Native Instruments, one of the industry’s powerhouse companies in terms of DJ and production gear, have recently released the next generation of their popular S2 and S4 controllers. More than just a simple CDJ, the Traktor controllers bring a wealth of creativity to the fingertips of DJ’s during their live performances, all while maintaining a reasonable price point.
When it comes to straight forward design, not much has changed between the old versions and the new. Seeing as not much can be changed due to the handful of necessities any DJ’ing controller must have, NI opted for a more streamlined approach to these tool. For starters, control buttons across the decks have been color coded for quick reference is darker club settings. Another big addition that many consumers will be happy about is the aluminum jog wheels. I know personally this will be a huge upgrade, as the plastic jog wheels on my older generation Traktor see obvious signs of wear and tear that would have been totally avoided had the wheels been aluminum.
If you are at odds with yourself in terms of buying this new controller or a standard CDJ, we can only offer what help we know. While the Traktor controller does offer a wide variety of creative options, its unique interface makes a transition to other tables (such as Pioneer’s vaunted CDJ 2000 series) a bit more difficult, whereas the vice-versa switch would be a bit more user friendly. What the Traktor does offer over other controllers and tables is its versatility in the music you can play. It is no wonder why artists such as Seven Lions use Traktor controllers, as the easiness of tempo/musical control allows one to play wide varieties of tracks seamlessly within a single set, just as effectively as more traditional controller combinations.
