There have been rumors floating around for a little while that the German software powerhouse “Native Instruments”, producers of many popular pieces of software including Traktor have been preparing to build their first dj controller. It would be a logical move as the company has suffered from hardware/software miss-matches in the past that have confused and frustrated djs. Making their own dedicated midi controller would hopefully result in a device that fits the demanding needs of their users.
On January 23rd NI sent out an email that confirms they are moving full steam ahead with a new version of Traktor and it appears it may possibly be paired to a matching controller. The “Dj Survey” that went out to a “random selection” of users was introduced with the following lines:
“A new generation of TRAKTOR is about to be developed and we need your feedback to design it as tailored as possible to your needs.
We therefore invite you to take part in an online survey, where you can tell us about your opinion and your suggestions regarding your DJ product from Native Instruments. ”
The closed survey, which can be read about here, asks questions that are very controller focused leading one to logically suspect that they might be moving ahead with an NI dj controller. At NAMM, Dj tech tools asked NI if they had been working on a controller and was informed that “yes, they had been working on one” but in the end it got sidelined. One cant help but wonder if after everyone else released controllers at NAMM, the project might have gotten a bump up to the front of the line.
(Editors note: the controller pictured is completely fictional combination of a midi-box creation and the NI logo. In case that was not already painfully obvious thanks to our sub-par photoshop skills)
