some nights traktor and timecode vinyl and regular records interchangeably (no way in hell am I dropping 10$ on 7" singles, and good luck finding most modern singles if you don't live in NY or Paris), some nights just records, some nights just traktor with an ipad as a controller and a mixer. all depends on where I'm playing, what kind of music the event dictates, and how much I'm getting paid. If I'm getting paid to play a hipstery store opening, then it's a vinyl night, because nerds appreciate that shit and it's worth my time(money) to make a good impression by going the extra mile and crating around records. If it's a shitty event like a wedding, even if I'm getting paid a ton, it's going to be exclusively timecode, no real records. the people pay more for the presence of a turntable, but don't actually care that the tracks are getting transcoded from a computer. It's the equivalent of attaching a mattebox without any filters in it to your camera to impress clients and charge more. If it's a house party and the only goal is to get a crowd going, then it's a controller only night. easy to transport, less equipment to fuck up.
I love controllers, they make life easier and more features that make traktor/ableton so great accessible at the touch of a button.
if you do plan on learning the old school way, go out and buy two copies of a record, or burn two CDs with the same song, and play them side by side and get the phrasing to match. when you have that down, find a similar sounding track and try it with that. when you have that down, start trying any song you can find. should take about a month of an hour a night practice to get it down.
OR
if you plan on doing the new school thing and using the sync button. go through and import every single track you ever plan on playing, and make sure that the grid lines up perfectly and doesn't drift, and then go into settings and change the sync option to beat sync, not tempo sync, and don't rely on the sync button to sync your tracks without you doing the prep work on each first.
