Do you remember the first time that you saw Traktor? What were your initial thoughts?
Well, I recall a lot of techno DJ's who were using Final Scratch when Native Instruments were involved with them but had always heard that the hardware was of poor quality. Once NI regained control of the company and relaunched the software and hardware as Traktor Scratch, I switched to it and have been truly in awe of its continuously improving features and evolution.
When did you make the transfer over to it?
What caused you to make that shift?
I had always used Native Instruments plug-ins in the studio so for me, it didn't take long to be convinced that the effort they put into those plug-ins was now being channeled into the DJ arena.
I noticed a major increase in the sonic quality due to Traktor's Audio 8 interface; that and the ability to seamlessly loop my tracks and the fantastic built-in effects were the main reasons why I was hooked.
DUBFIRE
Tell me why you like working with Traktor Scratch so much today. What feature do you like best?
About a year ago I went from using the time-code CD's to playing in internal mode on 4 decks. This has opened up a world of possibilities; I can break a song down and build it back up or simply use 4 loops from 4 different songs to create a new one. Beatgridding is seamless and VERY accurate. There are just too many useful features in Traktor to pinpoint just one.
Some say something essential is lost when you use DJ software. What's your take?
I don't really pay attention to that kind of talk. You can't fight change and everyone has an opinion on the topic, so it's best to simply stick to what you are most comfortable with, whatever that may be. I enjoy the discovery and implementation of new technology and while there may be some things lost—like the visual medium that vinyl provides—the new possibilities are simply to vast to ignore. What ends up happening is that you have to spend more time preparing for your gigs by doing the beatgrids and setting load, cue and loop points, and making playlists. For me personally, I could never go back to playing CDs or even vinyl. And most people forget that programming and selection are the true core elements of any good DJ.
