Serato … should I try …

Well the “elastic” beatgrid tends to help me a lot when doing weddings etc.
Now you do not need to mix perfectly every song on a wedding (especially when dinner music is played, you can just crossfade etc.), but the Serato beatgrid is superior in my opinion.
However if it is worth switching over, if you are else satisfied with Traktor is doubtful.
Now I have several things I like with Traktor, but the overall workflow just is not for me (I am not a fan of remix decks) so I stayed with Serato.

So the answer is not easy. Is the beatgrid better in Serato? Yes. Is it worth switching for it? No idea.

That is right… I tried several things from our scratch course (http://www.digitaldjtips.com/dj-courses/#academy/) on my TM4 with my Traktor mapping, but the jogs are just not that tight. I can do it on the S4 however, but the jogs are too small for me.
With Serato on the TM4 I have a blast scratching away…

With the new multi FX out in Serato 1.2 -> go I love it.

I’ve only ever owned Serato gear. I started out with a Vestax VCI-300 and Itch and upgraded to the 380 and subsequently Serato Dj. A few of my mates use Tracktor…mainly those that went with the S2/S4 to start their digital djing. Most of the Djs I work with use CDs or a Serato box. I’ve used Serato with a pair of technics and tracktor with a similar setup.

I feel more connected to my library and tracks that are playing in Serato. Trackor makes me feel less connected to the music “on the platter”. Trackor has a more powerful and expansive feature set, but I play mostly hip hop & reggae at most of my paying gigs so most of those features are not necessary to me. I also love how Serato is plug and play, no configuring sound cards or midi mappings. Just plug in your rane mixer or serato box and go.

It’s kinda like comparing Windows vs OSX:
Windows (Tracktor) is very open ended. you can configure it almost anyway you want and it’s built to work with many different setups.
OSX (Serato) is a much more closed ecosystem. You have less choice with customization, and can only use it with a handful of systems.

However, I feel that it is a benefit to Serato as they only have to write the software to work with a few systems. Which allows the software to have tighter, more responsive controls that are prone to less random glitches. The introduction of Serato Dj to the Vestax 300 series controllers further confirms my theory as I’ve had more random crashes and glitches using Serato Dj as compared to Itch, which I used for a couple years with almost no problems at all. Serato Dj has to work with a much larger selection of midi controllers from a wider variety of manufacturers.

So to sum it up. If you’re playing lots of loops and samples that you want to “play live” in your sets a la Tracktor remix decks, or you are pursuing a controllerist style of Djing, tracktor might be the software to go with. But, if you play songs that were made before DAWs were around to keep the BPMs static and the most you plan to use for loops are a few bars here and there, or maybe loop roll then Serato is where it’s at. I’ve seen some videos online where DMC champs compare the DVS performance of the two softwares where they claim there is no discernible difference. However, in my experience Serato is the better option for me.