I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "I suppose having control externally would be a good thing to have...", but since you seem to know what you are talking about, I assume that you mean that Native Instruments don't manufacture an external MIDI controller for Traktor. I've heard similar thoughts from other Traktor users and while I agree that this argument has some merit, I do not entirely agree. Why, you might ask? It's simple really. Traktor is a feature packed "beast" and as such, has a wide variety of users, where each one might use all or maybe just some features. For instance, as I always use an external mixer I have absolutely no need for an external controller with a mixer section (which would make the controller bulkier/heavier/more expensive). Other users use nothing but the internal mixer and wouldn't look twice at a controller without a mixer section. Meanwhile, other users rely heavily on scratching during their performances. I, on the other hand, only scratch when I have an itch somewhere ;-) I could go on and on with more examples but I'm sure you get my drift. I believe that building the perfect Traktor controller is an impossible task considering the wide user base and the different needs of the users and I completely understand NI for not offering one. (The only "universal" controllers, and I use that term very carefully, that I have seen is the Lemur - http://www.jazzmutant.com/lemur_overview.php, and the Mawzer - http://mawzer.com/. But the Lemur require a winning Lottery ticket and the Mawzer is still, after several years, vaporware. Sigh...) Presently, there are about a gazillion MIDI controllers on the market. Trust me, I have counted them ;-) Each one with it's strengths as well as it's flaws. You need to find one that is right for you and your needs. Personally, I still haven't found one that is exactly "right" for my needs so I muddle through with a combination of an external mixer, the keyboard of my laptop and an Oxygen8v2 MIDI keyboard.
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