Native Instruments, the famous computer-based audio production and DJ’ing company, has recently launched Traktor, their signature DJ’ing software, on the Apple iPad. And they’ve decided to go the unorthodox way and ditch the signature vinyl decks on the interface. In place, NI has put the more on-hands practical aspects of a digital DJ’ing software in the front, giving the users a more flexible and handy usage of the software.

“We’ve taken our time to come to market,” says product designer Scott Hobbs. “We wanted to stop and think about this: how could we break down the digital DJing interface? We didn’t want to emulate the vinyl interface. There’s been too much skeuomorphism to date, so we really broke the interface apart and rebuilt everything from the ground up.”

And to help promote the new app, they got Richie Hawtin on board to try out the new app. And he does a wonderful job at it. In fact, Richie Hawtin even used the iPad in one of his live sets in Mexico to demonstrate the practicality and feasibility of using an iPad on Traktor to DJ for one of your live events, therefore getting rid of the stigma that digital DJ’ing is only for bedroom DJ’s.

 

The software let’s you do everything you’d be able to do on a controller/CDJ (except load CDs of course) and makes it very easy to access exactly what you want to do with a song. The app is intended to also help as a preparation tool, setting all your cue points and waveforms beforehand keeping you prepped for the set.

“We wanted to reach out to a broad range of customers, including these beginner and fringe DJs,” says Hobbs. “The DJ that’s not yet a DJ, but may be a big music fan, excited by DJ culture, but who doesn’t really know where to start. But it goes all the way from this guy to Richie Hawtin, the pro, who’s going to use it as a preparation tool.”

The Traktor app goes on sale for a whooping Rs. 1,100 ($19.99), which is the same price for djay – the most used current DJ’ing app on the iPad.

 

To check out the official website, click here.