Hi all,
I’m not a DJ by any stretch of the imagination, but after watching the Traktor tutorials, I see a wealth of potential in using the program and perhaps one or two of the X1 controllers as an actual studio tool for track production, as opposed to its primary use as a DJ tool.
Not sure if this is appropriate, but could we possible explore this idea of using Traktor Pro 2 in this manner instead of as a DJ rig? I ask only because there are some things about Ableton that are great for techno production, but the versatility of “performing” an original is awkward. I’m a big believer in setting up sounds and effects and improvising a track instead of the typical “arranging” system one might use in Ableton or Logic, et cetera.
I would LOVE to see a big tutorial that features loop or sound design using Ableton, and then have all the loops and sounds loaded into Traktor to be literally “performed” for the track recording, which honestly is very difficult for me in any DAW. I figure that for those of us who are not DJs, this might be a quirky, yet effective and efficient way for most of us to get a pro-sounding track. It also stimulates actual performance and engagement in the music, which I think causes the lack of “oomph” my particular originals seem to have.
Does this make sense or am I way off? I don’t know, as a long-time pianist and hours and hours of performance experience on stage, I just feel that DAWs take a lot of the “creativity” out of the production of a track, which may be why most people have trouble finishing tracks or becoming inspired like most of the pro DJs and performers out there…
I just notice that pros have such an organic sound where things glue together so nicely. I think this comes from performing. I ask this because I know from experience that on stage, sometimes those intuitive risks and chance-taking events on the fly can produce some of the most inspired sounds and phrases ever. I’d like to do that in the studio, and I think Traktor might be a great tool for me to achieve that in that environment. Not only that, but it might actually kill two birds with one stone! In producing, we’d also be more acquainted with DJ tools, thus fostering a better knowledge and perhaps opportunity to actually DJ on a regular basis!
Just a thought.
J
I think the main issue here would be recording, eq’ing and mastering. You’ll need headroom, spatial mixing, gain mixing etc., etc. At the end of the day I’m sure you’ll make some nice ‘live’ sounding tracks, might sound especially good for minimal etc., etc. but the live recording you take from it won’t be of releasable quality.
But the idea is in use for ‘live’ preformances. I know plenty of people that use loops and stems from their own tracks in Traktor to do some ‘live remixing’ etc., etc.
One thing I agree with as well is the DAW aspect does take a lot of the ‘creativity’ out of it. So that’s why I tend to link my sub + kick to an on-off switch, and set up some other midi controls for automation, and then record what I play around with - you get some great ideas and keep it creative.
What would be cool is to sync traktor to ableton and do live mashup remixes of tracks.
That would be a cool video.
Alright, maybe it wasn’t such a great idea.
I just watched the demonstrations and thought that once you got some good sounds and clips set up, all you would need to do is arrange the hot cues and you would have instant fills, breaks, drops, all the stuff one would hear a DJ do while entertaining. I guess the logistical flaws with regards to the “releasable” quality of the result might be true, but at least a more reasonable organic sound and performance would be produced that one might use as a guide to go back into Ableton with the original clips and simply copy what was done through Traktor…
I mean, I watched those videos knowing nothing about DJing and every bit of information struck me as common sense. I guess the trick still lies in the sound design, a huge library, and overall structure, regardless of the vehicle used to produce it. I might get Traktor anyway and test it. Perhaps the workflow explained here is rather unorthodox to others but is perfect and more productive for me. Don’t know until I try… What’s $400 bucks if it means more fluidity, right?
Jamie
Would be cool if it could VST & do multi out :)
I am banking on Serato with Bridge doing something similar - or am I missing the point completely
If you’re an Abelton user and can still find Swayzak’s set somewhere (maybe on Ableton’s download page) then have a look at that.
It’s an old DJ set of theirs using loops from their own tracks, set up to play out live. All you need is a midi controller and you’re away experimenting.
I’d suggest trying the Moguai one he released a couple of weeks ago through Beatport but it looks pretty complicated to me. I need to go back and take a look at that though it was great value as I’ve used some of his FX rigs in recent tracks.
Hi slender,
No you’re not missing the point at all. I’ve seen the bridge and serato working together and it is very similar to what I’m thinking here, but without having to access anything from Ableton. I’m thinking more about using actual prepared stems in Traktor set into each deck, or even loading one-shots into the new feature of Pro2 where you can have 8 samples per deck loaded.
Jon,
I’ll download it and check that out! Sounds like an educational experience just to see how it’s set up.
J