Transition from producing to DJing

[jrides]

You are doing it backwards lol.
I would say Serato, if you want to develop any traditional DJ skills. Also if you want to actually get paying DJ gigs, it may be most helpful to know that system.

If you are just wanting to be a "triggerman" use whatever you want. Abletom is very popular for this type of use.

[DJ Overdrive]

I'm a BIG fan of the Traktor S2, I use it for all my gigs. My one annoyance is that it's too big to fit in a backpack.

IMO the most important part of DJing is not fancy controllerism, but rather just reading the crowd and feeding them stuff that moves them in that particular moment. I like to beatgrid, set cue points, and so on from my library ahead of time so picking songs and transitioning between them on the fly is pretty painless.

Lots of great websites and other resources. I'm a big fan of DJ Tech Tools. And the book "How to DJ right" by Frank Broughton is really great for teaching basic principles, although a little outdated.

[SeriousPancakes]

Definitely traktor. I come from a producing background as well (MPC 2000XL) and traktor is perfect. I've tried serato and virtual DJ but traktor was the best. I currently use the S4 traktor controller with Technic 1200s for vinyl. I can use MP3s and vinyl, best of both worlds.