Smithson Martin Intros Kontrol Surface 32 Touchscreen Controller

smithson-martin-kontrol-surface-32

2016 NAMM Show: Smithson Martin has introduced the Kontrol Surface 32 – a large touch enabled surface that’s designed to let you control your favorite hardware through customizable touch surface templates.

The KS32 has been designed to compliment your PC software and will soon include support for Mac OS X with Emulator 2.0. According to the company, their solution will be one of the first to come out as a fully Mac compatible touch surface for any of your preferred software programs.

Additionally, you will be able to select from an expansive list of standard templates that resemble your preferred controllers, using their new 10 point capacitive touchscreen controller. The unit’s capacitive touch area has a response time of under 5 milliseconds.

Here’s a video demo from the NAMM Show floor, via DJTechZone:

Specifications:

  • Screen size – 32 inch
  • Resolution – FULL HD 1920×1080 native
  • View angle – 170/170
  • Power supply – 110v to 240v automatic
  • Touch points – 10
  • Touch technology – PCAP.
  • Operating Systems – Windows 7, 8, 8,1 10 and OSX compatible

The KS32 will be available in Q2 2016 with an MAP of $2,499.

17 thoughts on “Smithson Martin Intros Kontrol Surface 32 Touchscreen Controller

  1. It should have Technics turntable template. So that one could just put the record on and listen.
    Those guys need lots of luck for their product to sell, or a miracle.

    1. They’ve been around for about ten years, so there’s a market for touchscreen controllers.

      I could see these being great for doing lighting – a lot of it is based off of MIDI these days.

  2. I just can’t jive with touchscreen instruments. An instrument should have a feeling to it…guitar, piano, synth, mixer…once you know them you can almost operate them with your eyes closed. Touchscreen demand to much focus and attention. They are not the future. IMO

    1. I am completely with you on that even if we must admit that almost no phone has physical buttons anymore (i hate not being able to write without looking at the screen) and this is a piece of the future and the present too.

      So maybe touchscreen will prevail. Who knows. Maybe they will become more 3D and decrease the chances of mistakes. But the way they are right now you are completely right.

  3. This would be cool for DAWS, like Ableton etc. but not emulations of budget dj controllers. But I’m sure a 40″ Apple iPad will be out like next year.

  4. It’s an interesting idea, but that video doesn’t do it any favors, especially at that price point. I’m all for new ways to play, but this one just seems like a gimmick.

  5. so, what do you do when you drop ketchup on it? 😛 2500 bucks eh

    well, yeah I guess the Lemur was replaced with iPad app so why not do same with all DJ controllers, mixers and decks 🙂

    nice that there will be a continuous future for glass cleaner products

    1. What do you do when someone spills a beer on your mixer?

      With these things, you just windex it. Meanwhile your mixer is hosed.

      Obviously – they’re different technologies with different strengths, which should be obvious to anyone.

  6. I’d love to see something like this for hardware and just with a bunch of assignable cc joysticks and xyz-sensitive pads, ergonomically arranged for all kinds of on the fly mod. Why so hard?? Touche seemed kind of cool but in very early prototype stages still. Just give me a bunch of joysticks with a din out
    /thru honestly.

  7. It’s a barely interesting product, since anyone could just buy a capacitive touchscreen monitor, hook it up to the computer and any software company can then provide control surfaces to it.

    But they made it even worse when demoing it with DJ-software. Which imho really isn’t a good idea, since that is probably the least reasonable area of music to use such a device in. All the DJ-hardware is so similar a fully adaptable surface is totally unnecessary and moreover the feel of the knobs and the speed of control is more important than in any other area. Also you can clearly see in the demo how the controls lag behind the finger and that is a major no-go when DJing.

    Wow. if I was the CEO of that company I would consider this a major F.Up. At least they should have demoed it with Cubase or any sequencer.

    1. You seem to have completely missed the fact that their software supports 10-point touch control of music apps – which requires custom development. (I think it’s actually sending MIDI in the background).

      Just tacking a touchscreen on a computer gives you 1-point touch control of an app – basically replacing your mouse. Even on Windows, where at least the updated parts of the OS can handle multi-touch, the apps are still designed with tiny targets, designed for your mouse, and can only handle 1-point mouse-style control.

      So, yeah – anyone could do this with a touchscreen – but the only people doing this now seem to be these guys.

      1. “the apps are still designed with tiny targets, designed for your mouse, and can only handle 1-point mouse-style control.”

        Not in FL Studio…

        I wasn’t impressed by the FLAT looking ‘buttons’ in the DJ’ing software in this demo – how stupid – making the buttons as hard to make out as possible, so you don’t know what you can or can’t press.

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