It is the question that most aspiring digital DJs ask themselves when looking to keep up with the future of DJ technology. Many see their DJ icons using specific software and want to follow in their footsteps assuming that because these superstar DJs are using it then they should use it. These superstar DJs keeping up with the technology movement and some ahead of it actually use the technology to benefit their set not just because it is available.

This article is not to tell you what you should be doing, more to make you think about you as a DJ or a performer and find out which software is for you – Traktor or Ableton Live. Let this article answer some questions you should be asking yourself, then maybe join in with a heated discussion using the comments below…

A lot of aspiring digital DJs simply jump on the bandwagon for the sake of it because it either looks cool or someone they respect or admire is doing it. A lot of the big DJs out there now are crossing over into performers and not simply just playing track after track from A to B anymore. The line between DJing and Live Performance is being blurred by creative technology, and the boring aspect of waiting for a 7 minute track to finish whilst you twiddle your thumbs, drink or look for the next track in your CD case is now becoming apparent.

“I’m so busy when I play now. The other day I was wondering, what did I actually do once the record was playing? Wait for eight minutes to mix in the next one? How boring.”…Paul Van Dyk

With Pioneer’s CDJ system DJing simply got easier, as it would literally take you seconds to beatmatch two tracks and you would be left standing there to blend or chop the two (unless your a turntablist of course). This after a while can get boring as you stand tapping your feet itching to mix the next track, which could, like Van Dyk said take another 7 minutes. It can get boring after years of DJing. Mind you with the dawn of a new species from Pioneer things might just change again.

So now everyone has accepted the fact of a laptop in the DJ booth, the use of Traktor or Ableton as DJ tools helping the DJ in many ways (more the fact of not having to ship boxes or cases of vinyl and CD’s about).  DJs want to move on, experiment, do something clever during his/her performance with the latest technology.

Take Paul Van Dyk, he now ships a lot more gear with him and he tries to compete with Daft Punk’s Pyramid setup using Ableton and a lot of midi controllers on two laptops. But as he tells it, he now performs live playing melodies, basslines and remixing tracks live sometimes giving him ideas for a remix to work on in the studio.

Or what about Richie Hawtin, who uses two laptops & midi controllers also, but simply one with Traktor and the other with Maschine all synchronised up so he can work 4 decks plus his own grooves, beats and sample on top with Maschine.

Probably two of the worlds most popular and biggest DJs using anything but CDJ’s! One using Ableton and one using Traktor. The reason being is they can be creative in their own ways using DJ technology helping them to offer something more to the audience when performing, instead of just someone standing there tapping their toes waiting for a song to finish.

The keyword here is ‘perform‘. These two superstars in their own right now ‘perform‘ to an audience using creative tools, having to prepare tracks, loops, melodies and grooves beforehand. Then using their advanced production knowledge they can mashup, remix and mix different emotions from existing tracks and material all live. This is much harded doing stuff on the fly like this than it would be mixing from A to B on CDJ’s.

To myself, I would not consider these two influential dance music stars as DJ’s anymore. To me they are performers in a live situation. Just like a band or musician would be at a concert or Daft Punk, Orbital, Prodigy at a live gig.

So what about DJ’s? Well, in its simplest form a DJ is someone who plays music to an audience, but the skill lies in knowing which track to play next at the right times to keep the dance floor moving and full. If all you want to do is play tracks to an audience mixing them up using CDJ’s, turntables or controllers then Traktor is for you.

TRAKTOR…

- purchase Traktor Pro from us here @ Soundware -

Traktor has one of the best libraries and browsers built in for searching tracks on the fly, categorising tracks and playlists, instantly loading tracks when you need them, much like browsing a record box or cd case but 1000% faster!
Of course Traktor also allows more than 2 decks. 4 deck action can be more fun than 2 if you can handle it. Add to the fact you can use now up to 24 effects altogether split up to 3 effects on 4 seperate FX units then this can be a lot more fun than just using 2 CD decks and a mixer. Obviously it becomes much easier to find tracks to play and you don’t have to carry cases or boxes to gigs either.

ABLETON LIVE…

- purchase from us here @ Soundware -

Ableton on the other hand you need a lot of preparation prior to any gig, preparing your set, warping your tracks and files which can be time consuming and boring in itself.  You can’t really search for tracks on the fly during a set like Traktor allows you as the browser isn’t built for DJ purposes. So unless your prepared to get a set ready beforehand and you prefer to source tracks on the fly quickly then Ableton would not be for you.

Ableton is more a performers tool, someone who knows how to play live using basslines, melodies, remixing as they go live. Yes you can DJ with it but you would need to have a set playlist already planned out in Ableton before you play out. This goes against the true meaning of a DJ – choosing the right tracks at the right time, because you have already planned your set out.

Richie Hawtin has probably the best of both worlds. He can bring up tracks from Traktor library so quick, loop them up, mash them up and synchronize 4 decks all up to another laptop either running Ableton or something like Maschine where he adds his own samples, loops and sounds to the mix all in time.

So, do you have the skills to be a performer or are you a DJ?

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