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. 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. In detailĪnyone who is familiar with NI's excellent groovebox Maschine will instantly recognise the look and feel of the X1 - its black metal sheen and rubberised buttons have a satisfying and reassuring feel and it definitely feels like it will take a beating on the road and in the club. That being said, NI has admitted that this isn't the last controller we'll see from it, so let's assess the X1 in the context it was designed for. While this makes sense as a business choice - NI needs to associate itself with currently installed professional club systems and equipment if it's 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. But you'd be far off the mark - NI has, for better or for worse, squarely aimed its product at one sector of its market - timecoded vinyl and CD users.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |