TRAKTOR PRO is paid DJ software for Windows and macOS. It mixes music across four virtual decks, with tools for preparing tracks, controlling separate musical parts and adding samples. Controllers and timecode media can operate its digital playback.
Music collection and streaming tracks
The Track Collection stores song metadata alongside tempo, key, cue points and other preparation. Importing music folders includes their subfolders. Playlists arrange tracks for a set, while favorite folders provide direct access to frequently used selections.
TRAKTOR PRO plays MP3, M4A/AAC, WAV, AIFF, FLAC and OGG Vorbis files. Its browser also accesses an iTunes library. DRM-protected audio and WMA files cannot play, so those files cannot serve as deck sources.
Metadata can be edited for one track or a selection. Analysis calculates tempo, key and gain, with a selectable tempo range. If files move between folders, relocation reconnects their collection entries to the music at its new location.
Streaming catalogs
Beatport and Beatsource catalogs appear within the browser through separate streaming subscriptions. Tracks can join playlists alongside local music. Saved comments, cue points and beatgrid adjustments remain in the collection for later sessions.
Offline storage depends on the streaming plan. Those cached tracks work within TRAKTOR PRO and cannot be copied to another device or folder. A streamed track must finish caching before automatic analysis can begin.
Tempo alignment and deck mixing
Each deck can play a whole track, a Stem file or a Remix Set. Live Input instead routes external audio into the mix. Channel gain, three-band EQ and faders shape the signals before they reach the master output.
The crossfader combines channels assigned to either side. Headphone cue sends an upcoming track to a separate monitoring output, with a balance between that track and the main mix. This independent preview uses multichannel audio hardware.
A deck or the master clock supplies the tempo reference. Sync aligns another deck to it, while tempo faders and bend controls allow manual adjustments. Key Lock keeps pitch from following changes in playback speed.
Beatgrid editing
Track analysis creates a beatgrid used for synchronization, loops and beat jumps. Flexible grids divide changing-tempo music into zones. Users place and align grid markers, then adjust the spacing within each zone to match the recorded beats.
An audible beat tick helps check those adjustments against the music. Locking the finished grid prevents subsequent changes. For live recordings or complex rhythms, this manual preparation corrects a grid that automatic analysis has placed inaccurately.
Eight Hotcue buttons recall stored positions or loops. Auto-loops repeat a chosen beat length; manual boundaries define a custom passage. Beat jumps move playback by a selected interval, and Quantize keeps jumps aligned with the musical timing.
Separate musical parts with Stem Decks
TRAKTOR PRO can generate four parts from an owned local track: drums and percussion, bass, other instruments, and vocals. Separation runs as a processing job. It creates a local Stem file associated with the original collection entry.
Loading that associated file opens four waveforms with individual volume and mute controls. Each part also has its own filter and effects-send amount. A vocal can therefore receive an effect while the drum part remains unprocessed.
The original track remains available as an alternative to Stem playback. Ready-made .stem.mp4 files also contain four parts, whose names can differ. Those studio files need analysis before loading; stems generated inside TRAKTOR PRO are already analyzed.
Generated stems can be stored on an external drive. If their associated file is missing or the drive is disconnected, the Stem Deck cannot load it. The original track can still load when its own file is available.
Sample layers and Pattern Player
A Remix Deck stores up to 64 samples across four columns of cells. Each column feeds one sample slot, allowing four simultaneous sample streams. Triggering another cell in the same slot replaces the sample previously playing there.
Samples can play once or repeat, run backward, and follow the deck tempo. Gate mode plays while the trigger is held; latch mode continues after release. Quantize schedules triggers against the deck's beat timeline rather than their click timing.
Users can load sample files or capture a passage from a playing Track Deck. Dragging its header into a Remix cell copies the active loop. The resulting Remix Set can be saved, with its samples retained in the collection.
Pattern Player
Pattern Player adds sequenced percussion using a selected kit, sample and pattern. Individual steps can be enabled or disabled. Volume, pitch and decay controls change the percussion.
The pattern follows the master clock and occupies an FX Unit slot. Its configuration can be saved as a snapshot. Post-fader routing keeps the sample independent of the deck fader, EQ and filter; insert routing processes it within the deck.
Channel effects and output limiting
Up to four FX Units can be assigned to mixer channels. Single mode exposes the parameters of one effect. Group mode chains up to three effects, with individual amounts and a dry/wet control for the combined processing.
Mixer FX provides a selected effect and amount control on each channel. The available effects include delays, reverbs and phasers. Parameter snapshots recall saved settings when an effect is selected again, rather than requiring the controls to be reset manually.
Master limiting controls the final output level, with Ozone Maximizer available as a processing choice. Ozone Maximizer and Pattern Player are included in the paid application. They do not require the discontinued Pro Plus feature subscription.
Mix recording
The Audio Recorder captures the internal master mix or a selected external audio input. Users choose its destination folder and adjust recording gain.
Automatic splitting starts a new recording file at the chosen threshold. The CUT control does the same manually without stopping the recording. Once stopped, the captured audio remains in the selected location for later use.
Loading any Beatport or Beatsource LINK track onto any deck disables these functions:
- Mix recording, including when the streaming track is loaded but has not yet been mixed in.
- Loop capture into Remix Decks.
- Playlist export that copies the audio files to another location or device.
Hardware control and synchronization
TRAKTOR controllers operate playback and mixing controls, while MIDI mappings assign commands to other controllers. Timecode vinyl or CDs provide a different input: TRAKTOR PRO reads their signals to control digital tracks through turntables or CD players.
Absolute tracking links the physical position to the position in the track. Relative tracking permits cue points and loops without matching the needle position. Up to four decks can use timecode control, with control media and audio input/output routing.
External mixing and clock synchronization
External mixer mode sends deck audio to the hardware mixer. Software channel faders, crossfader and headphone cue controls are then inactive. The external mixer handles those parts of the transition and monitoring instead.
Ableton Link shares tempo, beat and phase with compatible applications on the same computer or network. MIDI Clock can synchronize external hardware or software. With Link active, incoming MIDI Clock cannot control TRAKTOR's timing; outgoing MIDI Clock remains available.
