#ni controllers

Nothing sells like a good story, right?  Some headlines are created for the sole purpose of being sensational – and it is no different in the music community.  Music gear collectors and DJs alike are always on the lookout for the next big item, even if they are diligently opposed to it.  Not only is the gear important here, but the companies who create them have their own story to tell – and this story is no secret.  When Technics decided that they would no longer produce the Technics 1200 turntable, many were naturally saddened by the loss.  This also cause prices of used tables to skyrocket, and created a bigger demand for controllers rather than turntables. A recent headline went as far as accusing Native Instruments of buying up Technics shares in order to completely kill the turntable.  Naturally, it was too good to be true.  The funny part of the headline was that people assumed that a controller could somehow kill the turntable, which is, in itself, timeless.  Just take a look at the way music is sold these days, and you’ll see that vinyl is on a comeback, outselling CDs by a large margin.  The only contender to records is of course digital music sales.  http://djworx.com/native-instruments-putting-ni-in-technics/

I look at controllers like the Kontrol F1, and all I can see are the many ways people might find themselves using this technology.  When I see sixteen pads in a perfect square, I think that maybe a drummer might be able to switch from his MPC to something that will line up better with his live mixing sets.  I also see the non-DJ who might have a reason or two to need such a pad.  Those sample banks could easily be used to trigger effects during production, or they could be used for something silly like clips of sounds that need to be played on a radio station.  Although its use is intended to be open ended – this leaves some DJs with bigger problems. On certain NI units, the function of each button is clearly labeled, meaning it can only perform a task or two.  While this is limiting, it is also defining.  When you have no labels for your buttons and they need to be mapped, DJs have the task of figuring how they want to create their own navigation.  Some are better at this than others, and some are downright terrible at it.  It takes time to figure this out. http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2013/12/kontrol-f1-how-to-use/