Choosing between Serato and Traktor – specific questions/functionality

There are others who will hopefully weigh in with more detail than what I’m providing here, but based on what you’ve just described, I’m pretty sure both pieces of software will do what you want.

Since you are leaning toward the SX2, I’m pretty sure you get a license from Serato included in the price of admission, so even if you do end up on Traktor, you’ll own both pieces of software… I’d say spend some time with Serato, see if it works for you, then download the demo of Traktor Pro 2 if you find Serato to not feel right for you.

The downside to this is, if you DO end up in Traktor, then… you’d’ve been better off getting the S4, as the HID mode will still be better, even if you aren’t going to be scratching. However, not enough to REALLY care all that much, I do do a little bit of scratching, and not owning a Traktor device didn’t impact my experience in a why that I could feel.

Yep, mostly performance pads have multiple functions (like cue points), among which is usually samples. And samples can be set to single shot or loop and – obviously – triggered to run beat synced.

It occurs to me… you mention effects. It might also be worth it for you to take a look at VirtualDJ… it allows you to use VSTs for your effects, so you’re not restricted to the effects the developers built for you. It’s funny, but the folks making the DJ programs don’t seem to be as good at coding effects.

You can get FX packs in Serato if I am not mistaken.

Frankly, when Serato started making way into the – then – predominantly Traktor-ruled controller market, one of the main things you read about was the quality of the FX. While they don’t let you use third party plug ins (which is a good thing, trust me, I have used many as a sound engineer and not all plug ins are created equal), not in the last place because Serato likes to guarantee the “out of the box” behavior, they did team up with Izotope.

As a certified sound engineer I can safely state that my experiences with Izotope plugins/fx are absolutely good. They sit on my preferred supplier list for plugins.

So, any “BIG” difference between Traktor and Serato will be perceived, as the Izotope FX are high quality and while I am not saying there isn’t better out there, the differences will most often be only relevant on a personal taste level (some reverbs sound warmer than others, neither is bad, but you get to pick which you like) or small enough to not make for an easy this/that choice. Also, when it comes to these things, if you want to get really better stuff, you have to move up to more limited producers, say that only make one reverb. That particular reverb might sound better, but it will be exponentially more expensive.

Maybe even more important, we are advocates here of “less is more” when it comes to use of FX. A few times a night is usually plenty. Clearly there are situations where you’d do different, but contrary to popular belief, the audience isn’t all that hyped by all kinds of FX. And also you won’t be doing a clear A/B comparison between two reverbs in a mix. I am more than positive that whichever you use (Traktor or Serato) you will get the FX out of it you like and that nobody in the audience will approach you about the quality.