EKS Otus gets Raw
By Paul Dakeyne
| Posted in Music Technology
The EKS Otus Raw DJ Controller has sort of counted me as a fan for the past year, with my having used an original at live gigs and in the studio for mixtapes and other projects. It looks gorgeous, really gorgeous. It performs effortlessly with Traktor Pro – though honestly, for me, it left a touch to be desired in platter response (it’s not a ‘turntablist’s solution) and the touch-sensitive pad area when adjusting track pitch. It seems however that with the launch of this latest model, the Otus Raw, EKS has genuinely listened to DJ/user feedback and made some very welcome improvements.
First, a brief product history: The original Otus always was a single or dual deck DJ controller, flipping its control surface colours from green to orange as the user targeted the left and right decks of Trakor Pro. The operational template for Traktor was already mapped and supplied (though still customisable) but it also needs pointing out that Otus is a highly configurable, pretty much future proof MIDI device so other application control possibilities are achievable.
The new Otus Raw is now equipped with not one, but two long throw ‘Technics SL style’ pitch sliders, one assigned to each virtual deck (yay!). Also new are four large velocity pads and buttons which bestow easy and fast operation in a live DJ environment. A layer switch immediately multiplies the layers of controls available on Otus RAW, which translates to a fantastic amount of control possibilities.
I’m not sure if there’s been any changes to how the actual platter responds but don’t let the fact that the original Otus wasn’t 100 per cent a scratch DJ option put you off. It really is targeted towards ‘smooth’ club mixing, beat blending and effects performances by DJ’s well versed in studio production techniques. So, erm.. that’ll be me then?
The new EKS Otus Raw - Coming Spring, 2010.
Tags: DJ Controller, EKS, Otus, Otus Raw