Native Instruments Kontrol X2 & S2 in Q4'11?

[Kupujte_Pytle]

well they got a controller for £150 and one for £750 so hopefully one somewhere in the middle.

if this were a lottery i would bet on this guy! ^^

so, to me it looks like some S2... innit?

[loop]

the 68 should be the easiest to become the dream multi platform super-duper mixer. If only someone at NI "forgets" it's signature in the list of SCRATCH enabled devices by "mistake" ...

[haze324]

after trying twitch i wish i can just hold 'alt' and drag the beatgrids in traktor lol - what a great idea!

I've been trying to tell folks about Itch's grids for a while now. Awesome stuff.

X2. So.....

....who are they catering to. NI is a business, so what would sell. I don't think it's a mixer. Their top guys use A&H's and the DJM 900 just came out. I think it's X1 + a little more to control samples, loop recorder, etc. It only makes sense. There is a TA10 to have a loop recorder and no hardware out to control it other than the S4.

[loop]

if this were a lottery i would bet on this guy! ^^

so, to me it looks like some S2... innit?

the info for S2 as an all-in-one has already leaked.

but there's a probably a new complementary controller in the X* range too. Maybe there would be even more than one, as there's a market demand for both jog and no jog controllers, so NI might present both options.

as per the MIDI mixer type of controller suggestion - that'd be unnecessary IMO. There will be very few people interested in such a thing ... at least that's what I think. I and many others think that the MIDI/internal mixing is the weakest part of the software based DJing. Transport and "tweak" controllers are much more useful!

for the analoge mixers - I remember there was an on-line interview with someone from the NI management team, who said he was once working in a hardware mixers company. What I'm trying to say is that they are very likely to have the expertise for designing a fine mixer. I'd like to think that this will not happen, though - it is in our (customer's) interest that they keep the focus on their software, rather than on massive analogue hardware production ...

[haze324]

Kontrol S2 for sale:

http://translate.google.com/translat...%26prmd%3Divns

[loop]

Cool, nice find! There's nothing specific, besides that it "may" still have jog wheels.

Copy&Paste for if/when NI tell them to bring down this page

Product:
Native Instruments Traktor DJ Kontrol S2 MIDI Controller

Overall:
Where the S4 already scored high eyes, there is now the S2. These MIDI controller, like its bigger brother the true Traktor-feel and is optimized for Traktor Pro versions.

Optimal control over your tracks
The S2 is designed to be taken. The compact design remains clear thanks to a well thought out layout. All options are in place and correspond perfectly with your Traktor software.
Therefore include the S4 so often chosen over other MIDI controllers, because it is a perfect combination.

Technology and design come together with MIDI
Native Instruments is good at listening to users. Partly because of the technical aspect thoroughly. Rotary controls are solid, faders move smoothly and feel of the jog wheels is more than fine to mention. This allows accurate work without annoyances.

But also extra resources can be easily connected. An additional microphone or tabletop? That you can easily plug in and a headphone.

Specifications:
- Based on the popular S2
- Designed for use with Traktor Pro
- Two channel mixer
- Touch-sensitive jog wheels
- Robust knobs
- Smooth faders
- Connection of external peripherals (microphone, CD player)
- Robust construction
- Transparent design
- Options and features easy to operate and reach
- Perfect overlap with Traktor functions

[VirtualLogic]

^^wish it had pictures. It's a start though

[mostapha]

I could see a mixer style midi controller with a 10x10 soundcard, loop recorder section and effects section, possibly sample deck control

If it's a mixer-style midi controller, it has no use for a sound card like that.

idk if NI is capable of [building an analog mixer].
not much experience in the analog world

they need to step up their quality in the midi world in order for people to consider an analog mixer from them.. I guess they could hype it like the S4.
BUT.. if they drop a 4 channel analog mixer you would have to imagine it being more expensive than the S4 (if not I really fear for its quality)
BUT in that price range you have Xone 42s, x1600s, Ecler NUO 4s, used pioneers.

MIDI and audio processing have almost nothing to do with each other.

And, the thing is that it wouldn't have to be analog…it'd just have to work with audio. The DJM-900 is purely digital, and no one cares. So is the DN-X1600. And the db4.

NI/Traktor already has a very good all-digital mixer built into their software as it is. Considering that the assembly code for most DSP chips is actually very similar to C++ code to do the same thing, it would take very little to put Traktor's internal mixer with its insane headroom and virtually nonexistent noise floor into a physical mixer. Plus, DSP chips are just better at processing audio than computer processors…that's what they're designed to do.

The hard part, methinks, would be sourcing AD/DA converter chips that don't shit all over the signal and aren't insanely expensive, since–by the numbers–even high end stuff like the Avid 192 and Apogee Symphony I/O can't touch what Traktor's internal mixer can do(1). And they cost a lot more than any DJ is going to want to spend. They're also better than any club system can reproduce, so it's overkill.

If I were going for pure sound quality, I'd buy an NI audio mixer sight unseen as long as it was all digital (apart from the analog inputs and outputs, of course).

Even if they did that and use the same prosumer grade Cirrus Logic converters that every other piece of DJ gear(2) uses, I'd still buy it. I'd probably cry a little inside that they didn't press their "we can sound at least as good as the Rane 68 and Xone:db4 and just plain better than everyone else" advantage…but, that mixer might cost four grand. It wouldn't be worth it IMHO.

But, an all-digital NI mixer that takes its audio from the computer with a USB or FW connection and keeps everything digital until the mixer's output stage would be just awesome(3). I just don't know if it's going to happen, because they'd take a long time to actually break Pioneer's stranglehold on the club install market, and the market is fairly saturated with competitors for the mobile/bedroom sales.

I'd buy it in a heartbeat. But, it'd be an uphill battle to convince people to buy it because it's better instead of buying something else because it's what everyone else uses. I'm convinced they could do it. I'm not convinced they'd make money off of it.

A new X1 would be nice, although I see no reason to change it. For DVS control, its the mutt's nuts, hands down, and it fits into any booth easily.

Right, but a lot of people don't care about DVS control. Turntables and CDJs are just plain too expensive to do that if you don't already own them, especially if you're not scratching. Seriously…even $500 for the budget-friendly pro-ish level of Numark and Stanton decks is way too much to pay for a single pitch fader even if it does make you look cool.

But, apart from that, people just aren't using Time Code in the real world as much as the internet makes you think they are. I kept track of what people used at Miami Music Week this year for the hell of it, and CDJs dwarfed time code by a factor of like 10 for the events I went to. And for those that did, SSL was the hands-down winner over TSP. In all that, one person used TSP with time code: Jazzy Jeff. And he was only using TSP because they were having him test it with the new Pioneer battle mixer that got released not long after that. He's switched back to SSL and his DJM-909, reportedly.

So, all that argument's well & good. It's apparently obvious that if the S2 exists, it's an all-in-one controller aimed at hip hop DJs, which means it probably has bigger and nicer jogs than the S4. Cool. If it comes in at around $600, they'll kill the VCI-100mk2 and VCI-300. If it comes in at $500, they'll also destroy Reloop, Numark, and a few others, especially if it comes with TP. But, I wouldn't expect a scratch upgrade for it.

The X2–again, if it exists–might be fun. I can't decide if I would want it to be an evolution of the X1 or something more like the Eks Otus and SCS.1d type of deck controllers. A lot of the time, I really just want a pitch fader when I'm mixing. I just can't bring myself to pay Pioneer's or Technics's prices. And I'm not sure what they'd do apart from that other than giving you something laid out differently to control sample decks…which might also be very welcome.

So, that's what I'm betting on: a hip hop-oriented 2-deck controller with bigger jogs (maybe sample deck controls somewhere, but not with dedicated mixer channels) and an evolution of the X1 more set up to mimic sample decks.

But, I'm going to hope for an all-digital 4-channel DJ mixer that felt like the S4 but didn't have those crapy deck controls on the side and actually processed audio itself. It's not going to happen, but I can dream, right? Well…if I'm dreaming, I'd honestly prefer exactly 3 channels and a rotary kit. But I've accepted that apart from buying an Empath, I'm never going to have what I really want.

[photojojo]

And, the thing is that it wouldn't have to be analog…it'd just have to work with audio. The DJM-900 is purely digital, and no one cares. So is the DN-X1600. And the db4.

That's exactly what I meant and I knew when I typed it you would be the one to correct me.

PS, My DNX1600 is currently on a fedex truck for delivery

[photojojo]

But, I'm going to hope for an all-digital 4-channel DJ mixer that felt like the S4 but didn't have those crapy deck controls on the side and actually processed audio itself. It's not going to happen, but I can dream, right?

I wasn't joking, I think they'll come out with it. Maybe not this year, but I bet NI has a mixer in their lineup before to long.

Well…if I'm dreaming, I'd honestly prefer exactly 3 channels and a rotary kit. But I've accepted that apart from buying an Empath, I'm never going to have what I really want.