Traktor Kontrol Z2 DJ-Mixer/Controller

Product Information

Whether on the road, installed into a DJ booth at a club, or comfortably forming an integral part of your studio hub, the professional-grade aluminum chassis of the TRAKTOR KONTROL Z2 delivers a rugged design with all the power and connectivity you need. Featuring a 24-bit audio interface, pro XLR and RCA outputs, knobs, buttons, and Innofaders™, alongside TRAKTOR Mode buttons for seamless switching, this premium 2+2 channel mixer is performance ready and built to last. The faders are made by Innofader, and feel great, the crossfader being loose without being in any way rattly, and the upfaders slightly less loose. All faders stop at their furthest reach without any kind of metal-on-metal noise, rather hitting home in a pleasingly dampened way, a bit like an Audi door thudding shut. I liked them. Setting up

Whether or not ultimately it is worth your while owning a Traktor Kontrol Z2 will depend on where you are in your DJing career / hobby, and what gear you already have.In February 2019, Native Instruments released the version 3.1.1 update for Traktor Pro 3. Version 3.1.1 brings some new features, improvements, and fixes that make for a smoother workflow. Here's some of the features and improvements: Using the Loop encoder and the Shift button, you can easily set loops – turning the encoder decides the loop length, pushing it down turns the loop on or off. The currently selected length is shown on the LED readout. I really liked the Traktor Kontrol Z2. It looked on unboxing like it could have been a complex beast, and while it is indeed an advanced piece of kit, everything has been designed for performance in mind. It’s not trying to control every function of Traktor – just the stuff that you’re likely to use most of the time to put killer DJ sets together. Basically, having cues, loops and filters right there at your fingertips is very, very handy, never mind anything else. The Kontrol sections beside each channel feature Macro FX knobs for instant, one-knob effects control designed for expressive build-ups, break-downs, and more. Overall they’re a great sounding if often unsubtle bunch, and you’ll soon find your favourites for spicing up builds, breakdowns, mix ins/outs and so on.

Pro XLR outputs, a booth output and 24-bit sound quality mean your sets hit with maximum impact. Precision knobs, buttons, multi-colored cue point controls and Innofaders™ give you ultra-accurate control of your sets. Whether spinning vinyl, CDJs, playing digital files, or using TRAKTOR SCRATCH timecode control, switching formats is just a push of a button away – lightning-fast, uninterrupted creative flow. And the heavy metal chassis means your busy schedule won’t take its toll on your new tool of choice.Mix with the best of both analogue and digital worlds. TRAKTOR KONTROL Z2 excels as a standalone club mixer alongside turntables and CDJs, and also as the hub of an advanced controller-based setup. OK, so having got to the point where we’re all working, something simple to start with: The standalone mixer.

If you have no gear and you’re coming to Traktor and digital DJing afresh, it’s probably best to go for a DJ controller with everything in one box. This’ll be fine for home, parties, bars etc, and some people even use theirs in clubs (depending on the part of the world, club itself, prevailing DJ culture etc). Built-in powered USB hub* for 2 add-on DJ controllers such as TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 or TRAKTOR KONTROL X1 Or connect multiple TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 and X1 controllers thanks to the Z2’s USB hub: Freeing up additional ports on your laptop, and expanding performance possibilities. Combining a traditional DJmixer with a high-quality sound card and tight integration with the included Traktor Scratch software, the Traktor Kontrol Z2 DJ Mixer gives you ultimate flexibility when it comes to mixing analogue and computer-based DJing techniques. Flawless integration of any DJ equipment is further supported by an integrated USB hub that allows you to connect TRAKTOR KONTROL F1 and X1 controllers to complement the eight color-coded trigger pads of the loop encoders. Seamlessly use the DJ mixer to launch music samples, loops, and cue points and expand your set up with on-the-fly remixing and sound tweaking.

Tech spec

A final addition to Traktor 2.6 is something that all Native Instruments gear will benefit from, and it’s the ability to override factory mapped functions to allow NI defaults and your own tweaks to play in harmony. If, for instance, you’re not fussed about wet/dry levels of effects, always simply adjusting the effect directly, you could always remap those controls to effects three and four (it’s a shame that mic/aux level and tone are hardware only controls, as they tend to be my go-to knobs for a couple of extra mappings when it’s possible). Standalone