Finally, Native Instruments released an app for the ipad called “Traktor DJ“. Since Traktor is the widest used DJ software and the ipad has so much to offer to manipulate music with its interface the expectations were extremely high. And they didn’t fail. The price of 18 EUR is ok for what you get and after reading the first reviews and I instantly had to download and try it.

I spent a nice long ride on the train with figuring out the thing and produce a little mix. The app runs smoothly and is very intuitive, it comes with effects like looping, delays, flangers and filters or freezes. The freeze function is certainly the most innovative. While in a loop, you can touch certain parts of the loop and play it, like single drums or sounds. While playing, mixing or skipping, it never gets out of synch, and combined with a soundcard you can send different sound signals to master and prelistening. So this is actually a serious alternative for a gig in a bar, maybe not in a club.

So here it is, enjoy 30 minutes of bass music with Benga, Kryptic Minds, Redrum and Fused Forces.

The mixes can be recorded directly within the app. I was a bit annoyed at first because I could not find a way to export it. But with a little help from the NI support I found the way. This is how you export and save a recording from the Traktor app for iPad:

“In order to export your recorded mix you need to sync (connect) your iPad to a desktop computer, then open iTunes and click on the iPad tab. Select the “APPS” tab and then scroll down to the section “File Sharing”. You will see TraktorDJ in the file sharing apps list. click on it, it will show you the recorded files which you can save now with the “SAVE TO” button to a location on your harddrive.”

Here is the official promotion video with Richie Hawtin preparing a set in the taxi: