Will NI make a dedicated mixer controller?

Id say NI are well established in the hardware department now and was wondering if they would have any interest in making a dedicated controller or if anyone would want them to have a stab at creating one. Pretty much like akai's effort towards ableton.

Theres so many midi mixers out there at the moment but cant really say any one of them is industry standard yet. Theres the xone 4d but thats just crazy. With the audio-8 theres no need for such a beast also. Just a really well thought out midi mixer (no internal soundcard) thats not cramped, future proof, and integrates perfectly with traktor.

Any takers?

 

Well I'd be interested if it was better than any other controller on the market. I'd like to see HID displays for FX and song selection, endless rotaries with LED rings, 14 bit faders, backlights for all buttons (Like maschine), and decent 4 deck integration. And MIDI customisation like any other MIDI controller.

They'd have to settle on the actual Traktor GUI interface though, for example the beta has 4 FX decks and not 2, so how many buttons and rotaries would the controller need?

 

Yeah I had something in mind like the maschine with its HID. Would be nice if you didnt have to look at your laptop all the time.
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Why have I got a funny feeling that pioneer has just created something like this already:

http://www.djsounds.com/08/17/dawn-of-a-new-species/#comment-195298

 

What's so crazy about the xone 4d?

 

Well we're talking about controllers here, so.... the price?

NI could make a decent dedicated MIDI controller for a fraction of the amount you'd spend on an A&H.

 

On one hand, NI can't ignore the many requests Traktor users have put in over the last couple of years for a dedicated MIDI controller, especially now that we've seen how successful NI's approach to hardware/software integration has been with the advent of Maschine.

But I also seem to think that NI has an obligation to manufacturers such as Vestax and A&H to encourage them to produce fully integrated and high-quality MIDI controllers of their own (such as the VCI-100 and the Xone:4D) in order to keep Traktor on top of the game when it comes to digital DJing, not to mention keeping their R&D divisions in business. It's simple socialism really...share and reap the collective rewards with everyone invlved with Traktor.

I bet that NI's thinktank are still scratching their heads as to how not to upset this applecart whilst satisfying their many users' requests for a native ('scuse the pun) controller, as they know full well that integration equals reliablility. I don't work for NI (wish I did!), but being a Traktor user since V1 8 years ago as well as being a former employee of a distributor of Vestax and A&H products back in my native Malta, I can see both sides of the fence well. But still, the crowd are restless...

 

Well eventhou I love N.I. and Traktor Scratch I must admit that N.I. has proven to be one tough bunch when it comes to ignoring userwishes, a they managed to totally ignore the permant asking of users especially of Hip-Hop Djs such as myself (who despite their choice of music chose TS over Serato) for the intergration of a simple sampler within Traktor...or the wishes of so many users for Traktor Scratch-Merch....

 

I think the future will see more manufacturers making 2 controllers like Vestax have with the TR1 and VCI 300, the TR1 is clearly Traktor inspired whereas the VCI 300 is designed to integrate with Serato itch. Not forgetting they've had to cater for the Ableton users too with the VCM units - but that's something different again imo
Putting the onus on the manufacturers is probly a better solution for future innovation and development imo as the competition should encourage them to produce better units with functions the users actually want.
What we need is from NI is for them to stay ontop of the manufacturers innovations and a make a more concerted effort to integrate the new devices into the software quicker, instead of having to wait months for integration each time imo.

 

I'd love to see something integrated too. I think if they did something similar to what Stanton did, with rotating platters and motorized pitch sliders, we could get some really good four deck performance out of two platters.

J

 

Its so simple in my eyes. Just make a full 4 channel mixer with pitch sliders and corresponding effects/auxiliary controls. The vcm600 looks the best controller in my eyes but is definitely geared towards ableton. Shame its so bloody expensive, you could get a nuo4 for that price.

Not feeling the TR1 at all... although to be fare I have'nt used one in person.

 

VCM600 is great for trator pro! 4 Deck control is a breeze and lots of knobs and buttons for FX.

 

yes.. but.. no jog shuttle... VCM600 is great for Ableton live.. thought it lacks 2 tracks IMHO

 

Or a controller like vestax is bringing out only for the efx in itch. I like something like this to from N.I. Or indeed a good midi controller esspecial for TSP users that we don't have to push our keyboards.I know there are a bunch of midi controllers on the marked to assign.But really like something special from N.I. to it's users.

 

+1

 

It's allmost there! and it called Kontrol X1 ! Can't wait no longer!