Traktor X1 DJ Controller

VinylJunkie

Given the amount of Traktor related threads I thought this might be of interest to some some you.

joker77

Looks pretty sweet at first glance - here's an RA review

VinylJunkie

€199 vs A&H Xone 1D @ €279

electrogrimey

VinylJunkie wrote: »

€199 vs A&H Xone 1D @ €279

But €199 vs Uc33e @ €159.

Doesn't seem much different to any of the other ones out there to me, i.e. faferfox etc.

VinylJunkie

electrogrimey wrote: »

Doesn't seem much different to any of the other ones out there to me, i.e. faferfox etc.

Agreed

jtsuited

looks like a complete waste of time to me.

ya know what i'm finding difficult to understand? all this 'you don't have to touch that filthy laptop if you get this' stuff.

See the thing is, you're gonna have to look at the screen for some of traktor's features. so looking at the screen and using an external controller simulataneously is completely feckin pointless. If you're looking at the screen you may as well put your fingers on the trackpad and click the buttons there as opposed to them being assigned to some fancy looking and expensive controller. The bullsh1t going on in this market is beyond a joke at this stage.

Of course it doesn't surprise me that Hawtin is endorsing this. Because without his endorsement a lot more people would see how utterly pointless this controller is.

electrogrimey

jtsuited wrote: »

looks like a complete waste of time to me.....
Because without his endorsement a lot more people would see how utterly pointless this controller is.

In fairness all these controllers are as 'pointless' as the last, it's just a competition of how many pots, faders and buttons they have, the quality, and the price, seeing as they're all in essence the same. This seems to be a good price, and has anything you need to control traktor (although I'd like a fader to control waveform, which this doesn't look it has...), and is a very good price comparatively. I personally would, and will choose the uc33e, but I still wouldn't call it pointless.

brianc27

jtsuited wrote: »

looks like a complete waste of time to me.

ya know what i'm finding difficult to understand? all this 'you don't have to touch that filthy laptop if you get this' stuff.

See the thing is, you're gonna have to look at the screen for some of traktor's features. so looking at the screen and using an external controller simulataneously is completely feckin pointless. If you're looking at the screen you may as well put your fingers on the trackpad and click the buttons there as opposed to them being assigned to some fancy looking and expensive controller. The bullsh1t going on in this market is beyond a joke at this stage.

Of course it doesn't surprise me that Hawtin is endorsing this. Because without his endorsement a lot more people would see how utterly pointless this controller is.

yea but if your playing in a club with a cramped dj box and due to space your laptop is a stretch over a mixer and a set of decks away then its handy if you have all that midi assigned, not essential by any stretch, but can be nice to have set up.

was thinkin about getting this, i use a faderfox for 2 decks and triggerfinger for the 3rd, but dont realy like the trigger finger, so was thinking of getting this or else the xone 1D, havent watche dthe vids of the this one yet, will check them out later.

VinylJunkie

jtsuited wrote: »

looks like a complete waste of time to me.

ya know what i'm finding difficult to understand? all this 'you don't have to touch that filthy laptop if you get this' stuff.

See the thing is, you're gonna have to look at the screen for some of traktor's features. so looking at the screen and using an external controller simulataneously is completely feckin pointless. If you're looking at the screen you may as well put your fingers on the trackpad and click the buttons there as opposed to them being assigned to some fancy looking and expensive controller. The bullsh1t going on in this market is beyond a joke at this stage.

Agreed, these company's have managed to get it into some people's heads that the crowd will think you are checking your email if you touch the laptop.

jtsuited

VinylJunkie wrote: »

Agreed, these company's have managed to get it into some people's heads that the crowd will think you are checking your email if you touch the laptop.

they really have. it's sort of like the way bad breath (halitosis) wasn't a problem until listerine came on the market (that's true by the way).

joker77

Nah I don't agree - I was using Traktor for a good while at home without a controller - and you just can't do everything you need to do with a mouse/trackpad. Simple example of this is controlling 2 EQs/faders simultaneously. Plus it's a lot easier to control lit up buttons / knobs in a dark place, rather than using a mouse/trackpad. That's in my opinion and from my own experience.

Granted, one of the main reasons these sell so well is that it's in people's heads now that a DJ can't be just fiddling with a laptop all night.

So, for me - DJ'ing purely with a PC/laptop would be a pain in the nutsack. An external controller is mandatory for software like Traktor

Zascar

I prefer not to be on the laptop when mixing. I don't mind using the mouse to find a track and drag it onto a deck but after that I want it to be on the controller. Even for just play/pause/cue - annoys me to be using a mouse/trackpad. So much nicer to have it on the controller.

I think for someone who already has eg decks and a mixer, this X1 is a nice add on that's not too expensive which will do a cracking job of controlling tracktor to a high degree. I wonderin if they will come out with an X3 or X5 - something along the lines of the Allen & Heath DX - that would be interesting.

Can't see how you could prefer a uc33 to this for Traktor.

electrogrimey

Zascar wrote: »

Can't see how you could prefer a uc33 to this for Traktor.

Actually after watching those videos I am getting partly swayed...The only being able to control 2 decks is kind of a negative though, seeing as with a uc33e you could control 4. The X1 does seem a lot neater, and I imagine it would integrate far better than anything else. Seems to be a more or less direct equivalent of the 1D, which is also basically designed for people to buy 2 of. (or at least buy one and a 2D).

Edit: Can anyone find a decent review of this online? Apart from the one posted, I can't see anything apart from stuff by NI.

brianc27

just watched those videos, seems you can hook 2 of them up in unison to control the 4 decks, think i might invest in 2 of these when it comes out

joker77

electrogrimey wrote: »

Edit: Can anyone find a decent review of this online? Apart from the one posted, I can't see anything apart from stuff by NI.

Haven't read all these - lmgtfy - not sure if they're decent (seem to be a bit light on details), but there's definitely a lot out there!

electrogrimey

joker77 wrote: »

Haven't read all these - lmgtfy - not sure if they're decent (seem to be a bit light on details), but there's definitely a lot out there!

Already tried that, hence why I asked...All those results are just basically a statement from Native Instruments, posted on different sites from blogs. Something like a transcript from the video. I'm looking for an objective one from TechTools or someone.

Zascar

http://www.skratchworx.com/news3/comments.php?id=1359 - says his proper review will come soon

More info here too: http://djproaudio.com/Store/MIDI-SYNTHS/MIDI-CONTROLLERS/NATIVE-INTRUMENTS-TRAKTOR-KONTROL-X1

run_Forrest_run

Just got the email from NI this morning about this product. I'd be interested in this as a midi controller if the price is right. I know I'll never be playing in a club or anything but if it's more reliable than my BCD3000 that can only be a good thing:)

It looks almost like a remote control for a TV! I'd prefer if it was a little bigger but I suppose it's aiming to fit itself inside a tight and cramped club booth so perhaps it's just me.

electrogrimey

The more I read about this the more convinced I'm getting. Only thing is it looks like the only way to nudge a track is with two little buttons at the bottom: The ones saying Beat / bend. What do we think of that?

brianc27

i use 2 buttons on my faderfox to nudge a track, works great, im sure this will be the same

electrogrimey

brianc27 wrote: »

i use 2 buttons on my faderfox to nudge a track, works great, im sure this will be the same

Oh cool, I'm getting more and more convinced by this. Looks like I'll just have to find the extra €50 that this is over the uc33e.

Zascar

Re the nudging with buttons - actually I'd say that's all you need. Having used Traktor a bit more now, the beatgridding is very impressive. So if the beats are out a little, all you need to do is nudge it a bit one way or another - and when it's right, it will stay there. In a different thread I got stick for saying I like platters for mixing - I'm used to the Xponent with Topq, and even if you pushed the 'Sync' button, it's far from perfect and usually needed a correction. You usually also have to make corrections/adjustments throughout the mix too - so platters are very handy for this. With traktor though this is not an issue cause the beatgridding is very good - so buttons are grand. I'd be really interested to have a go with this and see what its like.

Zascar

I've just seen Vestax have released another new controller - but this one is a little different. Sold exclusively through apple stores.

http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/11/06/vestax-spin_apple_stores_controller/
http://www.skratchworx.com/news3/comments.php?id=1360

electrogrimey

Zascar wrote: »

I've just seen Vestax have released another new controller - but this one is a little different. Sold exclusively through apple stores.

http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/11/06/vestax-spin_apple_stores_controller/
http://www.skratchworx.com/news3/comments.php?id=1360

Looks interesting, not too far away from the 100 and 300s though, and the Kontrol X1 is way cheaper (considering I already have the Audio 2 DJ).

Anyone found a proper review of the X1 yet? I'd like to see what, if any, downsides there are.

Zascar

Skratchworkx Kontrol X1 review: http://www.skratchworx.com/news3/comments.php?id=1363

electrogrimey

Zascar wrote: »

Skratchworkx Kontrol X1 review: http://www.skratchworx.com/news3/comments.php?id=1363

Cheers, nice review that. Still seems to me the best controller out there to get.