dj midi controllers

Native Instruments is really having a go at the digital DJ with their various products. Not to mention the fact that they are also making waves in the electronic producer circuits with products like Maschine and Komplete suite of virtual instruments and tools.

Their Traktor DJ-ing software is now more or less standard amongst DJs world over and gives serious competition to Serato’s Scratch and and ITCH with more versatility and sophistications, especially since Traktor Pro was released and updated.

So now they have gone ahead and made a dedicated midi controller for Traktor users and are calling it Kontrol X1. They developed it with Traktor’s favorite poster boy Richie Hawtin. This product has been in development for a long time and even though both NI and Hawtin were pretty much mum about details, the thing has been spied and leaked multiple times over. Now we finally have the official take, so enjoy!

From Vestax: -
From the makers of TRAKTOR comes TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 – the first official TRAKTOR controller for use with any DJ software. Whether you are a DVS timecode or software DJ, simply connect the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 to a computer running TRAKTOR (or other performance software) and gain instant control of your decks and effect parameters. Robust rotary knobs with a heavy-duty feel and backlit buttons provide precise visual and tactile status feedback- letting you delve deep inside TRAKTOR without having to touch your computer.

TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 features a total of 30 buttons, 4 push encoders and 8 knobs arranged in the following sections:

1. EFFECTS SECTION
8 high resolution potentiometers and 8 buttons make up the effect section of TRAKTOR KONTROL X1. This section allows control of all the parameters of 2 TRAKTOR effect units simultaneously. In Chained mode, this means simultaneous control over 3 effects per deck. The effects section buttons are programmed to give direct access to 3 of your favorite effect presets.

2. BROWSE SECTION
One push encoder per deck is dedicated to browsing through play lists and loading tracks. Simply turn the push encoder to find the track you want, and push it to load it into the corresponding deck. Once the track is loaded the same encoders seek through the track, using tempo sync’d beat jumps to remain in time.

3. LOOP SECTION
This section allows for intuitive control of TRAKTOR’s loop function, giving clear visual feedback about the loop status via LEDs. The section offers first level access to auto loops and manual loops as well as loop editing functions such as loop size and loop position, both coarse and fine.

4. TRANSPORT SECTION
This section provides direct access to basic playback controls as well as shifted access to 8 secondary functions for each deck. All buttons for industry standard workflows (Play, Sync, Cue + Cup) are located here. Switch to hotcue mode and you get another 16 buttons for controlling the 8 hot cues or hot loops per track. Plus, the CUP button flashes in time with the deck’s BPM as an added visual mix aid.

Control MIDI: Native Instruments Kontrol X1 DJ Controller