I love my Traktor, but they are really slow to add new features.
But if you are comfortable with the S4 type layout, nothing can still beat that. the feeling of quality is still there too, filters, EQ and effects sound good, and what is there is very well thought out.
I still feel like Rekordbox looks like shit, and behaves a bit dodgy. But it’s becoming the biggest platform, so it’s hard to ignore.
Weirdly, Virtual DJ is now the most feature packed of the lot, and they claim to have the most solid software too, least recorded crashes.
But I’m sticking with Traktor as long as I can because of tight intergration. The S4 mk3 has everything laid out, so you get to use muscle memory as much as possible, very little shift button use, menu diving or touching the computer.
While using USB sticks with top-of-the-line Pioneer decks removes the computer from the equation completely, they still use the touchscreen in much the same way. So on Traktor S4 you can beatjump without looking at the machines, while on Nexus players you have to stare at a screen, or screens, a bit more.
The two rotary encoders Traktor uses for beat jumping are a design that should have become an industry standard.
But there are a few things in play now. Not sure how they will shake out. Stem separation technology will compete with the EQs and Filters somehow, but it’s early days yet. Only NI has built interfaces especially for stems. But Traktor doesn’t do live stem separation, like the newer apps do.
But it’s really just about what machine will catch your fancy. The apps are mostly similar, the controllers that are built around the app technology will reflect your needs, so start there. Pick one you like. Pioneer has the biggest ecosystem, but that comes at a cost.
No-one seems completely happy with theirs at the moment. There isn’t a shining star in the lot. These are the difficult adolescent years of DJ software. So the only good choice is one of kit.
Oh and there is good conversion software now that migrates collections between different dj programs. Mixo is one. So even if you chose something and you don’t like it, you can always move to another one.
