Stems User friendly.

There seems to be a slow in the process of Stems becoming truly 'user friendly'. Tats because its still to complex!
I realise the more you use any software the more familiar you become and so it becomes second nature but is this truly 'User Friendly'?.
I went to the expo of the 'Stems' launch locally and it seemed quite positive but you needed a D2 or S4 for it to work in an easy hands on way.
Thats an expensive learning curve for a new groundbreaking product that is not yet generic in the industry and also even though I think it could be massive might take a long time to build.

Almost on cue they have brought out a system adaptation to the main tractor software that allows any tracker user to dabble and become more familiar with Stems. Is this because its moving to slow? I read the forums and see there are still problems with the software and that what should be simple is still causing issues.

When I started as a DJ there were no out the box toys as such, Cubase came along for the masses and before that you needed to understand how a real studio worked but everything had its space in the studio. Samplers did sampling, sequencers were stand alone, drum machines and so on. You learned to use each one as you needed to. Now we have a hugely complex piece of software that does virtually everything and your trying to rely on it in a live environment.

Let me digress a moment.
Playing live on decks (vinyl) and a needle breaks. cross to the other deck and change the needle. A turntable goes, mix on one deck ( admittedly no compromise for two but you still have music) and change the deck. I've had to do this and the party went on and the club didn't empty. In fact when we went back on to two decks it was as if we had delivered a baby boy in the room! With solid hands on hardware you can figure it out.

When this kind of software goes wrong its generally a disaster all the pre-play set up of complex track cuts, beat mix and fades is gone because it won't sync and to many of us are relying on the machine doing all the work while we do even more complex tricks.

I think Stems is the way forward but it should stay separate to the traktor pro software and run alongside. Its just making a complex software set up that is already cluttered with palettes and interfaces more complicated. Most people can use and figure out a vinyl or cd deck set up in an hour and put two tunes together. Could you honestly do that with Traktor.!
Then there is writing Stems tracks. I have really enjoyed some of the comments from people who have grown up in a software world who think that a produced mixed down track can be undone and separated. They can't seem to grasp why its not possible. Why..... because they have grown up with a system that starts at 5 and goes to 10, they don't want to know how to get to 5 who needs to!!

Anyway thats my rant for now. I have downloaded the Stems tracks and plan to work with this new system and hopefully figure it out and make it a useful tool. I was one of the first dj's I knew to work live with a minidisk 4 track desk live and that was like juggling plates so I'm hopeful but if you wan't something to really be user friendly test it on someone who's a new user. Don't assume they all know what you do.

 

Not sure I understand your rant -- if STEMS don't belong in Traktor, then where ? STEMS really go hand-in-hand with the concept of blending different musical genres, styles, elements into one seamless sound, kind of like DJ'ing which is what Traktor does. STEMS is simply just another one of those technologies that try to embrace that modern innovated, creative direction of music production and DJ'ing. The problem is if the technology doesn't work properly, or becomes too automated, then creativity component quickly dies. Its a difficult balance. I think STEMS is a good attempt at trying to find that balance, although it still isn't quite "there" yet. Face it, DJ'ing will never be like it was 20-25 years ago, this is the digital age. The industry is very saturated already and there is tremendous competition, so you need to take advantage of all the technologies available and continually push yourself, because if you don't, the next guy will and leave you behind. So user friendliness, blah blah. In this day and age, everything is complicated. The rare exceptions are those old school DJs/producers who are successful and well established with a strong fan base -- they will always get away with using older technologies or gear since they have followers regardless of what they do or use.

 

Good response and I appreciate your point of view.
I didn't make my point very clear and don't want to seem I'm against new tech in anyway.
I'm going to continue to work with Stems

 

Likewise, want to use it? Use it. Don't want to use it, it doesn't even have to appear on your interface.
Softwares are as complex as you want them to be and that's the good part. Or not. Your individual choice.