Traktor 2.5 Mini Review! First Impressions!
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| Hmmm... Its like ableton inside Traktor?? |
So the massive Traktor Pro 2 Update is Here!! I spent some time testing it out for a few hours and so far, its SO AWESOME!!
The remix decks are really really something - each remix deck can contain 4 x 4 tracks (total of 16 tracks per deck!!), and you can do 4 sets of these per remix deck - effectively you will have 64 tracks at your disposal, of which 16 can be triggered by those 4x4 pads!
Of course to really make use of these awesome remix decks you'd need a dedicated controller - namely the Traktor F1
There has been a lot of buzz lately regarding the limited midi map functionality for non-native instruments controllers, but I'd say this may (or may not) be resolved soon as Native Instruments have commented that they have not implemented extended midi mapping function yet, but they did NOT say they wont - so we'll just have to wait and see, but seriously if you wanna have the most enjoyment with the new update you just gotta pick up one (OR TWO) Traktor F1's - they just made it so that you want it more and more!
The 2.5 Remix Deck update also comes with 1GB (compressed - bigger when unpacked!) of GOODIES - when I said goodies, i meant they have about 21 "Traktor PAk kits" - each remix kit contains up to 16 sounds layered up and ready to launch, this meant that fresh out of the box these 21 high quality sample deck kits will get you jamming for hours and hours and hours of fun!
They provided these remix sample packs for a reason - they show you how FUCKING AWESOME it is to use these remix decks, and also inspires you to build your own "REMIX SETS" - Remix sets are your own collection of up to 16 sounds of your choice, for example, if you are a producer, you might want to separate your tracks into parts, for example Drums, Percussion, Lead Synth, Bassline, so you can trigger them AT WILL at anytime and will be able to do LIVE MASH-UPs, combining different parts with other songs - lets say you just wanna use a song's bassline, and another song's drum patterns - no problem! The remix deck makes it easy and intuitive to prepare your live mash up!
Faster but still a bit buggy
The whole Traktor Pro 2.5 now feels a lot lighter, it runs faster, and the usual "choppyness" when loading new tracks into decks are all gone, every runs really smooth on my 2010 Macbook Pro 13 inch, the previous version actually have some issues when loading new tracks into the track deck (which may cause the screen to temporarily freeze without any audible issue, not a big problem but still a problem nonetheless!)
I found a particular bug when I am unable to drag songs straight from the track deck into the playlist of my choice - Traktor simply wont allow me to do it (Hmmm......) I lodged a ticket to NI Support team about this and i hope this gets sorted out ASAP as for me it is a CRITICAL workflow issue!
I have not found any other bug so far, but being the first ever major release , I can kind of expect these minor bugs to happen, if it bothers you I suggest you stick with 2.1.3 for awhile, until an update comes out - a lot of people seems to do that, I dont really mind these minor bugs as long as it doesnt crash my traktor, the speed bump itself is worth the risk for me! Traktor used to run a bit sluggishly on my Macbook Pro but now it runs like its on redbull!
a quick visit to the Native Instruments forum revealed a few other people who are not so lucky - a lot of bug reports from various people so - upgrade at your own risk! New massive updates are bound to have a few bugs that needs to be ironed out! Traktor bible has also compiled a list of known bugs in 2.5
So overall - the 2.5 update is an awesome update to the already awesome, Fully-Featured DJ software, upgrade with caution though! with more updates it will only get better!
Traktor 2.5 update is available for free for existing Traktor Pro 2 users or costs $79 from the Native Instruments Online Store
