Traktor S8 review

Traktor S8 review

Just posted my S8 review to my blog, here’s the link if anyone is curious:

http://innerportalstudio.com/ni-traktor-s8-review/

Thanks. Will give it a read.

Ofcourse we are curious! :wink:

I read it. I’m glad to hear you like it.

I actually got my hands on one in guitar center today…and it felt nice. Unforunately, they haven’t updated to traktor 2.7 yet, so it just sat there telling you how to put it into vegas mode with Traktor on a 15" rMBP above it doing nothing.

I just don’t think I’ll ever want to spin with 2 remix decks.

I’m actually considering porting my Ableton live pa over to remix deck format, could be very interesting mixing up stems from my own tracks with other records. Or just do a live set using only the S8, we’ll see!

Yeah…that’s kind of what jumps out at me. When I saw it, you were actually the first person I thought of.

I just don’t think that, for me, it would be enough utility. You’re a better producer than I am.

I am, however, interested how that compares to syncing traktor and Ableton and using something like an apc40 for the live portion. It’d be a lot simpler…worth giving up the extra options?

Ironically, it wasn’t until the night before it arrived it dawned on me that using the S8 for a live set was possible :slight_smile: Most of the time I do fairly straight forward A-B mixing, it’s listening to the music I enjoy. But lately I’ve been itching to get a little more creative with the DJing, I need a change :slight_smile:

As for the sync with Ableton, I would always personally gravitate towards an all in one option myself. Having a lot of options is a good, and certainly there’s a huge amount of potential pairing Live and Traktor. But I find I get the most immersed in what I’m doing when working on just one interface, playing by one set of rules. I find that jumping back and forth between bits of gear, even in my hardware live sets, can sometimes keep pulling me out of the mood.

That’s just me though. There’s still a LOT of things Traktor and the S8 can’t do compared to say Live too.

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

I really view the remix decks as something Ableton DJs have been asking for forever.
I’m slowly bringing them into my routine,but more as a supplement as opposed to live remixing.

I totally get that. DJing (simply) in Live is…odd. I’ve done it and enjoyed it (as you know) but its weird.

I’m really interested to see what you do with the thing. It’s an impressive bit of kit.

I probably would have bought one if I hadn’t just gotten the bug to buy a rotary.

Damn dude, cell phones are where it’s at these days, not sure I could dial on a rotary anymore! :slight_smile:

Lol

No worries, I’ve got a new modular system on the way myself :slight_smile:

This is something that I have been breaking my head over for sometime as well… Still not made up my mind…

I was JUST in the middle of getting new stems together for a new live set when I got the S8, so hopefully it won’t take me too long to get a few songs ported and give it a run through.

Just started packing for a big move though, so free time is in short supply unfortunately.

Well… I’m more than interested in your experiences with this. (Don’t worry, I am patient. :wink: )

No problem, I am doctor. :wink:

I love this thread.

The mixer crashes with traktor and is useless to use for backup plan. And the hype about screens?
At this moment it’s just hype and maybe in future with better functions added it could be a reality.
I got one…

Enjoyed the review thanks. I had one here briefly and it oozed quality.

Something I didn’t investigate is the mic channel.
Does anyone know if it’s independent of Trakor i.e. Speech isn’t routed through the software?

It can be set up either way, this is from the manual:

"Press the channel’s TRAKTOR button to toggle between sending the MIC signal into TRAKTOR (Live Input) and mixing it directly inside S8’s mixer (Direct Thru).

In Live Input mode, you can process your microphone signal with TRAKTOR’s FX Units, allowing you to add performance effects.

In Direct Thru mode, the microphone signal is not sent to the computer. Instead, it is mixed directly in S8’s mixer, solving any latency issues you might have at the expense of not being able to add FX."