Unlike the slightly wider S2 and S4 units, the layout is not only suitable for club style mixing but should provide a more comfortable ride for turntablists and scratch DJs. The front side gives you space for ¼” and 1/8” type headphone jacks, a crossfade curve adjust knob and a crossfade reverse switch. The top left side features control for either a microphone (which can be plugged in using ¼” TRS jack around the back) or an auxiliary unit, facilitated by stereo RCA type phono ports, while the opposing right top side gives you a master and booth volume knob. The flux feature allows you to move cue points, loops and re-edit your music live whilst the original track plays on silently, leaving you able to throw the original track back into the mix at just the right point. These more standard mixer features are flanked by the controls for the digital elements, with bi-directional backlit cue trigger buttons, flux button, loop encoder and FX control knobs on each side. There is also a seven segment meter to further aid your gain map as you balance your mixes, underlined by a crossfader with an adjustable curve. The central panel features browse and load controls for each deck with headphone cue assign buttons, gain and mix assign knobs, all topped off with sync and quantise controls. The faders themselves are comfortable Innofaders that feel of similarly high quality to those found on similar mixers from Rane, Denon and Pioneer. The familiar layout is that of a simple two channel mixer including a source select switch, gain, three band EQ knobs, a filter knob with simple digital display for visual feedback on loop length and finally, toggles for both FX channels. Like the S2 and S4, the Z2 allows a laptop to be plugged in directly without the need for an additional soundcard, but usefully also doubles as a USB hub with a further two ports on the back, meaning other controllers can be plugged in without the necessity for a separate hub. However, these units lend themselves more towards the purely digital DJ, something that Native Instruments hope to rectify with the Z2.įor all intents and purposes the Kontrol Z2 is a two channel mixer with two further channels for Traktor’s remix decks, with integrated control over looping and cue points, as well as all new macro FX. At the higher end are the S2 and S4 units that incorporate jog wheels and a mixer allowing a DJ to integrate analogue vinyl decks and CD players into a tidy digital set up. There are already numerous controllers from the company made for Traktor at the lower end are the Kontrol X1 which allows tactile control over the looping, cue and FX and the more recent F1 unit which has been designed to ease the use of Traktor’s remix decks. Native Instruments’ Traktor software is one of the industry’s leading pieces of DJ software, with features that include up to four decks, built-in sound FX, looping functionality, hot cues, and, most recently, a set of remix decks that allow you to further tailor your DJ sets on the fly. We cast our eyes over Native Instruments’ latest piece of Traktor compatible hardware, the Kontrol Z2 mixer.
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