27 January 2011

Traktor vs. Serato vs. Abelton


DJ Techtools did an article yesterday where they very politically correct compared Traktor, Serato and Abelton.
If you read between the lines one can clearly see that for a DJ: Traktor RULES!

Comments on Traktor:
The article has two cons for Traktor, but I don't see them as any problems and one of the also pretty much contredict one of the pros.
No sampler: Traktor S4 has a sampler and the upcoming reliese of Traktor will have a sampler.
No Midi learn: But you do have midi learn! You just can't click an interface controll. You have to select from a list.
Also one of the biggest pros for Traktor is it's MIDI programability. So if you want  to use MIDI you probably want Traktor anyway.

About the Bridge:
For those of you that don't know it: Traktor works perfectly with Abelton aswell!
It's pretty neat that you can record your sets and do minor changes after it's done and to be able to control Abelton with your turntables through a Serato deck with The Bridge. However the best thing about the bridge is the ability to view the Abelton layout inside the Serato software.
I believe if you're dropping your own loops and beats on top of your DJ set. The only thing you really need is to be in sync. Traktor delivers just that.

So adding it all up...
  1. Traktor is one system with all features included. With Serato you have to pick either Scratch or Itch.
  2. Traktor can also be used with Abelton.
  3. Traktor has sync/beat grid.
  4. Traktor has quantise.
  5. Traktor has more effects.
  6. Traktor has better sound quality (when time stretching audio).
  7. Traktor S4 has sampler and the next version will also have samplers.
  8. Traktor has the best MIDI mapping options.
  9. Traktor has internal mixer mode.
  10. Serato has pretty colorcodes for the waveforms (Which the next Traktor also will have)
  11. Serato can mix video.
Traktor did take sampler and waveform colors from Serato, but those are probably the only nice features left for selecting Serato (except video). I do believe the scale still tips in favour of Traktor anyway.

Oh... If you're a producer. Abelton might be a nice way to perform, but if you want to DJ... Go for Traktor and learn how to mix deck by deck.

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