The Traktor F1 & 2.5 Thread

**Karlos Santos** · 03-14-2012, 12:01 PM

3 Threads merged.

**oneapemob** · 03-14-2012, 12:04 PM

Well i imagine it has much more to do with the fact that several controllers with the same form factor and features are coming out in the next months (a&h, behringer, NI, etc...), and that NI wants to make sure that people take a real hard look at the offering from all manufacturers and then decide to go for the NI kontrol F1 because you get traktor for free

PS : I imagine it has to be that because i don't see NI not adding all the options that we will find in the 2.5 update in the midi mapping editor. It will bloat the editor even more, and so when it's time to drop traktor 3 they can finally do something about that damned editor.

PS 2 : I might sound like i'm ranting in the first PS, but i'm not

Good marketing scheme !

**VanGogo** · 03-14-2012, 12:13 PM

Gotcha on the software being free with kontroller Karlos. I guess those of us who paid $200 or so for Traktor 1.2.x a while back are stuck in the past. With the other companies making controllers without Traktor included, we might be able to make a few bucks off selling the included license.

**guiltyblade** · 03-14-2012, 12:18 PM

Wasn't interested in the F1 to begin with. Still am not. But it looks so damn cool!

I think I'll have to play with 2.5 first before I decide whether I need an F1.

**VanGogo** · 03-14-2012, 12:26 PM

As an S4 owner, I am very curious about how or if the S4 would/could handle the new Remix decks. Will 2.5 add the remix deck as a choice, as in Track, Sample, or Remix deck with the remix deck only working with an additional controller? or Will there be a new S4 mapping with the 3 rows of transport/cue/sample buttons being mapped for the remix deck? Or at least being able to make a midi map for the remix deck? Hmmmm More to ponder for 2.5 months.

**basspenetrator** · 03-14-2012, 12:27 PM

average BPM? i hope you can turn this off.. e.g. some dnb tracks which go into dubstep (or vice versa). wouldn't make any sense to grid them at an average of say 157bpm..

where are the smarrrrt playlists.. damnit

**keeb** · 03-14-2012, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by Karlos Santos

No-one is buying the software again.

Traktor comes FREE with the F1. Big difference.

No-one is buying these spare copies of Traktor cus its coming FREE with a lot of hardware which, if the arguments ive had with people over the years is to be believed , is exactly what everyones always wanted.

SSL is free why isnt Traktor. Well, it is now.

First, I don't think people want bundled software. I think people want free software. In addition to what I'm about to get into, I could see the inclusion of Traktor with hardware in the future as another anti-piracy measure by NI since it's worked pretty well for Serato.
Disclaimer: I already own TSP2, this is not a bitter-pirate rant.

So, everyone can download Traktor off the NI site as of May 30 for free? I ask not to be a dick, but to point out that what you're saying is *slightly* off. Traktor isn't free, and I doubt NI will make it legitimately free. Even with the F1, you're still going to have a license key to install Traktor; it will not be Serato. I doubt NI will make it hardware-handshake similar to Serato (and thank God for that).

Currently it costs the consumer around $200 for a license; if NI isn't giving away these licenses for free, presumably it costs NI some money to produce them (if nothing else in terms of research and development, support staff, etc.). Therefore, NI must charge something in order to make a profit from the TP2 licenses. By including TP2 with the F1, it's pretty fair to assume that NI are trying to regain some of the cost of the license within the cost of the F1. Since there isn't a "license-included" and a "license-not included" version, it's hard to say with certainty; but, I have no doubt that the license factored into the price of the S4 and the S2 at least (before the sale, anyway; now I'd say they're giving it away with the S2). Now even if cost of production for a license is say, $30, NI just like any other profit-seeking company will add a bit extra onto that. I know literally nothing about the production of the F1, but in terms of number of components (encoders, buttons, etc.) it's pretty damn close to the X1. I doubt cost of manufacture is significantly higher on the F1 than the X1 because of that (sure there's the screen, bigger buttons and the added LEDs, but still).

It makes sense from a business perspective for NI to do this too. How do you tap into your already saturated market segment? Make them pay for the software they already own again if they want your new hardware. Why wouldn't NI do so? It's still our choice whether or not to buy the F1, so complaining about getting "free" software alongside it just makes us look bad. Still, let's not pretend that NI has suddenly had a fit of altruism as far as giving away software is concerned; I have no doubt that TP2.5 is included with the F1 as an excuse for its rather inflated price point. I mean, you're talking almost $300 for basically an X1. Would you pay $300 for an X1? I wouldn't. "But Traktor's included!" Yeah, I already have a spare license kicking about because in selling it I'd lose over half of its value. Now with the introduction of the F1, the market is going to be even more flooded with TP2 keys which will drive down the asking price of a license even further. All said and done, in buying an F1 we're buying a $200 piece of hardware with an $80 license bundled in, and at best we can recoup $50 of that license by the time the market gets flooded with them (i.e. immediately because probably 80% of the initial F1 buyers are going to be Traktor owners already). It makes business sense and I don't blame NI for it one bit. Just don't make it seem like a bonus because it most certainly is not.

Aside from profit, I wouldn't be surprised if TP2.5 is included because the F1 doesn't play well with other software. Without NHL it's probably a far less impressive controller, and the bundle could easily be to sway people over to using Traktor with it instead of trying it with say, SSL, and having poor results.