Hi this is Scott Magno DJ MadFlip, I'm here with uniquesquared.com.
Today we're going to do a comparison of some of the mid range controllers out there.
You guys have had a lot of questions about these.
some of the newer popular ones.
I'm going to compare some of the features they have, some of the things that they might
lack and I'm also going to give each one my own personal layout rating based on how everything
is placed on the controller itself.
Hopefully we'll give you guys some information and you can make a decision on which one is
the best for you, let's check it out.
Alright first we have the MC3000 from Denon DJ.
This is a really great controller, it's versatile, it's got some of the best construction out
there.
Pretty solid, you can use it as a semi-stand alone mixer because you do have two RCA auxiliary
inputs.
You also have control of eight hot cues, so that's really nice.
Actually four at a time, and you do have level meters on that.
So a really great controller, however you do lack a booth output and it only comes with
LE software.
So if you want to go pro with the MC3000 you are going to have to upgrade to Virtual DJ
Pro or Traktor Pro.
Now the layout, I'm going to give it three stars because you can do a lot directly from
the controller in a small footprint but it is a little bit congested.
I do like that you've got backlit LEDs, but everything is really sort of cramped on there
so you just have to get used to it.
Ok so up next we've got the Pioneer DDJ-Ergo.
Great controller, this is going to give you two deck control of Virtual DJ.
And also for Serato Intro, very nice.
Some of the things I like about it, it's just got great Pioneer design.
It's pretty sleek, light, very portable.
The jog wheels are the biggest of the group here and they also have that pulse control
feature, so you've got some groovy LEDs going on around the jog wheels and everything is
layed out kind of clean.
Now this doesn't have a designated booth output at all, you can't use it as a stand alone
mixer.
You do also lack level meters, you don't have any LEDs per channel, so that is one of the
things that it does lack.
And it also only comes with an LE software so you're going to really have to upgrade
if you want to go pro on that.
As far as the layout, I'm going to give this one three out of five stars.
The reason why is that the layout is not really mirrored.
Meaning that my pitch adjust isn't on the outside of deck 1 over here.
This button doesn't do the same function as that, just got to get used to it.
Also the hot cues are super tiny, it's like eating with chopsticks for the first time,
you've got to bumble through, but once you get the hang of it you shouldn't have a problem,
especially if you are a bit Pioneer fan.
Alright so next we have from Native Instruments, the ever popular Kontrol S2.
This is going to give you two deck control of Traktor, you also have your sample deck
on there.
What I like about it, it does have a designated booth output, so you can have control of that
on there.
It's a very accurate controller, the jog wheels especially if you do a lot of scratching,
the jog wheels are accurate.
It actually has these sort of pads on here, so if you are a controlorist it should suit
you great.
Also Native Instruments gives you NHL protocol, so that means the control you have on this
software, the hardware to the software is like four times faster than MIDI.
That's really nice.
Now this will not work as a stand alone mixer, you don't have any other sort of auxiliary
input on there.
And some of the features on Traktor you can't really control directly from the hardware.
You're lacking control of the loop recorder or your third and fourth effects.
But overall pretty good.
Now for the layout of the Kontrol S2, I'm going to go give it a five out of five.
Simply because everything is pretty logical, laid out, here's my effects, my gains.
Everything is mirrored on this side.
It's really nice, everything feels good, really accurate.
My headphone control is actually on the very front of it, as it should be.
So there it is for the Kontrol S2.
Ok so finally from Novation we have the ever popular Twitch.
This is a pretty popular controller for Serato Itch, two deck control.
However you can map it to Traktor and also Ableton.
This is a unique controller because it doesn't really have any jog wheels on it but that's
ok because it's designated to mostly the controlorists out there.
I've got eight rubber performance pads up here that I use for my hot cues, for that
really cool loop roll feature in Itch.
Really nice.
I've got fader effects on here that I can use.
It's really a controlorist type of piece, you know high performance, I really dig that
about it.
It also has a designated booth output as well as auxiliary line inputs.
It's the little things, it's compact and very versatile, I really dig it.
On the other hand, it does take some getting used to.
You have to make sure that all your tracks are beat gridded like perfectly in there,
because if you do need to make adjustments it's kind of hard to nudge on the touch strip
and also the pitch as a rotary.
It just takes a little bit of getting used to, but overall a really solid controller.
The layout rating I'm going to give for the novation twitch is going to be four out of
five stars.
Everything is logical, it looks really good.
You know the browser is not in the center, it's on the upper right, effects are on the
upper left.
But outside of that it's layed out well, you can get used to it and really do some damage
on it.
Ok guys there it is, our comparison of some of the popular mid range controllers on the
market.
Hopefully you can make a decision based on the information we've given you, but if you
need more information don't forget to check out our accompanying blog.
Also we have all of these available and more at great pricing on our website.
Thank you for following us on facebook and also on twitter.
This is Scott Magno DJ MadFlip.
Be you, be unique, at uniquesquared.com.