[Giveaway] Share your TRAKTOR story and win timecode vinyl

13

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  • Kaiwan_NI
    Kaiwan_NI Administrator Posts: 2,562 admin

    5 days until we announce the winners 🥶 This thread is still open for submissions!

  • T.Side
    T.Side Member Posts: 9 Member
    edited May 2022

    My story with digital DJing started in 2015 with a Reloop controller. I usually play a lot of music which doesn’t have a steady BPM e.g.: Old School Break Beats and Funks, therefore I used it with Serato because of the flexible beatgrid. It was a great option to get used to with controllerism but I always wanted to try out to play on the DVS system. In 2020 when my controller had more and more problems and its reliability wasn't 100% I decided to buy a new controller. First I did some research on the hardware side and I found the Traktor S4 MK3 which was (and still it is) an industrial masterpiece for the first look, the spinning jog wheels are brilliants. Then I checked the Software side and I started to feel a bit insecure because of the missing flexible beatgrid. I took all pros and cons into consideration and finally I decided to buy the S4 MK3 and I moved from Serato to Traktor Pro with the hope that Traktor is also going to have a flexible beatgrid option soon as all the major competitors already have it. To be honest it wasn't an easy move with a huge music library 26000+ songs. I enjoy the hardware a lot, it is awesome. The DVS system works perfectly. I got used to the software and I like it. All in all, it was the best decision I could make and I didn't even regret it, I would decide on the same way now! I only have a sense of lack because of the missing flexible beatgrid. I know that in the past two years there were a lot of improvements on the software especially on the library handling side which is more than welcome. I am also aware that currently the number one priority is the architecture redesign of the software to have native support for the M1 chip. Which makes sense, but I still really miss the flexible beatgrid - as I heard it is on the midterm roadmap of the developers I really hope that the midterm means this year 🙏

    Greetings from Hungary.

    MySetup_1.jpeg


  • George Espinosa
    George Espinosa Member Posts: 16 Member
    edited May 2022

    My journey begins with my mom playing lots of 1970's disco music on the car radio and my uncle playing records from his collection in the early 1980's when I was less than 10 years old. Later, when I was a teen in the late 1980's and early 1990's, I was buying records of my own and building up my own little collection. I had a nice sound system (Fisher stereo) that my mother had handed down to me, but I had two expensive interests. One was wanting to learn to DJ which meant getting a mixer and another turntable. The other was learning computer programming. Getting a computer won at the time and I did study computer programming in high school and university. As a working adult in my early 20's, I switched from buying records to buying CD's and I bought a LOT of them. In my mid-to-late 20's, I picked up a side hobby of teaching group fitness classes. The music they sold for this was terrible and I bought a Numark all-in-one CD mixing console and taught myself how to beatmatch and blend dance music. Everyone loved my classes because of the good music mixes. I continued for a good 10+ years, well into my mid-to-late 30's, and then I stopped teaching & mixing, but my love of all kinds of music never did.

    Fast forward to my early 40's, I start doing some parties at home for special occasions and decide to dust off the CD mixer. People enjoy this personal touch instead of using an iPod and a playlist. I did have 2-3 friends that had been in the local DJ scene for a good 20 years at the time. I see they are now using controllers and computer software to mix with MP3's. I liked this idea and asked them about it. They both use Serato, but I love to research... and so the research began. I knew I wanted it to be one of the big three: Rekordbox, Serato, Traktor. I did not like Serato from the start. Rekordbox was not bad and I did like all of their music organization features. But I was really attracted to Traktor for all the setup & configuration options available. As a "techie" person, this really appealed to me and I began to learn about Traktor Pro using the demo version for 30 minute sessions. As I began to do this, I took a short break in order to relocate from my hometown of Miami, Florida to Los Angeles, California. Four months later, the pandemic officially began. This is truly where my deep dive, obsession, and joy ride into the Traktor world truly began.

    With Covid lockdowns in effect, what better time to finally learn to DJ! Not just how to beatmatch and blend, but also learning how to use hot cues, loops, FX, beatgrids, broadcasting, MIDI-mapping, etc. Stores were closed so I ended up buying quite a bit of used gear online. I purchased a full-license for Traktor Pro 3 and I acquired the following equipment (in this order): S2mk2, X1mk1, F1 (2 of them), Z1, S4mk1, X1mk2, S4mk2. I just couldn't get enough of the Native Instruments / Traktor world; yes, I think I was hoarding N.I. gear. After using all that for a few months, I ended up buying a new S4mk3 controller with the motorised jogwheels along with a pair of pro loudspeakers during a Cyber Monday sale. I have since re-sold some of the used gear that I acquired, but I still have most of it including my beloved S4mk3.

    Oh, but it doesn't stop there my friends. After a year or so of learning and tinkering with all things Traktor, I suddenly had an urge to return to my roots with real vinyl records. The world of DVS also piqued my interest. I bought 2 Audio-Technica direct-drive turntables along with a Traktor Audio 6 audio interface. I also bought a Numark Scratch mixer which I MIDI-mapped to Traktor Pro, an Omnitronics TR-202mk3 analog rotary mixer, and an old, but in mint condition, used Pioneer DJM-600 mixer. I was now able to mix real vinyl or with DVS vinyl.

    It's been a long and slow journey, but in the last 2 years, I have surely made up for lost time. I have DJ'd a few times at local bars, been hired for private parties, and I also livestream online. Some people think I've been DJ'ing for years, but thanks to Traktor and lots of experimenting, I was able to ramp up quickly and gain the respect of many of my DJ friends. I have a "home" setup which consists of my 2 turntables, Audio 6 interface, an analog rotary mixer, and an X1mk2 for hot cues & FX. I have a mobile "gig" setup which consists of my Traktor S4mk3 (with the Traktor hard case) and sometimes I add one of the F1 controllers. In both setups, Traktor Pro is front-and-center! Thank you Native Instruments.

    PICTURES

    All of my smaller Traktor controllers...

    image.png


    Home setup...

    image.png


    Mobile gig setup...

    image.png

    =

  • Skimmik
    Skimmik Member Posts: 1 Newcomer

    Hello World!

    My adventure with Native Instruments and Traktor begin in 2002 after NI landded in Los Angeles, CA. The first general manager Zahir Manek and product specialist RD White visited my record shop in West Los Angeles named Higher Source Records and Gear. If you played in the So Cal Underground Rave scene, then you bought records from me :)

    I remember how baffled I was that a company thought digital music would be the future. I sent NI away, and they left me with an NFR of Traktor 1.0. I had some fun!

    Towards the end of 2004 I started working for Native Instruments in Support, at one time I was part of the Traktor support team. I definitely was involved in earlier versions of the time-code and X1 controllers. I've been mentoring

    258092994_10226836284869597_7279964289584603003_n.jpg

    future djs using Traktor as one of the many tools we have today. I was a member of the techno group Droid Behavior, along with Moe Esponsoa aka Drumcell, Truncate, Dj Hyperactive, and Vangelis Vargas aka Raiz, a few of us worked in Support at NI. What a fun time in our lives! I have some fun stories of Daniel Haver partying at our Droid Interface events :) :)

    I've been using Traktor since 2005 as a creative dj tool and more. I'm currently completely rebuilding a pair of Technique 1200s and a custom Vestax rotary mixer handpicked from Hidesato Shiino of Vestaxs from Steve at Rotary Boutique 416. I currently work at Icon Music Collective in Burbank CA, pre-pairing the future edm'ers.

    I had fun sharing this story. Have the best partying this summer 2022!

    Peace,

    Viktor Carrillo



  • tyrafromsaigon
    tyrafromsaigon Member Posts: 4 Member

    YAY! Congrats to everyone! Can't thank NI enough for changing the world of DJ'ing.

  • Ejub Petrovac
    Ejub Petrovac Member Posts: 25 Advisor

    Thank you NI for the amazing gift! I'll sure give those timecodes a lot of spin 😃

    Also shout-out to everyone who participated, I enjoyed reading different stories and paths taken.

  • Thales de Paula
    Thales de Paula Member Posts: 83 Helper

    congrats to the winner. I'm sure they make good use, as soon as I have it in a nearest store in Brazil I'll buy it.

  • tibq67
    tibq67 Member Posts: 17 Member

    hello, I see that I am late for this post, so I am very interested in buying these vinyls of any color, the limited version was in small numbers and despite the fact that I am writing this post late, I want to share with you my experience with the brand Native Instruments, at first I watched only videos and demos, later I bought Z1 and X1mk2, fantastic and easy to use, another purchase was Z2 and Machine micro mk3, here I want to write that it is an absolute top and core for professionals as well as beginners or home users , I highly recommend it to everyone worldwide and for their joint integration of all devices from Native Instruments

  • Kaiwan_NI
    Kaiwan_NI Administrator Posts: 2,562 admin

    @tibq67 Thank you for chiming in!

    @Thales de Paula Hope your local reseller has them in stock still. 🤞

  • tibq67
    tibq67 Member Posts: 17 Member

    does not have them and I cannot buy them anywhere even at auction

  • Sebastian.G
    Sebastian.G Member Posts: 17 Member

    😂😂😂😂 no comment

  • lauti
    lauti Member Posts: 2 Member

    I feel compelled to still post here my story since Traktor kinda changed my life.

    I started djing in 2010, without anything other than a Laptop. The ease with which you could map the keyboard with traktor allowed me to get very technical with my mixes without any gear, and the versatility to be able to use any soundcard also made it possible.

    I progressed and eventually got an Audio4, a technics 1200 and a beatup vestax pmc05. I went hard at scratching and mixing, I got better. Some years later I won Red Bull Thre3style in my country, which was a dream come true, got to travel, meet my idols and get recognition for my skills. And then I just kept winning everytime they did the competition here, hehe.


    Traktor has defined the last 10 years of my life. I became a professional dj, and I have to thank it's low entry point (you can dj with just a computer and use every professional feature the software has), It's comprehensive midi mapping (that allowes me to use it however I want to) and its openness regarding gear, which ensures that I can play in any scenario no matter the gear.


    so happy birthday traktor 🤟

  • Kaiwan_NI
    Kaiwan_NI Administrator Posts: 2,562 admin

    Thanks for sharing @lauti 🥺

  • George Espinosa
    George Espinosa Member Posts: 16 Member

    Thank you for selecting my story and sending the timecode vinyl! I posted them on Instagram...

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CfZCwmnrsbE/

    #traktorturns20

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