People use the 92 for the 4 band EQ, complex filters, and analogue sound; things that will never appear on NI hardware. A Z4 would have a much better chance at competing with the DJM 750/850.
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People use the 92 for the 4 band EQ, complex filters, and analogue sound; things that will never appear on NI hardware. A Z4 would have a much better chance at competing with the DJM 750/850.
that always was perplexing to me, xone 92 has 4 band but traktor has 3 and they still use traktorQuote:
Originally Posted by makar1
Traktor's mixer is bypassed when using an external mixer. But you can set the internal mixer to 4 band too.
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by makar1
oh wow, i should smack myself, i ve used the xone eq config b4 and never remarked it was 4 eq band
What hardware i'd like to see:
Cdj style single deck controller (obviously with native control) with a nice big platter. I'd be happy with a larger version of the s4 platter but I realise others wouldn't be. 8 pots for controlling effects with associated buttons to trigger. Looping controls a la X1 and 4 or 8 buttons (similar to those on the s4) that are freely mappable for cue points or effects combos etc. The big thing for me would be a decent full colour screen to show the waveform and grid markers etc plus track info and also used for browsing. This (for me) would be a perfect controller to run along side a mixer for external mixing and would remove the reliance on buying a higher end pioneer CDJ for those who use cdj 'style' mixing and want to use HID control. Seems the next logical step for me given their foray into hardware mixers.
I don't think many scratch DJs that use traktor are buying pioneer over Z2. I am positive they will make money of the Z2 which is all that really matters. Not to mention that pioneer makes nothing in between DJM 700 and DJM 350, so there is a gap which the Z2 fills. They have the T1 but I am willing to bet the Z2 is more successful than the T1.Quote:
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
There's the DJM 707 and 909 too, and other big scratch mixers from Rane and Vestax that NI will never be able to top.
I think NI will continue to try and breach the gap between controller and analogue gear.
The new generation of DJs are growing up on controllers, and NI has a large dominance (software wise predominantly, but also hardware too).
These bedroom DJs are going to want to evolve onto analogue hardware and club setups, and NI need a way to satiate them, whilst still tying them into the software.
The Z2 gives an easy evolution for controller DJs to DVS or CDJ HID systems, incorporating the key elements of both.
I also think whilst NI are trying to do this, Pioneer are in fact going the opposite way, and I can see Pioneer launching Rekordbox as a fully fledged software to use with Laptop and controller, or on usb with CDJs.
So for me, a Z4 or even as mentioned above a single CDJ style player will be their next move. With the change in generation of DJs, just as technics are rare to be found in clubs (near me) and were ousted by the CDJ, the next move is hard to tell, but I can see it being much more adaptable than the current CDJ and mixer. (edited that because what I said before made little sense).
I think pioneer and NI will become very similar, and who will be the next industry standard is anyones guess.
Pioneer will win if they create a stable and good software.
NI will win if they can create superior hardware, although it will be a hard job loosening Pioneers grip on the market.
Serato I have no idea.
That is my one huge stab in the dark
I sort of agree with this. Pioneer had forever been just about the hardware...i.e., mixers and CDJs. That (and 1200s) was "Pro" gear for the longest time. In a separate realm, laptop-based digital DJ'ing arose and with it, a plethora of MIDI controllers. Similar functionality and even look/layout to Mixer+CDJs, but with a different workflow...all the brains was in the software and the controller was just for tactile control.Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Panda
NI is a software company...they developed Traktor and eventually decided to branch out to create dedicated controllers for their software...they "improved" on the MIDI shortfalls with their native comm protocol between their controllers and Traktor...by all accounts, this was very well-received; the X1 is hugely popular and (build-quality discussions aside) so is the S4.
NI saw benefit in tighter Hardware and software integration (e.g., the F1) and in developing some nice dedicated hardware like the Z2.
Pioneer is going the other way. They have been a hardware company, but there are limitations to supporting advanced features for mixers/CDJs when those features are implemented as pure hardware...as evidence, consider that you can download firmware updates for new Pioneer gear that either fixes or adds new features to their hardware...Pioneer created Rekordbox and has it intgegrated into their latest products...some don't even need actual CDs or even USB, you can send tracks directly from an iPad or iPhone, or Android phone right to the player over WiFi...this feels very much "software-ish" to me!
So where does all that leave things...to me it seems like both companies are moving toward more hardware and software integration, albeit from very different directions...will they come to the exact same place...i don't know. I doubt it. But I do think that both companies will continue to move toward the same direction of HW/SW integration.
Like some have said, the "Z4" seems like a natural next step for NI. With the release of Traktor DJ for the iPad, I can imagine NI releasing a controller, either all-in-one, or modular "mixer" and/or "players" etc. that integrates with the iPad so that you can play from the iPad but control from either...e.g. certain things is nice to have a touch screen (X-Y pad for certain FX), but others is nice to have actual knobs and faders... I guess we'll see. That is the fun of speculating.