.
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