Native Instruments has officially announced the Traktor Kontrol D2: its next-generation pro deck controller for its Traktor Pro 2 software. Designed to innovate DJ sets and take performers’ focuses away from the laptop with a compact format and touch-and-see workflow.
The lightweight D2 aims to create a multisensory experience with its touch-and-see technology. Tracks appear on the unit’s full-color display as vector waveforms, and several key views and pop-up panels are triggered when a corresponding control is touched. An LED-guided touch strip offers motion-sensitive pitch-bending, track seeking, vinyl scratch emulation, and phase tracking in dark environments.
The Kontrol D2 offers enhanced integration with Traktor’s deck functions, with easily accessible samples and loops and four dedicated Deck faders when using a Remix Deck. Eight color-coded pads can trigger sounds, juggle cue points in Hotcue Mode, and rearrange a playing track on the fly in Freeze Mode. The D2 (along with the Kontrol S8) is one of the first DJ hardware controllers to support Native Instruments’ upcoming Stems file format, and the D2’s touch-sensitive performance knobs and faders will instantly correspond to a loaded Stem file’s different components.
Designed with minimizing bulk and setup time, the Traktor Kontrol D2 features four foldable rubber-padded feet that can raise or incline for performer comfort. One D2 can navigate through two Traktor decks, but a pair of USB ports on the unit’s rear panel allow a second D2 to be daisy-chained to one computer port for a simplified setup.
The Traktor Kontrol D2 will be available with an MSRP of $499 on May 4. Watch a performance video below and go to Native-Instruments.com/D2 for more information.
