Hi there,

I've been playing with traktor 3 for about 3 years now. I mostly dj minimal and techno.
Well, I think it's time to move on and I've been thinking about buying some hardware. I already own a pc laptop and I have a low budget for shopping so I am really looking for the best setup to computer djing.
I've read some reviews about the Numark Total control mixer and it seems the best option, there are some behringer mixers that look pretty mush the same..so I'll need help choosing that.
One thing that bothers me on traktor is that you can't listen to the other song thru headphones, is that possible with an external mixer like numark total control?
Also I may need to buy other equipment like numark djio but i never understood what for..
So please help me out with this, ir order to buy something decent.

Regards

You can listen to the 'other song' if you have a soundcard that has more than one output. You would have to get an external sound card, since most laptops only have one output.

If you're already familiar with Traktor, you could consider getting a MIDI controller for hands-on control. With an actual (audio) mixer, you would run into the same problem of not having enough outputs for each virtual deck. The least cost solution I think would be to get a MIDI controller with which to control Traktor.

http://www.musik-schmidt.de/osc-sch...l_Control_2.jpg

as the image shows I could use that numark dj o as external soundcar right?

yea, basically you'd need both the control for the midi control, and the o as your external soundcard (so you can have more than one output.)

the behringer bcd3000 and the hercules mk 2 are both midi controllers that double as external soundcards as well... however, what i've heard is that they aren't as good in terms of soundcards as dedicated soundcards... plus, it makes more sense to get a real external soundcard if you ever intend to do any production.

i'm a beginner too... would an old salt care to comment on this? also, what are the recommended midi controllers to take full advantage of traktor?

well i sold my techs this summer, i decided to purchase something light on my wallet. I went with a simple midi controller the m-audio xession pro to control the pitch , cue points,pitch bend, loops effects etc. I still had a numark dm1002x 2 channel mixer so i thought i might as well utilize it. I bought a used ESI maya 44 usb external sound card that has 4 mono outs or 2 stereo so i could route 2 channels into my mixer, use that mixer to monitor / equalize and mix. This was very inexpensive, and well it allows one to mix properly and its pretty mobile. The only con i can see is the 0.1 pitch on traktor which puzzles me why its not finer, but its really not an issue for me and you can mix equivalently to a cdj100 which still costs like 400 a piece (and have features that it doesn't have, like waveform display). Also, you could save some money if you plan on using the midi controller and sound card for production purposes. Maybe i have provided some insight, maybe not. cheers.

Last edited by MSZ on Feb-04-2008 at 02:31

IMHO all the hardware controllers seem lacking, none seem to be worth the cash. So, I go with a standard DJ mixer and use keyboard hotkeys to deal with pitch, start/stop, etc.

I like having true analog EQs and faders, and with a hardware mixer you can also integrate CD decks and turntables into the digital experience.