What is going on?
This is Scott Magno, DJ Madflip, here with UniqueSquared.com.
Today we're going to talk about some of the advanced controllers out there.
We're going to do a comparison and look at some of the standard features that you come
to expect from the advanced controllers and then you can decide which one's going to be
best for you.
Who are we playing with today?
We are talking about Allen & Heath Xone DX, this is going to come with Serato Itch.
Now we've got the Denon DN-MC6000, this is going to come with Virtual DJ LE.
Next we have the Native Instruments Kontrol S4, this is going to come with Traktor Pro,
and then lastly we have the Pioneer DDJ-T1, this is also going to come with Traktor Pro
Pioneer edition.
Ok, so what do they all have in common?
Well upon looking at them you can see which ones are going to be a little smaller, which
one's going to be the biggest, but what they all have in common is that they can all mix
four decks of audio simultaneously.
Some of the other things, they're all going to have a master output whether it be XLR
or 1/4in, they will all have a balanced output as well as an RCA output.
Now of the four, a dedicated booth output you're only going to have in the Denon DN-MC600
and the Xone DX, that's very, very important for a lot of you, some of you not so much.
Of the four which can you use as a stand alone mixer in case your software goes down, or
your laptop just decides to stop working?
That's going to be the Denon DN-MC6000, they are all going to have input capability to
plug in additional CDJ or turntable but of the four you can use the Denon DN-MC6000 as
a stand alone.
So, let's talk about some of the things you need on your controller if you are a controllerist,
you're going to need a really good EFX section a really good loop section, and also a very
good hot cues section so you can play kicks and snares and all that.
All of them are going to have that, but what I am going to recommend the most is the Pioneer
DDJ-T1, that one's going to have a really good section those of you who are used to
doing it on the other Pioneer products are going to be right at home, but I'm going to
favor the Native Instruments Kontrol S4 that's going to be because, the Loop section is very
dynamic.
You going to be able to do a lot more in the software in Traktor, they also have a loop
recorder and sample banks so you can switch out your 3rd and 4th decks for sample banks
and that's really really nice.
You can be really dynamic as a controllerist with the Kontrol S4.
Ok, let's talk about scratching if you're a turntablist.
It's very important to you something that you want to be able to do switching from decks
& a mixer to a controller, now, I can do scratching on the Denon DN-MC6000.
That's going to be sort of a smaller jog wheel but it's still going to be effective because
of its touch sensitivity.
On the Kontrol S4 a little bit bigger and that has a very, very accurate feel when it
comes to doing any kind of scratching.
Now the biggest jog wheels are going to be on the pioneer DDJ-T1, really, really nice.
Sometimes you need a little bit more room to define your cuts.
The jog wheels on the DDJ-T1 also have the rotating LED you're familiar with that with
the CDJ 400, also a very nice jog wheel.
Now, the Xone DX has the smallest jog wheels of the four it does not have touch sensitivity,
so you are not able to do any kind of scratching on that one.
Ok, let's talk about the layout of each, I'm probably going to recommend, if you're into
the mobile scene, we'll go with the DN-MC6000, it is conducive more to doing a lot of like
mobile and karaoke stuff, the software also allows you to do video as well.
Now, as far as being a standard DJ layout, what you're used to from a pair of turntables
and a mixer, I'm going to recommend the Kontrol S4 and the Pioneer DDJ-T1.
So, we've just scratch the surface with this, there is a lot more detail we could go into
but we just wanted to go over some of the standard features and give you a comparison
so you can choose what's best for you.
Feel free to leave a comment below and I will answer it personally.
As always, visit us online at the UniqueSquared.com/blog, follow us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
My name is Scott Magno, DJ Madflip, Be U. Be Unique at UniqueSquared.com