Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol X1 MK2 manual

Manual[...]

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this docu- ment is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded,[...]

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Table of Contents 1 Welcome to the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1! ...................................................................... 6 1.1 A word about this Document ....................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Document Conventions ............................................................[...]

3.6 Using the Loop Encoders ............................................................................................................ 26 3.7 Effects Section ........................................................................................................................... 28 3.7.1 Assigning an Effect .....................................[...]

1 Welcome to the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1! Dear Native Instruments customer, Thank you for purchasing the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1, and for your continued trust in Native Instruments products. The TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 is a portable and professional TRAKTOR software controller for DJ's. The TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 provides the following features: ▪ Seamless TRA[...]

1.2 Document Conventions This document uses particular formatting to point out special facts and to warn you of poten- tial issues. The icons introducing the following notes let you see what kind of information can be expected: Whenever this exclamation mark icon appears, you should read the corresponding note carefully and follow the instructions [...]

2 TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 HARDWARE This section will provide you with an overview of the key hardware components on the X1. 2.1 Top Panel The image below shows a view of the top panel of the X1. The numbered section on the left hand side of the device itemizes each of the hardware components. By default, the left side of the X1 controls TRAKTOR Deck A, [...]

( 2 ) FX (Dry/Wet) Knob ( 3 ) FX1 Button ( 4 ) FX1 Knob ( 5 ) FX2 Button ( 6 ) FX2 Knob ( 7 ) FX3 Button ( 8 ) FX3 Knob ( 9 ) FX Assign Buttons ( 10 ) Browse Encoder ( 11 ) Loop Encoder ( 12 ) Load Left Button ( 13 ) Shift Button ( 14 ) Touch Strip ( 15 ) HotCue Buttons 1-4 ( 16 ) Flux (Tap) Button ( 17 ) Sync (Master) Button ( 18 ) Cue Button ( 19[...]

2.2 Rear Panel The Rear panel of the X1 2.3 TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 Modes When using the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 with TRAKTOR, the default configuration of TRAK- TOR KONTROL X1 has two modes as described below. 2.3.1 Native NHL Mode In Native NHL mode TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 will communicate directly with TRAKTOR over USB using the Native Instruments proprietary [...]

The SHIFT, Load Left, and Load Right area used for MIDI mode ► To leave MIDI mode and return to native TRAKTOR control, hold SHIFT and press both (backlit blue) Load Left and Load Right buttons again. ► To customize the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1's MIDI mappings for previous TRAKTOR ver- sions, use TRAKTOR's CONTROLLER MANAGER ( Preferences &[...]

3 Key functions when using the X1 with TRAKTOR This chapter details the use of the X1 with TRAKTOR, whilst offering detailed explanations of the device's key functions and suggested workflows. By the end of reading this, you'll be more than ready to get creative with your TRAKTOR KONTROL device. 3.1 Accessing Primary and Secondary Functio[...]

If you wish to change this, you can do so at the point of opening TRAKTOR, or at any point by disconnecting, and subsequently reconnecting the device's USB connection on the rear panel. Deck Setup Options There are four use cases (or Deck Setup combinations) for how the X1 can be setup to control TRAKTOR's four available decks: ▪ Decks [...]

1. To scroll through your Track Collection in TRAKTOR, turn the BROWSE encoder either left, or right. 2. To navigate your way to another collection, playlist, or location in the TRAKTOR file tree, hold SHIFT and turn the BROWSE encoder. There is no need to press the Browse encoder again to select. Simply release the SHIFT button on your chosen tree[...]

3.4 Deck Control 3.4.1 Using the Touch Strip in Split Mode The X1's Touch Strip can be used to control two TRAKTOR Decks together, known as Split Mode. In this mode, the Touch Strip assign section is located in the center area and marks the control divide between the two decks. In Split Mode, the Touch Strip assign area is visually indicated b[...]

The Touch Strip in Split Mode. Using the X1's default Deck combination A & B: ( 1 ) This area controls Deck A ( 2 ) This area controls Deck B Try out the X1's Touch Strip in Split Mode by following these steps: 1. Load two tracks into TRAKTOR's decks. 2. Before pressing play, move your finger on the right or left-hand sections of[...]

This technique can be used to select a suitable start point, or for more advanced techni- ques like scratching, or spinbacks. 3.4.2 Primary Function of the Touch Strip The Primary function of Touch Strip allows you to perform either of the following: ► When a track is playing, touching the corresponding Track Deck section of the Touch Strip will [...]

Using the SHIFT button to perform a Touch Strip needle drop. Practice using the Touch Strip in its default Split Mode. Getting used to using the visual feedback of the LED display, familiarizing yourself with how to physically adjust the phase meter, and acknowledging how decks behave in TRAKTOR. Key functions when using the X1 with TRAKTOR Deck Co[...]

3.4.4 Resizing the Touch Strip (Single Mode) The X1 allows you to use the Touch Strip to control an individual TRAKTOR Deck (known as Single Mode), and therefore utilize the full Touch Strip area for greater control. To use the Touch Strip to control an individual TRAKTOR Deck: 1. Hold your finger in the Touch Strip assign section (indicated in Spl[...]

2. Slide your finger either fully to the right, as shown below, to expand the left deck, or fully to the left to expand the right deck. Switching TRAKTOR Decks in Single Mode To quickly switch between TRAKTOR Deck's in the Touch Strip's Single Mode: 1. Hold your finger on the Touch Strip, beneath where you see the orange dot. The LED stri[...]

1. Hold your finger on the Touch Strip, beneath where you see the orange dot. The LED strip above the Touch Strip will now solely indicate the orange dot. 2. Move your finger back to the center position and release it.The X1's Touch Strip has now been returned to Split Mode. Take some time to familiarize yourself with switching between these t[...]

▪ Cueing ▪ HotCues ▪ Deck sync (& Master) functions ▪ Flux mode (& Tap mode) This section will take you through the functions of each button in the transport section. You will learn how the RGB buttons behave with the TRAKTOR software, and how the secondary functions of certain buttons can be utilized. The X1’s Transport section ?[...]

▪ White: Grid Marker TRAKTOR will save the Beat Grid location as a HotCue point; this is why many tracks will appear with one white button. Setting HotCue Points To make a new HotCue point using the X1: ► Press one of the available (non backlit) HotCue buttons. → The selected HotCue button will now be backlit blue. Storing Loops Using the X1 [...]

To trigger a Remix Deck cell: ► Press one of the HotCue buttons → The corresponding Remix Deck cell will to start playing. To mute playback of a Remix Deck cell: ► Press the corresponding HotCue button again → The X1's HotCue button will flash to indicate the cell is muted. To stop playback of an active Remix Deck cell: ► Hold SHIFT [...]

3.5.2 PLAY buttons Pressing either of the PLAY buttons will toggle playback on the corresponding TRAKTOR deck. Whilst the track is playing, pressing the PLAY button again will pause the deck. 3.5.3 CUE Buttons The use of the CUE button depends on whether the track is playing, or stopped: ▪ If a Deck is stopped, pressing CUE will place the white C[...]

3.5.5 FLUX Buttons Pressing the FLUX button will engage TRAKTOR's Flux Mode. Flux mode lets you jump to cue points and loops without losing the overall phrasing of your tracks. The X1's FLUX buttons can have their primary and secondary functions changed within TRAKTOR'S preferences; for fur- ther information please refer to section ?[...]

Assigning a Loop to the Touch Strip You can use the Touch Strip to control loops on a TRAKTOR Deck. 1. Hold your finger on the Touch Strip assign area and then press the Loop encoder. The Touch Strip assign area may be at the far-right or far-left depending on if you’re in Split Mode or Single. You will notice the corresponding LED display now fl[...]

4. Whilst this loop mode is still assigned to the Touch Strip, you can engage a loop again at any point by either tapping or holding the Touch Strip. Unassigning the Touch Strip ► To unassign the Touch Strip from the Loop control, press the Loop Encoder. → You will notice that the three flashing dots in the corresponding LED display are no lon-[...]

The X1's FX Section 3.7.1 Assigning an Effect There is an identical FX section located on either side of the X1, a simple way to think of this, is that each side represents a TRAKTOR effects unit. On each side of the X1, there are four FX buttons (the uppermost being the FX - MODE button), and four corresponding FX knobs. TRAKTOR gives you the[...]

→ The FX Assign button will now be backlit orange. ► By default, the X1 provides a choice of assigning two TRAKTOR effect units at any one time. The designated TRAKTOR effect units depends on the Deck assignment you have selected when first plugging in the X1. Available Deck Combinations and Corresponding Effect Unit Assignments ▪ Decks A &am[...]

2. Select Single Mode from the menu in TRAKTOR's effect units 1 and 2, and a different effect for each. 3. Press the left-hand FX Assign button.The button will be backlit orange. 4. Ensure that all of the FX knobs have their marker set to the 12 o'clock position. 5. Press the top FX ( Mode ) button, located at the top left of the X1. The [...]

► Pressing any of FX buttons (backlit orange when engaged)1-3 will engage the correspond- ing individual effect from that Group . The adjacent FX Knob controls the amount of the selected effect applied (Dry/Wet). Engaging all 3 FX buttons (1-3) can make for some interesting combinations. Likewise, by triggering a Decks second FX Assign button, th[...]

1. Hold your finger in the Touch Strip assign area (if a Deck is in Split Mode, two orange dots will be located above center the Touch Strip, in Single Mode a single orange dot will be located on one side of the Touch Strip area). 2. Press any of FX buttons 1-3.The button now flashes orange to indicate the effect parame- ter is now assigned to the [...]

The FX (Dry/Wet) knobs located at the top of the X1, control the overall amount of the cor- responding TRAKTOR effect unit. Whilst using the Touch Strip, practice turning the corre- sponding FX (Dry/Wet) Knobs to either lessen or increase the overall amount of the effect applied. 3.7.4 Using a second X1 controller's FX Using two X1 controllers[...]

4 Hardware Reference This section will provide you with a concise overview of each and every hardware component you will find on the X1. This has been broken down into component based sections: Hardware Reference Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 - Manual - 35[...]

4.1 Top Panel Top Panel Hardware Reference Top Panel Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 - Manual - 36[...]

4.2 Rear Panel Rear Panel USB Input USB Input The X1 must be connected to your computer via the included USB cable. Kensington Lock The Kensington Lock Port This metal-reinforced hole provides an additional security option whereby a bespoke cable and lock can be applied. Hardware Reference Rear Panel Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 - Manual - 37[...]

4.3 Transport Section CUE The CUE Button If a Deck is stopped, pressing CUE will place the white Cue Marker at the current location—if the white Cue Marker is already at the current location, then playback will commence for as long as you hold CUE (playback will jump back to the Cue Marker and stop when you release the CUE button). If the Deck is[...]

SYNC (MASTER) The SYNC Button The X1's SYNC buttons allow you to manually engage (or disengage) TRAKTOR's sync mode on TRAKTOR's deck. The secondary function, or MASTER , can be triggered via: ► Holding SHIFT + SYNC ( MASTER ) will assign the corresponding track deck as the Master deck from which TRAKTOR performs its sync function.[...]

4.4 FX Section FX Assign buttons The FX Assign Buttons Four of these buttons exist in the transport section of the X1. Two of these are located on each side of the device, and when assigned are backlit orange. Triggering the FX Assign button will assign the corresponding Deck to a TRAKTOR effect unit. For more detailed information on as- signing th[...]

There are three FX buttons (numbered 1 - 3 ) on each side of the X1. When a TRAKTOR effect unit is set to Group mode these buttons will in the majority of Group effects combinations trig- ger an individual effect from the group. The secondary functions of these buttons can be activated via: ► Pressing SHIFT + FX buttons ( 1 - 3 ) will toggle to t[...]

4.5 BROWSE, SHIFT and Load Load, SHIFT and BROWSE Buttons These two Load buttons (backlit blue) are used to load a track into a TRAKTOR deck. Pressing the left Load button will load the track into the Deck assigned to the left side of the X1. The secondary function of these buttons activates either TRAKTOR's Snap, or Quantize mode. For more in[...]

The BROWSE encoder button is integral to using the X1 to navigate your way around your track collection, and playlists in TRAKTOR. By default you will be able to scroll up and down through your track collection to find a track. Utilizing the secondary functions of this component, you can: ► Navigate through the Track Collection and playlists file[...]

The Touch Strip of the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 provides an additional form of hands-on con- trol. For more information on how to use the Tourchstrip, please refer to sections ↑ 3.4, Deck Control , ↑ 3.6, Using the Loop Encoders , and ↑ 3.7.3, Assigning FX to the Touch Strip . Hardware Reference Touch Strip Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 - Manual - 44[...]

5 Appendix 5.1 TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 Preferences The below section details the X1's TRAKTOR preferences. Note here that your X1 device will show in TRAKTOR's preferences as the TRAKTOR KON- TROL X1 Mk2 . Appendix TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 Preferences Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 - Manual - 45[...]

The X1 Mk2's TRAKTOR preferences 5.1.1 Browse Encoder By default, when you touch the BROWSE encoder it switches to TRAKTOR's full Browser. Un- checking means that the Browse Encoder will only respond to showing the full Browser on the encoder being pressed. Appendix TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 Preferences Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 - Manual - 46[...]

5.1.2 Touch Strip By default the X1's Seek behavior is set to Seek on Stop , which means that, by touching the Touch Strip, you are able to seek through a track only when a track is stopped. Seek Always is the other option available to you and means that even when a track is playing, dragging the Touch Strip will seek through the track. This c[...]

5.1.3 FLUX Button By default, the X1's FLUX buttons' Primary function is set to Flux Mode in TRAKTOR, (please refer to section ↑ 3.5.5, FLUX Buttons ). TRAKTOR's Preferences also allow for the choice of the following primary functions to be selected: ▪ HotCues 5-8 . Pressing the X1's FLUX button here switches HotCue buttons [...]

Dim State Percentage : When a button is not engaged in its on state, it is still backlit (in its Dim State). This option allows you to either increase or decrease this level of brightness. 5.2 Adding a TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 Mk1 to your Setup Many of you will already be using the first model of the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1, and will be interested to know how[...]

2. In Default Setups, select both the 1st X1 and 2nd X1 mapping options as C+D . → By default, the TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 Mk2 will control TRAKTOR decks A + B, and the Mk1 version will now control TRAKTOR decks C + D . Using two X1's provides you with the option to make use of both TRAKTOR deck control, and effects possibilities. Appendix Adding[...]

Index B BROWSE encoder [13] D Deck Combinations [13] Deck Setup [13] E Effects [28] FX (Mode) [40] FX Assign [40] FX Knobs [40] Touch Strip assign [29] [32] TRAKTOR effect units [30] Triggering [30] Using two X1 controller's FX [34] K Kensington Lock [37] L Load Buttons Snap/Quantize [14] Loading Tracks [13] Loop Encoders [26] Touch Strip assi[...]

T Top Panel [36] Touch Strip [15] Prmary Functions [17] Resize [19] [20] Scratch Control [21] Secondary Functions [17] TRAKTOR preferences X1 Mk1 [49] X1 Mk2 [45] Transport Section [21] BPM adjust [25] CUE [25] FLUX [26] HotCue [22] SYNC [25] Using TRAKTOR Remix Decks [23] U USB Input [37] Index Traktor Kontrol X1 Mk2 - Manual - 52[...]