After literally years in the DJ wasteland, Native Instruments finally did a show and tell of all the stuff they’ve been cooking up for Traktor Pro 3, and the much-needed updates to their Kontrol S2 and S4 controllers. And bugger me if it wasn’t worth the extended wait — Traktor Pro 3 is attractive to a Serato die-hard like myself, the Kontrol S2 emkay 3 is a beginner’s dream, and the Kontrol S4 emkay 3 looks to change the face of controllers and beyond with the new Haptic Touch jog wheels, patents permitting of course.
But throwing money at the screen hasn’t made this new gubbins come any quicker. But today NI announced preorders of their new shiny. You can get your name down on the new Kontrol S2 emkay 3 here, and the Kontrol S4 emkay 3 available a little later (November 1st) here.
As for Traktor Pro 3 — It’ll be available October 18th. If for some crazy reason you absolutely have to get Traktor Pro 2 now, you’ll get a free upgrade to 3. For those waiting to upgrade from an existing version, that’ll set you back $49/€49/¥6280/£44/AUD $79/CAN $69/CNY 379.
We’ve already got the new Maschine Mikro emkay 3 in for a bash. Dan’s belief is that it’ll make a solid addition to a DJ’s setup, once MIDI mode is implemented of course. The S2 is on the way, and the S4 sometime after. The more more Traktor savvy members of the team will have this covered while I dig into Traktor Pro 3 and make up for many years of barely using it.