Disclaimer The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this docu- ment is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native Instruments. “Native Instruments”, “NI” and associated logos are (registered) trademarks of Native Instru- ments GmbH. Mac, Mac OS, GarageBand, Logic, iTunes and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows, Windows Vista and DirectSound are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trade marks are the property of their respective owners and use of them does not im- ply any affiliation with or endorsement by them. Document authored by: Christian Schulz Software version: 2.10 (10/2015) Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs, but in making this a better product. Contact NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH Schlesische Str. 29-30 D-10997 Berlin Germany www.native-instruments.de NATIVE INSTRUMENTS North America, Inc. 6725 Sunset Boulevard 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA www.native-instruments.com NATIVE INSTRUMENTS K.K. YO Building 3F Jingumae 6-7-15, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 Japan www.native-instruments.co.jp NATIVE INSTRUMENTS UK Limited 18 Phipp Street London EC2A 4NU UK www.native-instruments.com © NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH, 2015. All rights reserved. Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Welcome to the World of TRAKTOR KONTROL S5! ........................................................10 1.1 Document Conventions ............................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Where to Start ............................................................................................................................. 11 2 Using Your S5—Getting Started .................................................................................14 2.1 Using the Browser ...................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.1 Opening the Browser ................................................................................................. 16 2.1.2 Scrolling through Music Folders ................................................................................ 16 2.1.3 Browsing using Touch Interactions ............................................................................ 18 2.1.4 Preview Tracks ........................................................................................................... 18 2.1.5 Sorting Tracks ........................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Playing Your First Track .............................................................................................................. 21 2.2.1 Loading a Track ......................................................................................................... 22 2.2.2 Playing a Track .......................................................................................................... 24 2.2.3 If You Don’t Hear the Track ........................................................................................ 27 2.3 Mixing In a Second Track ............................................................................................................ 30 2.3.1 Loading a Second Track ............................................................................................. 31 2.3.2 Playing the Second Track ........................................................................................... 33 2.3.3 Using Headphones to Prepare the Mix ....................................................................... 34 2.3.4 Synchronizing the Second Track ................................................................................ 36 2.3.5 Interlude: In case the Left Track has finished ............................................................ 37 2.3.6 Mixing In the Track by Using the Channel EQ and Filter ............................................ 38 2.4 Adjusting Levels ......................................................................................................................... 43 2.4.1 The Theory ................................................................................................................. 43 2.4.2 In Practice ................................................................................................................. 43 2.5 Switching Deck Focus ................................................................................................................. 46 2.6 Switching Deck View and Zooming ............................................................................................. 47 TRAKTOR KONTROL S5 - Manual - 4 Table of Contents 2.7 Using Cue Points ........................................................................................................................ 51 2.7.1 Setting and Deleting Cue Points (HotCues) ............................................................... 52 2.7.2 Aligning Tracks using HotCues .................................................................................. 54 2.8 Adjusting Tempo ......................................................................................................................... 54 2.8.1 Global Tempo Adjustments ........................................................................................ 55 2.8.2 Deck-specific tempo adjustments ............................................................................. 57 2.9 Using Keylock ............................................................................................................................. 59 3 Using Your S5—Getting Advanced .............................................................................66 3.1 Using Touch Strip ....................................................................................................................... 66 3.1.1 Using Touch Strip to Seek .......................................................................................... 67 3.1.2 Using Touch Strip to Nudge/Pitchbend ...................................................................... 70 3.1.3 Using the Touch Strip to Scratch and Backspin ......................................................... 73 3.2 Playing with Loops in HOTCUE Mode ........................................................................................... 79 3.2.1 Engaging and Disengaging a Loop ............................................................................ 79 3.2.2 Moving a Loop ........................................................................................................... 82 3.2.3 Storing a Loop ........................................................................................................... 83 3.3 Using FREEZE Mode .................................................................................................................... 84 3.3.1 Engaging Freeze mode on a track .............................................................................. 85 3.3.2 Adjusting the Freeze Slice Size .................................................................................. 87 3.3.3 Slicer Mode ................................................................................................................ 89 3.4 Using FLUX Mode ........................................................................................................................ 93 3.5 Remixing with Remix Decks ........................................................................................................ 94 3.5.1 Loading a Remix Set .................................................................................................. 95 3.5.2 Triggering Samples ................................................................................................... 96 3.5.3 Triggering Samples using Different Quantize Sizes ................................................... 101 3.5.4 Muting Remix Slots .................................................................................................... 103 3.5.5 Using the Touch Strip on a Remix Deck ..................................................................... 103 3.6 Capturing Samples from Track Decks (Using Remix Mode) ........................................................ 104 TRAKTOR KONTROL S5 - Manual - 5 Table of Contents 3.7 Adding FX ................................................................................................................................... 109 3.7.1 Assigning Decks to the FX Units ................................................................................ 109 3.7.2 Setting up an FX Unit to Group FX Mode .................................................................... 110 3.7.3 Exchanging effects in the Group FX ........................................................................... 114 3.7.4 Storing a Snapshot .................................................................................................... 115 3.7.5 Routing FX ................................................................................................................. 116 3.8 Mixing Stem Files using Stem Decks .........................................................................................