Native Instruments Traktor S2 MK3 Reviews

That's a nice and fun controller

This controller is easy to set up and use when you first get it. Every button and knob is at a place where makes sense. Good overall material quality. The effects are lovely and the sound is very good. I use it just for fun, so I cannot provide any more specific or "professional" insight. Definitely recommend it for a beginner

Good stuff

Perfect for mixing ... easy to carry. The programme work well and also easy to use.

NI CONTROLLER S2MK3

Its a very good product , especially for beginners djs and ''home'' use! the quality generally is very good , it has only 4 basic effects performing not bad... the only problem is the very low sound it produces...need to do some adjustments with no big results. i would not highly recommended it for professional or club use.

No MIDI mode anymore!

Pro:

-simple and logical layout

-correct quality-price ratio

Cons:

-internal sound card of poor quality

-no MIDI mode (product can be used only and exclusively with Traktor software)

-no dedicated FX section like Traktor S 2 Mk1 and Mk2

Nice Product

Not so good sound, but good quality and well done new features

a good start but a poor support

For the beginners I think this is more than enough to learn and practice. Everything seems to be good quality.

Cons:

- the decks are not motorized

- native instruments support is bad and expensive... I broke my crossfader and I asked for another one in order to replace it home in order to avoid the costs (50-120 euro without transport...), but they refused and they insist to send the Traktor to them, which I won't.

- DJ Pro 2 software has a little bug which I reported to them and they said they'll fix it for the next update. New update came after ~45 days, but no fix for this bug.

Very good for beginners and drunk people

I use this to mainly have quick fun by myself or with my friends, without the inconvenience of carrying or wiring mixers, turntables and etc. For this task or for learning basics of DJ-ing this is a very good controller. It is really well built and feels sturdy. All the buttons and knobs feel really good and clicky. I only don't like the hotques/sample buttons at the bottom, but lets say that they are OK. Few other things that I find annoying:

- Most of the people have said this already, but yeah - why removing the effects knobs, when the MK2 already has it. It can get quite boring using only the mixer FX ( you can use only 1 for each channel). You could use custom mappings for free, which are not ideal or invest in a Kontrol X1 (which is not so cheap) to manage this. Also there is not an IN/OUT buttons for the loops, but you could do a mapping in Traktor for this pretty easily.

- The pitch slider is small and beatmatching could be quite hard. Set this in your software to +/- 8% and it will be better.

- The sound coming from this is somewhat on the quieter side. Both from master and monitor

- Very limited I/O. Only 1/8" jack for the headphones, instead of the bigger more professional 1/4". Also on the back there are only unbalanced outputs (RCA) and AUX, no XLR. I recommend using XLR to RCA cable for connecting studio monitors. The DAC is fine, though. The sound is nice, just a little bit quiet.

All in all, I don't regret the purchase. I totally knew what I was getting when ordering. If you need something more serious you should look elsewhere (and invest more).

Great simple controller and pro Software Bundle

I Have been a traktor pro user for years using a variety of timecode and midi controller setups. My audio 8 and s2 mk1 were starting to have issues after years of use so i was looking at replacing both units.

When Traktor pro 3 was announced the feature that really got my attention was that you no longer needed a native instruments audio interface to use timecode vinyl. When the s2 mk3 was announced as being bundled with 2 licenses for a full version of traktor pro 3 with timecode functionality this seemed like a great value bundle.

Controller:

Simple non cluttered layout, huge improvement with the Jog wheels, larger and very responsive. fun for basic scratching. non symmetrical deck layout is a nice touch. RGB performance pads give great visual feedback for hotcues and loops. all knobs, faders and buttons seem to be where you would expect to find them, pitch control surpisingly accurate for the size.

The mixer effects section and lack of separate effects units/controls at the top has had mixed reviews, my original plan was to simply re map if needed, and thats what i did. If you have a good understanding of mapping and modifiers then you can tweak the effects section to your own preference. works well with other midi controllers as well, when used with my zomo mc1000 ive every control i'm going to need.

Software:

Great software, has worked flawlessly with different setups for me, Timecode vinyl works with my american audio versaport and my m audio connectiv, low latencey with both interfaces.

if you have an existing audio interface that you will be using instead of the s2 then you can use it with windows 7 and just use the s2 as a midi device, just make sure your interface has a headphone monitor

Summary:

huge value for money without a cheap looking product. Not being locked into native instruments audio interfaces for vinyl control is a welcome new feature! Reading the manual is advised to get the most out of the software.

Nice controller with interesting features.

It's an entry-level controller, no doubt about it. Native Instruments doesn't try to hide it and I knew what I was getting when I bought it.

You get some Native Instruments interesting features embedded in it (the preset configurable effects) but nothing too fancy. The price you pay is fair.

The sound quality is average and the output is about 90dB... (my S4 MK2 is considerably better AND louder)

It has only one RCA unbalanced output and an AUX (audio coming from this output is considerably lower) and that's enough for gigs where you have to carry a lot of gear and can't take a huge controller with you.

For me, it's an inexpensive and very portable way to move around from club to club without too much hassle. I get the S4 basics (effects, sized loops, flux, etc) without the extra weight.

If you're looking for something that does the job for a really low price, this is the way to go.

Great cheep choice

Very satisfied with the new S2 Mk3 .

Pros: the price ,the handling ,the features ,easy to work ,the size also is good.

Cons : maybe one because it works only on windows 10,it would be great if it works with windows 8-8.1

I love it

Great price, has Traktor 3 new software free.Very light in comparison to previous version. Only strange thing it doesn't have AC cable included.

Nice boombooms

Waited for ages to buy a controller and just ran 1210s with traktor before and while it's not the same at all I'm glad I got it.

Looping is pretty fun and the effects are excellent. Traktor 3 seems pretty good.

Lack of balanced outputs is a bit of a downer and it does sound a bit 'Native Instrumentsy' (my traktor audio 6 never sounded like it had a flat sound either) but it's a very good product that's hopefully gonna smash out a lot of parties before it dies - it's well built so that might be really quite a long time.