Feedback on Ableton as dj software

Ableton doesn’t “feel” quite right for DJing. There are simple things that you want to do but can’t like see album artwork, sort through tracks quickly, playlists, view multiple waveforms, etc.

With Ableton you have to put a lot more effort in before hand, less so with Traktor. I literally spent weeks configuring a live set so I had everything I wanted but even then wasn’t 100% happy.

Traktor feels easier to do things on the fly with. Like if you decide to loop part of a track you just do it! With Ableton you have to create your clips in preparation.

When I tried Traktor it just worked and felt really natural. It’s designed for DJing only whereas Ableton is designed for other stuff like production.

Hello Andrea :);
I have been using Ableton 8 for DJ’ing for about 9 months now; having used Traktor DJ Studio 3;
And although I recently bought Traktor Pro 2; I felt quite disappointed and frustrated and so have gone back to Ableton;
I will try and give you some Pro’s and Cons for each if I can;
With Traktor; like Rob said; you have the ability to see Artwork; which could makes things ‘easier’ when selecting and remembering Tracks; and you can see Multiple (up to 4) Waveforms easily; however; these Waveforms are Very Small; and for me Personally Too Small to work with; Traktor Pro does have the ‘Look’ of 4 Decks; which is really Comforting; and the facility to create 16 Loops completely on the ‘Fly’; which is a Great Asset; there are 30 DJ Effects available in Traktor; and of course Big Name DJ’s do use and Recommend Traktor Pro as their Software Of Choice;
Within Ableton you are not Limited to 4 ‘Decks’; you can have as many Decks as you Choose literally; you are not Limited to 30 DJ Effects; there are Hundreds upon Hundreds of Effects; (I have just counted 79 Seperate Reverb Effects alone); your Browser in Ableton is equally; if not More Powerful than Traktors; as you have Unlimited choice in how you organise your Music into folders;
Again; as Rob said; with Ableton there is (or can be) More Preparation involved; but that is depending on how you use it; ableton has something called ‘Session View’ where you just drag Tracks into the Programme (as in Traktor) and they will play; there is No Sync Button in Ableton and this is something I Love; as it Makes us Beatmatch by Ear; we do have a Master Tempo in Ableton; however we have the facility to start one Track at 70BPM; and immediately follow it with a Track at 135BPM (or Any BPM) using a Simple Command; and the Tracks will play at their Original BPM and at their Original Pitch;
To sum up:
Traktor can Only be used as a DJ Console
Ableton is a Digital Audio Workstation and can used for DJ’ing; Composing your Own Music; making Remixes/Mash-Ups; Producing and Mastering; and also has the facility to use Hundreds of VST’s; which include Traktor Pro; and Many others that Big Name DJ’s swear by;
I Hope I have been of some use to you Andrea;
But for further information regarding the 2 Products; please visit the following links;
Best Wishes;
Emma 🙂
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/dj/traktor-pro-2/
http://www.ableton.com/suite-8

I am using Traktor 2 for Djing and Ableton Live 8 to edit tracks / remixes / mashups. Traktor suits my straightforward DJ style – I usually only use 2 decks (+samples now) and am not quite at the stage where I am confident enough to mash-up on the fly.
I like Ableton for remixing and mash-ups and can see the potential for creating a whole different performance style using it with a controller such as the Novation Launchpad.
I think both are excellent pieces of software, and which you choose depends on your style.
(Sorry, not much help!!)

What it comes down to is how much time are you willing to put. I’ve learned almost everything about Traktor in about a month. Ableton is so vast in in depth that it can literally take you months to scratch the surface. I’ve been using Ableton for about 14 months now and I still fell like a rookie sometimes. The bottom line is Ableton can do so much more than Traktor, you get what you put in ( Traktor is still an awesome software)

SmiTTTen, post: 1305 wrote: There’s only so much cash you can drop on audio kit before your other half starts looking at you

Oh, “the look” 😮

Emma Partnow, post: 2802 wrote:
But; to be Truthful; the Seconds it takes Ableton to ‘Analyse’ a File and the 3 Weeks I would have to wait for Traktor to Analyse my collection put me off using it Completely; though I would like the Opportunity to use something that I had to save up quite some time for;

You can change the settings in traktor so that it analyses files as you load it to a deck, which takes seconds too, rather than doing the collection as a whole. However, taking three weeks to analyse a collection is an exagertation, no? In the past I have just let it run when I’ve gone out for the night and I’ve come back its done. I dont understand why people, like my mates missus sit infront of a computer waiting for it to do something that will take time, like back ups, virus scans etc.

72 hrs still seems too long, but i guess sit depends on your pc specs. Seems like you need to also adjust the power settings for your laptop to stop it sleeping.