Update #2: Review of Novation ReMOTE ZeRO SL
So Ive had the Novation Remote Zero SL for a while now and Ive used it a few times (been kind of busy, havent really had the oppertunity to dedicate the kind of time it really needs to it) and I think its pretty alright. There are a few things that I dont like, but Im not sure if they are issues with Traktor or issues with the Zero SL.
My major complaint is that it doesnt read the settings from Traktor to the nobs. For example, if the volume of Deck A is all the way up on the screen in Traktor but the fader or nob is all the way down on the Zero SL, it will take the position of the Zero SL when you touch that nob/slider. So it will instantly reset from full to zero as soon as you touch the nob or fader on the Zero SL. I think it would be better if it knew the position of the slider on the screen and didnt effect its position until after the hardware was moved past that position on the screen.
My only other issue is that the pressure sensitive settings for the trigger pads on the bottom left side is difficult to get to the right settings. Its either always too high or too low, its hard to get it just right. You either have to slam it hard or barely tap it, its hard to get it to respond like a regular button.
Other than those two things, all and all its a pretty good product. Im still kind of pissed about being decieved about the “Automap” feature. They want you to believe it will work with anything, but thats just not true, its only designed to “Automap” with 4 or 5 software packages, for everything else you have to DIY the old fashioned way. Maybe someday they will fix that, but dont hold your breath.
Bye Bye Xone:42! Hello Xone:92!
Alrighty, I sent the Xone:42 back to where it came from. After my ordeal with being basicly duped by Allen & Heaths false description of the mixers capibilities, I decided to just suck it up and get the Xone:92 which does indeed have MIDI capibilities. Why the Xone:42 doesnt is beyond stupid, especially for a mixer that cost $1300 to not support even at least the cross fader as MIDI controable input is just plain stupid if you ask me. What good is a USB mixer if it doesnt support MIDI? But I digress… Anyway, I talked to the people that I got the bunk-42 from and they hooked me up with the Xone:92 insted. You know whats funny, Allen & Heath had the audactiy to suggest that I buy a Xone:1D in addition to the 42 if I wanted MIDI. But you know what, its actuallyu cheaper to straight up buy the Xone:92 than it is to buy the 42 and the 1D individually. Stupid Allen & Heath dont even know the price of their own products. Let me just add that this will be the first and only Allen & Heath product that I ever buy, and if its not the fucking best thing since sliced bread, its going straigh back to the store it came from.
So I just waned to give a shout out to BeatPort for their nice site redesign. Im really not a huge fan of the all flash interface, but they have done a really good job of making it as easy to navigate and use as a traditional HTML/Javascript/PHP site. So good job, but one suggestion, make it possible to open links in a new window. Sometimes I like to go back and forth between artist and their remixers tracks and its hard to go back and forth when you have to navigate away from one page to get to the other and then you get lost and it takes a shit load of ‘back’ clicks to get back to where you want to be. But other than that, its all good.