Manual
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this
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without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native
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Document authored by: Native Instruments GmbH
Software version: 2.6.4 (09/2013)
Disclaimer
Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs, but
in making this a better product.
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Native Instruments GmbH
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© Native Instruments GmbH, 2013. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1 Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4! ........................................................
1.1 What Is TRAKTOR KONTROL S4? .................................................................................................. 11
1.2 The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Documentation ................................................................................. 11
1.3 System Requirements ................................................................................................................. 14
1.2.1 Where to Start ............................................................................................................ 11
1.2.2 In This Manual ........................................................................................................... 12
1.2.3 Manual Conventions .................................................................................................. 13
2 TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Overview ................................................................................
3 Importing Your Music ................................................................................................
3.1 What Is the Track Collection? ..................................................................................................... 19
3.2 Importing Music Folders ............................................................................................................. 20
3.3 Tracks Managed by iTunes ......................................................................................................... 21
3.3.1 Playing Tracks Managed by iTunes ............................................................................ 21
3.3.2 Importing a Selection of Tracks from iTunes .............................................................. 23
3.3.3 Importing iTunes Playlists ......................................................................................... 24
4 Tutorials ...................................................................................................................
4.1 Playing Your First Track .............................................................................................................. 25
4.2 Mixing In a Second Track ............................................................................................................ 30
4.1.1 Quick Loading a Track ............................................................................................... 26
4.1.2 Playing the Track ....................................................................................................... 28
4.1.3 If You Don’t Hear the Track ........................................................................................ 29
4.2.1 Cueing a Second Track Directly from the Browser ...................................................... 31
4.2.2 Loading and Playing the Second Track ...................................................................... 32
4.2.3 Using Headphones to Prepare the Mix ....................................................................... 32
4.2.4 Synchronizing the Second Track ................................................................................ 33
4.2.5 Setting a Cue Point as Starting Point ........................................................................ 34
11
16
19
25
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 4
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4.3 Adjusting Levels ......................................................................................................................... 40
4.4 Looping and Cueing ....................................................................................................................44
4.5 Using Samples in Your Mix ......................................................................................................... 48
4.6 Adding FX ................................................................................................................................... 55
4.7 Using the Loop Recorder ............................................................................................................. 60
4.8 Synchronization .......................................................................................................................... 66
4.2.6 Interlude: In Case the Left Track Is Over .................................................................... 35
4.2.7 Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ and Filter ............................................ 36
4.2.8 Doing Everything by Hand .......................................................................................... 37
4.3.1 The Theory ................................................................................................................. 40
4.3.2 The Practice ............................................................................................................... 41
4.4.1 Playing with Loops ..................................................................................................... 44
4.4.2 Using Hotcues ........................................................................................................... 47
4.5.1 Loading a Sample from the Collection ....................................................................... 50
4.5.2 Triggering the Sample ............................................................................................... 51
4.5.3 Capturing a Sample from a Track Deck ..................................................................... 52
4.5.4 Unloading a Sample .................................................................................................. 54
4.5.5 Getting More Controls over the Samples .................................................................... 54
4.6.1 Group Mode ............................................................................................................... 56
4.6.2 Getting the FX Unit Ready .......................................................................................... 56
4.6.3 Assigning Decks to the FX Unit and Bringing In the FX .............................................. 57
4.6.4 Controlling the FX Unit .............................................................................................. 58
4.6.5 Single Mode ............................................................................................................... 59
4.6.6 Storing a Snapshot .................................................................................................... 60
4.7.1 Choosing a Source ..................................................................................................... 62
4.7.2 Recording a Loop ....................................................................................................... 62
4.7.3 Overdubbing .............................................................................................................. 65
4.7.4 Further Uses of the Recorded Loop ............................................................................ 65
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 5
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4.8.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 66
4.8.2 Who’s the Master? ..................................................................................................... 68
4.8.3 Other Useful Tools for Synching ................................................................................. 70
4.8.4 In Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 72
5 Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ ...................................................................................
5.1 Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ ........................................................................................... 73
5.2 Using the Transport Section ...................................................................................................... 83
5.3 Using FX .................................................................................................................................... 91
5.1.1 Browsing & Loading Tracks ....................................................................................... 74
5.1.2 Quantize Functions .................................................................................................... 75
5.1.3 Deck Volume Controls and Crossfader ....................................................................... 75
5.1.4 Adjusting Channel Gain ............................................................................................. 76
5.1.5 Using EQs .................................................................................................................. 77
5.1.6 Using the Filters ........................................................................................................ 78
5.1.7 Headphone Cueing .................................................................................................... 79
5.1.8 Deck Control .............................................................................................................. 81
5.2.1 PLAY buttons ............................................................................................................. 84
5.2.2 CUE Buttons .............................................................................................................. 84
5.2.3 SYNC (MASTER) Buttons ............................................................................................ 84
5.2.4 FLUX Buttons ............................................................................................................. 85
5.2.5 Hotcue Buttons .......................................................................................................... 86
5.2.6 Using Loops ............................................................................................................... 87
5.2.7 Using the MOVE Encoders .......................................................................................... 89
5.3.1 Reveal a Deck's Effect Display .................................................................................. 92
5.3.2 Using the S4's FX Section .......................................................................................... 92
6 Hardware Reference ..................................................................................................
6.1 Areas and Concepts ....................................................................................................................96
6.1.1 Decks ......................................................................................................................... 96
73
96
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 6
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6.2 Types of Control Elements .......................................................................................................... 104
6.3 The Decks ................................................................................................................................... 108
6.4 The Mixer .................................................................................................................................... 131
6.1.2 Mixer .......................................................................................................................... 100
6.1.3 FX Units ..................................................................................................................... 101
6.1.4 Loop Recorder ............................................................................................................ 102
6.1.5 Front and Rear Panels ............................................................................................... 104
6.2.1 Buttons ...................................................................................................................... 104
6.2.2 Knobs ........................................................................................................................ 105
6.2.3 Encoders .................................................................................................................... 105
6.2.4 Jog Wheels ................................................................................................................. 106
6.2.5 Faders ....................................................................................................................... 107
6.2.6 Displays, Meters and Indicators ................................................................................ 107
6.2.7 Switches .................................................................................................................... 108
6.2.8 Sockets ...................................................................................................................... 108
6.3.1 Deck Flavors and Structure ........................................................................................ 109
6.3.2 SHIFT Buttons: Accessing Secondary Functions ......................................................... 110
6.3.3 Deck Assign Buttons: Switching Deck Focus .............................................................. 111
6.3.4 Deck Display: Informed at a Glance ........................................................................... 112
6.3.5 LOAD Button .............................................................................................................. 113
6.3.6 Jog Wheel ................................................................................................................... 114
6.3.7 Tempo Fader ............................................................................................................. 115
6.3.8 Loop Section .............................................................................................................. 117
6.3.9 REMIX SLOTS Buttons ................................................................................................ 120
6.3.10 Hotcue Buttons .......................................................................................................... 124
6.3.11 PLAY and CUE Buttons .............................................................................................. 128
6.3.12 SYNC Button .............................................................................................................. 129
6.3.13 SHIFT Button .............................................................................................................. 130
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 7
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6.5 The FX Units ............................................................................................................................... 143
6.6 The Loop Recorder ...................................................................................................................... 145
6.7 Browsing, Loading and Copying ................................................................................................. 148
6.8 The Rear Panel ........................................................................................................................... 152
6.9 The Front Panel ...........................................................................................................................156
6.10 TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Modes ..................................................................................................... 157
6.4.1 Mixer Overview ........................................................................................................... 132
6.4.2 The Main Section ....................................................................................................... 132
6.4.3 The Channels and the Crossfader .............................................................................. 133
6.4.4 The Master Display .................................................................................................... 139
6.4.5 The BROWSE Encoder ............................................................................................... 143
6.5.1 Single Mode and Group Mode .................................................................................... 144
6.5.2 FX Unit Reference ...................................................................................................... 144
6.6.1 DRY/WET Knob ........................................................................................................... 146
6.6.2 SIZE Button ............................................................................................................... 146
6.6.3 REC Button ................................................................................................................ 147
6.6.4 UNDO Button ............................................................................................................. 147
6.6.5 PLAY Button ............................................................................................................... 148
6.6.6 Copying and Saving the Recorded Loop ..................................................................... 148
6.7.1 Browsing Tracks and Samples ................................................................................... 149
6.7.2 Copying across the S4 ............................................................................................... 151
6.8.1 MAIN OUT Section ...................................................................................................... 153
6.8.2 INPUT CHANNEL B Section ......................................................................................... 154
6.8.3 MIC Section ............................................................................................................... 155
6.8.4 INPUT CHANNEL A Section ......................................................................................... 155
6.8.5 POWER Section .......................................................................................................... 155
6.10.1 Native Traktor Mode ................................................................................................... 157
6.10.2 MIDI Mode .................................................................................................................. 158
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 8
Table of Contents
7 Customizing TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 ............................................................................
7.1 The Preferences Window ............................................................................................................. 160
7.2 Settings and Preferences for the S4 Control Elements ................................................................ 161
7.3 S4 Control Options ......................................................................................................................163
7.4 Other Settings of Interest ........................................................................................................... 169
7.5 The Setup Wizard ........................................................................................................................ 174
7.3.1 Restore Default .......................................................................................................... 168
7.3.2 Calibration ................................................................................................................ 169
7.4.1 Switching the Deck Flavors ........................................................................................ 170
7.4.2 Adjusting the Input Routing ...................................................................................... 170
7.4.3 Using Four FX Units ................................................................................................... 173
8 The S4 Audio Interface and Control Panel ...................................................................
8.1 Settings on Mac OS X ................................................................................................................. 177
8.2 Settings on Windows: The Control Panel ..................................................................................... 178
8.3 Using the S4 Audio Interface with Other Music Applications ...................................................... 183
8.4 Using the S4 as your Default Audio Interface ............................................................................. 184
8.2.1 Opening the Control Panel ......................................................................................... 178
8.2.2 Audio Settings Page .................................................................................................. 179
8.2.3 Diagnostics Page ....................................................................................................... 182
8.4.1 Windows ................................................................................................................... 184
8.4.2 Mac OS X ................................................................................................................... 184
9 Troubleshooting and Help ..........................................................................................
9.1 TRAKTOR Won’t Start .................................................................................................................. 185
9.2 Hardware-related Problems ........................................................................................................ 185
9.2.1 Basics ....................................................................................................................... 185
9.2.2 USB and Driver Issues ............................................................................................... 186
9.2.3 Update the Driver ...................................................................................................... 187
9.2.4 USB-related Power Issues .......................................................................................... 187
160
177
185
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 9
Table of Contents
9.3 Loose Jog Wheel Top Plate .......................................................................................................... 188
9.4 TRAKTOR Crashes ....................................................................................................................... 189
9.5 Getting Help ............................................................................................................................... 189
9.6 Updates ...................................................................................................................................... 190
9.2.5 Using the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 with a Laptop ......................................................... 188
9.5.1 Knowledge Base / Readme / Online Support .............................................................. 189
9.5.2 Forum ........................................................................................................................ 190
10 Appendix A – Common Setups ....................................................................................
10.1 TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Basic Setup ............................................................................................ 191
10.2 Adding a Microphone .................................................................................................................. 198
10.3 Using a Master Mixer .................................................................................................................. 201
10.4 TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 with Turntables or CD Decks ................................................................... 201
11 Appendix B – Technical Information ...........................................................................
11.1 Technical Specifications ............................................................................................................. 205
12 Appendix C – Quick References ..................................................................................
12.1 Track Deck Quick Reference ........................................................................................................ 209
12.2 Remix Deck Quick Reference ....................................................................................................... 212
12.3 Mixer Quick Reference ................................................................................................................ 216
12.4 FX Unit Quick Reference ............................................................................................................. 218
12.5 Loop Recorder Quick Reference ................................................................................................... 219
12.6 Browsing, Loading and Copying Quick Reference ....................................................................... 220
12.3.1 Main Section Quick Reference ................................................................................... 216
12.3.2 Channel and Crossfader Quick Reference .................................................................. 217
12.3.3 Master Display Quick Reference ................................................................................ 218
Index ........................................................................................................................
191
205
209
221
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 10
Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
What Is TRAKTOR KONTROL S4?
1 Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
We are delighted that you have chosen TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
1.1 What Is TRAKTOR KONTROL S4?
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is a fully integrated hardware and software DJ performance system
created by the makers of TRAKTOR. TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 fuses the full-featured TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller with the state-of-the-art TRAKTOR software.
The all-in-one TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller offers you an ergonomic DJ mixer, a built-in
24-bit/96 kHz audio interface, and a high-resolution control surface perfectly tailored for
TRAKTOR. All controls needed for live performances now are at your fingertips!
— The TRAKTOR team at Native Instruments.
1.2 The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Documentation
1.2.1 Where to Start
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 provides you with many information sources. The main sources are
meant to be read in the following sequence:
▪ Setup Guide
▪ TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual (this document) and
▪ TRAKTOR 2 Getting Started Guide
Your First Stop: the Setup Guide
This will guide you through the software and hardware installation of your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 system, from the very beginning to the first sound coming through your speakers.
This should be your first stop in learning TRAKTOR KONTROL S4.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 11
Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Documentation
First read the Setup Guide. Then proceed with this TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual to get
more familiar with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual
After having read the Setup Guide and followed its instructions, your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4
system should be up and running. The next step is to read this TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual. The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual first gives you a practical approach to TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. Then, it provides you with a detailed reference of your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller along with extra information (solving common issues, specifications, etc.). The next section will give you an overview of the manual content.
TRAKTOR PRO Getting Started Guide
The Getting Started guide gives you a practical approach to the TRAKTOR software. Here you
will learn about additional features of TRAKTOR that extend beyond the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller.
TRAKTOR 2 Manual
For in-depth information on all features provided by the TRAKTOR software, please refer to the
TRAKTOR 2 Manual. It is available as a PDF file in the Documentation subfolder of the TRAK-
TOR 2 installation folder.
1.2.2
In This Manual
What you are reading now is the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Manual. This manual is structured as
follows:
▪ The first part is this introduction.
▪ Chapter ↑2, TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Overview quickly introduces you to the TRAK-
TOR KONTROL S4 user interface and its main areas, both on the hardware side and software side.
▪ Chapter ↑3, Importing Your Music shows you how to import your own music into the pow-
erful Track Collection of TRAKTOR, so that you can use all TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 features with your own tracks.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 12
Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Documentation
▪ Chapter ↑4, Tutorials is a selection of tutorials focused on your controller. They will let
you progressively discover how to use the various tools provided by TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. These practical examples will simplify the learning process and get you quickly
started with computer-based DJing.
▪ Chapter ↑5, Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ is a concise overview of using the S4 with
TRAKTOR DJ on an iOS device.
▪ Chapter ↑6, Hardware Reference is an extensive reference of all hardware control ele-
ments to be found on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller. Whenever you
are unsure about the functionality of a particular control element, you will find here all
the necessary information.
▪ Chapter ↑7, Customizing TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 shows you how to customize TRAK-
TOR KONTROL S4 in order to make it fit your particular needs.
▪ Chapter ↑8, The S4 Audio Interface and Control Panel describes the on-board audio inter-
face of the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller.
▪ Chapter ↑9, Troubleshooting and Help provides you with a list of most common problems
and their solutions, along with info on how to get help.
▪ Finally, three appendixes provide you with useful additional information:
◦ Appendix A shows you how to integrate TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 to your studio or live
setup in various configurations.
◦ Appendix B gives you the technical specifications of the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 con-
troller.
◦ Appendix C provides you with Quick Reference tables for all control elements on your
controller. Should you have any doubt about a particular control element, you will find
here a useful reminder!
1.2.3
Manual Conventions
This section introduces you to the signage and text highlighting used in this manual. This manual uses particular formatting to point out special facts and to warn you of potential issues.
The icons introducing these notes let you see what kind of information is to be expected:
Whenever this exclamation mark icon appears, you should read the corresponding note carefully and follow the instructions and hints given there if applicable.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 13
Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
System Requirements
This light bulb icon indicates that a note contains useful extra information. This information may often help you to solve a task more efficiently, but does not necessarily apply to
the setup or operating system you are using; however, it's always worth a look.
Furthermore, the following formatting is used:
▪ Text appearing in (drop-down) menus (such as Open…, Save as… etc.) and paths to loca-
tions on your hard drive or other storage devices is printed in italics.
▪ Text appearing elsewhere (labels of buttons, controls, text next to checkboxes etc.) is
printed in blue. Whenever you see this formatting applied, you will find the same text appearing somewhere on the screen.
▪ Text referring to elements printed on hardware is formatted orange. Whenever you see this
formatting applied, you will find the same text appearing on the hardware.
▪ Important names and concepts are printed in bold.
Single instructions are introduced by this play button type arrow.
►
Results of actions are introduced by this smaller arrow.
→
Pet Names for Software and Hardware
Throughout the documentation, we will refer to the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller either as “TRAKTOR KONTROL S4” or simply “S4.”
Likewise, the TRAKTOR software will often be referred as “TRAKTOR PRO” or simply “TRAKTOR.”
Hence, a sentence like “TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is a highly integrated DJ system allowing you
to control TRAKTOR from your S4” shouldn’t sound weird to you.
1.3 System Requirements
For the minimum system requirements your computer needs to meet, see the TRAKTOR specifications section of the Native Instruments website:
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/dj-software/traktor-pro-2/specifications/
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 14
Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
System Requirements
To check the compatibility with several operating systems, please have a look at: http://
www.native-instruments.com/compatibility
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 15
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Overview
2 TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Overview
This mini-chapter will quickly introduce you to TRAKTOR KONTROL S4’s main areas and concepts, both on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller and in the TRAKTOR software.
Take the time to read these few pages, as they will familiarize you with the way TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 works and let you catch sight of the power of its design. If you're familiar with importing music files in TRAKTOR, you can skip ↑3, Importing Your Music and start
right away with the tutorials in chapter ↑4, Tutorials after having read this chapter.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 16
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Overview
Hardware controller and software side by side.
▪ (1) Decks: TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 provides you with four virtual Decks. The Decks are
the place where tracks, Samples and live input are played back. The Decks can be seen
as the virtual equivalent to the good old vinyl or CD decks—just with a bunch of powerful
additional features and the flexibility of a computer-based system. The two Decks on your
S4 hardware controller allow you to control the four software Decks (labeled A, B, C and
D) available in TRAKTOR: The left Deck on your S4 can control Decks A and C in the software. The right Deck on your S4 can control Decks B and D in the software.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 17
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 Overview
▪ (2) FX Units: The signals coming from the Decks can be further processed by two FX Units
located at the top of your hardware and software interface. You can even activate two additional FX Units in the software, allowing you to process each Deck individually. The FX
Units give you access to the whole collection of high-quality FX included in TRAKTOR:
The left FX Unit on your S4 can control the left FX Unit(s) in the software. The right FX Unit
on your S4 can control the right FX Unit(s) in the software.
▪ (3) Mixer: Sitting in the middle of your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller and of TRAK-
TOR’s window, the Mixer receives on its four channels the audio signals coming from the
four Decks described above. There is one channel for each Deck. As any DJ mixer, the
Mixer’s purpose basically is to adjust the relative level of each channel, to control the
channels’ frequency content, possibly feeding them into the FX Units before sending the
overall result to the Main section at its top — and in the end, to generate the mix that is
sent to your audience.
You will find a more detailed presentation at the beginning of chapter ↑6, Hardware Refer-
ence, followed by a thorough description of each control element to be found on your
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller. For an in-depth explanation of each and every function
provided by the TRAKTOR software, please refer to the separate TRAKTOR 2 Manual. It is
available as a PDF file in the Documentation subfolder of the TRAKTOR 2 installation folder.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 18
Importing Your Music
What Is the Track Collection?
3 Importing Your Music
Most likely you already have a collection of music files on your computer. For those of you who
can’t wait for mixing their own tracks, this chapter is for you! You will learn here how to quickly
import your music into the powerful Track Collection of TRAKTOR.
If you prefer to start learning how to use TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 right away, skip this chapter
and go on with the tutorials in chapter ↑4, Tutorials, which make use of the demo tracks provided with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. You can always come back here at a later point.
3.1 What Is the Track Collection?
The Track Collection (or simply “Collection”) represents the whole music that you have used,
that you are using or that you plan to use in TRAKTOR.
Based on the music files on your computer, the Track Collection is just another way to display
them. The Collection makes it easy to organize, tag, and prepare your tracks for being integrated into your mix.
Worth to note is that the Track Collection doesn’t care about the actual file structure on your
hard disk, nor will it alter this structure in any way (as long as you don’t delete your files from
within TRAKTOR).
The Track Collection is:
▪ A database storing information about your music files.
▪ A convenient way to represent and search your music files, according to many of their
characteristics (tags) like title, artist name, BPM, genre, length, etc.
▪ The place where TRAKTOR-specific information about your tracks is stored.
▪ The basis on which you can create your Playlists.
The Track Collection is not:
▪ Moving, copying nor converting any audio file to some hidden location.
▪ Modifying in any way the hierarchic structure of your files on your hard disk.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 19
Importing Your Music
Importing Music Folders
To make use of the Track Collection, you have to populate it by importing your music files.
3.2 Importing Music Folders
TRAKTOR offers an easy import function for tracks stored on your hard drive:
Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on the Track Collection entry in the
►
Browser Tree and choose Import Music Folders from the menu.
The contextual menu for the Track Collection, with the Import Music Folders entry selected.
By default this process imports all music files contained in the My Music folder of your operating system.
TRAKTOR analyzes music for certain characteristics (BPM, etc.) when importing tracks for the
first time. This function takes some time to process. Be sure to prepare the tracks you want to
use in a DJ set beforehand if you want to use features such as synching or Auto Looping with
them.
If you have stored tracks in other folders or on external storage devices, you can add these
folders to the list of TRAKTOR Music Folders as follows:
1. Open Preferences > File Management.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 20
Importing Your Music
Tracks Managed by iTunes
2. Click Add… at the bottom of the Music Folders section.
3. Navigate to a folder you want to add.
4. Confirm with OK.
Repeat to add all of your Music Folders.
Subfolders are automatically included in the scan. Hence, you don’t need to add them to this
list.
3.3 Tracks Managed by iTunes
If you have organized your music collection with iTunes, TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 offers direct
access to your iTunes Library and your iTunes playlists.
3.3.1 Playing Tracks Managed by iTunes
You can browse your iTunes Library and playlists directly from your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4.
By the way, this will be the opportunity to introduce you to browsing and loading from your
hardware controller. For this, we will use following control elements:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 21
▪ Any of the jog wheels:
Importing Your Music
Tracks Managed by iTunes
▪ Any of the Loop MOVE encoders, located below each jog wheel:
▪ The BROWSE encoder, located beneath the MAIN knob in the center of the device.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 22
Importing Your Music
Tracks Managed by iTunes
▪ The CUE buttons, located on each channel of the Mixer,
Please do the following:
1. Push the BROWSE button to enter Browse mode. On your computer screen, the Browser
fills up the whole TRAKTOR window.
2. Turn the Loop MOVE encoders to scroll through the Browser Tree until the iTunes icon
gets selected, then push the encoder to open that node.
3. Browse through the iTunes Library and playlists in the same manner: turn the Loop MOVE
encoder to scroll within the iTunes node and push the encoder to expand/collapse the selected node.
4. Once the desired playlist is selected in the Browser Tree, select a track from the list by
spinning the jog wheel (or turning the BROWSE encoder).
5. To load the selected track on to the left or right Deck, press the flashing CUE button on
the corresponding channel of the Mixer (A or B).
6. Repeat steps 3-5 to load a track on the other Deck.
7. When you are done, press the BROWSE button again to leave the Browse mode.
The iTunes tree node represents a read-only view on your iTunes Library and playlists. Editing
functions are not available in this view.
Software Equivalent
Of course, you can do all this from the TRAKTOR user interface too:
1. Click the iTunes icon in the Browser Tree to open that node.
2. Browse through the Library and playlists as you would do in iTunes.
3. Load a track into a Deck as you would do from a normal TRAKTOR Playlist—for example
by dragging the track onto that Deck.
3.3.2
You can import a selection of tracks from your iTunes Library into the Track Collection via the
TRAKTOR user interface:
1. Click the iTunes icon in the Browser Tree to open that node.
Importing a Selection of Tracks from iTunes
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 23
Importing Your Music
Tracks Managed by iTunes
2. Select the tracks to import into the Track Collection.
3. Drag the selection onto the Track Collection icon in the Browser Tree.
4. Alternatively right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on the selection and choose
Import to Collection in the contextual menu.
3.3.3 Importing iTunes Playlists
You can directly import iTunes playlists as TRAKTOR Playlists via the TRAKTOR user interface:
1. Click the iTunes icon in the Browser Tree to open that node.
2. Select the playlist to be imported.
3. Drag the playlist onto the Playlists icon.
4. Alternatively right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on the playlist and choose
Import to Playlists in the contextual menu.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 24
Playing Your First Track
4 Tutorials
This chapter will guide you through the most common tasks that you will encounter during your
work with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4.
The tutorials are workflow-oriented. They start with the simplest tasks and progressively lead
you to more complex operation, helping you to get more and more familiar with your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 system. After reading this, you should have the basic know-how allowing
you to mix with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4.
The tutorials presented here and in the following chapter make use of the included demo
tracks, which were copied to your hard disk during the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 installation
procedure. Thus, you can follow these tutorials even if you haven’t imported your own music
yet into the Track Collection. For more info on how to import your music into the Collection,
please refer to chapter ↑3, Importing Your Music above.
4.1 Playing Your First Track
This first tutorial will show you how to load and play a track, how to check the needed audio
outputs and how to quickly troubleshoot your system if no music can be heard.
Tutorials
Prerequisites
We assume here that your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 system is already up and running. If it’s
not the case, please follow first the instructions in the separate Setup Guide and come back
here when you’re done!
In case you already changed some settings in TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 before you start with
these tutorials, we strongly recommend you to reset your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 system to
the factory settings by doing the following:
1. In the TRAKTOR software, click the Help menu in the menu bar at the top of your screen
(on Mac OS X) or at the top of the window (on Windows), and select Help > Start Setup
Wizard.
2. In the window that opens, click Finish at the bottom right corner without touching anything else.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 25
Playing Your First Track
Your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is now reset to the factory settings.
→
The tutorials presented here assume that TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is in its default factory
state. If it’s not the case, we cannot guarantee that you will experience what we describe here,
and you might miss important things to know!
4.1.1 Quick Loading a Track
Let’s load the track “Techno 1” from the included demo tracks on to Deck A.
Since Deck A is sitting in the left part of the TRAKTOR window, we will use the left Deck on
your S4. You can check this by looking at the left Deck’s display: you should see a lit blue
indicator reading “DECK A”:
The Deck Display with a lit DECK A indicator.
To select and load the track, we will use three control elements on your S4:
▪ Any of the two SHIFT buttons (one at the bottom of each Deck):
Tutorials
▪ The BROWSE encoder (in the top center of the Mixer):
▪ The left Deck’s LOAD button (above the jog wheel):
While looking at the TRAKTOR window, do the following:
1. Hold SHIFT and turn the BROWSE encoder to select the Demo Tracks Favorite (Favorites
are customizable shortcuts sitting at the top of the Browser in TRAKTOR’s window).
The tracks of the “Demo Tracks” Playlist appear below:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 26
Playing Your First Track
Release SHIFT and turn the BROWSE encoder to scroll through the Playlist and navigate
to the track House 1.
2. Once the track is highlighted, press the LOAD button on the left Deck to load that track
on to Deck A.
The track is loaded. In TRAKTOR, its waveform and info appear on Deck A:
→
Tutorials
The LOAD button on the right Deck of your S4 would have loaded the track on to Deck B in
TRAKTOR.
In addition to using the S4 to load a track, you can also drag and drop tracks from the
Browser or from a folder on your computer directly into one of TRAKTOR’s Decks.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 27
Playing Your First Track
4.1.2 Playing the Track
Once the track is loaded, simply press the PLAY button at the bottom of the left Deck:
►
The track starts playing. The PLAY button lights up and the waveform starts moving in
→
TRAKTOR.
Again, pressing the PLAY button on the right Deck would have started the playback on
Deck B.
To Each Deck Its Own Channel
The audio playing on each Deck can be further shaped by the controls on the corresponding
channel of the Mixer. Since the track is loaded on Deck A, you can control its sound on channel A (showing a lit blue “A” letter):
Tutorials
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 28
Tutorials
Playing Your First Track
The Channel A.
At this point you will hear some audio coming through your speakers or PA. If not, please
check the following section.
4.1.3
If You Don’t Hear the Track
If the track is playing on the Deck but the audio coming through your amplification system is
not loud enough, or if there is no sound at all, check the following:
▪ At the bottom of your S4, verify that the crossfader is moved all the way to the left:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 29
Mixing In a Second Track
▪ Above, the channel fader should be raised on channel A:
▪ The channel meter (the vertical bar of LEDs along the channel fader, see picture above)
should show some activity. If not, check that the HI, MID, LOW and FILTER knobs higher
up on that channel are set to center position; at the top of the channel, push the GAIN
encoder once to reset the channel’s input gain to 0 dB.
▪ At the top center of the Mixer, the MAIN LEVEL knob should be turned at least part of the
way to the right. You should see the MAIN LEVEL meters going up and down:
▪ If not, at the top center of the TRAKTOR window, check that the MAIN knob is raised:
Tutorials
If you see some activity on the MAIN LEVEL meters of your S4 but don’t hear any sound, then
double-check the connection starting with the cable going from the S4’s Main Outputs to your
PA.
4.2
Mixing In a Second Track
Now that you have learned how to quickly load and play tracks using the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 (see the previous tutorial), let’s see how to mix in a second track. On the way, you
will learn a few basic mixing tasks that every digital DJ needs to know: how to cue tracks, synchronize tracks, start the playback at the right position, and mix the tracks together using the
crossfader.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 30
Mixing In a Second Track
Prerequisites
We assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorial (see ↑4.1,
Playing Your First Track). TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state:
▪ The track “House 1” is loaded on Deck A. The track is playing and audible.
▪ The crossfader is all the way to the left.
4.2.1 Cueing a Second Track Directly from the Browser
Before we load another track, we will use TRAKTOR KONTROL S4’s Preview Player to cue the
track in the headphones directly from the Browser.
The PHONES socket and headphones controls on the front panel.
Tutorials
1. If it’s not already done, plug a pair of headphones to the PHONES socket on the front
panel of your S4.
2. On the right of the PHONES socket, turn the CUE VOL knob fully down and put on your
headphones.
3. Next to the PHONES socket, turn the CUE MIX knob fully counterclockwise.
4. On the top panel of your S4, turn the BROWSE encoder to select any track in the Playlist.
5. Now press the PREVIEW button.
The selected track is loaded into the Preview Player, as indicated by the Preview Play
(headphones) indicator in the top right corner of the Master Display in the middle of your
S4:
6. On the front panel, turn up the CUE VOL knob to a suitable level.
You should hear the track playing in the Preview Player.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 31
Mixing In a Second Track
7. By turning the BROWSE encoder, you can seek through the track and cue other parts of
the track.
8. To unload the track from the Preview Player, press the PREVIEW button again.
You get back to the list browsing. You can select another track for cueing or load the de-
→
sired track on a Deck.
4.2.2 Loading and Playing the Second Track
We will choose the track “Techno 2” and load it on Deck B, as we did on Deck A in the previous tutorial:
1. Turn the BROWSE encoder to select the track Techno 2 in the Playlist.
2. Press the LOAD button on the right Deck to load the track on to Deck B.
In the TRAKTOR window, the track info and waveform appear on Deck B.
3. Press the PLAY button on the right Deck to start the playback.
The track starts playing. The PLAY button lights up and the waveform starts moving on
→
TRAKTOR’s Deck.
We don’t hear anything from Deck B through the speakers yet because we have set the crossfader on the S4 all the way to the left—our plan is to slowly mix in the track on Deck B.
Tutorials
You can already give it a try: by slowly moving the crossfader to the right, you should hear the
track on Deck B fade in, whereas the track on Deck A progressively fades out as you move the
crossfader further to the right. Obviously, our mix is not satisfying at all yet: before mixing in
the second track, we first have to beat-match it to the track playing on Deck A. So for now,
pull the crossfader all the way back to the left.
If you don’t hear any sound coming from Deck B even with the crossfader all the way to the
right, check the few troubleshooting guidelines in section ↑4.1.3, If You Don’t Hear the Track
above.
4.2.3 Using Headphones to Prepare the Mix
From now on, let’s get used to preparing our mix with headphones until the next track (here on
Deck B) is ready to be mixed in.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 32
Mixing In a Second Track
The CUE button on channel B.
On your S4, press the CUE button on the channel B.
►
The button lights up, indicating that Deck B is now sent to the CUE channel, which you
→
will hear in your headphones.
At any time, use the CUE MIX knob nearby to adjust the balance between the cued track (Deck
B) and the main mix (Deck A) in your headphones: turn it counterclockwise when you want to
concentrate on the cued track; turn it clockwise when you want to hear more of the main mix.
Tutorials
You are now ready to work on the track playing on Deck B without interfering with the main
mix sent to your audience. Regardless of the mix that you’re hearing in your headphones, the
main mix is still controlled by the crossfader and channel faders.
4.2.4 Synchronizing the Second Track
Before mixing in the track playing on Deck B, we will use TRAKTOR’s automatic Sync feature
to adjust its tempo to that of Deck A. This is done in just one step via the SYNC button:
The SYNC button on the right Deck.
Press the SYNC button on the right Deck to synchronize its tempo and phase with those
►
of Deck A.
The SYNC button lights up. Now the two tracks are in perfect sync.
→
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 33
Mixing In a Second Track
By slowly turning the CUE MIX knob on the front panel, you will hear the second track come
into the mix in sync with Deck A.
Note that you should always adjust the tempo of the track that is not audible to the audience!
4.2.5 Setting a Cue Point as Starting Point
You will probably want to have more control over which particular part of the track you mix in.
For example, most of the time, not only the tempos but also the downbeats of both tracks
should match. Using a particular point in a track (for mixing in, triggering, etc.) is called “cueing.”
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 lets you mark points for cueing—we call them Cue Points. This notably allows you to re-use these points at a later stage, or in a later session.
The four unlit Hotcue buttons.
Tutorials
On the right Deck, whether or not the track is playing, simply press one of the unlit Hot-
►
cue buttons on a downbeat—let’s say the Hotcue button 1.
The Hotcue button lights up in blue: you’ve just stored a Cue Point that you can return to
→
simply by pressing the same Hotcue button again.
The first Hotcue button is now lit in blue.
Snapping to the Beats
You don’t have to worry about dropping a Hotcue directly on a beat: by default, TRAKTOR will
make sure this happens automatically. This is because the so-called Snap mode is on, as you
can see by the lit SNAP indicator on the Master Display, located in the middle of the Mixer:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 34
Mixing In a Second Track
The SNAP button and indicator on the Master Display.
With Snap mode on, any point you set in the track will snap to the closest beat, thus ensuring
that you get directly to that beat next time that you jump to that point.
Aligning the Tracks
Aligning both tracks is straightforward:
1. Make sure that Deck B is playing (its PLAY button must be lit).
2. When you hear a downbeat in the other track, press the Hotcue button you just used to
store the downbeat position.
The playback position on Deck B jumps to the stored Cue Point (as you can see in the
→
TRAKTOR window), and the playback continues from there. Both tracks now are perfectly
aligned, ready to be mixed.
Sticking to the Beats
Tutorials
Again, you don’t have to worry about pressing the lit Hotcue button exactly on the beat: by default, TRAKTOR will make sure that the beats of both tracks stick together and that the jump
doesn’t ruin the beat matching. This is because the so-called Quantize mode is on, as you can
see by the lit QUANT indicator on the Master Display (see picture above).
With Quantize mode on, whenever you jump through the track (e.g. by pressing a Hotcue button), the playback jumps to the nearest position that preserves the beat matching, thus ensuring that the current sync doesn’t get lost when you jump through the track.
4.2.6 Interlude: In Case the Left Track Is Over
The track “House 1” on Deck A has been playing since we started with the tutorials, and it
might happen that the playback reaches the end of the track. In this case, just do the following:
On the left Deck, press SHIFT + CUE to skip back to the beginning of the track.
►
You can then resume from where you left off.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 35
Mixing In a Second Track
4.2.7 Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ and Filter
Now would be a great time to audition some of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4’s EQs and filters:
The EQ and FILTER knobs on channel B.
Tutorials
Turn any of the EQ or FILTER knobs on channel B to hear the effect on the cued track.
►
The EQs and filters are excellent tools for making adjustments to tracks before mixing them in
so that you get the smoothest transition possible. The most common technique is to filter the
bass line out of the incoming track—having 2 bass lines running simultaneously rarely sounds
good.
We will now carry out a first version of the mix “for real.” Thus, turn the CUE MIX knob
fully clockwise to hear the main mix in your headphones (or put off your phones and listen
to your mix coming through your amplification system).
Do the following:
1. With the crossfader still on the left, turn down the LOW knob on channel B to take the
bass out of the track on Deck B.
2. Progressively mix in channel B by gradually moving the crossfader from the left to the
center position.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 36
Mixing In a Second Track
3. When both tracks are running together and you want to bring the bass back in, gradually
decrease the bass amount of channel A while simultaneously increasing that of channel
B.
4. Complete the transition by gradually moving the crossfader all the way to the right.
You just did your first mix with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
→
4.2.8 Doing Everything by Hand
You can also do your mix manually instead of using TRAKTOR’s sync and cueing facilities.
Most probably, you won’t do everything by hand in your everyday DJ work. Nevertheless, it is a
good idea to get familiar with the “handcrafted” way:
▪ It can be necessary when synching to a playing vinyl record or to the previous DJ.
▪ You can combine it with TRAKTOR’s advanced features, thus further developing your own
mixing style.
To show this, let’s mix a new track on Deck A with the one we just mixed in on Deck B.
From now on, the track on Deck B is “on air,” i.e. it is heard by your audience. Hence, we will
now exclusively work on the left Deck, which controls Deck A in the software.
Tutorials
First Steps
1. First check that the crossfader is at full right.
2. With the track on Deck B still playing, load the track “House 1” onto Deck A (reminder:
turn the BROWSE encoder to select the track in the list, then push LOAD on the left
Deck).
At first, it may help to select a track with a similar BPM.
3. Press PLAY on the left Deck to start the playback of the new track.
4. On the same Deck, make sure the SYNC button is off.
5. On the Mixer, deactivate the CUE button above channel B’s fader and activate that of
channel A to hear the new track in the headphone mix (you might need to adjust the CUE
MIX knob accordingly).
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 37
Adjusting the Tempo
The tempo for each Deck can be manually controlled via the TEMPO fader:
Tutorials
Mixing In a Second Track
Use the TEMPO fader to adjust the Deck’s tempo.
Adjust the TEMPO fader on the left Deck until the track’s BPM either “sounds right,” or
►
directly matches the value of the other track’s BPM, which is displayed at the top of Deck
B in TRAKTOR.
Manually Cueing with the Jog Wheel
You can use the jog wheel to manually seek through the track and find a nice bring-in point:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 38
Tutorials
Mixing In a Second Track
Use the jog wheel to manually seek through the track.
1. On the left Deck, press and spin the jog wheel’s top plate to seek through the track. (You
can also fast seek through the track by holding the SHIFT button at the bottom of the
Deck while spinning the jog wheel.)
2. Once you have found an interesting point for cueing (let’s say a downbeat), keep pressing
the top plate and release it when a downbeat arrives in the other track.
Deck A starts playing from that point.
Note that you could also stop the playback (by pressing the PLAY button) before you seek an
interesting point with the jog wheel. Once you have found the point, you can release the jog
wheel—since the Deck is not playing, you won’t lose the point. When a downbeat arrives in the
other track, press PLAY again on the left Deck.
Aligning the Beats
In case you still hear a slight offset between both tracks, you can use the outer rim of the jog
wheel to adjust the track’s phase and cancel the offset:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 39
Adjusting Levels
On the left Deck, move the jog wheel’s outer rim in the desired direction to temporarily
►
bend the tempo and adjust the phase in order to cancel any minor offset.
Your tracks now perfectly match.
→
Note that this can also be useful when using TRAKTOR’s Sync feature. Indeed, in some
situations, the automatic beat detection might need a slight correction: for example, in
tracks with unusual low frequency content, the beat “feeling” might occur slightly after the
beat as detected by TRAKTOR. If you couldn’t make it to manually correct the Beatgrid of
your track before you go on stage, you can cancel the offset on the fly with the jog wheel’s
outer rim.
Mixing In the New Track
When you’re ready, you can bring the crossfader over from Deck B and slowly mix in the
►
track in Deck A.
You just did your first handmade mix with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4!
→
Don’t expect to be capable of manually matching beats right away, though—this requires intensive training and can’t be fully explained here in detail. Practice makes perfect!
Tutorials
4.3 Adjusting Levels
Before going any further, we would like you to be aware of how important it is to have your mix
at the right level. We provide you here with a few simple hints in order to get the best sound
out of your mix.
Even if this section might look a bit technical, please take the time to read these few pages, as
they can save you a lot of trouble, especially in a live situation!
4.3.1 The Theory
By mixing, you blend together signals coming from different sources (and possibly process
them on the way).
The basic rule is: you need to ensure that no signal is clipping, while simultaneously trying to
use the full dynamic range available. Just to keep it short, there are two reasons behind this:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 40
Adjusting Levels
▪ By using the full dynamic range available, you keep the noise level low relative to your
mix. As a result, all the details of your music are better rendered.
▪ When a signal is clipping, it is not getting louder, just worse. The loud parts (typically the
beats) are cut, which both reduces the dynamic range and introduces distortion in your
mix. The speakers will suffer from this—and so will your audience! (Be also prepared for
some angered sound technician or club owner coming down on you.)
Hence, you should always make sure that your signals stay at levels that satisfy these two requirements.
4.3.2 The Practice
To assist you in adjusting levels, the Mixer of your S4 is equipped with various level meters
and controls. Each level meter consists of a bar of blue LEDs indicating the signal level, along
with an orange LED at the top indicating the clipping.
Tutorials
A channel meter.
The rule mentioned above can thus be translated as follows:
Best practices when adjusting levels: Ensure that the displayed levels go high enough in
►
the blue areas but don’t reach the orange LEDs, or only rarely.
Letting your levels go “in the red” (or orange in this case) and using signal clipping to let your
mix sound dirtier is definitely not recommended: to do this; make use of the great FX selection
of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 instead!
Checking the Level on Each Channel
Each channel on the Mixer provides you with a vertical channel meter next to the fader. This
meter shows you the pre-fader level of the signal on that channel, i.e. the level of the signal
before it is adjusted by the channel fader. To adjust this level, use the GAIN encoder at the
very top of the channel:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 41
Adjusting Levels
A GAIN encoder sits at the top of each channel.
Adjust the channel’s GAIN encoder so that the level displayed on the channel meter stays
►
in the upper part of the blue area without reaching the orange LED.
Note that the channel’s EQ and filter settings also affect the signal level, as well as the possible FX Unit(s) it is assigned to. Hence, when modifying any of these, you might need to readjust the GAIN encoder accordingly.
Of course, the artistic side of your tracks should not be overlooked: for tracks with a variable
average level over time (e.g. a track starting with a soft intro), you should consider the loudest
parts of the track when adjusting the channel level.
Matching Levels between Channels
Moreover, in order to avoid any level jump when crossfading between two channels, the average channel levels should match:
Tutorials
Before mixing in a cued channel, adjust its GAIN encoder so that its channel meter activ-
►
ity roughly matches that of the channel currently on air.
TRAKTOR already does this for you by automatically setting the level for each newly loaded
track to a satisfying value. This so-called “Autogain” feature relies on the gain values extracted from your tracks. Nevertheless, depending on the particular EQ, filter and FX applied to the cued track, you might have to double-check the level consistency before you
mix in the track. Moreover, what is important here is the average level of the specific part
of the track that you’re about to mix in.
Checking the Main Level
The signals coming from all channels are mixed together according to the relative levels set by
the channel faders and by the crossfader. This mix is then sent from TRAKTOR’s main output
to the Main section:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 42
Adjusting Levels
The Main section on your S4.
In this section, The LED meters show the actual level being output from the device. So, when
the MAIN LEVEL knob is turned down, these meters will go down too.
These meters do not mirror what is seen in TRAKTOR PRO, although though the clip LEDs
will still light on the S4MK2 when TRAKTOR clips.
Adjust the MAIN knob in TRAKTOR’s Master panel so that the values on your S4’s MAIN
LEVEL meters stay in the upper part of the blue areas without reaching the orange clipping
LEDs.
By default, a limiter is enabled on TRAKTOR’s main output. With this limiter enabled, the
MAIN LEVEL meters’ clipping LEDs don’t indicate clipping anymore, but instead they indicate
when the limiter kicks in. While the limiter virtually cancels any distortion that might occur,
the resulting contraction of the dynamic range, though, cannot be undone. Therefore, even
with the limiter enabled, ensure that the clipping LEDs don’t light up too often!
Tutorials
When the orange clipping LEDs light up, turning down the MAIN LEVEL knob on your S4 is of
no use: indeed, changing the level of the already distorted or shrinked signal coming from
TRAKTOR won’t repair it! In this scenario, the Clip LEDs on the S4 will still light up to remind
you that the signal in TRAKTOR is clipped and the Main Level in TRAKTOR should be turned
down.
Should the level stay low on the MAIN LEVEL meters, check also the channel faders—they
are probably set too low as well!
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 43
Looping and Cueing
4.4 Looping and Cueing
Now that you have learned the basic mixing tasks, we will focus on one of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4’s great features: its looping facilities.
Prerequisites
As always, we assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorials.
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state:
▪ The track “House 1” is loaded on Deck A. The track is playing and audible.
▪ The crossfader is all the way to the left.
4.4.1 Playing with Loops
On your S4, each Deck is equipped with dedicated loop controls, located in the Loop section,
right under the Deck Display:
Tutorials
The Loop section, from left to right: Loop MOVE encoder, LOOP IN and LOOP OUT buttons, and Loop SIZE encoder.
Setting a Loop with a Predefined Size
Let’s add a Loop to the track on Deck A.
The Loop SIZE encoder.
To engage a loop on a playing track, just push down the Loop SIZE encoder.
►
This will automatically add a loop at that position in the track.
→
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 44
Looping and Cueing
The loop size will correspond to the number on the Deck Display just above the Loop SIZE encoder:
The Loop SIZE Display.
To change the size of the Loop, just turn the same Loop SIZE encoder until the display
►
reads the number of beats you’d like the Loop to be.
Note that you can adjust the loop size either before or after you’ve set the Loop! When doing it beforehand, it will affect the next Loops you set.
Setting a Loop Manually
You can also manually set loop start and loop end points. To do this, use the LOOP IN and
LOOP OUT buttons in the Loop section:
Tutorials
The LOOP IN and LOOP OUT buttons.
1. Press the LOOP IN button to set the Loop In Point.
2. Press the LOOP OUT button to set the Loop Out Point.
As soon as you hit the LOOP OUT button, a Loop is set and the track will start looping.
We already introduced the Snap mode in the previous tutorial (see ↑4.2.5, Setting a Cue Point
as Starting Point). This mode also affects the Loop In and Loop Out Points, so that they will
automatically be positioned directly on the beat.
Of course, you can also change the size of manually set Loops via the Loop SIZE encoder
as described above.
When setting a Loop manually, the Loop Size Display (above the Loop SIZE encoder) might not
always match the actual loop size.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 45
Looping and Cueing
Moving a Loop
You can also quickly move the active Loop across your track by using the Loop MOVE encoder,
at the left of the Loop section:
The Loop MOVE encoder.
To move the Loop, turn the Loop MOVE encoder.
►
The size of the move also corresponds to the loop size that is currently set, as displayed above
the Loop SIZE encoder.
Turning the Loop MOVE encoder when there is no Loop currently active lets you jump backward/forward through the track by the same loop size. See section ↑6.3.8, Loop Section for
more info.
Tutorials
Storing a Loop
In the previous tutorial, we looked at how to store Cue Points. This is as simple as pressing an
unlit Hotcue button.
An unlit Hotcue button.
Storing Loops works similar:
To store the active Loop, press an unlit Hotcue button.
►
The Hotcue button lights up, this time in green: you’ve just stored a Loop that you can
→
return to simply by pressing the same Hotcue button again.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 46
Looping and Cueing
Deactivating Looping
If you want to deactivate the current Loop, do the following:
To deactivate looping, push either of the Loop MOVE or Loop SIZE encoder.
►
The playback continues after the Loop.
→
By pushing the Loop MOVE encoder when there is no Loop currently active, you activate
looping: the next Loop in the track will be activated.
4.4.2 Using Hotcues
In this tutorial and in the previous one, we already used Hotcues to store Cue Points and
Loops. We want to show you here a few more details on their use.
Hotcue buttons with various assignments.
As already explained, when pressing an unlit Hotcue button, if there is no Loop active you
store a Cue Point at the current playback position (the Hotcue button turns blue), and if there
is a Loop active you store this Loop (the Hotcue button turns green).
Tutorials
On the waveform of the software Deck, you can see that a line with the same color appears in
the track at the corresponding position. Moreover, a little number at the top reminds you which
button you should use to jump to that Cue Point or Loop:
A waveform with a Cue Point stored as Hotcue 2 and a Loop stored as Hotcue 3.
If you make a mistake, or just decide you no longer want a particular Hotcue, you can quickly
clear it:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 47
Using Samples in Your Mix
To clear a Hotcue, hold down the SHIFT button and press the corresponding Hotcue but-
►
ton.
You can see that the button is no longer lit.
→
Creative Uses of Hotcues
Hotcues aren’t just bookmarks to particular sections of a track—they can also be used for creative techniques such as remixing parts of a song, beat juggling effects, etc.
As an example, we will show you here how you can quickly make use of a Loop stored in a
Hotcue slot to introduce the track you’re about to mix in. By the way, this will allow us to sum
up what we’ve learned until now.
Provided that you carefully followed the instructions in the previous tutorials, the track “Techno 2” is still loaded on Deck B. Let’s say that the track on Deck A is on air (crossfader at full
left) and you want to prepare the track on Deck B for mixing in:
1. Start the playback of the next track and send it to your headphones by activating the CUE
button on the corresponding channel.
2. Find an interesting Loop near the beginning of the track by using the controls in the Loop
section of the right Deck.
3. Once you have a nice Loop running, store it by pressing an unlit Hotcue button and leave
it playing.
4. Now start to bring this Loop in your mix, for example by implementing the lowcut we explained in the previous tutorial (see ↑4.2.7, Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ
and Filter).
5. When you’re about to fade out the previous track completely, release the Loop on the new
track, and you’re done.
Tutorials
4.5
Using Samples in Your Mix
The Remix Decks are a great way to add Samples to your set, or capture Samples from Track
Decks for on-the-fly remixing.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 48
Using Samples in Your Mix
The Remix Deck C with a Sample loaded in the upper Sample Cell of the first Sample Slot..
You can also use the Remix Decks to build new tracks on the fly, layering One-shot Samples
and Loops on top of each other. Now let’s find out how to control the Remix Decks with your
S4.
In case you were using Sample Decks in an earlier TRAKTOR version, don't panic! All former Sample Slot functionality stays preserved.
Tutorials
Prerequisites
As always, we assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorials.
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state:
▪ The track “Techno 2” is loaded on Deck B. The track is playing and audible. By the way,
from now on we will use “Track Deck” to describe Decks that play tracks, so that we can
easily distinguish Track Decks from Remix Decks. In TRAKTOR, you can see that the two
upper Decks (A and B) are Track Decks, whereas the two lower Decks (C and D) are Remix
Decks.
▪ The Deck A is stopped (if it’s not the case, press the PLAY button on the left Deck).
▪ The crossfader is all the way to the right.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 49
Using Samples in Your Mix
4.5.1 Loading a Sample from the Collection
You can load Samples directly from your Track Collection. This will give us the opportunity to
try the Browse mode on your S4 controller: this mode allows you to browse your whole computer for tracks and Samples.
The PREVIEW button.
1. Push the BROWSE encoder in the middle of the S4 to enter Browse mode.
The PREVIEW button lights up. You can see all available targets flashing on your S4 —
among them, the four Sample Play buttons on each Deck.
2. Turn the Loop MOVE encoder to select the Track Collection folder from the Browser Tree.
Press the Loop MOVE encoder button to expand the folder node.
Tutorials
3. Turn the Loop MOVE encoder to select the All Remix Sets folder from the Browser Tree.
Press the Loop MOVE encoder button to expand the folder node.
4. Turn the Loop MOVE encoder to select the Dirty Trap folder from the Browser Tree.
5. Turn the BROWSE encoder to highlight the Sample “C3 Bells #1” in the Playlist.
6. On the left Deck, press one of the flashing Sample Play buttons (let’s say the first one) to
load the Sample into that particular Sample Slot.
7. Push the BROWSE encoder again to leave Browse mode.
You can do this in the software too: simply drag and drop the Sample from the list onto a
Sample Cell of a Sample Slot.
The Sample is now loaded and ready to play:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 50
Using Samples in Your Mix
▪ In TRAKTOR, the Remix Deck C now holds the Sample in the upper Sample Cell of the
first Sample Slot.
▪ On your S4, the corresponding Sample Play button is now dimmed, indicating that the
Sample Slot holds a Sample which is not audible (yet).
4.5.2 Triggering the Sample
Triggering the Sample is as simple as pressing the dimmed Sample Play button:
1. Press the dimmed Sample Play button to trigger the Sample.
2. Press the button again to mute the relevant Sample Slot. Press once more to unmute it.
3. Press SHIFT + the Sample Play button to stop the Sample and skip back to start the next
time it is activated.
The Sample is looped. This is because the Sample is in Loop mode, which is indicated by the
loop symbol on the left side of the Sample Cell:
Tutorials
The Sample "C3 Bells #1" in Loop mode.
To change the Play Type of the Sample to One-shot mode, the Advanced Panel of the Remix
Deck needs to be opened. Double-click repeatedly on the upper border of the Deck to cycle
through the Deck Layouts until the Advanced Panel becomes visible.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 51
Using Samples in Your Mix
The Remix Deck C with the Advanced Panel on bottom. On the lower right you can see the cursor pointing on the Play Type
button, which switches the Sample Cell from One-shot to Loop mode and vice versa.
Click on the Play Type button in the lower right of the Advanced Panel (see screenshot
►
above) to switch the Sample to One-shot mode if you wish.
In One-shot mode, pressing the relevant Sample Play button when a Sample is playing results
in the Sample Slot being stopped.
Tutorials
Pressing SHIFT + Sample Play button once more after stopping Sample playback will clear
the Sample Slot from the Sample.
In case you don’t hear the playing (unmuted) Sample, check that channel C’s fader is raised in
the TRAKTOR software.
4.5.3 Capturing a Sample from a Track Deck
We have seen how you can load Samples directly into one of the Remix Decks using TRAKTOR’s Browser, but here’s an even cooler performance feature:
1. Check that the track “Techno 2” is still playing on the right Deck (Deck B in TRAKTOR).
If not, start its playback by pressing PLAY. If the playback has reached the end of the
track, press SHIFT + CUE to skip back to start.
2. Set a Loop on this track using the controls in the Loop section.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 52
Using Samples in Your Mix
3. On the same Deck, press an unlit Sample Play button — let’s say the Sample Play button
1.
This automatically captures the current Loop playing on Track Deck B, and copies it into
→
the upper Sample Cell of the first Sample Slot on Remix Deck D:
Tutorials
We just exported the active Loop from Deck B to the upper Sample Cell of Deck D's first Sample Slot.
The loop is now ready to play in Remix Deck D. Furthermore, provided that Snap mode and
SYNC are active, the loop is in perfect sync with the Track Deck B above.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 53
Using Samples in Your Mix
The Sample Play buttons offer you the same playback controls as described earlier (press to
unmute/mute the Sample, SHIFT+ press to stop it and skip to start next time it's activated,
SHIFT + press again to unload).
As previously described, you can switch the Sample Play Type between Loop and One-shot
mode (see ↑4.5.2, Triggering the Sample).
Now you can load a different track onto Deck B, but you will still have the Sample loop from
the original song stored on the Remix Deck D to be retriggered at any time. It’s great for capturing loops on the fly and using them to build an alternate mix.
If the Deck that you captured from wasn’t playing a Loop when you pressed the Sample
Play button, it will still capture audio from the source Deck, but will instead take it from
the current playback position. The loop will automatically be cut to the length of the current Loop size (as displayed in TRAKTOR).
Capture a few Samples from various places in the track on Deck B and play around to get
►
used to the basic playback controls that we described above (triggering, muting etc.).
4.5.4 Unloading a Sample
If at any time you’d like to clear the contents in one of the Sample Cells, hold the SHIFT button and press the corresponding Sample Play button to stop the Sample, then repeat the same
action to clear the Sample Cell. The Sample Play button turns back off.
Tutorials
4.5.5 Getting More Controls over the Samples
Once you have a Sample loaded in one of the Remix Decks, you have many more controls over
the Sample at your disposal. To access them, we need to switch the focus of the right Deck on
your S4 to the lower Remix Deck D in TRAKTOR:
Press the DECK D button to switch the right Deck focus to Deck D.
►
The button lights up. All other elements on the right Deck now control the Sample Slots
→
on Deck D in TRAKTOR.
We won’t describe all of the functions here (refer to ↑6.3, The Decks and the TRAKTOR 2
Manual also), but at least show you some of the available functions:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 54
▪ The jog wheel allows tempo bending (outer rim) and scratching (top plate) of the Remix
Deck including all Sample Slots.
▪ The Hotcue button under each Sample Play button will also function as a Play and Cap-
ture button. As a shortcut, if the Sample is already playing, the Hotcue button will retrigger the Sample.
▪ For any playing Sample, the Hotcue button’s brightness follows the Sample’s rhythm.
▪ It is also possible, to skip through a Sample Slot's Sample Cells by pressing SHIFT + a
Hotcue button; however, this is dependent on whether the Hotcue buttons are set to Remix or Legacy mode in TRAKTOR's preferences. See ↑7.3, S4 Control Options for further
information.
For a more in-depth description of the Remix Deck and its capabilities, please refer to the
TRAKTOR 2 Manual.
4.6 Adding FX
Now that we have seen the basics of playing tracks and Samples on the Decks and mixing
them together, let’s see how to add effects—or “FX” in the TRAKTOR terminology.
Tutorials
Adding FX
TRAKTOR has an extremely powerful effect section. By default, there are two different FX
Units in TRAKTOR, which can be assigned to any of the Decks. These FX Units are directly
mirrored on your S4 above each Deck:
An FX Unit in TRAKTOR.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 55
An FX Unit on the S4.
Prerequisites
As always, we assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorials.
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state:
▪ The track “Techno 2” is loaded on Deck B. The track is playing and audible.
▪ The Deck A is stopped (if it’s not the case, press the PLAY button on the left Deck).
▪ The crossfader is all the way to the right.
4.6.1 Group Mode
First we’ll look at Group mode. This mode allows up to three different FX to be used simultaneously in a single FX Unit.
Tutorials
Adding FX
We’ll focus here on the left FX Unit (labeled FX 1) of your S4—but the same applies to the
right FX Unit as well.
The MODE button.
Press the MODE button to put the unit into Group mode (the button must be lit).
►
In TRAKTOR, you see three different FX slots stacked on top of each other in the corresponding FX Unit (see picture above).
4.6.2 Getting the FX Unit Ready
Let’s load the three default effects and activate the FX Unit:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 56
1. Hold the SHIFT button and press the FX On button (at the far left of the FX Unit) to load
the three default effects:
You now have the Delay, the Reverb, and the Filter loaded.
2. Choose which of the three loaded effects you want to activate by pressing the corresponding FX Buttons 1-3. Of course, you can use all three effects together—simply activate all
three buttons:
The FX Buttons light up to indicate the activated effects.
3. As additional step, turn the DRY/WET knob fully counterclockwise—we will use this knob
later to progressively bring in the effects:
Tutorials
Adding FX
Your FX Unit is now ready to process whatever you will send to it!
→
4.6.3 Assigning Decks to the FX Unit and Bringing In the FX
Now we need to assign this FX Unit to a Deck. To do this, we use the FX Assign buttons at the
top of each channel on the Mixer, below the GAIN encoder:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 57
The FX Assign buttons on each channel.
Let’s assign the FX Unit 1 to Deck B:
1. Press the left FX Assign button (labeled “1”) on channel B to assign Deck B to the FX
Unit 1.
2. Slowly turn the DRY/WET knob clockwise to bring in the FX.
You now hear the track on Deck B being processed by the FX Unit 1.
→
You can assign other channels to the same FX Unit. For example, if you also want to apply
these FX to the Samples loaded on Deck C or D, simply press the FX Assign button “1” on
the corresponding channel(s).
4.6.4 Controlling the FX Unit
You can control each FX in this FX Unit by turning the respective FX Knob 1-3:
Tutorials
Adding FX
The FX Knobs 1-3.
Play around with the FX Knobs 1-3 and listen to the result on the audio. You can also
►
activate/deactivate each FX individually by pressing the corresponding FX Buttons 1-3 below.
Changing the FX in a Slot
You can load another FX in each slot. Let’s switch the first FX slot to the Gater:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 58
1. Hold SHIFT and press the FX Button 1 repeatedly to scroll through all available FX until
the Gater is selected in the first slot of the FX Unit 1 in TRAKTOR.
2. If the first FX slot is currently deactivated, press the FX Button 1 to activate it (the button
must be lit).
You hear the Gater cutting the audio at regular intervals.
→
You might want to deactivate the FX Buttons 2 and 3 in order to better hear how the Gater
affects the audio.
Tempo-synchronized FX
Now try the following:
Set the FX Knob 1 to various positions and listen to the resulting effect on the audio.
►
You’ll notice that the gating effect stays synchronized to the beat! Among other things,
→
this can be very useful to temporarily emphasize the rhythm, e.g. by transitions between
tracks.
You can check this by moving the TEMPO fader on the right Deck: by pulling the fader
downwards, you hear the track playing faster… and the Gater following.
Tutorials
Adding FX
4.6.5 Single Mode
You can also switch each FX Unit to Single mode. Instead of multiple FX with one parameter
each, Single mode will give you one FX but with much more control over its parameters.
This time, we will do it on the right FX Unit (labeled FX2) of your S4:
1. Check that the FX Mode button (MODE) is off. If it’s on, press it to switch that FX Unit to
Single mode.
2. Press SHIFT + FX On button for the FX Unit to load an FX. You can hold SHIFT depressed
and continue to press the FX On button to cycle through all the available FX until you see
in the software one FX you’d like to try.
3. Press the same FX On button (this time without SHIFT) to turn on the FX Unit globally.
The FX On button lights up.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 59
4. On channel B, press the right FX Assign button (labeled “2”) to assign Deck B to this FX
Unit as well. You can deactivate the left FX Assign button on that channel if you want to
hear the new FX more distinctly.
The FX Knobs 1-3 and the FX Buttons 2 and 3 will give you access to each of the advanced
parameters for that FX. At any time, you can press the FX Button 1 to reset the parameters to
their default value.
As for Group mode, the DRY/WET knob allows you to adjust the balance between the unprocessed (dry) signal and the processed (wet) signal.
4.6.6 Storing a Snapshot
If you find yourself making the same settings to the FX each time and would like to set a default state for the FX parameters, simply do the following:
1. Adjust the FX Knobs and Buttons to your liking.
2. Press SHIFT + MODE to store these settings as snapshot.
The next time you press the FX Button 1 with this FX loaded, its parameters will assume
→
the values you stored.
Tutorials
Adding FX
It’s now time to check another new feature introduced in TRAKTOR KONTROL S4: the Loop
Recorder.
4.7 Using the Loop Recorder
Earlier we saw how you can use Remix Decks as a means for triggering one-shot and looped
Samples. But this is how to work with existing material; the Loop Recorder, on the other hand,
allows you to record new material on the fly.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 60
Using the Loop Recorder
The Loop Recorder on your S4.
You could, for example, capture the signal from the microphone input on the S4, record your
scratching in real-time, or just record a few bars of a particular track while tweaking the FX
settings.
Tutorials
Prerequisites
One more time, we assume here that you already followed the instructions in the previous tutorials. TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 now is in the following state:
▪ The track “Techno 2” is still loaded on Deck B. The track is playing and audible (remem-
ber: if the track is over, press SHIFT + CUE on the right Deck to skip back to the beginning).
▪ The Deck A is stopped (if it’s not the case, press the PLAY button on the left Deck).
▪ The crossfader is all the way to the right.
▪ FX Unit 2 is in Single mode and loaded with your favorite FX.
▪ None of the FX Units are assigned to channel B (both FX Assign button on channel B
must be off).
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 61
Using the Loop Recorder
4.7.1 Choosing a Source
The Loop Recorder can capture the input from several sources. In TRAKTOR, you can choose
the desired source by clicking on the Source menu—the drop-down menu directly under the
Loop Recorder’s DRY/WET knob:
The Loop Recorder’s Source menu in TRAKTOR.
In this menu, you have following choices:
▪ Main will record TRAKTOR’s overall signal.
▪ Cue will record any channels whose Headphones Cue button is on.
▪ Ext will record from the Input FX Send.
Tutorials
▪ Aux will pick up the signal assigned to TRAKTOR’s Aux channel—typically the S4’s mi-
crophone input (for more info on how to use a microphone with your S4, please see
↑10.2, Adding a Microphone).
For our example, we’ll capture the main output:
Select Main in the Source menu.
►
Selecting the source is the only action that must be done in the software. Everything else will
be done from your S4 controller.
4.7.2 Recording a Loop
Let’s now record a loop.
Adjusting the Loop Size
Before we start recording, we need to specify the size of the loop we are going to record:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 62
Using the Loop Recorder
Press the SIZE button on the S4 repeatedly to cycle through loop record sizes (in bars).
►
You can see the current loop size in the software at the top of the Loop Recorder. For our example, we’ll choose a loop of 4 bars:
The selected loop size is displayed in the software.
Starting the Recording
Now do the following:
1. Cut the low and mid frequencies on channel B by turning the LOW and MID knobs fully
counterclockwise.
2. Turn the DRY/WET knob of the Loop Recorder fully clockwise.
3. When you’re ready, press the REC button.
The Loop Recorder will punch in (REC button lit), automatically punch out according to
→
the selected loop size (REC button back off), and then begin playing (PLAY button lit).
That’s all there is to it!
Tutorials
You can hear that our adjustments to the EQ are now part of the recording.
You’ll notice that the loop automatically started playing when it finished recording. If you
don’t want this to happen, just push the PLAY button during recording. Now the loop will
only trigger when you explicitly tell it to.
Playing with the Recorded Loop
You can control the balance between the looped recording and the main output using the Loop
Recorder’s DRY/WET knob:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 63
Using the Loop Recorder
The Loop Recorder’s DRY/WET knob.
You can stop and start again the recorded loop by using the PLAY button. By doing this, you’ll
notice the following:
▪ The Loop Recorder always stays in sync with the Deck B, which is our current tempo ref-
erence—we say “tempo master” (for more info on tempo references, check the tutorial in
section ↑4.8, Synchronization).
▪ You don’t have to bother with the DRY/WET knob position when stopping the Loop Re-
corder: when you stop the Loop Recorder, the DRY/WET knob is automatically bypassed,
whatever its current position is. This ensures a seamless transition with the main signal at
its original level.
Tutorials
Deleting the Loop and Trying Again
If you don’t like what you hear and want to try again:
Press the UNDO button when the Loop Recorder is stopped.
►
Now the recording has been cleared and you can try again.
→
For example, you could try again to record a loop from the track on Deck B, this time while
tweaking the FX loaded on the FX Unit 2:
1. Turn channel B’s EQ knobs back to neutral position.
2. Activate the FX Assign button “2” on channel B.
3. Press the REC button on the Loop Recorder and tweak the FX Knobs and buttons of the
FX Unit 2 as you see fit.
Since the Loop Recorder records the audio (including any processing by the FX), you can create this way brand new loops from your existing tracks!
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 64
Using the Loop Recorder
4.7.3 Overdubbing
You can also dub over the current recorded loop, building additional recorder layers on the fly.
To do this:
1. Press the REC button while the Loop Recorder is already playing an existing loop, and
press REC again to exit overdubbing.
The new audio will then be added to the existing loop.
2. If you don’t like the overdub, just hit UNDO and it will clear your last overdub and you
can try it again.
3. If you hit UNDO once more, it will act as a “redo” and bring back the overdub.
4. If you want to completely clear all the contents of the Loop Recorder, just press UNDO
while the Loop Recorder is stopped.
4.7.4 Further Uses of the Recorded Loop
One of the great things about the Loop Recorder is that you can use it to record loops that you
can then transfer to the Remix Decks. To do this, we will use the Copy mode on the S4:
1. Hold down the BROWSE button to enter Copy mode.
You will see the PLAY button on the Loop Recorder start flashing, letting you know that it
contains a loop ready to be copied.
2. While holding the BROWSE button, press the PLAY or REC button on the Loop Recorder
to select it as source.
3. Still holding the BROWSE button, press any flashing Sample Play button in the Remix
Decks to select it as target.
Tutorials
Now the loop has been stored in a Sample Slot, and you can record a new loop into the
→
Loop Recorder if you like. Moreover, your loop now has access to all Sample-related features provided by the Remix Deck. Last but not least, as already mentioned, the loop is
automatically added to your Collection!
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 65
Synchronization
4.8 Synchronization
It is now time to give a closer look at the advanced synchronization features offered by TRAKTOR. Once you will get more familiar with them, you will be able to use these powerful tools to
build rich and complex mixes.
4.8.1 Introduction
In the previous tutorials, we have already seen TRAKTOR’s synchronization facilities many
times in action:
▪ We synchronized a track to the previous one before we mixed it in (see ↑4.2, Mixing In a
Second Track).
▪ We played with Loops and jumped to Cue Points without losing the beat (see ↑4.4, Loop-
ing and Cueing).
▪ We captured a Sample from a track and it played in sync with the track (see ↑4.5, Using
Samples in Your Mix).
Tutorials
▪ We noticed that the Gater FX was synchronized to the track it was processing (see ↑4.6,
Adding FX).
▪ We recorded a loop in the Loop Recorder and it played in sync with the track (see ↑4.7,
Using the Loop Recorder).
The Tempo Master
For all this to work, TRAKTOR needs both a tempo and beat reference it can synchronize
things with. We call this the tempo master. The tempo master doesn’t have to be the same
throughout your mix, but there is always one tempo master—and only one.
For example, by activating SYNC on a Track Deck, you say to TRAKTOR: “Synchronize the
track on this Deck with the current tempo master.” Samples playing in Looped mode on a
Remix Deck, as well as loops recorded in the Loop Recorder, always play in sync with the
current tempo master.
In TRAKTOR, the Clock or any Track Deck can be the tempo master:
▪ TRAKTOR’s Clock can provide a tempo and a tick.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 66
Synchronization
▪ A Track Deck can provide the tempo and the beats from the track that is currently play-
ing.
The Beatgrid
So that a Track Deck can provide reliable tempo and beats, these must be precisely determined in the loaded track—if not, the “reference” wouldn’t make any sense. Therefore, tracks
must first be analyzed beforehand by TRAKTOR in order to determine the BPM as well as the
position of the beats. The result of this analysis is the so-called Beatgrid. There is a specific
Beatgrid for each of your tracks:
A track's waveform with Grid Marker (1) and the Beatgrid (indicated by the white vertical segments, 2).
Tutorials
The track’s Beatgrid is not only important when a Track Deck is set as tempo master, but also
when you want this Track Deck to be synchronized with the current tempo master, whichever it
may be.
The included demo tracks used in the tutorials were previously analyzed, therefore they already
have a reliable Beatgrid. Before you can effectively use the synchronization facilities on your
own tracks, you will have to analyze them. By default, this is done automatically when you
import your music into the Track Collection. For more info on how to do this, see chapter ↑3,
Importing Your Music. For all the details on the Beatgrid, the Analysis and the Track Collec-
tion, please refer to the separate TRAKTOR 2 Manual.
What Is Synched and What Is Not?
Basically, time-evolving FX are always automatically synched to the current tempo master.
On the other hand, for each Track Deck you can decide whether to use the automatic Sync or
not — for example if you want to beat match the track manually (see tutorial in ↑4.2, Mixing
In a Second Track), or if you don’t want any beat matching at all for that track.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 67
Synchronization
4.8.2 Who’s the Master?
You can build your mix using various Deck setups: you can mix with two Track Decks only, or
make use of the lower Remix Decks (default setup), or even replace the Remix Decks with another two Track Decks.
Depending on your preferred way of DJing and Deck setup, you will have different needs and
perspectives for choosing your tempo master. We will describe here the various use cases.
Letting TRAKTOR Decide for You: the Auto Mode
Let’s first give a look at TRAKTOR’s Clock:
In TRAKTOR, click on the metronome icon at the top left of the window to show the
►
Clock panel:
The Clock panel in TRAKTOR.
Tutorials
In this Clock panel, you see the activated AUTO button, meaning that we are in Auto mode.
The Auto mode is activated by default, and this the mode we used in all the previous tutorials.
With AUTO activated, TRAKTOR automatically switches the tempo master between Track
Decks when needed—that is to say, when the Track Deck set as tempo master is stopped or
when you load a new track onto it. This way, you don’t have to worry about setting the tempo
master yourself.
Should there be no other Track Deck playing, the Clock would become the tempo master,
thus keeping in sync any FX still on air!
You can check this by doing the following:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 68
Synchronization
1. Stop any playing Deck.
On the Master Display of your S4, the MASTER button and indicator light up, indicating
that the Clock currently is the tempo master:
2. Load two tracks on Deck A and B.
3. Start the playback on Deck A.
Deck A now is the tempo master: the MASTER indicator in the Master Display turns back
off, whereas the MASTER indicator on the left Deck Display lights up:
4. Start the playback on Deck B and beat match the track on Deck B with that on Deck A
(whether manually or via automatic Sync).
5. Stop Deck A.
Deck B now is the tempo master: the MASTER indicator on the left Deck Display turns
→
off, whereas that of the right Deck lights up:
If you play sets with two Decks only, or if you prefer to do your beat matching manually, the
Auto mode might be for you: it guarantees that each new track in the mix sets the tempo reference, and all FX will synchronize to it correctly — without being constrained to a single tempo.
Tutorials
If you’d like to do a combination of manual and synched beat matching, again leave the AUTO
button engaged, and enable the SYNC button for individual Decks on your S4 as needed:
▪ If SYNC is enabled, the new Deck inherits the tempo from the previous tempo master.
▪ If SYNC is disabled, the new track sets the current tempo master.
Note that you can also manually set a particular Deck as tempo master:
To manually set a Track Deck as tempo master, press SHIFT + SYNC on that Deck.
►
Using the Clock as Tempo Master
If you run beat-mixed sets with more than 2 Decks, you should use the Clock as tempo master.
The clock will always give you a solid tempo reference that will not change. Also, if you intend
to only do beat-synced transitions, and would like to stay within the same general BPM range
throughout your set, this is the ideal mode to use. To set it up, do as follows:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 69
Synchronization
1. In TRAKTOR’s Clock panel, deactivate the AUTO button.
2. Set the Clock as tempo master, whether by activating the MASTER button in the Clock
panel, or by pressing the MASTER button on the Master Display of your S4 (in the middle
of the Mixer).
The Clock panel should now looks like this:
The Master Display on your S4 should now look like this:
3. On your S4, activate sync on all Decks by pressing the respective SYNC buttons.
This way, all Decks will instantly follow the Clock’s tempo. You can then set the Clock’s tempo
to the tempo you intend to play your set via the numeric field to the right of the MASTER button (see picture above):
Tutorials
Change the Clock’s tempo by clicking the displayed BPM value and dragging your mouse
►
vertically while holding the mouse button depressed.
You can see the tempos on every Deck changing accordingly.
→
As in Auto mode, you can change the tempo master at any time from your S4 by pressing
SHIFT + SYNC on the desired Deck or by pressing MASTER again in the Master Display.
4.8.3 Other Useful Tools for Synching
Lastly, we would like to quickly mention here three other interesting features related to synchronization: the Snap and Quantize modes, and the Keylock function.
Snap and Quantize Modes
As you probably remember, we already mentioned the Snap and Quantize modes in the tutorial
in section ↑4.2, Mixing In a Second Track. They are other important tools that can help with
synchronizing your tracks:
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Synchronization
▪ The Snap mode ensures that any Loop or Cue Point you set in a track will snap to the
closest beat.
▪ The Quantize mode ensures that any jump you make within the track will retain the phase
sync—may you jump to a Loop, a Cue Point or a beat.
Both Snap and Quantize modes can be enabled/disabled directly from your S4 by pressing the
corresponding buttons in the Master Display, on either side of the MASTER button:
The SNAP and QUANT buttons allow you to activate/deactivate Snap and Quantize mode, respectively.
Depending on what you are about to do, you can decide to enable or disable them at any time.
Here are a few examples:
▪ If you want to set a Loop starting directly on a beat, activate SNAP and press the Loop
SIZE encoder around the desired beat.
▪ On the contrary, should you wish to set a Cue Point at the beginning of some backing vo-
cals that don’t necessarily start on the beat, deactivate SNAP before pressing an unlit
Hotcue button.
Tutorials
▪ If you’re about to mix in a synched track and want the downbeats of both tracks to per-
fectly match, activate the QUANT button before you press PLAY (or some Hotcue button).
▪ On the other hand, if you want to jam around with a Sample loaded on a Remix Deck and
make some stutter-like effects by pressing the corresponding Hotcue button repeatedly,
you might prefer to deactivate QUANT to create repetitions shorter than a beat.
Locking the Key of Your Tracks
When synchronizing tracks, you alter their tempo, and consequently their pitch (or key). For
small tempo adjustments, this is not really serious; but when the tempo is changed more
frankly, the resulting pitch might get problematic: kick sounds would lose their power, vocals
would sound silly, etc.
To avoid this, TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 provides you with a Keylock feature that uncouples the
tone and the tempo of a track:
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 71
Synchronization
1. Load two tracks with quite different tempos on Deck A and B.
2. Start the playback on both Decks and synchronize Deck B to Deck A.
You can clearly hear how the tone of the track on Deck B changed.
3. Now press SHIFT + PLAY on the right Deck of your S4. This activates the Keylock on that
Deck.
The tone of the track gets back to its original value, thus preserving most of its acoustic
→
feeling. In the Deck Display, the KEYLOCK indicator lights up to remind you that the
Keylock is active on that Deck:
4.8.4 In Conclusion
There is no “correct” sync setting: it all depends on your DJ style and the kind of music your
sets will consist of. Regardless of which setting you choose, you can see all necessary info on
your S4 and pilot your DJ set accordingly.
Tutorials
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
5 Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
The TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 is designed to work with the TRAKTOR DJ app on iOS devices. In
this section we will describe the S4's key functions when using it with the TRAKTOR DJ app.
The iOS devices referred to here are the iPad, iPhone and the iPod touch.
The iPhone app is known as TRAKTOR DJ for iPhone.
The S4 is currently compatible with the following iOS devices:
▪ iPhone 5c
▪ iPhone 5s
▪ iPhone 4
▪ iPhone 4S
▪ iPhone 5
▪ iPod touch (5th generation)
▪ iPod touch (4th generation)
▪ iPad 2
▪ iPad (3rd generation)
▪ iPad (4th generation)
▪ iPad mini
The iPad (4th generation), iPad Mini, and iPhone 5 all require Apple's Lightning-to-Dock
adaptor to function with the S4.
5.1 Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
In this section we will identify how the S4's key functions operate when you are using the
TRAKTOR DJ app on your iOS device.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
5.1.1 Browsing & Loading Tracks
Follow the below tutorial to quickly familiarize yourself with how to use the S4 to browse
through your music collection in TRAKTOR DJ and load tracks accordingly.
1. Press the BROWSE encoder to reveal the music file tree in TRAKTOR DJ.
Here your music will be categorized into either Songs, Playlists, Artists, Albums, or Genre.
2. Press the BROWSE encoder again on Songs to enter into your song collection.
3. Turn the BROWSE encoder to scroll through your track collection.
4. Press the LOAD button on the chosen S4 deck to load the track.
The viewing mode in TRAKTOR DJ immediately switches back to Deck view mode. The
LOAD button on the S4's deck will now become backlit orange to indicate that the track is
loaded.
5. Trigger playback on the track.
6. Press the BROWSE encoder again (or press the LOAD buttons) to locate another track in
TRAKTOR DJ.
7. Turn the BROWSE encoder again to locate another track.
8. On your selected track, press the BROWSE encoder again.
TRAKTOR DJ's Recommended Tracks will be revealed. The app makes these recommendations on the basis of Key/BPM. If you wish to navigate your way back up a tree node at
any point, you can do so by pressing a SHIFT button on the S4 whilst turning the
BROWSE encoder. To navigate back up to the group level (Songs, Playlists, and Artists)
hold SHIFT + press the BROWSE encoder.
9. Load your next track into the available S4 deck. You'll notice that the LOAD button on the
track already playing is flashing orange.
Paying attention to a Deck's flashing LOAD button will help avoid loading a new track on
top of an already playing track.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
5.1.2 Quantize Functions
Located in the center of the S4 device beneath the BROWSE encoder, the QUANT button allows you to toggle through TRAKTOR DJs Quantize Size settings. The smaller the quantize size
you select relates to how quickly from pressing a HotCue button will trigger. The 1/4 beat setting being the smallest available size. By pressing the QUANT button, you will notice TRAKTOR DJ displays the Quantize sizes as you toggle through the settings.
The QUANT button.
5.1.3 Deck Volume Controls and Crossfader
When using the S4 with the TRAKTOR DJ app, the device controls Decks A & B. The S4's A &
B channel faders, therefore, control the volume of Decks A and B. If the crossfader is all the
way to the left, you will only hear Deck A (if the volume fader of A is turned up). If it is all the
way to the right, you will hear Deck B (if its volume control is turned up).
You will notice that when you move the S4's crossfader, the corresponding crossfader in
TRAKTOR DJ moves simultaneously. Likewise with the channel faders.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 75
The Mixer section of the S4, and the corresponding TRAKTOR DJ Equalizer section.
Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
In TRAKTOR DJ, Deck A is located at the top, and Deck B found below. In TRAKTOR DJ
for the iPhone, the deck view slider indicates that Deck A is located at the top and B at the
bottom.
5.1.4 Adjusting Channel Gain
The channel GAIN encoders are located at the top of the S4's channel sections. You will notice
by turning the GAIN encoder (on either Channel A or B) clockwise that the gain level of the
currently playing Deck increases. Vice versa, turning the knob counterclockwise will cause the
level of the track playing to decrease.
Pressing the GAIN encoder will reset the gain value.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
5.1.5 Using EQs
When you move one of the S4's EQ knobs on either of Channels A or B, the corresponding effect can be observed via TRAKTOR DJ's Equalizer section. To reveal the Equalizer display of a
TRAKTOR DJ Deck using the S4:
Press FX button 2, located at either the top of channel A or B.
►
The Equalizer drawer will be revealed in the relevant TRAKTOR DJ deck.
→
TRAKTOR DJ's Equalizer Display.
The LOW EQ of Channel A being turned anti clockwise and the corresponding affect in TRAKTOR DJ's Equalizer.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
5.1.6 Using the Filters
The S4's FILTER encoders located on Channels A & B can be used to apply the Filter effect to
a TRAKTOR DJ Deck. Moving one of these FILTER encoders from its 12 o'clock position initiates the Filter function in TRAKTOR DJ.
TRAKTOR DJ's Filter engaged symbol.
To reveal the Filter display of TRAKTOR DJ:
Touch your finger on the Filter section of a TRAKTOR DJ Decks Equalizer display.
►
Turning one of the S4's FILTER knobs clockwise cuts the low end frequencies, whereas
→
turning counter clockwise cuts the high end. You'll notice here that when you move a
FILTER button to the right (HPF), the Filter also moves to the right along its X axis within
TRAKTOR DJ, and vice a versa to the left (LPF).
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
Turning Channel A's FILTER anti-clockwise to initiate a LPF Filter, and the corresponding Filter movement along the X Axis
in TARKTOR DJ.
5.1.7 Headphone Cueing
The CUE VOL knob located on the front panel of the S4 adjusts the volume levels of the headphone output. The CUE MIX knob determines whether you hear the main mix only, the cue
channel only, or both signals in your headphones.
The Headphones input and CUE controls on the front panel of the S4.
Cueing a track in your headphones works in the following way:
1. Load Decks A and B each with a track.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
2. Click the play button on both Decks to begin playback.
3. Turn the CUE MIX knob to the center position.
4. Set the headphone volume to a comfortable level by adjusting the CUE VOL knob.
5. With the channel faders up, move the crossfader back and forth to hear one track, then
the other.
6. Move the crossfader all the way to channel A so that you are only hearing the track on
Deck A. At the same time bring the channel volume fader all the way down for channel B.
7. Press the Cue button B below the CUE MIX knob.
The button lights up, indicating that Deck B is now sent to the Cue channel, which you
now hear in the headphones. Note that now, no matter where you move the crossfader,
you will still hear Deck B, because its cue is on.
8. Press Cue button B again to toggle it off and press Cue button A.
You will now hear the track playing on Deck A, no matter what position the crossfader is
in. This is due to the fact that Deck A's Cue button is on, and the CUE MIX knob is still in
the center position.
9. Press both Cue buttons A and B so that they are both active (illuminated).
10. Turn the CUE MIX knob all the way to the left.
11. Now toggle the two Cue buttons on and off. Notice that when both Cue buttons are off
(unilluminated), there is no signal at all coming through the headphones.
12. Press both Cue buttons so that they are off.
13. Turn the CUE MIX knob all the way to the right. If the channel faders are up you will be
able to hear the main mix coming through your headphones.
Notice that when both channel faders are down, there is no signal at all coming through
the headphones.
14. Move the crossfader from one side to the other to hear the main mix in the headphone
cue.
Remember that no matter what mix you are hearing in your headphones, the main mix is
still controlled by the crossfader and channel faders.
Traktor Kontrol S4 - Manual - 80
5.1.8 Deck Control
Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
An S4 Jog Wheel.
You can use the S4's jog wheels to scratch, find cue points, manually adjust a tracks tempo,
rewind, and seek or search through a track.
Seek through a Track
You can seek through a track playing in TRAKTOR DJ by:
1. Pressing and spinning a Jog Wheel's top plate, you can seek through a track (to find a
nice bring-in point for example).
2. Once you have found an interesting point for cueing (let’s say a downbeat), keep pressing
the top plate and release it when a downbeat arrives in the other track. Deck A starts playing from that point.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Key S4 Functions Using TRAKTOR DJ
Note that you can also stop the playback (by pressing the PLAY button) before you seek an interesting point with the Jog Wheel. Once you have found the point, you can release the Jog
Wheel—since the Deck is not playing, you won’t lose the point. When a downbeat arrives in the
other track, press PLAY again on the left Deck.
Stripe Navigation
When a track is playing in a TRAKTOR DJ Deck, you have the opportunity to engage Stripe
Navigation. This function allows you to visually preview any point in the track without altering
the current playback, and at your choosing jump to that position of the track. Activate Stripe
Navigation via:
Press SHIFT + press and rotate the Jog Wheel on the currently playing Deck.
►
You can now navigate through the track to visually preview.
→
To jump to a desired position on the track:
Press the CUE button.
►
To exit from Stripe Navigation view:
Press the MOVE encoder.
►
Mixing Manually
The S4 allows you to control TRAKTOR DJ's decks in a similar fashion to conventional turntables. With the SYNC mode off, you can nudge the Jog Wheels to bend the tempo. This may be
the preferred DJ workflow for those who like to utilize manual beat matching.
With SYNC mode and KEYLOCK off, you can Pitch Bend.
With FLUX mode engaged, try experimenting with scratching the Jog Wheels, and triggering
HotCue buttons.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
Using the Tempo Faders
The S4 allows you to control the tempo of a track/s playing in TRAKTOR DJ by manually adjusting the Track Deck's tempo. Adjusting the tempo of the currently playing track's tempo adjusts the global tempo of TRAKTOR DJ. By default, the track playing will play at the currently
selected tempo setting of the Tempo fader. The Tempo fader by default provides you with the
opportunity to maneuver through a range of 8% of the tempo. There may be occasions, for example a track transition where you wish to navigate your way to a much faster or slower tempo
for a track. You can do so via:
1. Depending on whether you want to speed up or slow down a track's tempo, ensure that
the S4's TEMPO fader is pushed to either end of its range (+ or -).
2. Hold SHIFT and then return the TEMPO slider to its central slider point. On releasing the
SHIFT button, you can now work your way through the next BPM range (a range of 10
bpm, either faster or slower), you can repeat this process to speed up or slow down your
tracks as you choose.
TRAKTOR DJ allows you to utilize a tempo range of: 8%, 12%, 25% or 50%
Reset Button
The RESET buttons are located above the TEMPO Sliders on the S4. When pressed the buttons illuminate orange, and will return a track to its original tempo.
This can be a useful feature when performing some creative mix transitions between tracks
of significantly different tempo ranges.
5.2 Using the Transport Section
The transport section of the S4 is located below the Jog Wheels on either side of the S4 device. The left transport section controls TRAKTOR DJ's Deck A, and the right section Deck B.
Using the S4's transport section you can control:
▪ Playback (& Keylock) functions
▪ Cueing (& Restart)
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
▪ Hotcues
▪ Loop Functions
▪ Move Functions
▪ Deck Sync (& BeatGrid Mode) functions
▪ Flux mode functions
This section will take you through the functions of each button in the transport section. You
will also learn how the RGB buttons behave when using the TRAKTOR DJ app.
5.2.1 PLAY buttons
Pressing either of the PLAY buttons will toggle playback on the corresponding TRAKTOR DJ
Deck. Whilst the track is playing, pressing the PLAY button again will pause the deck.
Keylock
The Keylock function of a TRAKTOR DJ Deck can be activated by pressing SHIFT+ PLAY on
the S4.
5.2.2 CUE Buttons
The use of the S4's CUE buttons function as follows in TRAKTOR DJ. Pressing the CUE buttons places a Cue Marker and stops the deck. If you press it again, playback starts from the
Cue point and lasts for as long as you hold the Cue button. Once you release it, playback stops
and jumps back to the Cue point.
5.2.3 SYNC (MASTER) Buttons
The SYNC button on the S4 allows you to automatically sync a track's tempo (in BPM) to the
track currently playing in TRAKTOR DJ. The S4's SYNC buttons illuminate orange when engaged.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
When using TRAKTOR DJ, there are occasions when a Deck is in a Half-Sync state. This is
when the BPMs of the Decks match, but the phase alignment does not. For example:
▪ With two tracks playing, scratching one of the Jog Wheels (without a FLUX button engag-
ed) and releasing out of time.
▪ With two tracks playing in Sync, and using Cue points out of time.
When a TRAKTOR DJ deck is in the Half-Sync state. The SYNC symbol of the TRAKTOR DJ
deck will be lit red, and the corresponding S4 SYNC button will flash orange.
To reset the SYNC function:
Press the S4's flashing SYNC button.
►
You will immediately hear the tracks align again. The S4's SYNC button is no longer
→
flashing orange, and TRAKTOR DJ's SYNC is lit green.
BeatGrid Edit Mode
Pressing SHIFT + SYNC engaes TRAKTOR DJ's BeatGrid Edit Mode on a corresponding Deck.
While in this mode, you can manually adjust a track's Beatgrid via:
▪ Moving the jog wheel to adjust the waveform/fixing the grid's phase.
▪ HotCues 1-4 can be used to select the correct downbeat you wish to use.
▪ Rotating the MOVE encoders will scan through a track in increments of 4 beats.
Adjust MASTER Clock Tempo
You can use the S4 to adjust TRAKTOR DJ's master clock tempo by:
Press and hold the MASTER button + rotate the BROWSE Encoder.
►
5.2.4 FLUX Buttons
Pressing either of the FLUX buttons located above the TEMPO sliders will engage TRAKTOR DJ's Flux Mode on the Deck. Flux mode lets you jump to cue points and loops without
losing the overall phrasing of your tracks.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
5.2.5 Hotcue Buttons
The Hotcue buttons are numbered 1-4 on each transport area of the S4. These RGB backlit
buttons directly reflect TRAKTOR's cue button coloring:
▪ Blue: Cue point
▪ Green: Loop
▪ Yellow: Load
▪ Orange: Fade In/Out
▪ White: Grid Marker
TRAKTOR DJ will save the BeatGrid location as a Hotcue; this is why many tracks will appear with one white HotCue button.
When using TRAKTOR DJ's Loop Slicer, the S4's Hotcue buttons 1-4 and REMIX SLOTS
buttons (located above the HotCues) control Slices. Hotcue buttons 1-4 will illuminate
green when in Loop Slicer mode, whereas the REMIX SLOTS orange. Refer to the section
↑5.2.6, Using Loops.
When using TRAKTOR DJ's Freeze Mode, the S4's Hotcue buttons 1-4 and REMIX SLOTS
buttons control Slices. HotCue buttons 1-4 will illuminate blue when in Freeze mode,
whereas the REMIX SLOTS (located above the HotCues) buttons orange. Refer to the section ↑5.2.7, Using the MOVE Encoders.
To delete any stored cue points, loops etc., hold the SHIFT button whilst pressing the HotCue button you wish to delete. The button will no longer be backlit.
Setting Hotcue Points
To make a new Hotcue point using the S4:
Press one of the available (non backlit) Hotcue buttons.
►
The selected Hotcue button will now be backlit blue.
→
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
5.2.6 Using Loops
You can use the S4 to perform Loop functions in TRAKTOR DJ by either manually engaging
the LOOP IN/OUT buttons, or by selecting a loop size with the Loop encoder and pressing to
engage.
Triggering a loop in TRAKTOR DJ using the Loop Encoder.
Storing Loops Using the S4
When you find those perfect sections of your tracks to loop, you can use the S4 to store these
for use at a later point by:
With the Loop mode engaged in TRAKTOR DJ, press an available (i.e. non backlit) Hot-
►
cue button.
The selected Hotcue button is now backlit green to indicate a loop is stored.
→
To delete any stored cue points, loops etc, hold the SHIFT button whilst pressing the Hotcue button you wish to delete. The button will no longer be backlit.
Loop Slicer Mode
Follow the instructions below to understand how to engage TRAKTOR DJ's Loop Slicer.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
1. Trigger a loop on your chosen deck, using either the Loop encoder or manually via the
LOOP IN/OUT buttons.
2. Press the MOVE encoder to engage TRAKTOR DJ's Loop Slicer mode.
You will notice that TRAKTOR DJ now converts the selected loop into slices. Hotcue but-
→
tons 1-4 on the corresponding S4 transport section will now be backlit green, and represent TRAKTOR DJ's Slices 1-4. The REMIX SLOTS buttons above them illuminate orange, and represent (from left to right) Slices 5-8. These illuminated buttons can now be
triggered.
1. Experiment triggering the Hotcue buttons whilst in Loop Slicer mode.
Triggering HotCue button 4 in TRAKTOR DJ's Loop Slicer mode.
Whilst in Loop Slicer mode, you have the opportunity to move the start point of the Loop by
turning the MOVE encoder. Turning to the left moves the start point of the loop to an earlier point in the playing track, whilst to the right a latter point.
Whilst triggering the green Hotcue buttons in Loop Slicer Mode, experiment with turning
the Loop Encoder to adjust the loop size for some interesting creative results.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
5.2.7 Using the MOVE Encoders
The MOVE encoders serve a number of purposes when used with TRAKTOR DJ. The default
mode of these encoders allows you Beatjump forwards or backwards in a track, according to
the size of the loop display. Turning to the left moves backwards in the track, whereas to the
right forward.
Waveform Zoom
Pressing SHIFT + rotating one of the S4's MOVE encoders will zoom the waveform of the corresponding TRAKTOR DJ Deck. To the right zooms out-widening the track deck view, to the left
zooms in to the track on a more micro level.
Freeze Mode
Pressing one of the S4's MOVE encoders will engage Freeze Mode on the corresponding TRAKTOR DJ Deck. TRAKTOR DJ splits the Freeze Mode area into Slices. Hotcue buttons 1-4 on
the corresponding S4 section will illuminate blue in this mode, and represent TRAKTOR DJ's
Slices 1-4. The REMIX SLOTS buttons above them illuminate orange, and represent (from left
to right) Slices 5-8.
Pressing the MOVE encoder to engage TRAKTOR DJ's Freeze mode.
Unlike Loop Slicer mode, Freeze Mode when engaged will continue playing when the playback marker exits the Freeze mode section.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Using the Transport Section
Freeze mode takes the currently viewed section of the track playing, and allows you to trigger
individual sections as cue points. These Freeze Mode cue points can be a section of a track, or
down to a smaller component such as a hi-hat.
Triggering HotCue button 2 whilst in Freeze Mode.
The scale of the Freeze Mode section and individual cue sections depends on the viewing scale
you are currently using. You can adjust the scale of which you are currently viewing a track by
holding SHIFT+turning the MOVE encoder. To the right zooms out-widening the track deck
view, to the left zooms in to the track on a more micro level. At this level you can trigger individual kicks, snares, hi hats etc.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Holding SHIFT + turning the MOVE encoder to adjust TRAKTOR DJ's viewing scale.
When in Freeze Mode, turning the MOVE encoder can be used to move around the assignments.
Using FX
Turning the MOVE encoder, will move the Freeze assignments by the group size of assign-
►
ments. Press and rotating the MOVE encoder moves the assignments by one assignment
size.
5.3 Using FX
This section is designed to get you swiftly up to speed with understanding how to deploy
TRAKTOR DJ's effects. Follow the below tutorials to gain an understanding of how the S4 can
be used to control them.
TRAKTOR DJ has three banks of available effects, each of which contains eight effects.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
5.3.1 Reveal a Deck's Effect Display
You can use the S4 to reveal a Deck's Effect display in TRAKTOR DJ by:
Pressing FX button 1, located at the top of channel section A or B.
►
The effects display of TRAKTOR DJ will be revealed for the corresponding Deck. You will
→
notice that the top of this Effects display contains three effects. Each of these represents
the currently available effect as part of a bank.
To change the individual effects as part of the TRAKTOR DJ effects bank, you will need to
manually select these within TRAKTOR DJ. Simply press the relevant effect section to reveal the drop down menu of 8 available effects in that bank.
Using FX
The Effects Display section of TRAKTOR DJ.
5.3.2 Using the S4's FX Section
The S4 contains two FX sections, located above each of the jog wheels. Here you can trigger
effects in TRAKTOR DJ by pressing the FX buttons (1-3), turn their corresponding FX knobs to
control their effect parameter (visible along the X axis in TRAKTOR DJ), and further manipulate effect variables by using the DRY/WET knob (visible along the Y axis in TRAKTOR DJ).
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
Triggering and Controlling an Effect
Pressing any of the S4's FX buttons (1-3) (located in the FX 1 or FX 2 sections) will engage the
corresponding TRAKTOR DJ effect. When a button is pressed, you will notice that it illuminates orange. Within the Effects display of TRAKTOR DJ, the corresponding FX bank will also
be highlighted orange.
Follow the below tutorial to familiarize yourself with how to utilize the S4 to control TRAKTOR DJ's effects:
1. Load a track into Deck A and begin playback.
2. Press FX button 1 at the top of Channel A to reveal TRAKTOR DJ's Effect display.
3. In TRAKTOR DJ, if not already selected by default, ensure the Delay effect is selected in
the left-most bank.
4. Using the FX 1 section (located in the top-left) of the S4, press FX button 1.
The button will illuminate orange; you will also be able to hear the Delay effect being applied to the track playing.
5. Move the FX knob 1 to either the left or the right.
Observing TRAKTOR DJ, you will notice that your movements with the FX knob control the
corresponding X axis in TRAKTOR DJ. Moving the FX knob to the right subsequently
moves the Delay effect along its X axis.
6. With the effect still engaged, turn the DRY/WET knob to the right.
Using FX
You will hear the amount of the Delay effect increase. This movement is mirrored on the
→
Y axis within TRAKTOR DJ's Effects display.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
1. Now turn FX knob 1 all the way to the right.
You will hear the amount of the Delay Effect increasing and observe that the Effects Dis-
→
play moves to diagonally as both the Effect parameter moves to the both along the X axis
and up the Y axis.
1. Now turn both of these knobs to the left. You will hear the amount of the effect applied
lessens.
Using FX
2. Now press FX buttons 2 and 3, so that all 3 FX buttons are engaged.
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Using the S4 with TRAKTOR DJ
All three FX buttons are now illuminated orange, and you will now hear that the track
→
playing is affected by 3 of TRAKTOR DJ's effects.
1. Moving the DRY/WET knob will now control all three of the selected effect variables along
TRAKTOR DJ's Y axis.
Saving a Group of Effects
When using TRAKTOR DJ's effects in your DJ sessions, if you come across a combination of
effects that you wish to utilize again at a later point, you can store these by:
Pressing SHIFT + MODE buttons.
►
The next time you wish to use this effect preset again, simply press the MODE button
→
again.
You can only store one group of FX at any one time in TRAKTOR DJ.
Using FX
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Areas and Concepts
6 Hardware Reference
This chapter details all you can do with your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller.
After a quick introduction to the main areas on your S4 and to their underlying concepts, we
will give a thorough description of each and every control element on your S4.
In this chapter, we describe actions on the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4. Of course, every action on
your S4 is instantly mirrored in TRAKTOR! For an in-depth explanation of all features provided
by the TRAKTOR software, please refer to the TRAKTOR 2 Manual.
Quick References
You will find in section ↑7.5, The Setup Wizard a series of Quick Reference tables summing up
the basic functionality of each control element on your S4.
6.1 Areas and Concepts
This first section will give you an overview of TRAKTOR KONTROL S4’s main areas, both on
your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller and in the TRAKTOR software. On the way,
we will describe some important concepts that together build the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 system.
You will continuously encounter these concepts in your work with TRAKTOR KONTROL S4.
Previous chapter ↑4, Tutorials proposes a practical approach of how these concepts are implemented.
6.1.1 Decks
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 provides you with four virtual Decks. The Decks are the place where
tracks, Samples and live input are played back. The Decks can be seen as the virtual equivalent to the good old vinyl or CD decks—just with a bunch of powerful additional features and
the flexibility of a computer-based system.
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Areas and Concepts
A Deck on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 hardware controller.
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Areas and Concepts
The equivalent control elements on a Track Deck in TRAKTOR.
The two Decks on your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 allow you to control the four software Decks
(labeled A, B, C and D) available in TRAKTOR:
▪ The left Deck on your S4 can control the upper Deck A and lower Deck C in the software.
▪ The right Deck on your S4 can control the upper Deck B and lower Deck D in the soft-
ware.
On your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller, each Deck provides you with a multi-function jog
wheel with advanced transport functionality via its top plate (1) and outer rim (2), a TEMPO fader (3) to adjust the playback’s speed, a Deck Display (4) giving you various information about
the Deck’s state, a Loop section (5), Sample Play buttons (6) and Hotcue buttons (7) with different functionality according to the Deck type (Track Deck or Remix Deck, see below), the traditional PLAY and CUE buttons (8), along with a few other useful control elements. Of course, you
will find equivalent features in the TRAKTOR software.
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Hardware Reference
Areas and Concepts
Both left and right Decks also provide a SHIFT button (9): when held depressed, this button
modifies the function of many other control elements (see section ↑6.3.2, SHIFT Buttons: Ac-
cessing Secondary Functions for more info).
Many control elements on the Decks can have their function customized in order to fit your
specific needs and habits! For more info on this, please refer to chapter ↑7, Customizing
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4.
Three Types of Audio Material – Three Deck Flavors
Your Decks can handle three different types of audio material, each of them leading to a specific Deck Flavor:
▪ Tracks: A track is a song stored in digital format stored on your hard disk. For instance,
the traditional way-of-DJing consists in playing back a particular sequence of tracks—a
so-called Playlist. Decks handling tracks are called Track Decks.
▪ Samples: A Sample is a small piece of audio material. If its physical content does not
really differ from a track’s content (it’s all about audio stored in digital format on your
hard disk), the difference between them is both in their size and purpose: in general, a
Sample is much shorter than a track, and it is aimed to be added to (or blended into) your
main mix. Notably, Samples are perfect material for live remixing! Decks handling Samples are called Remix Decks. Each Remix Deck provides you with four Sample Slots containing 16 Sample Cells each.
▪ Audio input: Whereas the two aforementioned audio material types are played back from
your hard disk, Decks C and D can also be switched to Live Inputs, in which case they
transfer audio signals coming from the outside world to TRAKTOR’s audio processing and
mixing facilities. Whether it’s a microphone, a turntable, a keyboard or anything else, it
gets directly inserted in TRAKTOR’s signal flow.
Deck Configurations
In TRAKTOR KONTROL S4, the upper Decks A and B are always Track Decks. The lower Decks
C and D are Remix Decks by default, but you can switch them to Track Decks or Live Inputs—
or even deactivate them.
You will find a detailed description of every control element in the Decks in ↑6.3, The Decks.
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Areas and Concepts
6.1.2 Mixer
The Mixer is sitting in the middle of your TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 controller and of TRAKTOR’s window.
The Mixer on the S4 controller and in TRAKTOR.
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