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Traktor Kontrol Z2 mixer


Steve

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  • 2 weeks later...

i think the main thing will be if you can upgrade the faders or not to make it serious for cutting in the long term.

the build quality shouldnt be too bad.

 

still not sure on the styling, but it would be useful for traktor gheyboys.

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very interesting... will it work with Serato too? would that defeat the purpose?

 

Already looks better than 61/57. I think the 62 will still have a functionality edge... like it's just put together well with all of the buttons designated to 1-2 functions and the mini screen, but like you said, is it 3x better than this mixer? Unless NI drops the ball somehow, or the faders are wank (which seems unlikely with innofaders, although I haven't tried the mini's), I doubt it. Seems pretty reasonably priced.

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Even though they didn't make an all out battle mixer, I really like it for the price.

 

Steve - my mate reckons it might be possible to adjust the up faders with the software... I'm hoping anyway.

 

Vekked - No, just works with Traktor or as normal analogue mixer. Like you say, it'll never be a Rane mixer, particularly a 62, but over here at least a 62 costs 1800 GBP and it says on djworx.com that these should street price at 630 GBP, so I could live with a few shortcomings. I'm sold.

 

Anybody know anyone who wants to buy a 1yr old Vestax 05IV, in black, one careful lady owner?

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Yeah it would only be with DVS via re-mapping as things stand now. I'm sure there could have been a way of controlling hardware with software to change it's cut for the actual audio signal but I seriously doubt it will have for the price. Would be a lovely surprise if it did though.

 

I must admit, although I do play with different curve settings sometimes for cutting, I mostly just leave them set to a progressive which I guess they have as their default curve so won't affect me too much. If you like a sharp cut on the upfaders though, this would be a pain in the arse.

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not for me, but i dont think it'd be a bad purchase at all.

 

I'd be nice to see a proper scratch dj do a video...

 

from dj worx -

'A long time ago, I asserted that there were battle mixers and 2 channel mixers. People seemed to think that you needed 4 channels to mix 2 tracks together, and that you could only scratch on anything less than 4 channels. But 2 channel mixers needn’t be turntablist specific, and the Kontrol Z2 is a solid example of this thinking.'

.....

' It’s not a balls out scratch mixer – for that, you’re probably still looking at Rane or Vestax. But what the Z2 does offer is a core hybrid world bridging turntablism and controllerism with a huge amount of flexibility in between.'

 

 

http://djworx.com/ni...deo-and-prices/

 

ps FUCK 'SMART' COPY & PASTING

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You can turn off smart copy and pasting mate.

 

On another site, a French Innofader dealer says that the 3 mini Innofaders in this mixer are factory preset as far as lag and tension goes, so that cannot be adjusted. He also said that you cannot swap out the mini Innofaders in this mixer for regular ones. This isn't 100% confirmed, but it comes from a solid source.

 

I wish they'd done 2 versions of this mixer. I'd pay more for one with 3 full Innofaders and curve/reverse on all channels. They've clearly cut some corners to keep the cost down, but for me they've gone a step too far perhaps. I have my decks/mixer set up how Qbert used to use his - mixer to the left of both decks, crossfader regular, cut hamster on the left deck, use the right line fader to cut on the right deck - so I would have definitely preferred curve control on all 3 faders.

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Bad news on the faders Steve, really hope that you can at least upgrade the crossfader with the innobender or something. Like I said, I could make do with it but I appreciate your preferred setup and feel your pain on this one.

 

Totally agree that they should have made a "Pro" version with proper Innofaders all round.

 

Paul, (Dubba Dutch on here) is up at BPM this weekend and reported that apart from sporting plastic pots the rest of it was impressive and the faders feel just the same as the real Innofaders in his 08.

 

My concern, beyond line fader curves, is how long they will last... Particularly as so far NI have never sold any kind of spares for any of their products - if even the tiniest thing goes wrong while under warranty they give you a whole new unit, after that you're on your own.

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If the faders feel and perform just like Innofaders, then that's encouraging at least! I'm totally with you on the support/spares thing though.

 

It's frustrating though, haha. For £1,800 I could have a mixer that appears to suit all my needs, or for £630 I could have one that isn't quite up there. I'm definitely going to be looking for reviews and more product demos on this though, because I haven't written it off.

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Still no 100% confirmation of whether regular Innofaders will fit in, but it sounds like they won't: -

 

Our official position is that we always encourage manufacturers to maximize the compatibility of their mixer with other faders including Innofader Pros and PNPs. Furthermore we've definitely made the mini Innofader electrically upward compatible, meaning that if a mixer works with the mini Innofader, it will also work with either the Innofader Pro or Innofader PNP as long as they actually fit. However it really is up to the manufacturer if they want to follow our guidelines about fader slot spacing to ensure that the long bodied Innofader will fit. Frankly I didn't have a lot of time to play with the Z2 when NI showed it to me so I'm not 100% sure of anything unless someone out there lucky enough to have one of the first samples can confirm. But I seem to remember the spacing seemed a bit tight and wasn't enough for long bodied Innofaders.

 

Elliot

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Guest loop skywalker

im not sure about this mixer...it looks great for a remix tool but if they have cut corners on quality i think 600 + is too much. I have managed to trash my x1 kontrol so im not 100 per cent confident with any NI hardware.

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im not sure about this mixer...it looks great for a remix tool but if they have cut corners on quality i think 600 + is too much. I have managed to trash my x1 kontrol so im not 100 per cent confident with any NI hardware.

 

I reckon it'll be a bit better built than the X1... but only a little bit.

 

NI very much make things to a price point and I don't think there'll be many of these still left in the world in ten years time. It's annoying because I think their own hardware is usually better integrated with their software than better built 3rd party stuff. Like Steve said, I wish they had the option of a more expensive variant with real Innofaders, etc.

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Elliot Marx has confirmed that there is physical room for an Innofader to fit (a regular one) and DJ TechTools are gonna hook one up to see how it works. I would imagine it'll be fine, cos the original reason given for regular Innofaders not working is because they wouldn't physically fit in, but they do.

 

If reviews/articles/demos make this mixer seem really good I'll take one for the team and get one on launch day. If it's no good I'll just send it back under the DSR.

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