Tech Features
RETURN OF THE NATIVE
- Tech
- Tech Features
As with the S4 and the X1, Native has come late to the controller game – but it’s made up for lost time with simple, well built controllers perfectly tuned for use with Traktor Scratch and other systems. While the S4 was aimed at DJs wanting four-deck control of their sets, the S2, here, is aimed at the 2/3-deck DJs needing value for money from a smaller controller.
What can it do? The S2 is based around the much copied two-decks-and-a-mixer design. Two high-resolution jog wheels sit aside a mixer system with basic controls such as EQ, faders and master volume. A scrolling pot lets you find your tunes on your laptop, and the buttons beneath load them onto your Traktor decks. Underneath the jog wheels are four cue points buttons, a looping section, transport controllers, a shift button for doubling up controls and a tempo fader. Its 24-bit sound card is studio class, and its USB port makes it easy to plug and play.
Why is it different? Like Native’s other controllers, the S2 is slim but robustly designed. The back-lit layout is easy to navigate and the cue-point buttons double as sample deck controls, effectively offering a third deck of audio for playing samples or acapellas.
Weaknesses? For an entry-level controller it’s not cheap, but neither are two turntables/CD-Js and a mixer, which, combined with a laptop, this replaces.
£522, www.native-instruments.com
