5 Traktor effects every DJ should use to make sets stand out

Once you understand the basics of DJing in Traktor Pro, you can get creative in your sets with effects. DJs use effects to enhance their mixes by adding their own artistic flair and style. Traktor Pro offers over forty different effects that can be used to subtly tweak, or totally transform your music.

In this blog, you’ll learn how to use five essential Traktor effects, including Delay, Reverb, Modulation effects, Delay T3 and Mixer FX. Traktor’s effects are a powerful way to add interesting sonic elements to your mix, advance your skills, and bring even more life into your DJ sets.

 Jump to these sections:

1. Create rhythmic effects with delay
2. Add space with reverb
3. Change your sound over time with modulation effects
4. Add depth with Delay T3
5. Quickly add effects with mixer effects

Follow along with this tutorial using Traktor Pro, the go-to software for hundreds of thousands of DJs, at every level.

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A note on effects in Traktor

There are two different types of effects in Traktor Pro; Deck effects (Single effects and Group effects) and Mixer effects. For advanced control over Traktor Effects, we recommend using a Traktor DJ controller to control the effect parameters. Traktor controllers come pre-mapped for effects so you can easily tweak Traktor’s effects during your set.

1. Create rhythmic effects with delay

One of the best-sounding effects is delay. Delay is a time-based audio effect that takes an audio track and plays back delayed duplicates to create echoes. Using delay can create interesting rhythmic effects during a DJ set. Delay can be used in Traktor as a Single/Group FX, and two types of Delays are available on the Mixer FX.To use Delay as a Single FX, open Traktor’s Preferences, navigate to Effects and in the FX 1 slot, select Single.

Load Delay in FX Slot 1 and turn on the Delay by selecting the On button under the Dry/Wet (D/W) control, and set the D/W knob to a lower value like 30%. Load up a track into Deck A and play it. In the FX section of Traktor, or on your Traktor controller, select FX 1. The FX 1 button will insert the Delay on the track that’s playing.

Try experimenting with the rate; start with a rate of 1/16. Turn the FX 1 button on quickly for a few beats, then turn it off. Experiment with Delay rates, and try adding delay during different parts of your track; for example, the intro or outro, or during the breakdown.

2. Add space with reverb

Another useful effect is reverb, an effect that simulates reverberation; the persistence of sound after it’s produced. Reverb is useful anytime you want to add space to a track, such as during the breakdown and buildups of tracks.

To use Reverb as Single FX, open Traktor’s Preferences, navigate to Effects and in the FX 2 slot, select Single. Turn on the Reverb by selecting the On button under the Dry/Wet (D/W) control, and set the D/W knob to around 20%. Set the Size to around 60 to start out, and experiment with setting the high and low pass filters to the maximum value for a big clubby reverb sound.

Play a track in Deck B. When the track reaches the breakdown, turn on the FX 2 button. Slowly increase the Size from 60 to 80 during the breakdown, and increase the D/W. When the Drop hits, press FX button 2 to stop the reverb right on beat, creating a dramatic start to the drop.

3. Change your sound over time with modulation effects

Modulation effects refer to a category of effects that change the sound of audio over time to create pulsating or swirling effects. Common modulation effects include chorus, flanger, phaser, and tremolo, and these allow DJs to add movement and texture to their mixes. Traktor Pro has a large collection of modulation effects, including Flanger, Ring Modulator, Filter:92 LFO, Filter:92 Pulse, Mulholland Drive, Phaser, Phaser Pulse, Phaser Flux, and many more.

To get started with modulation effects, load the Phaser into the FX 1 Slot as a Single FX. (See Delay and Reverb paragraphs above for how to select a Single FX). Load a track into Deck A and play it, and turn on the effect by pressing the button under the D/W knob. Turn on the FX 1 button. Set the D/W to about 50%, and experiment by turning up the Rate, and Feedback.

4. Add depth with Delay T3

The Delay T3 effect in Traktor is designed for a more creative and expressive delay effect. It has a richer, more ‘flavored’ tone than the Delay effect we used earlier.

It sounds particularly good on sparser tracks, or the intro or outro of tracks.

Load up Delay T3 as a Single FX in FX Slot 2, and play a track in Deck B. Turn on the FX 2 button to insert Delay T3 on the track. Start with the D/W down all the way, and slowly turn it up.  Experiment with turning up Feedback, and the Rate. Try Free Run mode, by pressing the FR.R button under the Rate, then try turning the Rate and the Feedback up and down.

5. Quickly add effects with Mixer FX

The Mixer FX are one-knob effects that are designed for DJs to be able to quickly add effects. There are four effects automatically mapped to the Mixer FX that include Reverb, Dual Delay, Noise, Time Gater and a Filter – though any effect can be included as one of the four featured effects using Traktor’s Preferences.

To use the Mixer FX, select one of the FX in the Drop down menu underneath the Mixer FX knob, and turn the effect on by turning on the button located to the right of the effect name. For example, play a track on Deck A and select the Filter from the Mixer FX. Turn the Filter to the left to hear a low-pass filter, and the right to hear a high-pass filter applied to the track.

Try adjusting the Filter over a certain number of bars, like the last four bars of a musical phrase and then turning it off. You can create some cool effects with any of the Mixer FX, and they’re often faster to access than Deck FX.

Start using effects in your DJ set

As you can see, effects in Traktor can transform your set and give your mixes a unique vibe. Try out each of these effects one at a time, and really take the time to get to know how the effect sounds on each track. Take advantage of one of Traktor Pro’s best features and start mixing today.

If you’re interested in reading more about DJing, check out our guides on beatmatching, Mixer FX, and our guide on how to DJ.

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