Native Instruments Kontrol X1

Reviews | Native Instruments X1
102
Y
ou’d be forgiving for thinking
that NI’s first attempt at a
controller for their
über-popular DJing software
would be along the lines of Akai’s
APC40 – replicating the software’s GUI
and strongest features in hardware,
making the visual feedback
recognisable and the layout logical. But
you’d be far off the mark – NI have, for
better or for worse, squarely aimed their
product at one sector of their market
– timecode vinyl and CD users. While
this makes sense as a business choice
– NI need to associate themselves with
currently installed professional club
systems and equipment if
they are to truly become a
standard – it is odd to
completely remove the ability,
or at least make it very
difficult, to use the X1 away
from these scenarios. That
being said, NI have admitted
it’s not the first controller we’ll
see from them, so let’s assess
the X1 in the context it was
designed for.
Dimension X1
Anyone who is familiar with NI’s
excellent groovebox Maschine will
instantly recognise the look and
feel of the X1 – it’s black metal
sheen and rubberised buttons has a
satisfying and reassuring feel and it
definitely feels like it will take a
beating on the road and in the club.
Once the unit is plugged in, like
Maschine, it glows an array of colours
from its backlit buttons and instantly
works with the new version of Traktor
– not a MIDI map in sight.
The X1’s size and shape are
designed to sit alongside a standard
hardware mixer – not unlike Allen &
Heath’s Xone:1D. Unlike the 1D
though, the X1 squeezes in complete
control of two decks into a tiny
footprint, and does so quite remarkably.
The X1 is laid out fairly logically,
with the effects and transport sections
being of main interest. The effects
section is comprehensive to say the
least with a total of twenty-eight
controls for what is essentially a fairly
simple element of Traktor. Along with
the standard effects on/off buttons and
amount knobs, NI have included a Dry/
Wet knob, a global on/off button each
effects channel as well as Shift
functions to cycle through effects.
NI have also taken the questionable
decision to label each of the on/off
buttons and knobs with three of the
Native Instruments
Kontrol X1 | €199
NI finally release their own branded Traktor controller.
Declan McGlynn finds out if it’s worth the wait
WHAT is iT?
An official Traktor
controller from NI
ConTACT
Who: 2Twenty2
Tel: [phone]
Web: native-
instruments.com
HiGHLiGHTs
1 Lots of visual feedback
2 No mapping required
3 Small footprint
FMU223.rev_x1 102 11/1/10 12:33:21 pm