Just signed up and I was hoping to get some advice. I’m really interested in using Traktor Pro for mixing music and was looking to get some inexpensive controllers. I’m new to this and would only be doing it as a hobby, so I don’t want to invest a lot.
I already own a Korg NanoKey (impulse buy) and was thinking of the NanoKontrol and NanoPad (Ean Golden’s We will Rock You was very cool). I’ve read reviews and I know the pad isn’t of the best quality, but the two together are only ~$120. Is there something around that price range that will give me control over all of the features of Traktor? Or should I just go with the Nano series?
u can think of Djtech i mix reload … its not vey cheap in price (360 USD)… .. but the Numark mixtrack is priced much lower … thou i dont remember the price … u can google it to find out…both of them can be mapped wit traktor … u have EQs …effects knobs and faders…pitch control… and 2 touch sensitive jogwheels for scratch…(am tokin bout I mix reload) … mixtrack is pretty similar to the i mix reload but a little lesser features
another simple cheap alternative to a control would be the numark total control, but you would need to get a soundcard sepearately unless you get the starter kit. imho, the NI Audio2DJ > Numark DJ i/o.
I would opt for a secondhand BCR2000 and an Audio2DJ to start with.
True you would have to map everything under a rotary or a button, but in my opinion there still is no more versatile MIDI controller to start with, you can remap the entire thing on the fly when your ideas regarding spinning tunes change.
Well one thing, if you’ve got the actual software squared away, is going with:
The M-Audio Oxygen 8. I know Ean has a mapping around on the website for it, and there are a couple videos as well. You can pick it up for around $120, maybe less depending.
Another option, the one that I’m STILL rocking because I’m a poor bastard, is this:
I picked up the X-Session Pro for $60 online. I don’t know if you can still get it at that price, but it comes with Torq LE. I also have the korg nano series, and while it’s nice, I mostly use the x-session even so. It’s a nice piece of kit that really is well worth the money if you’re not ready to drop on something bigger.
One thing to take note when shopping for an x-session pro, it’s sold as two different things, with different prices for each.
There’s the stand alone X-Session Pro which you can buy, and then there is the Torq Mixlab which comes WITH the X-Session Pro, and the second option for whatever reason is generally cheaper. When I was shopping for mine, buy.com was the cheapest price. It seems to have gone up a bit though. I think the only difference between the two options might be the color scheme. Cheaper = better overall. Best of luck with your hunting.
also remember — if you buy too cheap, when you start to get better your gonna want a little more and then end up spending more in the long run and having to sell cheap equipment for even cheaper. Stongly recommend looking for used gear and trying to land a good controller first. You can always use a splitter from your computer while you save up for a soundcard. Grant it, you don’t get the best sound, but it gives you a little time to save up some money. Give yourself a realisitc budget to do this with, and buy things little by little. Even if it’s just a hobby you want stuff that will last and enjoy playing on. My steal deal was getting a VCI-300 for 350.00 shipped here. I’ve seen Hercules RMX being sold for 200.00 before, both of these have sound cards. I’ve seen Numark Total Control sell on craigslist for 100 bucks and a maya44 go for 60.00 bucks. You can do this on a budget and have decent gear to have fun on, but you gotta hunt down those deals and don’t be afraid to pull the trigger when you find a good deal or somoene else will.
I have a hercules Control Steel (200€ new) , an small Asus minpc EEEpc (220€) working on SnowLeopard hackintosh and tracktor ( In a solid microsd of 16gb (80€)) , a pair of gamestar earphones usb (This is the monitor i use, the output is the sound card of the asus), 9 hours of autonomy and a spaeakers JBL for noteboks (45€).
I go in the wekeends to a club where meny friensd have a place to work in different styles and we learn from our experiences ( its a social free center four youngs) and i think this is the best system to work for this money.
Its not professional, but the results are very closer, and for me its a great system , every week i learn some about tracktor, its an awesome program.
