Im Going To The Darkside Switching From NI To Serato or Should I?
I kinda feel shortchanged by NI and it seems like all the good stuff is coming out for Serato I’ve got a line on a nice VCI-400. Im not sure what I should do although I know I want to keep my Z1/X1/F1 combo Im thinking about ditching the 4Trak and starting almost over with Serato. For some reason I feel like Serato has a ton more features than Traktor am I wrong Ive never used Serato before.
Oh well so much for switching to Serato they dont support AMD processors lol.
probably not the best thread to be starting…
Please lock it.
Take a look at the features of both and see which has more that are applicable to your style. “More” can be very subjective.
Not going to disagree, Serato has a lot more selection (and cooler) for hardware support a la Pioneer and others. I would look into your mixing style. I bought a DDJ SX2 and loaded pioneers mapping. I loved the controller, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the remix decks to work with the mapping. I looked every where for a manual on how to use it and couldn’t figure it out, so I returned it. I use the remix decks quite a bit… I don’t think Serato has remix decks or an equivalent (I could be wrong).
At the end, it’s not a what’s better software, that’s a personal opinion, it’s what’s better for you.
imo the F1/X1/Z1 combo is the best controller setup of all (maybe needs a added soundcard for some occasions)
The modularity is just so cool:
-playing at a venue that has a 900 nexus. Use this, leave the Z1 in your bag (together with your backup ipad w/ Traktor DJ).
-Not much space in the booth… X1 and F1 can fit pretty much everywhere.
-The club equipment sucks… just use the three of them together.
-Houseparty where you don’t want to bring all your equipment… just use the Z1 with an ipad.
-The club has a super nice setup with CDJ 2000s… plug them in for some HID fun, leave the x1 in the bag.
etc etc.
The build-quality could be better and it would be my all time favourite setup.
On the software side. Serato is definitely catching up (charging you for every added feature), but still I think Traktor has more features (if you need all of them is another question…)
traktor > serato
in my humble biased opinion
Both have their merits. I prefer Traktor personally because I’m quite experimental in my approach to music. The only killer feature Serato has for me is the side by side waveforms.
this^
and tons more control vinyl options for DVS…cause I’m all about looks.
Serato has it perks I prefer a more traditional mixing style and serato allows me a not overwhelmed gotta touch everything approach…
That meaning when I’m in traktor o could spend the entire set working effects and not adding anything to the performance worth merit… Now if I had the time to yes remix decks are cool very handy but I’m not so much into that style of things…
I do however like to hook up my volca beats and keys and receive drum patterns live for fun or hammer out some weird synth fills with the volca keys but I doubt I’d ever do it live at a gig as things
Can get complicated real quick by doing that
I use both now, since I won a DDJ-SX2. Which i use depends on where I’m playing. Ive used TSP since 2010, back then it was years ahead of Serato, but IMO after playing with Serato DJ since December the gap is much much smaller. I have nothing bad to say about serato other that the crates
Thanks for your opinion I really appreciate it.
All the programs are fairly similar. Traktor is better for finger drumming, not a huge deal breaker for myself. Serato is more designed for dvs and a classic style of mixing.
I used traktor for the first 2 years of djing and have used serato for the last 3 years.
Serato is definitely more respected, for the sole fact that traktor can be torrented very easily.
i had traktor back in 2010 but switched over to serato 2 years ago. i like it a lot better for its more traditional mixing set up. i don’t use much of the features like finger drumming and/or sample decks but if i do, i have them on my ddj-sx.
i just picked up some technics and will continue to use serato for dvs.
You cant go wrong with either. I use Serato, as do most of my friends, but I have a few that use Traktor and it’s a great program as well. I refuse to say that Serato is better just because I use it and am more familiar with it than Traktor.
Honestly the decision comes down to your mixing style and at times your controller. I’ve got both Traktor and Serato on my computer, I’ve used both but I prefer serato. I find it to be much cleaner and less cluttered than Traktor, and it suits my mixing flow better than Traktor did, but again that’s just my two cents. Use what works for you.
Serato is def alot of fun to play on, mixing is super easy with waveform so simple to read beatmatching even 4 tracks is not that hard after a little practice. The effects are more than enough for the average mobile DJ doing weddings and parties like New years, holidays and such. I would say the one huge leg up I give to serato is the crate system, I went from VDJ to Traktor to Serato and now I feel like any event I DJ that I have done before is 100x easier to prepare for because my entire setlist from that event is archived, as well as the lists of new music across my genres can be found quickly the way the crates are setup.
I jumped from Traktor to Serato about 6 months ago main reason NI sound cards have dodgy usb ports and the fact Traktor kept on crashing I jumped ship and have NOT looked back 
sold my X1 and am very happy hey I used the sync a lot with my X1 but am a TT guy from 20 years so am more than happy looking cool because I AM 