[Giveaway] Share your TRAKTOR story and win timecode vinyl
TRAKTOR's 20th Anniversary Giveaway
Guess who just turned 20? It's TRAKTOR. We transformed the face of digital DJing two decades ago and we'll continue to do so for decades to come!
To celebrate this milestone, we've released 5 limited edition timecode vinyl records - only 300 copies of each are now up for grabs. Watch our blog as we trace the history of this iconic gear and talk to artists who helped shape its story.
But here on this online community, we want to put a spotlight on you. What's your story? How has TRAKTOR transformed your DJ career/life?
Share your story in a comment section below and 5 winners with the best story will win the vinyl - courtesy of the TRAKTOR team.
How to enter
- Leave your story in one comment
- Pictures, videos and other media are welcome
- Winners will be announced on May 27, 2022.
- Each winner gets 2 timecode vinyl. The colorways are allocated randomly.
Looking forward to reading your TRAKTOR origin story and taking a trip down the memory lane with you all.
Comments
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Im DJ FritZ and im DJing since 2006. Always stayed small but really enjoyed playing the goth and industrial parties around my country. I played with vinyl and CDs and became pretty used to that. Untill 2012. I didnt feel it anymore. I lost my game and it didnt bring anything new anymore. But then, suddenly, a guy thats now known as Nachtraaf sent me a message, telling me that he really enjoyed the parties that I did years before and he wanted me to join his new collective with underground DJs. I purchased a Traktor kontrol Z1 and X1, downloaded Traktor Pro 2 onto my laptop and started playing again on his monthly evenings. It was fun, it sparked and I found the creativity back. I explored Traktor more. Made it my own. Experimented with an F1 when the remix decks came out and from there I wanted more. And Traktor could give me more. Tons of gear have passed my booth since then and now Im killing it on an awesome analog mixer with Audio10 soundcard, a pair of D2s and 2 spiffy turntables for a perfect analog/DVS hybrid game. Still doing small Industrial sets, but also discovered the joy of techno and folk music. Started live streaming aswell to share the fun. Traktor saved my hobby and it will stay at the centre of it.
4 -
Many years ago when the firs traktor came out me and my friends had heard this crazy thing where you could play your mp3's like vinyl, it was black magic. I think we saw Ritchie Hawtin out playing with a prototype version in Glasgow at the Arches. We knew we wanted them so my friend and I got a pair (well he did, I kept borrowing them until he sold them to me) and we had them wired up to a windows laptop (no macs then, we were students) and so we would DJ at house parties and the like and it was amazing. Time went on and things changed and I'm now I'm back with an S4 setup and still occassionally I'll connect up my turntables and at play some vinyl techno or put a timecode on and mix old MP3's that I have from back in the day.
I was amazed back then what NI came up with and they got me into some amazing german techno music (Monolake) and made DJ'ing more open and you could have possibilities of making your own track and not needing a dubplate to play it out and mix with (CDJ's were about but they were just pitch changing CD players, no scratching etc).
So I have many fond memories of the technology from the outset, so glad to have been there when you pioneered DVS systems.
4 -
My story is not so big and exciting because it does not have the "a long time ago in galaxy far far away..." in it.
Theoretically the story have this "long ago" part where I have tried Traktor application for a first time maybe a 18 years ago when I was young and not balding student. :)) It was just some pirated version from some CD with a bunch of pirated software in it. I'm from former soviet union country, so this was pretty normal in our country at the time. Tried to use this version without any controller, just the keyboard and mouse. And for me this was a big "hell no" for DJ'ing with mouse and keyboard.
Fast forward to somewhere in 2018. My new coworker recommended for me to listen to Richie Hawtin mixes. I tried and right away fell in love with a music he was creating! I was surprised, how DJ'ing can be not only the crossfading the songs from one to another! It was something more complex! From that moment, Richie Hawtin was and is my inspiration to this day.
Another one fast forward to the December 2020. I'm browsing the local advertisements website and stumbled upon the mint condition Vestax VCI‑100 MK2. Bought it for maybe 70€! Did not wanted to spend a bunch of money to something what will not hook me up. Of course the controller had the Traktor LE version of application. This was the first time, when I have created my Native Instruments account. The DJ'ing seed was planted!
Of course LE version was too limited for me. Changed it to a Traktor Pro version. Added to my setup - Kontrol F1 to use it with a remix deck. After a half a year, changed my Vestax to the Kontrol S8, bought the Maschine MK3 to use in my mixes.
But this was not enough! After some little planning and (not so little) financial expenses I have finally changed my Kontrol F1 and Kontrol S8 to a pair of Kontrol X1 MK2 and the Model1 mixer.
And here I'm. Recording my mixes with a Traktor application in my spare time, uploading them to the Mixcloud and YouTube and just having perfect time with music. The perfect time which would not be possible without Native Instruments, Traktor and Maschine.
6 -
I was so relieved that I didn't have to spend $200/week on records anymore after Serato released it's first box in 2004. For a couple of years, I swore I'd be a Rane girl forever.
Somewhere between 2007-2009, as I was walking through the halls at the NAMM show, a German gentleman named Tobias working at the Traktor booth lured me in to test drive Traktor for my first time. Right away, I noticed that my scratching sounded way more realistic in comparison to Serato's SSL. The latency had me wowzzzerred!
Back then, there weren't so many females who were scratch DJs. In 2004, I started this platform called "Females Wit Funk" and we showcased every female on earth who was a turntablist to inspire girls out there.
A couple of us were at the NAMM SHOW (Shortee, Dj Step 1, Annalyze to name a few) and so I managed to drag one of the girls back to the booth to do a quick demo for Traktor with me. This was right before NI decided they weren't going to do anymore Namm booths! What's funny was, I remember we were representing the following booths for that show : Rane, Mixvibes and PCDJ then Traktor popped up out of no where with a vengeance!
Leaving the show I felt like Serato had some major competition and eventually I became a user of both until I made the full switch when the Z2 dropped and abandoned Serato completely. I was rocking Traktor with my Pioneer 909 and X1 controller, then upgraded to Pioneer's T1 (Traktor's integrated mixer), then lastly the Z2.
I was so loyal to the Z2 that I ordered a custom HOERBOARD table for it so now even if I wanted to upgrade to another mixer, I'm stuck.. which leaves me feeling - WILL THE Z2 ever make a comeback?
Here's a demo of some Traktor scratching since I couldn't attach it. :
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWAL8VXgsJn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
5 -
Greetings to all!
My DJ journey began in 2017 with Traktor Pro 2, but not in a very conventional way. I attended parties hosted by FM JAM, the most famous Hip-Hop group (DJs & rappers) in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Seeing and hearing their DJ sets is what made me want to get into the world of DJ-ing in the first place, but I had no money to buy any piece of gear at the time.
Since I was a Mechanical Engineering student back then, and had no money to spend on gear, I convinced a few of my college friends to build our (read: mine) own controller as a part of the project we had to do. We built a MIDI controller based on Arduino controller with pots and faders from some old Yamaha mixer we tore apart. A DJ friend of mine then told me I could use his laptop with Traktor to MIDI map it since Traktor had a very good mapping capabilities. That "homemade" controller worked like a charm with it and it was my very first contact with Traktor software.
After some time of learning and practicing with Traktor and my new toy, I managed to save some money and buy my first piece of gear. It was Traktor S2 MK3 that came bundled with TP3, and I bought it in 2019. I can't describe how confused I was when I first turned it on, because even after knowing Traktor pretty well and practicing with homemade controller, keyboard and mouse it was a whole another dimension to work on actual gear.
Watching DJ Craze was also the reason I had my eyes on Traktor as my software of choice. I'm heavily into Hip-Hop and older R'n'B music and I wanted to learn scratching as well, so I could make routines and implement it into my sets. The S2 MK3 was a great controller, but I felt like moving platters would be a perfect thing for my taste. I sold the S2 and went to buy Traktor Kontrol S4 MK3 that I'm rocking still to this day! That controller and its moving platters changed the way I'm DJ-ing. I started doing local gigs and not too long after that I was approached by the folks from FM JAM to be part of their amazing group as a DJ. That was one of the most amazing moments of my career.
Now I'm trying to learn even more complex scratch techniques and I'm adding a turntable to my setup to spice things up a bit. I will continue improving my craft and I hope my DJ journey will last for many years to come. I'm aware that there are other software and gear options there, but Traktor has honestly been rock solid for me since the first time I used it. I'm also the only guy who uses it among my DJ friends, and I don't plan on jumping ships anytime soon because it really works well for me.
Here are some links for videos on my IG page where I use the S4 MK3 (since I can't upload them here):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CU5M8f-ounj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZFeMR7l5qK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cb5bQ9gl6bi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Cheers to everyone, enjoy the time you spend behind decks!
3 -
How I found Traktor was totally by mistake. I was watch Ronie Size playing D&B at Digital in Newcastle about 20 years ago when I noticed he wasn't changing his vinyl over. After a couple of hours of trying to figure out what witch craft I was watching the night ended. I returned home very drunk and decided to hit the web to find out what I had just seen. I did a search and up popped Stanton Final scratch MK2 and I ordered it immediately. A few days later my parcel arrived and the Traktor journey began. Over the last 20 years my setup has change many times but my go to software has always been Traktor. The strangest thing happened about 5 years ago I was speaking to Roni Size after a gig and I told him how he was responsible for me finding Traktor DVS and when we got in to it he told me he was using serato. I always wondered why it didn't look the same I have always put it down to being very drunk or maybe it was final scratch MK1 lol.
3 -
I had my traktor with 2 1210s for the past 3.5 years and never used it until now I use it everyday.
2 -
I'm Caveman and my story started in the late '90s .. :) At that time I was almost every eater in the field of music, but the early music of acid, house, trance, techno was enchanting ... already here in the heart of Eastern Europe, in Hungary, they came. True adoration came in the mid-2000s, when digitization, with your expertise, reached the point where digital media could be played on software, its hardware, or an analog disc player. The expertise you have put in our hands gives you a lot of freedom ... :) Thank you very much for that!
There is a bit of tangle between the cables, but I hope you will forgive me for that .. :)
My current gear:
Tractor PRO 3, Pioneer DJM 600, Outline PRo 405, 2X Control F1, 2XZomo MC1000, 4X Technics SL1210MK2, HP Elitebook 8570W, 2X Stanton FS2, Audio4DJ.
2 -
It is 2015 in Bogota - Colombia. When I was 17 years old I started studying Music Production, in this academy I won a DJ course, where I know and learn about the Traktor Hybrid System, with the Traktor Z2 Mixer (by the way, I had no knowledge since my Vision was directed to the production musical).
While the DJ course was going on, something came up that caught my attention and it was one of the components that characterize Rap Music, THE SCRATCH!!! I learned a couple of techniques that would later work for me more than I thought.
Several years passed and I put all this aside to look for something "more serious" to work on and get ahead since in my country it is difficult for them to value this type of talent, meanwhile I continued to produce Rap music and hang out with Rappers in parks and festivals locals accompanying them as Tornamesista and Scratchs. One day a DJ approached me at an event in the year 2021 and offered me a Mixer Traktor Z2 which immediately generated a FlashBack to the year 2015 to remember that Jewel with which I learned Scratch, It is the Equipment that I have Now, the same team that one day I fell in love with and got hooked on Dj Art, I'm still working and improving my techniques.
⬆️⬆️⬆️
This photo is the first and only contest in which I participated, organized another brand of Audio and decided to take my Z2 and being Runner-up is a great personal achievement. Thank you.
3 -
It was namm 2009, I saw a company that caught my eye that was literally everything I was looking for. I was very heavy in the DJ scene and as times changed vinyl was phasing out and the digital world was taking over. My friends of the same profession used another popular company at the time but something about native instruments just stood out and that’s when I bought the first machine controller and life began at that moment, my love for music became stronger then it’s ever been. Kontakt Maschine and Traktor were my main weapons to do everything when it came to digital music. Over ten years later I’m still a loyal user of all native instruments products and glad to see 20 years being celebrated with those beautiful vinyl. Thank you Traktor
1 -
I've been a dj since 1995 here in Brazil and I started my story with traktor in 2010 at my city's bar and on the first night I was impressed with the sound quality and stability of the system. I fell in love with the brand and the system, I bought a bag, slipmat, all vinyl colors and some controllers. I've been using it for 12 years and learning from it. Very sad for not being able to buy the 20th anniversary edition, after all I feel a little part of it all, as if I were part of the family. Please see if you can get some more units for sale. Unfortunately I arrived late to buy. A big hug from Brazil.
1 -
Hi community, My name is Thales de Paula,
I am the creator of the biggest Portuguese language community on facebook, 20 years! how fast it goes, half of them working with this software/hardware that answers me in all the questions. My story was really one of transformation. IN 2011 I had the opportunity to attend a free lecture organized by a non-governmental organization (NGO) called AFROREAGE, here in RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil.
Where for the first time I had contact with what TRAKTOR could do, at the time the newly released remix deck and a timecode of envy,
Thanks to Marcio OSubo, I was able to know more and more about the software, it was love at first sight, the work developed and today I work promoting the brand and I became a non-certified professional (native does not give this position by nature), the time passed I created friendships and today I travel around my country taking my knowledge with native, komplete, maschine and Traktor hw products.
Doing workshops in favelas and giving lectures in the classroom as well. taking knowledge forward.
Today I come to thank this software, which if you stop to think about it, I could have taken another path where many children living in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro could take (the crime).
Fascinated by what I could do with just a second-hand 2009 macbook I've explored the world and been able to go places I would never have imagined.
Gratitude, next step is to travel to the United States, Los Angeles to see what these guys are up to up close.
P.s Please Native, Certify us professionals, certify us, we support (free of charge) to those who do not speak English and we do not have this recognition from you.
Sorry for the translator and Traktor s4ver
1 -
Usuario de Traktor Scratch por ahí por el 2008 con sistema Dvs por medio de unas denon 3700
siempre fue un tremendo placer tocar mis archivos sin compresión en ese software y aun en el 2022 sigo con los productos Traktor Z2 , Maschine mk3 W , KOntrol x2 MK2 , KOmplete , aun no pierdo las esperanzas que algún dia vea la luz un Mixer de batalla Rediseñado de Traktor para Dj ...mientras tanto No cambiaria por nada del mundo Mi Set
saludos desde Chile
Traktor Scratch user out there in 2008 with Dvs system by means of a denon 3700
it was always a tremendous pleasure to touch my files without compression in that software and even in 2022 I continue with the products Traktor Z2 , Maschine mk3 W , KOntrol x2 MK2 , KOmplete , I still do not lose hope that one day a Redesigned Battle Mixer of Traktor for Dj will see the light ... meanwhile I would not exchange for anything in the world My Set
greetings from Chile
1 -
Traktor Changed my life because made mixing more fun and easy to carry around from party to party, it is a grate software to work with
1 -
Hello Everybody
My name is Shmulik but I go by The Hiphop Ninja.
Back in the day (I think it was 2005) I got into Djing and purchased The Final Scratch 2. I was the first one in Israel to Dj with Timecode. Right after I purchased all my gear including turntables I started working for a Dj company. I started from the bottom as a roadie. Mostly doing all the lifting and setup cuz I didn't really have any Dj experience. After a while there I told the owner that I have all the gear and would like to play but I only have Hiphop in my music collection (it was harder to download everything back then). He agreed for me to bring my gear and play for 30 min while people where eating. Next event I come fully prepared with everything. Not knowing what kind of setup I had he was blown away by the control vinyl and how cool it is with turntables.
From then on I became one of the main Djs in charge of Hiphop in the company and they would invite me mainly so the Bride and groom can take pictures with a cool setup. Even if I didn't play any music at the event.
Today I still have the same turntables but upgraded with the Z2 mixer.
2005 I think
The NEW setup
0
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