If you're an in-the-box DJ, it's more than likely you will find the X1 to be lacking. Similar options are available for the rotaries, which makes Controller Editor incredibly useful and stretches the cost of the X1 quite a bit, if you take the time to map it for other jobs. Native instruments kontrol x1 (opens in new tab) For the X1, the options are straightforward but thorough - each button's CC number can be changed, its type selected (ie, CC, Note, Pitchbend etc), channel number and mode be set (ie, toggle, trigger, gate or inc), its value between 0 and 127 changed and when the action of the button occurs decided (ie, on pressing or on releasing). The launch of NI's Maschine saw the introduction of Controller Editor - a comprehensive editing application for all of NI hardware controllers. It would have been nice to see a change of colour to avoid confusion - double-mapping buttons such as Play, Stop and Cue needs to be treated with clarity to avoid errors and we don't feel like the X1 makes it obvious enough. The only visual reference for this mode is a slight change in shades of blue depending on your cues and an illuminated Hotcue button. This is the case for everything but the Hotcue function - we repeatedly found ourselves panicking when a track wouldn't play only to discover that we were in Hotcue mode attempting to launch an unassigned cue. This is obviously something NI is very aware of and it's worked hard to label the X1 where appropriate while still maintaining a clear layout. The problem with Shift functions, of course, is that not only do they require multiple mappings and, sometimes, a photographic memory, but also the jumping in and out of different 'pages' does nothing for your flow and focus when performing. The X1's transport controls finish off the unit, with a total of 16 buttons that double-up as cue triggers when the Hotcue button is active as well as having multiple Shift-functions. This is nothing revolutionary but it's a genius move by NI to give intuitive and fairly comprehensive control over looping with a single knob. The other two rotaries control looping in a very intuitive manner - turning the knob controls loop length and clicking it down controls loop on/off. Scrolling through the browser works perfectly and loading is swift but the track-seeking resolution could be a little less extreme. making the browser temporarily fullscreen). There are four endless stepped rotaries on the X1, with the first two controlling browser selection and loading with a click while its Shift-functions provide track-seeking and view-changing (ie. It's up to you how much of an annoyance this could be - initially, we found it confusing, but after some reshuffling, we got used to it and it does make sense.Ĭonveniently, hitting Shift and FX On will make these labelled effects active on that channel, so if you have gone crazy with effects selection you can reset it to the defaults with one click and start again. NI has also taken the questionable decision to label each of the on/off buttons and knobs with three of the most popular DJ effects: Delay, Reverb and Filter. "The X1 is laid out fairly logically, with the effects and transport sections being of main interest." Along with the standard effects on/off buttons and amount knobs, NI has included a Dry/Wet knob, a global on/off button on each effects channel as well as Shift functions to cycle through effects. The effects section is comprehensive to say the least with a total of 28 controls for what is essentially a fairly simple element of Traktor. The X1 is laid out fairly logically, with the effects and transport sections being of main interest.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |