#Native instruments traktor kontrol d2 manual
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Now, the Stems format is for another article, but were it to catch on, this unit is perfect for controlling it, and judging by the products publicity pages on Native Instruments’s website – where Stems feature far more prominently than Remix Decks – Native Instruments is re-rolling the dice. You can then DJ with all four parts, using the four faders and other controls on the D2 (or decks of the S8) to control these parts differently – for instance only using effects on the vocal, getting instant acapellas/instrumentals, etc. For the uninitiated, this is a new music file type that instead of holding a single, finished recording of a track, has four “stems” (for instance, drums, bass, melody, vocals). However – and it’s potentially a HUGE “however” – one development which has absolutely nothing to do with the hardware but I think might actually be the making of this unit (and the S8) is the imminent arrival of the Stems format.

#Native instruments traktor kontrol d2 full

You also get eight performance pads and full transport / looping controls. Just like the Traktor Kontrol S8, the Kontrol D2 has a touchstrip in place of a jogwheel for pitch bends and track seek.

#Native instruments traktor kontrol d2 manual

And manual beatmatching is still a pain on it due to relatively unintuitive pitch controls.īut if you’re a DJ playing electronic, beatgridded music and you’re already bought into the Traktor way of doing things, there’s an awful lot here to love: Excellent pads with the full gamut of modern deck features (slice / freeze, hot cues, loops, slip / flux), and screen that are genuinely useful aside from the limited library integration. The screen is good, although not good enough for involved library work and searching, especially as you still can’t control what columns the library shows, so you still need the laptop nearby unless you’re more organised than I am with your playlists when it comes to library use. If you really think you’ll miss the jogwheels, it’s never going to be for you, although the touchstrip does a decent approximation of manual control for nudging etc. In Use Arguably the biggest draw for the Traktor Kontrol D2 is its onboard screen that displays data relative to what controls you’re touching.Īgain, most of what I said about this unit in the Traktor Kontrol S8 review still stands.

However, for plugging in lower-current Midi stuff (a Kontrol F1 or X1, for instance) the two-socket USB hub would be fine.

#Native instruments traktor kontrol d2 pro

Native Instruments is promoting the idea of a pro set-up for controlling Traktor consisting of two of these, but unfortunately as they take a lot of power, you need to plug them in to a power outlet (fair enough, they have nice screens that have to draw current from somewhere), but you can’t just daisy chain two of them together via USB the power needs to be routed via a separate proprietary power splitter cable. One other thing that’s different is that there is a USB hub. Note that it doesn’t have any audio connections because it doesn’t have an onboard sound card. The Traktor D2 comes with a built-in two-port USB hub for daisy chaining more Traktor D2s or other devices.

#Native instruments traktor kontrol d2 free

We reviewed the Kontrol S8 a while back, and pretty much everything I said about the decks part of the controller stands here, too, so feel free to go and read out Traktor Kontrol S8 review for a refresher. If you want to integrate Traktor with your existing system from scratch, you’ll need to factor in an audio interface too (or have a mixer with one built in, like the Kontrol Z2). So while Native Instruments is calling it a “deck”, it is not a “deck” in the sense of a record deck or a CDJ, that has an audio output and can be used with a standard mixer as-is. The audio interface hasn’t made it across with the unit, though, meaning this is Midi only. One difference is the addition of four feet, designed to raise it to the height of a standard mixer (such as a Pioneer, Allen & Heath, or indeed the Kontrol Z2), and also there are four deck / FX select buttons top-right – but apart from that it’s no different. It looks exactly as I described, like an S8 deck surgically removed from that rather large unit. First Impressions / Setting up The Traktor Kontrol D2 takes Native Instruments’ vision for DJing on a modular route that’s more accessible in terms of price and size, but is it any good? We find out in this review.