In all the time I’ve used their gear (since the X1 MK1), I’ve only really ever known of a few disappointments: The USB ports on some controllers are a bit flimsy, and, for some reason, the loop knobs on the X1 MK2 in the studio decided to fall off. Native Instruments has been pretty consistent in in the industrial design of its hardware products. You also obviously get your download code for the full version of Traktor Pro 2 (not Scratch, mind). There’s the comically huge quick start guide, which is daft looking but actually quite useful. Along with the 1.5 metre USB cable, you get the standard AC power supply with snap-on international adapters in case you take a fancy to rocking out in Germany or Taiwan or anywhere. The company has managed to standardise their offerings pretty well, so there’s no real surprises here. ![]() In usual NI fashion, there’s been some thought put into the packaging design for the Kontrol S5. The Traktor Kontrol S5 is a four-channel Traktor Pro 2 controller with two colour screens that’s compact and features control for the new Stem file format and Traktor’s remix decks. There might be a lot of crossover, but they definitely have their own identities, and as such, understanding what they both offer will best inform you as to which (if any) would suit you. I was expecting a two-channel S2 analogue, sort of a like a screen-laden Novation Twitch (a good, but slightly flawed, controller).Īs a side note, It might be worth reading Jared’s most non-heinous review of the S8 from late last year to get a good idea of the intricacies of what Native Instruments’ flagship controller is capable of compared to this one. I was actually most surprised by the fact that the S8’s baby sibling had four decks. When the Kontrol S5 images first did the rounds within the DJWORX team, it didn’t look that much different from the S8… yet seemed hampered in its functionality. I’m an ardent pessimist when it comes to all-in-one controllers: the S8 was fun, but I’ll always choose modular whenever possible. Native Instruments’ Stem files launch was the last big piece of news that really got me excited, with the Kontrol S8 piquing my interest a year ago. When you’ve constantly got your head dunked in the noise of the industry, it’s difficult to get overly excited when a new product comes along. ![]() Link: NI product page | Price: $799/€799/£579 | Manual: ZIP/PDF INTRODUCTION
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