First introduced in 2007, Avid's Torq hardware has never been upgraded, and looks likely to have now reached the end of the road. But what about the software?
As first reported on Digital DJ Tips, Avid has officially announced it is to drop its Torq DJ software and hardware. All of its consumer electronics operations including Torq are to be sold on to inMusic, the parent company of Numark, who get “M-Audio brand keyboards, controllers, interfaces, speakers and digital DJ equipment and other product lines”.
That, however, raised the intriguing question of whether Torq software will continue to be developed.
While it’s hard to see inMusic doing so as-is, they may well decide to keep, develop and rebrand the technology. The company certainly isn’t scared of a bit of R&D investment, so it’s not outside the realms of possibility.
We’ve fired off a question to the right person at inMusic, and will report back to you if any when we get some further news.
Meanwhile, Avid will continue to develop and sell its Pro Tools line of software and hardware, as well as associated I/O devices including Mbox and Fast Track.
UPDATE: We asked Numark directly about the future of Torq, and they pointed us to their official press release with no further comment. That states that AIR (Torq’s developers) had indeed been acquired by Numark as we reported, but says nothing at all about the future of the software. Guess we’ll have to just wait and see.
What do you think this means for Torq? Could it in fact be good news? If you’re a Torq user, we’d love to know your thoughts in the comments.
Now go to:
Torq 2.0 Review: Should You Switch From Your DJ Software To This?
Is Avid About To Drop Torq?
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Tags: avid, inmusic, numark, torq
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I used Torq 1.0 when I got it bundled with my first Pro Tools set up a few years back, it was my into to digital DJing that sparked my interest and passion. How they keep the software going if only as a means to drive competition and development.
[ link ]As a user of Torq/Conectiv for the past 3 years, this is somewhat of a slap in the face. Mind you the DVS was cheaper than it’s competitors and after 2.0 it was a pretty stable system, but the customer service and support by Avid was horrible. The forums went almost silent last year and the response with issues became non-existent. I held out as long as I could and many of my DJ buddies made the crossover to Serato and Traktor a year ahead of me. I’m about to take a step towards Traktor, but I will miss Torq’s interface which places the waveforms on top of one another instead of horizontally opposed (makes for easier mixing and drops). The only other complaint I had was why Avid chose not to redesign the Conectiv but with USB 2.0 functionality and address the power spike performance issues. Solid beyond that. Goodbye Torq…too bad you couldn’t keep your fanbase satisfied.
[ link ]Sounds like you’d prefer Serato Scratch Live then. The layout is similar but it’s amazingly well supported. Also, if you’re interesting in VJing, Scratch Live has that option whereas Traktor does not. If you want to record your sets, Traktor can do that, but not as good as Serato Scratch Live and Ableton Live’s “The Bridge” which is something you should think about. If you’re already actively music making, it’s something you should consider much harder than Traktor alone.
In retrospect, Avid never really did what they needed to do to make sure people knew how good Torq was and that’s a Marketing issue. They certainly didn’t try to incorporate the rest of Avid’s very powerful line of products as their “ringers” for people to get into Torq with. Few companies make the level of quality audio recording and video production software Avid does… it’s really a shame they didn’t read the coming trends of controllerism and video DJing, they had all the right tools for it.
[ link ]I wasn’t as much into video DJing as I was straight up turntablism and mixing. I’ve played around with Serato before and it was okay…very simple. The price point has always kept me away because I am more of a hobbyist instead of a live DJ. Recording my mixes isn’t a problem either thanks to a USB out on the mixer and Audacity. If Traktor, which is now in possession doesn’t feel right, I will be going Serato.
[ link ]There are Torq users?
[ link ]Yes there are Torq users!!! It still works for more than half the price of the so-called industry standard.
[ link ]You can get Itch when you buy a Novation Twitch… Retail price: around $400.
[ link ]You can get Traktor for only 79 euros now…
[ link ]I’m not surprised. I did hold on for much longer than many others did, but finally caved and moved on to Traktor when they had that $89 offer. I think the trifecta of Traktor, Serato, and VDJ has made it impossible to enter the market unless you offer something different. Maybe that new title “The One” will bring something new, but others have gone into specialization, like hardware-specific titles, enhancements to the current industry leaders, or even new grounds like how Deckadance went tablet.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens with InMusic.
[ link ]Maybe we, Torq users, are in luck since they also acquired AIR. They were responsible for Torq 2.x development.
[ link ]I was a Torq user for almost five years as my first DVS until last month when I sold it all and moved to Traktor. I will miss some of its features but the lack of support and innovation prevented me from moving on with developing my skills as a DJ.
[ link ]Ive been a customer for many years and I own Torq and an Xponent along with other equipment. This really pisses me off that they decided to drop what was a pretty good system. The way I feel I’m out of hear Advid. I will never purchase anything from your company or from any company that does business with you.
[ link ]Hopefully this will be a good thing, Torq has features that the market leaders still do not, invest a few R&D $$$’s and this could be very intersting!
As a Traktor and Torq user i am still gigging with Torq as I prefer it.
[ link ]I guess old users can’t wait much, but it seems that Numark will start its own ddj program. =)
[ link ]Torq was my first entry into digital djing. I was a great program for me,but the power spikes and glitches made me jump to a more stable program like traktor. Plus, you could not scratch with torq. If they had fixed the glitch and power spike problems a lot of people would still use it today! I think they should attempt to fix it while the name torq is still fresh in people’s memory
[ link ]I tried recording some mixes recently. Using straight vinyl through the connectiv = fine. Playing digital tracks resulted in a crackling sound and the song on the deck’s graphics jumped. Had they just took the time to fix it, I would still hang in there with Torq.
[ link ]This is a shame, but such is life. It’s funny, when Avid picked up M-Audio about 7-8 years ago, they were all excited to be “expanding” their product line…and then they really didn’t do a whole lot with it. It kind of became the “bastard child” of the company. Now they’re dumping it and other acquisitions they made about the same time as M-Audio.
I dabbled with Torq but never got into it very deeply. The interface kind of freaked me out, and the Xponent didn’t look like a quality product. The Twitch seemed like a better unit (even though it was only 2-deck) for about the same price. I wasn’t seeing a lot of love on the forums/web for Torq/Avid either.
I’ll probably never use it, but I hope Torq continues on longer…competition/innovation is a good thing, and it would be a shame to dump on all the loyal users. Then again, Avid pulling this move is a surefire way to kill the loyal user-base, too.
[ link ]In Traktor, the Novation Twitch has a toggle button on each deck, giving the user 4 track deck control through the press of a button. The Twitch is only 2 Deck in Itch.
[ link ]I’ve used Torq for years now. I still use it for my weekly radio show even though I have a VCI 300 and have played around with Itch. Torq 2 is still an excellent program and does have things like VST support and very easy midi mapping that other software makers refuse to implement. An improved Torq bundled with Numark controllers instead of crippled LE versions of other software would quickly gain it market share.
[ link ]The reality is Torq was dying from V1. The decision to only let it run when the computer was hooked up to an Xponent or a Conectiv box was the dumbest thing they could have done. It meant that you *had* to use their hardware if you wanted to use their software.
As a program Torq is great, its been really fun to use, learn and to play with. The hardware on the other hand was suspect from day 1 and no new models for 5 long years…WTH!!!
The lack of an LE version bundled with third party controllers was a huge mistake, you couldn’t try the software (even a limited version) without buying wholesale into the M-Audio ecosystem. If you didn’t like the hardware you were so out of luck.
(Actually there was an LE version but it was bundled with the X-Session, which meant you needed to buy the hardware (see the pattern?) and I only ever saw it being used with Traktor)
By the time V2.x came out it was too late. They finally removed the hardware encryption requirement – four years too late!!! They couldn’t have got close to recouping the development costs on the upgrade fees alone, and no one was buying boxed copies…so it was left to wither on the vine. The support to 2.X has been non-existent. The forums haven’t been moderated in months…
Torq still has some great features, it Midi maps easier then anything else, the cross fader effects are cool, the Elastique timestretch is awesome, VST effects plugged in (mostly) seamlessly and the elastic beat griding capabilities smash all comers. This is what I want to be licensed out, but (IMHO) the only way the Torq name can possibly live on is to Open Source it. If a company can’t/won’t develop it let the community.
Sadly for M-Audio/Avid I ran out of patience and am now very happy with Traktor and a Denon, I will always be fond of Torq, but I won’t miss it.
P.S I am the only one who’s getting the BigNamba Studio Backpack advert under this thread – take a look at what Carmen is using – Torq!
[ link ]Right… forcing people to use a specific audio interface is just SO incredibly stupid Serato and Native Instruments!!! Who in the hell do they think they are!?!?!?
FYI – Serato Scratch Live ONLY works with specific audio interfaces – same with ITCH. Native Intruments’ Traktor only works as a DVS with their interface (IIRC, this is still the case).
Torq’s decision at the time to tie the software to hardware was typical and still is typical in the industry. Their abandoning the hardware requirement with 2.0 was actually unusual within the industry.
FYI – on the day of it’s release in 2006 it debuted as the #2 software package in the market based upon sales – right behind Serato.
BTW, I’ve been a user of Torq since 1.0 in September 2006. I installed it at a red light while on my way to a nightclub gig and played on it all night long without fail (not recommended).Numark will either step up and become a software company, using Torq to it’s full potential – or they’ll hold it and let it die slowly like they’ve all but done with MixMeister and Arkaos Grand VJ.
I’m sincerely hoping for the former….
[ link ]Like your story about installing on the way to the club and then DJing with it… like exactly the kind of thing I’d do (and never recommend anyone else do, of course)
[ link ]To be fair, Serato ITCH required licensed hardware in order to work – I think the lack of enough active development to build an ecosystem contributed too, like you say. And even Serato saw the need to introduce DJ Intro…
[ link ]OK, perhaps I wasn’t clear enough first time round.
It goes without saying (at least it should on a forum on DDJT!) any DVS system will need the partner control media and audio interface, that’s a given. I have no problem with that, and at £160 I thought my Conectiv was a bargain. So much so I went and bought an Xponent too…
The point I made about third party controller support for Torq still stands. Until V2 you could only use Torq with an Xponent controller. Hell until V2 you couldn’t even open the program unless a Conectiv unit, an Xponent or an X-Session was attached to the computer! To get a set list together I had to open another media player, create a playlist, save it, attach M-Audio hardware, run Torq, import playlist – it shouldn’t be this difficult.
By limiting the number of users you have – well you go out of business. If you are going to build an ecosystem, you had better make it good, really really good. The Xponent was never a great controller, the build quality was always a little iffy. The software was always better put together than the hardware. I will never use another piece of DJ software that isn’t compatible with a range of controllers. In fact I aim to be as software agnostic as possible.
I too installed Torq (1.5) on the day I first gigged with it. I gave myself a little more time than you, and did it 6 hours before, so I could have a bit of a play and familiarise myself with the layout and give it time to analyse some tracks. Everything went great until I got to the gig and it wouldn’t recognize the hardware. Luckily I got there early and had time to reinstall it, but it was a pretty stressful 15 minutes!
I am glad you mentioned Itch too, while Itch does require licensed hardware there is a crucial difference – choice. There is more than one controller that will run Itch, and they even got around to making Itch Intro. Each licenced controller had been tried and tested by Serato, and all the controls tightly integrated into the software. If Avid did this it stood a chance. By the time Torq 2 was released it was too late the rot had set in, Traktor, VDJ and Serato had too much of a head start. Yes you could run Torq 2 with any midi controller, but why would you? All the new controllers came with an LE version of VDJ or Traktor, some of them even come with the full version. Serato controllers all came with the full monty Itch (until Intro popped up). And crucially they were all better controllers than the Xponent. An LE version of Torq, shipped with third party controllers would have put Torq on an equal footing with VDJ, enough LE users would have shelled out for the full version (because anyone who has used it knows it’s great software) and development could have continued. It didn’t and it died.
I liked Torq – I really did, it had its quirks, but then so do Traktor, VDJ and Serato but the fact is Avid abandoned it. In fact as soon as V2 was released it was abandoned. I am a little sad to see it die as it did have some really cool features (which I really hope get licenced/sold), but it’s time to move on. I hope InMusic do something cool with it, but the Torq brand is as dead as can be. Ancient hardware, abandoned (but much loved) software, industry setting standards for poor customer interaction and feedback and competition that is developing and moving forward and adding new features all the time. The final nail was Traktor’s price drop. Once this happened there was no good reason to choose Torq over Traktor, the 2.5 upgrade was just a cherry on top.
[ link ]Yeah, agreed. As I said, no vibrant ecosystem due ultimately to not enough support from the company behind it.
[ link ]Good riddance to bad rubbish!I couldn’t even get Torq to run smoothly without glitches on my laptop,latency was Hoooorible also.
My laptop runs both Traktor & Serato rock solid by the way.
[ link ]Torq has been a faithful workhorse for me. Perhaps it is behind in something’s (waveforms, still they are parallel which beats Traktor) they are way ahead in allowing DVs and midi in 1 program not 2 (itch, scratch live?) ease of midi mapping (right click turn knob) and tempo anchors. Numark keep this thing going !!!!!
[ link ]I sold my Xponent and Torq software a few months ago and upgraded to the new Kontrol S4 with Traktor software- best decision ever! My DJ skills have multiplied and I’ve been more than pleased with what Traktor and the S4 have to offer. The only feature of the Xponent I miss is the kill buttons for highs, mids, lows and gain.
[ link ]WOW! I had posted a question in the forums a few months ago about getting torq xponent or other controllers. Thank God I waited! The way Avid, being an industry standard, treated this whole m-audio/torq issue was extremely lacking professionalism & sincerity in customer support & satisfaction goals.
[ link ]I switched from Torq to Traktor, but I’m surprised how much I miss the features in Torq. For all its flaws, it was much more plug and play and far more intuitive.
The user interface just made a lot of sense:
Parallel waveforms (duh).
Full screen waveforms for precise cuepoint editing. (duh)
Easy custom hot keys and mappings – just enter a mode and press the new control and you were done (duh).
And it looked nicer too.
Torq’s iTunes integration wasn’t dynamic, but I never ran into problems like BPMs not showing up. Common Fields in iTunes like “Grouping” showed up in Torq’s browser. Traktor misses some, adds others: sending me off into a world of forum posts, tutorials and utilities.
I’m still trying to figure out Traktor after months of mucking about. I was expecting a learning curve for the additional features, but with Torq, I could do 90% as much as Traktor in one afternoon. I miss it.
[ link ]Honestly, whatever they do with it couldn’t be worse than what Avid was doing. It was basically dead in the water as it is, so anything else (even an official announcement of “This shit is dead”) would be better.
[ link ]It is a real shame but the writing was on the wall when Avid merged into one a few years back.. originally M-Audio were acquired by Digidesign which did make sense (lots of crossover potential). How do you combine the sub £500 interface market with multi-million pound media asset management solutions?!?! Avid executive management never really understood what they had, and from their POV I guess it was not a sound business decision to devote resources to developing this side of the business.
I think Numark getting A.I.R. as well as the products is very exciting, Torq 2.0 was a good update and they did great work with the Pro Tools plug-ins. Plus they are very nice guys!
[ link ]I have used Torq since it came out on version 1 and done the upgrades and now on 2.0. its fairly stable on the Macbook pro but has the odd hiccup I will be using it until I can learn to use Traktor which I have just purchased (before i found out about this) the F1 controller as it comes with Traktor Pro 2.5 and still plan to use the Xponent (as i downloaded a map somewhere) for a while until I can afford the Denon DN-MC6000. I went to the UK show BPM and looked at the pioneers and the S2 and S4 but preferred the Denon. Time will tell. I still ahve fellow DJs that use Torq and probably will for a while yet.
[ link ]I’m still using Torq. I only upgraded from 1.5 to 2 in February (2.0.3 was the first version I considered stable enough), but when Traktor announced Remix Decks, combined with their new price point, I decided I’m going to switch.
Torq is perpetually playing catch-up. They have good ideas, and there’s plenty I’ll miss about it, but they just can’t keep up. By the time they catch up, if they do, it probably won’t be stable yet and Traktor will already have ANOTHER new innovation for us to envy.
I hope I’m proven wrong. I hope Numark pairs some badass controller(s) with it and adds innovative features. I’d also love to be rid of the bug I’ve been experiencing where if it crashes, it refuses to re-open without a full system reboot (on OSX, and I’ve seen threads about it on the forum). Very annoying and unprofessional for ANY software, nevermind something designed for live use in front of thousands of people! Luckily it happens to me very seldom.
For now though… Farewell, faithful Torq!
[ link ]On a side note, I was actually hoping to get the Mixvibes U-Control Pro, and switch to Cross. I demoed it in London and it was the same price as a Mixtrack Pro, but I got home to South Africa, and it’ll be almost double the price here! At that price point, there are loads of other controllers to consider. None of them are quite as portable though, with such a decent array of ins and outs. Well done Mixvibes!
[ link ]Ok. I just found the transcript from the webchat that took place today with the air team. And I quote from Samara (of the Air team)
First was the “official” political response, then the “unofficial” truth….
Samara Winterfeld:
Torq software is currently not available for sale. While inMusic will continue to provide support for customers who have purchased Torq software, we will no longer promote or sell Torq software globally.
Robert:
@Samara: that is the same thing we get to hear all over again, but WHAT does it mean?
Samara Winterfeld:
Torq’s dead, baby. (like Zed)
Jivey:
Boooooo….. (to the death of Torq)
Russ Hughes:
Torq is dead
I guess that sums it up.
[ link ]Torq-dj.com was taken down today. Sad news for Torq users………
[ link ]