While not having direct experience with it, I do understand the technical details enough to say – if you are using Traktor, then you probably want a Traktor controller.
I’m going to get a little technical… Traktor controllers do not work via MIDI, but instead something called “HID.” HID is basically just USB. It might seem as if other controllers are also USB, but they are MIDI devices under the hood, and as such constrained by the limits of MIDI – a much older standard with stricter limitations. As a result of this, the amount of latency (the time it takes for you to push a button or, more importantly, scratch a jogwheel) is higher with MIDI than it is with HID.
So, if you use Traktor, a Traktor controller will always perform better than a non-Traktor controller (with the exception of the few non-NI HID controllers that work with Traktor). However, depending on your skill level, this may have no bearing on you. It is of most importance to folks who want to scratch, for which Traktor is generally not the go-to choice. Soooo, a MIDI controller will still introduce a potentially noticeable lag if your ear is good enough.
I hope this information has at least helped you to understand what the decision you’re making really is, and that you can make an informed decision now.
