Minimal, but the software differences are minimal also… only difference is the control method; the rest of the software is just as nasty lol.
I’m always surprised at how vertical waveforms is such a deal breaker for people. I get it but the reality of it is vertical waveforms have 0 impact on performance. Your set will not be any different with horizontal waveforms. If we start talking about things like video sl, or remix decks, or very custom midi mappings then yes these things will have an impact on performance and should be taken into consideration.
I agree to an extent ---- it’s not strictly the waveforms, aside from actual “features” for me the biggest difference is the workflow of each program (and for SSL the waves are part of that workflow) that makes playing on SSL so much more enjoyable than any other platform. When discussing features, then yes I agree the discussion should shift to video-sl, remix decks, bridge, fx, library managemetn, etc. and decide what is more has more value for each individual user. I REALLY dislike Traktor’s “collection” library managment function for example.
aaaaaand thats the real reason. I have a feeling that since the UI isnt pretty thats why youre bashing it. Remember, youre not wearing this software when you play, shouldnt matter how it looks.
I realize that there are different play styles, but if your justification of hating serato is based on looks, then your argument is invalid.
It’s not the vertical waveforms, it’s the PARALLEL waveforms (ie, having one above the other, full-width). I couldn’t give two shits about vertical waveforms.
And it’s not about the looks of the UI, it’s about the functionality of the software. The main example of this is that the FX on Serato are shite.
are you older than 12? seriously every post you make makes you look like a child,
serato had the tightest DVS for years up until traktor released their 2.0 timecode, now its level peggings (traktor with .01 advantage source: Qbert) the FX are run by izotope, theyre just not as faggoty and OTT as traktor FX.
Considerably older than 12; more than double that, in fact. Cheers for your highly mature opinion though.
i love DJTechs tools but the traktor fanboys do my head in lol, on par with apple fan boys. i prefer to be impartial and look at each system as a different solution!
answers OP’s questions to be honest if your asking this question then you should probally not buy any at the moment..
Traktor A10 or Serato SL4 - depends on what camp you want to join.. there are pro’s and cons on both!
my advice is think of the future..
do you want to use controllers?
does midi mapping interest you?
do you want sync?
what do your friends use?
have a play on each interface and find out which one your prefer…
serato has a simple design i prefer the way your organise your music in it (using creates ) - it isnt as good with effects. but fully integrates with ableton using the bridge!
traktor has multiple way you can use it and is a power house for customization - great for controllerism (and is cheaper too!) - DVS is reported to be on par with serato. though i have read traktor being more cpu dependent which is to be expected considering the effects processing
…G Out!
IMHO, you already kind of know which system you want, both of them play music, both of them have effects you’re not really going to use, and both of them have intuitive UIs in use. In order to really make a decision, you need to ask yourself what you really NEED in a system, and compare the really nitty-gritty crucial differences between the two systems.
SL4 grit
+/-Dual USB. This is a thing that you either absolutely essentially need and can’t live without, or it’s completely useless to you. You already know the answer to this.
+Browser. Traktor’s browser is certified awful. This isnt really a matter of opinion as much as it is an uncomfortable fact. Serato’s method of Collection → Crates with a narrow/universal filtering and search system is just infinitely more usable than Traktor’s “Islands in a sea of every single audio file you’ve ever run by the software” system.
+/- The Bridge. The Bridge… well… Kinda works. If you have Ableton and a beefy computer, it’s great. If you can’t get it to run smoothly, or don’t need it, well, it’s completely useless.
-Not much I/O flexibility beyond what it wants you to use, and NEEDS DVS inputs to really function.
A10
+Flexibility. You can run this thing with pretty much anything, DVS to controllers to supplemental outputs and recording. It’s there.
+I/O. A MIDI loop and headphone monitoring really round out the card, it’s got a lot of options for a lot of different situations and setups.
+Price. A truly affordable system next to the SL4.
-Literally impossible to change over, the antithesis to the dual USB. Seriously, in any kind of club environment, all of that awesome super great “fill the I/O up” flexibility gets cut down to nothing in the face of getting an engineer to deal with the kafikaesque cable-Hell you create fully patching that thing in. Luckily, it can be run quite minimalist with controllers and internal mixing.
**----**Requires a power supply. I’m not even gonna go into how much this irritates me. It alone kills the entire card for me, but you might not find it that annoying.
You can see what I meant by “you already kind of know,” a lot of the core differences are things you either find invaluable, or don’t care about at all.
I like the video option in serato. It may not be what you want now, but at least it’s an option down the road.
Having your own visuals all ready to go is a great selling feature for a lot of clubs.
No it doesn’t at least not last I checked. It allows you to launch ableton clips in sync with records which is good, but it does NOT give you Ableton effects on Serato channels. So you can’t just pump your records in Serato through some of the badass effects available for Ableton. Which is too damn bad. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong about that please…
This means Traktor is probably a better bet if you like to use effects and especially if you like fine tuning them. Traktor is incredibly powerful effects-wise since you can combine them in multiple ways, and the midi mapping capabilities, while complicated, are very powerful - you can assign specific combinations of effects to a single knob or button so you can make your own. They’re still limited though; it would be great if you could use VST effects on either system the way you can in Ableton. Serato, meanwhile, is pretty limited in the effects category last I checked. I heard Izotope was going to rewrite all of Serato’s effects, which would be great if that happened, but I haven’t heard them if they got updated, or if Izotope’s other effects (some of which are amazing) will be available to Serato DJ users.
Im sad to see this has turned into a traktor versus serato thread. Ill be honest wiht you mate. If you plan on just playing clubs then serato is the way to go. If youre doing anything else, go with traktor. Both do the same basic things. Its all preference. I have both installed on my laptop even tho I am a traktor nut. I have shown up to gigs where they dont let me set up my gear tho so I end up opening up serato and connect to the box they have on hand. Always, as with any DVS, have vinyl and cd’s as back up. You never know what you might run into.
A lot of excellent input here. Thanks lads.
If it the SL4 is a fair bit more expensive, but that’s the reason I work, right? Serato is the standard around here when playing out and I’m already familiar with the set up.
Is it true that the A10 requires a power source, not just USB? While that’s not a huge problem, it’s an inconvenience and just more wires I need to deal with.
Yes the A10 needs to be powered but the benefit of this is when your laptop is turned off you can still play music through the sound card I’m not sure if the Serato box can do this. It’s good when you when just want to spin straight vinyl without your computer hooked up.
You make a great point. I would have never thought of that!
SL3, at least, can run off AC power and the two channels (excluding AUX) will pipe your source through.
Otherwise it doesn’t require power to function: runs reliably off the juice supplied by your computer.
Things I don’t know are:
- the difference in battery usage if using a notebook, SL3 running off USB versus AC
- whether SL4 operates in the same manner as stated above
- whether SL4 allows THRU on all four channels (assume so, as there’s an additional AUX)
DJTT is against any form of piracy. If anyone else brings it up again they will be joining the ranks of the 1 week off gang so be wise and don’t ruin your forum experience 
.
For non-timecode use, can the SL4 be used to transition between two people using Traktor?
haha
regrettably tis true
Yes this can be done. http://serato.com/latest/blog/7553/big-wizs-setup-for-the-bridge