Native Instruments have changed dance music in a ton of different ways over the years, but perhaps their biggest impact has come from their flagship DJ performance software, Traktor Pro.
Launching in the year 2000, Traktor wasn’t the powerhouse it is today, and didn’t have the matching hardware to really push the limits of digital DJing, though in todays market of powerful DJ controllers, it reigns supreme.
Now in 2018, Traktor Pro 3 is here, and with it comes a number of small updates as well as some massive changes. The main talking point is the brand new sound engine, with Native Instruments licensing the elastiquePro V3 timestretching engine from zplane, Traktor can timestretch your existing tracks and loops with incredible transient quality.
A number of new effect changes are also present, with Reverbs, Delays, Bitcrush and Filters all bearing new features and presets. And for fans of on the fly remixing, the new Reverse button will offer you the ability to play a deck backwards.
Native Instruments have given Traktor’s interface a revamp, which they call “cleaner, flatter and easier to navigate”, with a redesigned master panel, and new metering and fader designs.
For existing Traktor Pro users, Pro 3 is available as an update for $49, or for $99 to new customers. It is also included with all purchases of S2 or S4 controllers.