The world of Djing is changing fast.. very fast
5 years ago I bought a a Pioneer CDJ1000 which at the time was the industry standard CD DJ deck used in clubs the world over, so it seemed the logical choice to buy although expensive. I paid the best part of £700 new, hence I only bought the one with plans of adding another later. I already had and still do a pair of Technics SL1210 turntables and the CDJ allowed me to enter the download arena, downloading tracks and burning them to CD, which in itself proved to be a pain. I used to put 6 tracks onto a CD although you could fit more, for labeling purposes 6 was pretty much the limit.
More time drifted and I found myself buying more and more downloads and less vinyl, so i needed a digital solution… on a budget! Enter Torq Connectiv a digital vinyl system that uses time coded vinyl a computer running software that allows you to control the playback with the decks. So now I had solution which worked fine. The only thing with digital vinyl systems is that you still have the foibles of vinyl turntables to contend with i.e. wow and flutter of the platter (speeding up and slowing down)
I decided I no longer wanted to use turntables (I’ll never sell though!). if your a scratch DJ they are great especially with DVS as you can use mp3’s with your beloved vinyl turntables.
The new kid on the block as far as Pioneer was concerned was the CDJ2000, but weighing in at £1500 a piece the commitment was too much.. OK so you can get a cut down versions CDJ900/800 etc but I’d bought the best they did 5 years previously for under £700…times had changed
So I decided I needed a new digital solution as I liked using playlists and wanted to get more into dropping samples and looping which all can be done with Torq… But needed a tidier solution…..
I’d heard a Native Instruments Tracktor was becoming the industry standard DJ software of choice and decided this was the software I wanted, so what hardware to couple it up with?
I checked out Pioneers own DDJ-T1 at Hard to Find Records but felt it was like a kids toy compared to there top end gear,so after a bit of consideration decided to go with NI’s own new kid on the block…
Enter Native Instruments Kontrol S4 controller coupled up with Traktor Pro! 4 deck support, sample support and built in audio
I also got a new Laptop to run Traktor on, but the cost of a new laptop (dedicated for tracktor use) and the S4 cost less than one CDJ2000 can do all they can and more… I know, a fellow DJ has made the leap and gone Pioneer which I’ve used…. Setup cost 5K!!
All in all I’m very happy with the S4, it’s a quality piece of gear
ill write a dedicated post on it soon…
Who knows where we’ll be in another 5 years the world of DJing is changin fast, very fast!
