TRAKTOR PRO 2.9. Manual Englisch (2015)

• Comment: You can enter a comment in this field, which is stored with the Control assign-

ment.

14.22.5 Mapping Details

The Mapping Details section.

• Modifier: A Modifier allows you to define a Control, either a MIDI message or keyboard key

(depending on the mapping), to operate another Control depending on one (or even two)
condition(s).

◦

Each Modifier functions as an If command. In order to execute the Control, each Mod-
ifier's Value condition must be met, and those Modifiers and Value conditions are set
here. Once they have been set, they will appear for that Control in the Assignment ta-
ble under the columns Mod1 and Mod2 (e.g. M1=0).

A Modifier is always restricted to the mapping it is part of. You cannot use a Modifier for any-
thing outside of a mapping. Each mapping can have up to eight Modifiers (M1 to M8).

• Assignment: The available options are Deck A to D and Device Target for Deck control, and

Global for other Controls and Modifiers.

◦

If you select one of the Decks here, the Control is always routed to this Deck. If you
select Device Target, you can specify the actual target in the Device Setup section at
the top.

To achieve the Focus option as in previous versions of TRAKTOR, do the following: Select

Device Target in the Assignment dropdown menu and Focus in the Device Target menu of
the Device Setup section (see chapter 5.2).

• Type of Controller: The controller types available here depend on the Control target you

have added to the mapping. For example:

Preferences

Controller Manager

TRAKTOR - Manual - 209

◦

While  a  Deck's  Play/Pause  only  allows  to  be  mapped  to  a  button,  other  parameters
(like  the  Filter  Cutoff  knob)  can  be  assigned  to  knobs  and  faders.  The  Interaction
mode  and  the  Options  below  the  Mapping  Details  section  depend  on  the  selected

Type.

As opposed to previous TRAKTOR versions, the available types are only displayed after as-

signing via Learn function or selecting a physical Control.

14.22.6 Available Controller Types

Remember that the available types depend on the Control target.
Button

The modes listed in the Interaction Mode drop-down list depend on the actual parameter
you edit. E.g. while the Play/Pause Control lists the Button Interaction Modes Toggle, Hold
and Direct, the Tempo Control lists the modes Direct, Inc, Dec and Reset.

Available Interaction modes for buttons:

• Toggle: When you press and release the MIDI button or Key, the TRAKTOR button is ena-

bled, when you press and release it again, it is disabled.

• Hold: This is the default setting for buttons. The TRAKTOR button will stay pressed as

long as your MIDI button or keyboard key is pressed. If you release the MIDI button/key,
the TRAKTOR button will also be released.

• Invert: Inverts the action. For an input controller this means that the TRAKTOR button is

pressed when you release the MIDI button or keyboard key and vice versa.

• Direct: When selecting this, you can specify either 0 or 1 in the Button options below.

This can be used if you want a specific MIDI button or Key to always set a certain TRAK-
TOR button status, independently of the current TRAKTOR status. For example: Define a
Play/Pause controller for Deck A, set the Interaction mode to Direct and the Value for the
Direct mode to 1. Now assign a MIDI note or keyboard key to it using MIDI learn. Whatev-
er the current state of the Deck A Start button is (pressed or not pressed), hitting the de-
fined MIDI button or Key will always playback the track in Deck A, so if the Start button is
not pressed yet, the playback will start, if it is already playing, nothing will happen.

Button options:

Preferences

Controller Manager

TRAKTOR - Manual - 210

The elements appearing in the Button options are dependent on the Interaction Mode you have
set and in some cases on the actual parameter you edit.

• Value (Direct mode): The available range of numbers can differ and is dependent on the

Control you are editing. Some Controls only allow integers while others allow fractions.

• Invert (Toggle and Hold modes): Inverts the movement of your external Control. For an in-

put controller this means that the TRAKTOR button is pressed when you release the MIDI

button or keyboard key and vice versa.

• Auto Repeat: Holding down the button will auto repeat that input. This is only available for

specific Controls.

• Resolution: Allows you to adjust (fine or coarse) the increment or decrement of the input.

This is only available for specific Controls such as the buttons below the Deck TEMPO
fader.

There are other parameters available in this section. Remember that all parameters appearing
here are pre-defined for each available Control.
Fader/Knob
Faders or knobs can have one of the following Interaction Modes:

• Direct: The position of the external Control always matches the position of the TRAKTOR

parameter.

• Relative: The position of the TRAKTOR parameter can be shifted compared to the external

Control. Relative mode is best suited for incremental knobs (which send -1 and +1 in-
stead of absolute values). Here are some examples of Relative Interaction mode applica-
tions:

◦

Tempo fader at high resolution. This allows you to press Sync and then fine-control
the tempo fader at the synched position.

◦

When you can only control a certain portion of the entire range of a parameter, such
as the filter.

◦

Relative mode can be used when a knob or fader is shared between different parame-
ters to avoid skips when switching to the other assignment.

Preferences

Controller Manager

TRAKTOR - Manual - 211

Fader / Knob Options

• Soft Takeover (Direct mode): Enable this to avoid parameter jumps when starting control-

ling a parameter.

• Invert (Direct and Relative mode): Inverts the action of your external Control. High fader/

knob values become low values in the TRAKTOR and vice versa.

Encoder

• Enc.-Mode: You can switch between two types of encoders. 7Fh/01h is standard for most

controllers. However if your encoder mapping does not behave as intended (e.g. inverted)
or the mapped parameter reacts too coarsely, it is most likely due to the wrong encoder
mode and we recommend trying the alternate mode (3Fh/41h).

Encoder Options

• Rotary Sensitivity (Relative mode): This defines the speed of the TRAKTOR Control move-

ment. A higher value will make a TRAKTOR fader or knob move faster.

• Rotary Acceleration (Relative mode): It is recommended to set this to 0% for most applica-

tions. We recommend experimenting with this after you have tried the Sensitivity parame-
ter.

◦

The TRAKTOR Control position is influenced by the speed of the external Control
movement. As a side effect, this results in a different value of the TRAKTOR Control if
for example you move a fader up fast and then slowly down to its original position.

• Invert (Direct and Relative mode): Inverts the action of your external Control. High fader/

knob values become low values in TRAKTOR and vice versa.

Preferences

Controller Manager

TRAKTOR - Manual - 212

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

This chapter provides deeper knowledge about some of TRAKTOR’s features.

15.1 TRAKTOR Profiles

15.1.1 The TRAKTOR Root folder

TRAKTOR stores all information required to create a personalized TRAKTOR Profile in one
folder, called the Root folder.
The default path of the Root folder is:

• Windows: My Documents\Native Instruments\Traktor
• Mac OS X: Users/~/Native Instruments/Traktor

You can change the path in Preferences > File Management > Directories.

It contains the following file types

• *.nml = all Playlists have this extension as do the Collection, the History Playlists, and

user-created Playlists

• *.tsi = extension for all settings (keyboard, MIDI, Preferences settings, Layouts)
• *.log = extension of the log-files that get created when opening TRAKTOR

You can make a copy of the Root folder for several purposes:

• For making a backup of this folder, which backs up the entire profile including the collec-

tion, your current Settings, MIDI mappings and Hotkeys.

• For playing on a host computer running TRAKTOR, by storing your entire workspace onto

a portable hard drive. Pointing from a host computer to your personal Root fully reprodu-
ces your workspace on the host computer. Note that you have to store your music on that
portable hard drive as well.

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

TRAKTOR Profiles

TRAKTOR - Manual - 213

• For transferring your workspace onto another computer running TRAKTOR.
• For creating distinct User Profiles with separated Collections on the same computer.

TRAKTOR can be told to switch to another Root folder, which results in switching the Profile of
TRAKTOR.

15.1.2 The Recordings folder

Besides the Root folder TRAKTOR creates a second folder containing the audio files recorded
with TRAKTOR’s recording function. TRAKTOR records in WAV format. The Recordings folder
is found by default in:

• Windows: My Music\Traktor\Recordings
• Mac OS X: Users/~/Music/Traktor/Recordings

The location of the Recordings folder can be changed in Preferences > Mix Recorder.

15.1.3 Complete Backup

Besides the automatic backups of the collection, it is useful to manually backup the entire
TRAKTOR Root folder from time to time.

• The Root folder is called TRAKTOR. The default path to the Root folder is mentioned

above in chapter

↑

15.1.1, The TRAKTOR Root folder

If you have moved the Root folder to another destination, you can find the correct path to the
Root folder as follows:
Open Preferences > File Management > Directories.
Click the “

…!

” button next to the Root Dir field.

The file browser will reveal the current position of the Root folder.
To make a complete backup of your personal TRAKTOR files, copy the entire TRAKTOR Root
folder and save it onto a separate hard drive.
Make sure that you also back up your Recordings folder. The default path to the Recordings
folder is mentioned above in chapter

↑

15.1.2, The Recordings folder

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

TRAKTOR Profiles

TRAKTOR - Manual - 214

15.1.4 Restoring TRAKTOR from a Backup

Method 1

This method deletes the current settings and the Collection. Use this method after re-installing

TRAKTOR.
Make sure that TRAKTOR is not running
1.

Overwrite the current Root folder with the content of the backed up Root folder. The de-
fault path of the folder to replace is: Windows: My Documents\Native Instruments\Traktor,
Mac OS X: Users/~/Native Instruments/Traktor.

Restart TRAKTOR.

You can change the path in Preferences > File Management > Directories.

Method 2

This method preserves the current settings and the Collection. You can switch back at any time
to these settings by performing this method.
1.

Copy the backup of the Root folder back to your DJing computer.

Open Preferences > File Management > Directories.

Click the “

…!

” button next to the Root Dir field.

Point to the location of the backup folder that you created in step 1.

Confirm and restart TRAKTOR.

15.1.5 Creating a portable version of TRAKTOR

By storing all your tracks and the Root folder on a portable hard drive you can recreate your
personal profile on a host computer running TRAKTOR. Proceed as follows.

On computer 1

Make sure TRAKTOR is shut down.
1.

Move all required tracks onto the portable drive

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

TRAKTOR Profiles

TRAKTOR - Manual - 215

Copy the current Root folder onto the portable drive

Start TRAKTOR.

Open Preferences > File Management > Directories.

Click the “

…!

” button next to the Root Dir field.

Point to the copy of the Root folder that you have just created on the portable drive.

Close and restart TRAKTOR to make sure that the switch worked.

On computer 2

Connect the portable drive

Start the local TRAKTOR

Open Preferences > File Management > Directories.

Click the “

…!

” button next to the Root Dir field.

Point to the Root folder on the portable drive.

Restart TRAKTOR.

If the drive letter (Windows) or the name of the drive and user directory (Mac OS X) of your
customized location didn’t change, you should find everything as it was before the re-install.
If the drive letter of your customized location did change, you will find all tracks with an excla-
mation mark (“!”) indicating that the links are broken. Use the Relocate function to update the
links to the new drive letter/volume.

15.1.6 Automatic Collection Backup (Security Backup)

Each time you change something in your Collection and close TRAKTOR, a backup of your Col-
lection is created in the folder “

Backup

” contained in your “Traktor” Root folder. If you delete

or partly ruin your Track Collection by mistake proceed as follows:
1.

Right/[Ctrl] click the Collection Tree Icon and choose Import Another Collection from the
context menu.

Select Backup.

In the Collection folder, select the backup version that you would like to restore.

Confirm with

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

TRAKTOR Profiles

TRAKTOR - Manual - 216

15.1.7 Repairing a Corrupted Collection

A corrupted Collection may cause TRAKTOR to crash during start-up. If you can’t start TRAK-

TOR proceed as follows:
1.

Rename the file

collection.nml

in the current TRAKTOR Root folder into

collection_origi-

nal.nml

Restart TRAKTOR—this will create a new Collection.

Try to import the backup of the Collection as described above.

Severe types of file corruption cannot be cured with this method.

15.2 Syncing via MIDI Clock

TRAKTOR allows you to sync external hard- and software. For this functionality it uses MIDI
Clock Signals and the Master Clock panel in the Global section.

The MIDI Clock is not available in ME 2.

15.2.1 TRAKTOR as Tempo Source (MIDI Clock send)

To use TRAKTOR as the tempo source (Master Clock) it has to send the MIDI Clock Signal to
the external hard- or software.
1.

Create a new generic MIDI device in Preferences > Controller Manager. Assign the

Out-

Port

to the device you want to send the MIDI Clock Signal to.

To send MIDI clock you have to go to Preferences > MIDI Clock and tick the

Send MIDI

Clock

option.

In the Global section, open the Master Clock panel by clicking the Metronome.

Choose

AUTO

MANUAL

mode.

To start sending a MIDI Clock signal, click the

Start/Stop

button. Clicking it again stops

sending. When MIDI Clock is active, the

Start/Stop

button is lit blue.

The Tempo Display shows the tempo of the MIDI Clock signal in BPM.

By clicking the

SYNC

button, TRAKTOR triggers a MIDI Clock Stop Message immediately

followed by a MIDI Clock Start Message to re-sync the external hard- or software.

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

TRAKTOR Profiles

TRAKTOR - Manual - 217

It may be required to adjust the offset between TRAKTOR and the receiving hard- or soft-
ware. To do so, use the slider labeled

Sending Offset

found in Preferences > MIDI Clock.

For syncing external hardware with the MIDI Clock, the Master Clock has to be set as Mas-

ter Tempo Source.

15.2.2 Syncing TRAKTOR to an external MIDI Clock Signal (External Sync)

TRAKTOR is able to receive MIDI Clock Signals (Clock Slave) from another computer running
TRAKTOR, other applications, or from MIDI hardware sending MIDI Clock.
1.

Create a new generic MIDI device in Preferences > Controller Manager. Assign the

In-Port

to the device you want to use for receiving the incoming MIDI Clock Signal.

In the Global section open the Master Clock panel by clicking the Metronome.

Choose External mode by clicking the

EXT

button. In this mode the TRAKTOR Master

Clock follows the external MIDI Clock signal once it is started.

To sync the clock to the phase of the application or hardware sending the MIDI Clock sig-
nal, press the start button on the sending device.

In case of an offset between the sending hard- or software and TRAKTOR, the offset has
to be adjusted in the sending (Master) device.

15.2.3 Syncing two versions of TRAKTOR

These are the steps to sync two versions of TRAKTOR running on different computers:
Connect the two computers via MIDI in order to transmit the MIDI Clock signals
1.

Decide which of the two computers should be the Clock Master and follow the instruc-
tions described in chapter

↑

10.2.3, Master Clock Panel

On the other computer follow the instructions described in chapter

↑

10.2.3, Master Clock

Panel

For syncing both computers, press the

TICK

button in the Master Clock panel.

Once the two ticks are audible, press the

SYNC

button on the sending computer in order

to reset the receiving computer.

Now start tweaking the slider labeled MIDI Clock Sending Offset found in Preferences >
MIDI Clock until the two Ticks are in perfect sync.

You can then turn off the Ticks and are ready to go.

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

Syncing via MIDI Clock

TRAKTOR - Manual - 218

15.3 Broadcasting

With TRAKTOR you are able to broadcast your mix over the Internet. Basically everything that

is audible from the Master Out will be streamed to the Internet and listeners all over the world

will be able to tune in and listen to your show in real time.

Broadcasting is not available in ME 2.

15.3.1 Streaming Protocol

TRAKTOR uses a streaming protocol called Icecast. The TRAKTOR software contains an Ice-
cast client, which can send data to an Icecast server.
To use this feature, you need access to a computer running as an Icecast server. It is recom-
mended that this computer has an Internet connection with at least 128 kb/s upstream trans-
fer rate. The available bandwidth is being shared among the listeners, so it should be as high
as possible.

►

To learn how to set up an Icecast server, read on the Icecast website in the “Docs” area:

http://www.icecast.org/docs.php

To learn more about this streaming protocol and how to setup a server, please refer to the
official Icecast homepage (

www.icecast.org

Mac OS X users: Icecast only works on Windows and Linux. For Broadcasting with a Mac
take a look at the easy-to-use application Nicecast from rogue amoeba:

rogueamoeba.com/

nicecast/

15.3.2 Configuring TRAKTOR

Before getting started, it is necessary to configure TRAKTOR so that the local client can con-
nect to the server and the metadata of the radio stream contains the correct information:
1.

Open TRAKTOR Preferences > Broadcasting.

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

Broadcasting

TRAKTOR - Manual - 219

Adjust the Proxy Settings according to your current Internet configuration. If you are not
using a proxy, simply check

None

Next, input the address of the Icecast server you want to connect to. This can be either a

hostname or an IP-address.

Specify the port where the server can be reached. Most servers use the default setting of

8000.

Type in the mount path and password. This information can be obtained from the host of

the Icecast server and permits only authorized clients to stream data from there.

Choose the streaming format. Keep in mind that with a higher bit rate, more bandwidth is
used for every single stream. Therefore, given the same bandwidth, fewer listeners can
tune in at the same time.

Finally, you can specify the client metadata settings. This information is sent to the server
and your listeners.

Be specific in your description; the easier it is to identify the musical content of your

stream, the more likely listeners will tune in!

15.3.3 Starting the Broadcast

Once the necessary configurations have been done, you can start your live stream:
1.

Open the

Audio Recorder

panel in the Global section.

Click the Broadcast

On/Off

button.

If the button is highlighted, you are connected to the server and can now start your broad-
cast.

If the symbol starts flashing, the connection with the Icecast server could not be estab-
lished. Please go through the configuration process once more and make sure that all data

has been input correctly.

15.3.4 How to setup a microphone for your Broadcast

It is possible to use a microphone with effects in your broadcast.
In this example we will use Deck C as an Input Deck although any Deck may be used for the
same purpose.
1.

Go to Preferences > Decks Layout > Deck Layout and select

enable C&D

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

Broadcasting

TRAKTOR - Manual - 220

Go to Preferences > Decks Layout > Deck Flavor and select

Line Input

on Deck C.

Connect a Microphone to the Mic or Line input (you may need to adjust Gain accordingly)
on your Audio Interface.

Go to Preferences > Input Routing > Input Deck C and select the input your microphone
is connected to from the dropdown list.

You can enable FX slot 1 or FX slot 2 on the Input Deck to add effects to your microphone!

15.4 The Effects in Detail

15.4.1 Introduction

This chapter provides in-depth information regarding all aspects of the effects provided with
TRAKTOR. Before we look at the individual FX and their parameters, lets look at the way the
FX units work as a whole:
The FX Units may be accessed via the Global section. FX Unit 1 on the left occupies the same
space as the Master Clock panel and FX Unit 2 on the right occupies space with the Audio
Recorder. Use the

buttons to access the FX Units.

TRAKTOR offers four FX Units. By default, two FX Units are active. All FX Units can be freely

assigned to any of the mixer’s channels A-D.
You can choose from two different FX Unit modes in TRAKTOR: Either choose Single FX,
where four buttons and four knobs control one effect, or choose Group FX, where you can use
three effects simultaneously with a one-knob control. Effects used in Group Mode are chained
in series.

You can switch the FX Unit mode in Preferences > Effects > FX Panel Mode.

Only one Group FX is available and the number of effect types has been reduced for LE 2.

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

The Effects in Detail

TRAKTOR - Manual - 221

15.4.2 FX Panel Modes

Single

Single Mode allows you to load only one effect into the FX Unit at a time while offering ad-

vanced editing using four parameters. To load an effect, open the drop-down menu and select

the effect you wish to use.
An FX Unit in Single Mode looks like this:

FX Unit in Single Mode.

►

To switch the effect on use the

button.

►

To increase the effect turn the

D/W

(Dry/Wet) knob to the right.

►

Each effect will have Independent parameters. Please read each description below.

►

Use the

RST

button to reset the effect.

The Single mode is not available in ME 2.

Group

In Group Mode, the FX unit can contain up to three effects that are chained in series with only
one control parameter available for each effect. To load an effect, open the drop-down menu
and repeatedly select the effects you wish to use for each slot. The order of the selected ef-
fects will determine the how the signal will sound. The original signal is modified by the first
effect, this signal is then sent to the second effect and so on.
An FX Unit in Group Mode looks like this:

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

The Effects in Detail

TRAKTOR - Manual - 222

FX Unit in Group Mode.

►

To switch the effects on use the

button.

►

To increase the effects turn the

D/W

(Dry/Wet) knob to the right.

►

Turn on each individual effect by clicking the

button.

TRAKTOR has a large number of effects. Reducing the number of effects available may
make on the fly effect selection more convenient. If you only use particular effects it is
possible to add or remove effects in the drop-down menu using Preferences > Effects > FX
Pre-selection.

When TRAKTOR has been configured to use four FX Units the FX Units are optimized to con-
serve screen space and will look a little different:

FX Unit in Single Mode when using four FX Units.

FX Unit in Group Mode when using four FX Units.

►

It is possible to configure each FX as an Insert, Send, or Post Fader effect via Preferen-
ces > Effects.

►

For a tutorial on using effects please read chapter

↑

16.7, Adding FX

►

For detailed information on effects please read chapter

↑

15.4, The Effects in Detail

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

The Effects in Detail

TRAKTOR - Manual - 223

►

For a list of effects preferences please refer to chapter

↑

14.13, Global Settings

You can control FX Units via MIDI by making assignments to your controller in Controller

Manager, Preferences > Controller Manager.

15.4.3 Common Parameters

All effects have the following set of parameters in common:

•

D/W

(Dry/Wet): For all effects, this parameter controls the mix between the original direct

signal (Dry; full left position) and the processed effect signal (Wet; full right position).

A few effects integrate more than simple Dry-Wet control into the D/W knob. For these effects
the knob is called D/RNG (Dry-Range) and its action is described separately in the effects de-
tails.

•

ON:

For all effects, this button turns the effect on and off. Some buffer-based effects

such as the Delay or the Reverb will continue outputting sound for a certain amount of
time even after turning them off. To fully disable the action of an effect on a specific
channel, use the Effect Assign buttons (FX button 1, 2, 3 or 4) in the mixer strip.

Some effects use the ON button for triggering the sampling process required to fill the effect
buffer. These effects have to be started in an OFF state. Starting them in an ON state will re-
sult in no audio.

•

RST

(Reset): For all effects, the

RST

button resets the effect parameters to their default

value. When switching effects the new effect will be reset to its default.

•

Snapshot:

A new default value can be stored by pressing the Snapshot button (floppy disk

symbol) in the effect panel. The Snapshot can be recalled at any time by pressing the

RST

button.

The FX parameters are reduced in ME 2.

Advanced Operation of TRAKTOR

The Effects in Detail

TRAKTOR - Manual - 224

TRAKTOR PRO 2.9. Manual Englisch (2015) - part 13