Traktor Kontrol S4 DJ System

how do you run cdjs through channels cand d

how do you run cdjs through channels cand d

You should think about selling just 2 extra deck so u can have 4 deck control at one time.

yah man, you have the possibility for line in only ie. vinyl, cd, minidisc or whatever 🙂

Can u hook up your vinyl decks and play normal vinyl??? not traktor vinyl.
that would be sweet…

I got myself one of these and i’m wondering, I can I play LIVE through the internet with this?

are decks c and d only for samples? or can you also put a track in the 2 decks?

are decks c and d only for samples? or can you also put a track in the 2 decks?

all you new dj´s can suck my di..

[quote comment=”39514″][quote post=”7482″]Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.
Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting s_____ clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.[/quote]

funny dubfire was using it at Space Ibiza![/quote]

…and pete tong look it up on youtube ;P

do S4 extended layout

got it the other day. It’s truly amazing. One issue I’m having is with the Traktor Pro S4 software. I’m not able to see any of the FX or EQ monitors on my screen. Has anyone had this issue or do i need to change my view settings?

[quote post=”7482″]Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.
Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting s_____ clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.[/quote]

funny dubfire was using it at Space Ibiza!

I think NI have developed a hybrid controller for the musician as well. I can see this being used to monitor the waveform ( mp3 ) and the scenes in Maschine. I won’t need to play or remix other peoples music. I will Record my own tracks in a DAW on a production machine and create loops from midi notation and convert to audio.
I will refine in Emu X3 and Audition 3, convert from Wavefile to MP’3 and then

REMIX/ REPLAY and perform live with Traktor Kontrol S4 and play along with my other synthesizers and samplers and still manage to sing along in tempo and key.

How good is that. Now I can be the DJ/Performer/ Musician/ Producer.

Thanks to NI for considering the musician. Now I can finally do it live.

Anyway if it all goes to plan we will have the product in our hot little knob twiddlin’ hands and fingers within the week.
Cheers

what does TRS and TS stand for?

Take a look at this you guys.

Blown away ! and now what !?

…… Or are we going to get a shock and this wont work with Traktor pro?[/quote]
Hey UKDJ7,

Just Read The FAQs @ NI S4 tab. ; )

NI’s site says 899 EURO or $999. Which is it? 899 EURO is way more than $999 at current rate ($1250). Although there is no option to pay in $$$ on NI’s site?

Where is best dealer to pre-order in UK?

Can you download the software from the internet for free?

It’s a shame there are so many people without a clue whinging about a great new product. If the S4 was half as bad as some of you make it out to be, do you think Ean would give it his endorsement? Would he put his respected reputation on the line for a product that was inferior ? For someone that is making the change from Vinyl/CD’s the price is absolute bargain.

ps can you use it with serato and how do you configure it?

Can someone tell me please whats the name of the song thats on the begining of the video?..that funky house..”GET DOWN..”…thank you..
p.s. think i will stick with my VCI100 SE ARCADE 4 now…this is too much money 4 now..

Pitch……..fader………..too………..short…….

Will there be support for Music Videos in the future?

Another great feature would be the ability to create smart playlists. Currently, I select my songs from the integrated Itunes library, because I can create smart playlists there, but the problem is that the cover art is not displayed, which is a bit sad and when selecting itunes music videos, I get error in tracktor… (is there a way to know if the itunes music is video or not inside traktor?) I wish NI would incorporate these 2 features: Video and Smart Playlists. Other than this, I think this is the ultimate dream controller. Thanks Ean! Good work.

[quote comment=”35735″]I love it! It took a long time but finally NI stepped up to the plate.

I bought a NS7/FX in January thinking TPro was on the verge of supporting NS7, it never happened. I used it with Itch but never liked it (FX and syncing sucked), so I bought VDJ6. VDJ6 is cool but FX sucked big time.

I was thinking on switching to Pioneer CDJ/DJM 2000 and Rekordbox. Even though I had the money I was reluctant because 5-6000$ is a lot. After trying Rekordbox, I wasn’t impressed and the more I was thinking about the whole new Pioneer species looked way overpriced. So when the VMS4 was announced back in April I was thinking about selling my NS7/FX and go back to TPro, damn I love those NI FX! Now that the VMS4 is released, the reviews about the quality of the unit convinced me it was not a good idea.

Now, here comes the TS4. Wow, everything is in there plus more! This thing weight 7.5 lb (the NS7 is 75 lb). The only downside is the spinning platter vs. this magnetic jog wheel, but I’m sure I will be able to adjust quickly and will not miss the weight loss.

Thank you Ean and NI, I will be one happy customer this November.
Now, anybody want my NS7/FX for 500$?[/quote]
I’ll take it 🙂

Love it! And I will buy it!!

when the vinyl control option does become available, will the S4 be able to function just as a mixer with FX? Im sorry I have no experience with Traktor I’ve been using 1200’s and a DJM-400 with SL3, but am very interested in trying out this controller business. Seems very different and fun.

@Ean
Are they XLR, 1/4″ TRS combo jacks?

dayum! thinking of selling my xone 92 to get this!

Craze, Tong, Car Cox infact most big name DJ’s use Traktor or Serato Scratch with many of them using at least £6k worth of CDJ’s, Decks and Mixer to boot. Not everyone has that kind of cash, so let them buy something that gives them all that and a little bit more.

What makes me laugh is that I have been in a DJ booth with big name DJ’s who hide their laptop because they are worried about people like you! I was in Ibiza last week and many DJ’s had a computer on show, including Tong and Judge Jules. People perception is changing. When it comes down to it the people dancing DON’T CARE, they just want to dance to good music!!

[quote comment=”35429″]Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.

Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting s_____ clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.[/quote]

The native recorder in Traktor 3 allowed you to pause your set and come back to it a little later or if you blew a mix rewind and go back through it. Not very handy in the club but a great feature for bedroom Djing and laying down promos. I was sad to see it go in TPro. I hope they bring it back.

What does the native recorder do? I’m defnitely getting this thing when it comes out. If i can hook my turntables to it, it’s exactly what i’m looking for. i don’t know why everyone is against this device when you get a Traktor Scratch and a mixer $900. My rane mixer cost $1100, plus my Serato cost $500. this is an all in one package for 900 bucks.

http://soundcloud.com/roboform Check us out!!

[quote comment=”36150″]Within the price range there are many similar controllers coming on to the market right now that i think would give this a run for its money. The American Audio VMS4 has pretty much all the same features + more buttons as well as XLR outs and can also function as a hardware mixer for only $500.
[/quote]

vms4 has some serious quality issues, check the forums.

[quote comment=”35527″]Only one way I can see this taking off and that’s if every big club buys the controller and it’s installed alongside the CDJs, no one will want to carry that around from gig to gig and flight to flight.[/quote]

For those that have the regular VCI 100… would I be able to upgrade or will their be a speical mapping for it to work on a regular VCI 100 and not a VCI 100SE?

Thanks for the help!

Just a thought for Ean and DJTT lab (I’m sure this ran thru your head already):

Make a S4 + vci-100SE mapping to control 4 decks between the two controllers. Boom – decrease product cannibalization and increase fun!

DJ J@gZ
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:03 pm Quote

i am totally loving this, i watch videos of traktor s4 three times a day atleast…
i have a question though, do we need to buy this special traktor pro software seperately or it comes in a package?

i watched the ni video too and i pretty much shure they said : all in one packadge if you want more infos check that :)http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/dj/traktor-kontrol-s4/ it the ni page about it 🙂 don’t forget to follow me on twitter (i follow back)

I like this alot and the best part is you can still use a CDJ or a Turntable, which will come as an update but still I like the feel of the big CDJ jogwheel which can be added later.. I need 1000 dollars, anybody want a DJ for a party holla at me, I need this S4..

does anyone know if the controller has cue buttons like the kontrol x1. because I was wondering if I get this and it doesn’t have cue buttons then I still need my Kontrol X1.

Ean

I had the chance to see this thing in Atlantic city the other day and I have to say its even better than I thought. Very solid unit! Made very well the buttons and the way its constructed….top notch! I played around with it for a good half hour. The feel of the jog wheels are like a mini CDJ and is as accurate as you would expect. I was begging the guys from NI to let me just take it off there hands If I gave them cash upfront LOL!

Can’t wait for this bad boy to be available I am sold! Goodbye VCI 300 …Hello S4!!!

I haven’t seen anything in these comments or across the web yet, but I’m wondering if there will be the ability to group samples for quick sample loading. I wouldn’t want to individually load 8 samples/loops all the time when I’m consistently using the same 8 samples/loops together. It’d be nice to select a sample group, load it, and call it a day.

Am I missing prior conversation about this, or does anyone have any insight here?

Here is my 1 cent (kinda broke, cant spare the rest….also, may not be worth 2 cents) I have the NS7, I love it but its huge and Im not. I love the idea of using this with time code vinyl, from what i gather that will be an option at some point. Tho i dont see any ground connections on the back, not very familiar with time codes, maybe its not an issue. As far as the price goes, with my NS7 and case, compared to S4 with case, its about half the price for the S4. And as far as the no booth output, well chances are if you are using a booth monitor you will be running into a mixer anyway. And on the note, trying showing up somewhere with the NS7 and telling asking where to set up. I love the small design and portableness to it. It wont replace turntables or cdjs because its not supposed to, different market. If this isnt the set up for you then luckily you have the option to not buy it, i know that seams difficult for some of you but its true. I want one of these with the case and my Maschine and Im ready to go. Thank you Ean, and everyone else involved!

Hey guys
just wondering when you will be releasing the TRAKTOR CONRTOL S4 in Australia? And how much it will be.
Thanks

Just a dream…

Punch in and punch out on a higher rez grid and just one more button to slice down into sample slot..when i’m bored I rinse and repeat all on the fly.. why not?

Saw it 1st hand at the DJ expo…IMO the Software>Hardware..Don’t get me wrong, if they had it available for sale I woulda probably jumped on it but in all honesty will probably wait til the S4 software becomes available as a standalone or upgrade.
Again, jmo but I prefer spinning platters and such…but for an all in one, quick & simple setup it’s seems pretty kewl.

looks kinda chincy. think i’m getting a used fireface 400, a xone 1d, and a newish rane empath. if this thing breaks you gotta send the whole deal back, i know – i just sold me 3d for a grand. plasticky knobs for a thousand? no thanks. at least the 3d had nice hard rubber pots – they should have had someone else manufacture it. almost…

Love it, but will the buttons take it?!
Arcade buttons ?! This kontroller with arcade buttons could be asome… =)

But… You lose FX 3 and 4 with S4 software ? right ? crap crap …

I find it hard to believe Ian played a part in this design when the controls appear to be typical tiny rubber chiclet buttons. I would have expected something a lot larger and more tactile especially in the triggering sections.

Hey ean I got one simple question… would I be able to used this same features on my my regular VCI 100? I recently bought a VCI 100 and I definitely don’t want to feel like I made a bad purchase. But, if there is a way for me to get this into my regular VCI 100, then I have no problem with that at all.

first, i must appologize for my english as my parents comitted the crime, not to live in UK or the US…

when i started playing with my CDJ 500 back in 1995 many people told me, this wasn’t “real djing” and CDs were just toys.

It’s now 15 year later and many people say, “only cdjs are real clubstandards, controllers are toys.”

Guess what? I’m pretty shure that’s the same morons… 🙂

OK, back to topic: Is it possible to connect turntables to the unit an use them as turntables with normal record?

And please Ean, as so many asked: Can you explain why there’s no Booth Monitor Out? There’s not only clubs, on parties the S4 could replace the mixer, but not without monitor out…

Dj URKEL, hit the nail on the head, it’s all about what you bring to the floor

I’m DJíng for more then 15 years and always was an early adopter of new technologies. I remember the times that I was hauling 2x CDJ-500 and DJM-500 in a flightcase around to my gigs. Exactly the same story as with the controllers and cd’s nowadays, I wasn’t a “real” DJ because “real” DJ’s only used turntables. Now DJing with cd’s is the standard. So nothing’s changed I guess..

Ean,
I am here at the DJ expo and had a chance to get some hands on with this baby…
I would like to know if…

all of the Dj TT features
like
fader FX
instant press fx presets
juggle all 8 cue points

will be available via a mapping?
Also will changing the mapping f’ up the HID part?
The people from NI while VERY nice and super cool don’t seem to know as much about this unit as u do. They didn’t seem to even know you or how much you are involved. (FYI the dicer people didn’t either…)

Also I am here for 1 more day so if anybody has questions about the controller they want answered ask me here and I will try to get a hands on answer…

[quote comment=”35808″][quote comment=”35807″]A lot of people are touching on a couple of serious issues. One is logistical, the issue of finding a space to set down a controller of this size in a DJ Booth, which tends to be filled with the standard mixer and CDJ combo. The second issue though, is the attitude towards controllers. A lot of people, DJ’s or otherwise, think that using a controller to spin your sets is “cheating” or “boring.” I personally stand with Richie Hawtin on this. As he mentioned in one of this interviews with Native Instruments, it’s only boring or cheating if you don’t use the time you save beatmatching automatically to add other elements to your mix, like effects, loops, samples, beat juggling, etc.

In my opinion, what matters most is WHAT the DJ sends through to the dancefloor. HOW he sends it out is of interest to me as a fellow DJ, but it’s a distant second to the sounds hitting my ears. Watching a CDJ DJ masterfully control the jog wheels and the mixer is awesome to watch, but I have just as good of a time watching a controllerism DJ mashing loops and samples and playing perfectly beatmatched tracks.[/quote]

+12[/quote]

You get software, soundcard, and a controller for around $900. Not that expensive IMO. The VCI 300 is a comparable controller and it is around $800. The VCI 100 is around $500 but doesn’t have software or soundcard. So what made you think it would be at that price? Did you just pull that number out of thin air.

[quote comment=”35807″]A lot of people are touching on a couple of serious issues. One is logistical, the issue of finding a space to set down a controller of this size in a DJ Booth, which tends to be filled with the standard mixer and CDJ combo. The second issue though, is the attitude towards controllers. A lot of people, DJ’s or otherwise, think that using a controller to spin your sets is “cheating” or “boring.” I personally stand with Richie Hawtin on this. As he mentioned in one of this interviews with Native Instruments, it’s only boring or cheating if you don’t use the time you save beatmatching automatically to add other elements to your mix, like effects, loops, samples, beat juggling, etc.

In my opinion, what matters most is WHAT the DJ sends through to the dancefloor. HOW he sends it out is of interest to me as a fellow DJ, but it’s a distant second to the sounds hitting my ears. Watching a CDJ DJ masterfully control the jog wheels and the mixer is awesome to watch, but I have just as good of a time watching a controllerism DJ mashing loops and samples and playing perfectly beatmatched tracks.[/quote]

+12

I just measured and weighed my cd case that I was carrying to my gigs a couple years back and guess what. It is barely smaller than this controller and actually weighs more. My Cd case is 4x14x12 and weighs 11.5 lbs(w/ cds). So again if you are not able to carry this controller to a club, you might want to look into knitting or possibly scrap booking. I believe these hobbies to be more up your alley.

Too big? Really? you young bucks must not remember the days of lugging your vinyl to clubs. My record case is 3x the size of this controller and ways 10x as much. Hell some clubs I played required that I bring my TT and mixer. To all the haters claiming that this is to big and too heavy please run to the nearest store and get yourself a box of tampons. (no offense ladies)

[quote comment=”35760″]Now, assuming NI’s controller line just begin, I would suggest them to consider the next one to be a bit much more “Standard Mixer” oriented.

What I would like to see, Is a 4-6 inputs “standard Mixer” + Booth + 2 Mic inputs. Each input you can switch from Phono, line, aux, MIDI. And, A MAJOR PLUS, have a on-board USB hub to allow say, 2 computer on it. A blend mix of S4, new Denon controller, and Rane 68. That would be a killer one.
[/quote]

Agree with you…
The only way to become a real new standard is to replace the actual pioneer mixers in clubs (who only allow to mix with cdj and vinyl)……..
A killer new mixer with analogues + midi + controls….
Something like the 4D but with the layout of the S4 for traktor pro…
So everybody will be happy (Classics cdj Djs and Controller Djs) because there will be total control of the software + possibility to connect cdj//vinyl desks by analogue connections and Time code… >> You could mix internal or in the classic external way)
To make a new standard, it needs to replace the heart of the setup: I mean the mixer !
IF it happens one day…that will stop problems to make space for controllers and will avoid to travel with controllers, you will only need to take your laptop with you…..the 2 Djs world will be united ! AND CLUBS WILL WELCOME ALL KIND OF DJS 🙂

I’m not sure about “oversized” since it still has a smaller footprint than 2 turntables/cdjs and a mixer.

Most of the clubs I’ve played at will prep the booth accordingly before I get there i.e. they shelve the turntables so the workspace is empty. There’s one club that has an array of Spacetek hardware for just such cases… not sure I’d let a particular club’s booth layout hinder me from using something I like. If the S4 were like 4 ft wide and 60lbs, then that’s another thing, but if controllerism is your thing, and with dimensions like these…

* Depth: 32.2 cm / 12.7”
* Height: 5.2 cm / 2”
* Width: 50 cm / 19.7”
* Weight: 3.4 kg / 7.5 lbs

…how could you not play out with it!

oh I forgot… this isn’t real DJing..hahahaha gotta love the DJ Thought Police!

The thing that interests me most is wether or not NI has done something about the upcoming Serato/Ableton Bridge as I’m looking to get this with Kore2, Maschine and Komplete7 for a total live setup. If I could run Kore through deck D I’d be able to control Maschine AND Komplete7 as VSTs in Kore using the Maschine hardware, tweak sounds with the Kore hardware and have deck C to run my samples (which are supposedly slow to load in Maschine).

If NI have prepared S4 for that kind of integration, latency issues should (hopefully!) be low enough to work with.

Oh, and flexible beat-gridding for my older tunes. Ean, do you know if this issue been addressed?

i do not understand the wohle bitching about the price. this system offers what a pioneer mixer, and two cdjs can do at one sixth of their combined pricing. besides that, street price will surely be below the mbr.

besides that i dont understand, why tpro scratch users are complaining about a missing, if possible free update. you dont buy an ipod touch and request to get a iphone for free or for less, because actually you already have the touchscreen, the wifi and the apps you need, but the ability to make calls is yet missing.

[quote post=”7482″]Hi dear Ean Golden,

Is it possible to create 4 buttons per effects in the software to save effects presets configurations ?
The main goal is changing the three effects type at the same time.

if I push the first button I set a Flanger a Gater and a Beatmasher
, if I push the second I set a LoFi, a Delay and a Reverb
if I push the third I set a ……. etc.

Why 4 buttons per effects ? because 4×3 = 12 so every 12 effects would be set extremely quickly.

Thanks in advance

Daveed[/quote]

you can map that already. just look into the controller editor and map each slot fx to one button.

[quote comment=”35494″]I just want to know one thing. Has there been algorithm’s written for the knobs such as the fx so that they don’t jump around but rather you have to turn them until they pick up there pervious point? I’m sold anyway but I hope they have dealt with this. Ableton does it with the xone4D![/quote]

there is a optio called soft takeover in the controller editor, you might want to map this to each knob and discover, that this requested issue is already working.

[quote comment=”35532″]- Short faders
– The absence of many standard controls (Pitch bend, beat skip, seek position, browse in tree list, cue play, tap button, viny/cd mode, balance, keylock, …)
– No booth Output
– No symetric Output
– Does not work as classic dj mixer (This allows Denon DN-MC6000, AA VM4, Reloop Digital Jockey 2 Master Editon)[/quote]

where are you taking your information from. there are balanced trs outputs and rca outputs on the back. so unbalanced would work for the botth and balanced for amster out.
faders are exactly like the djm800 faders
all the controls you stated as absent are actually there!
it works as a classic mixer.

Wow, Time to save up… This needs to be in my life…

Like I said, I’ll definitely grab one, that’s for sure. Now, assuming NI’s controller line just begin, I would suggest them to consider the next one to be a bit much more “Standard Mixer” oriented.

What I would like to see, Is a 4-6 inputs “standard Mixer” + Booth + 2 Mic inputs. Each input you can switch from Phono, line, aux, MIDI. And, A MAJOR PLUS, have a on-board USB hub to allow say, 2 computer on it. A blend mix of S4, new Denon controller, and Rane 68. That would be a killer one. And yeah, those previous implemented would raise the price, but imagine how easy this could be for multiple DJ events (assuming they want to share the same “room” :p), that would also grant some place in “industry standard” mixer line.

My 2 cents.

I just dont get why they thought it would make sense to produce a separate software, especially since they plan to let the features tricky down to Traktor Pro (especially the sampler has been mentioned as something they are looking into to add to TP for a while now). Seems like a cheap marketing stunt to get people to buy the hardware even if mainly they just want the software. Of course with that price I assume they will also need to be people that can use the hardware too. But still. Very odd imho.

Also its a pitty that open standards really seem dead to NI. Or rather that NI is unwilling to be a leader here and start working on an open standard for DJ controllers on top of OSC.

[quote comment=”35696″]@karatechopaction:
“Love the sample decks.” – This is either a sentence fragment or an illogical command. Either way it is poor form.

“They should come in handy later in Traktor Pro.” – You’ve unnecessarily ended a sentence with a preposition. Traditional grammarians will tell you this is unacceptable. Modern grammarians will tell you this is poor form.

“Fuck jog wheels.” – Here’s another dubious phrase that features an implied subject. Either you fuck jog wheels and this is a sentence fragment, or you want us to fuck jog wheels and this is a command. What’s clear in your mind is not in mine.

“I know everyone is different but I typically use all 8 hotcues for A and B decks and ALL 4 FX slots.” – You’re missing a comma, but I’ll let you work out where. Here’s a hint: you’ve created a compound sentence from two independent clauses by using a conjunction.

Overall your post has a solid foundation, but you need to brush up on sentence structure and style. B+

I’m just messin’ with ya. Don’t sweat the simple things like grammar.[/quote]

to shorten the story: you troll are a grammarnazi.

I got to play with the S4 and its a great controller.

Please let no one forget the people that actually “make” or “create” these devices we use. The faceless,nameless team of vestax or NI. The names we don’t know.The point is, I purchased a vestax vci-100 dj techtools edition (no-buttons), because it put in the hands of “anyone” some serious possibilities.Why shouldn’t everything be as such(In the hands of the many,not the few).Why put restrictions such as hardware/software combos? Hardware and Software should always be kept separate as to keep the integrity of their development/evolvement.Much respect to the innovators Like the Dj Techtools Team and NI for Making What is for The Few, available for the many. Price always matters, but matters less when you imagine how sick a mix you could throw down with either one so,in short,buy whichever you can now… they are probably both worthy of a lot of props. For those of you who know…this seriously (either one,)replaces a lot of gear and fx modules…at a fraction).We are the future,it is now.It started with music and should end with it!!!

me wanty.

and DJ FE’ off course who started Mandingo’s Follow up

[quote comment=”35689″] 3. F___ jog wheels. Why can’t they just add more buttons for juggling or knobs for FX control? I know everyone is different but I typically use all 8 hotcues for A and B decks and ALL 4 FX slots. If the software has 4 decks, 4 FX slots, and 8 hotcues and the controller has 2 decks, 2 FX slots, and 4 hotcues, then really it is only HALF the controller I need. I’d pay HALF price for it. :)[/quote]

Actually, I would argue that Jog Wheels are one of the more essential features. Here’s why: If you have a track with a lot of tempo changes, Traktor has a lot of trouble getting an accurate beatgrid. I’ve run into this problem many many times with the Drum and Bass tracks that I spin. Having the option to beatmatch manually is extremely handy in this situation.

Also, having the Jog Wheels included is great if you never learned to beatmatch manually (like me). Now I have the capability to learn manual beatmatching at home, so that if I were ever caught without my laptop/controller(s), I could spin straight off CDJ’s.

As for the issue of not having enough hotcues, you could use another, cheaper MIDI controller in conjunction with the S4 if you really, really needed access to all 8 hotcues.

Damnit! I bought my VCI-100 about month ago
Ah well. I still love my baby :). When the time comes to sell it (hopefully years from now) I’ll use that money to upgrade to some future gear that will be awesome in my eyes

As if I ever doubted NI on the built-in soundcard, here is something from NI S4 FAQ –

Q: I have an AUDIO 8 DJ soundcard, can I use it with the TRAKTOR KONTROL S4?
A: The soundcard integrated in TRAKTOR KONTROL S4 offers the same audio quality and performance as the AUDIO 8 DJ.

As for people going on about this being a ‘toy’, umm….I’ve seen several very well known international djs use an apc40 at a gig. I personally would be embarrassed to play a main room gig with the vci-100, but not with the S4. I like the way it looks and what it offers, and I’ve been waiting for the right controller to move away from cds. I was almost sold on the DX but this looks very nice.

hey theres some dope videos on NI.com of shiftee using it
ppl should check em out

Why is EVERYONE here on Ean’s nuts so hard?
This thing is cool but its a scam – $1000? Are you kidding me?? It looks like its worth $500 tops.
Who thought of that color combination? jog wheel placement? jog wheel design? and the unit’s finish??
For a unit that was specifically designed for Traktor, it really doesn’t match it well at all!
You can get the same value out of a VCI-100 easily – at half the price!
Its only a matter of time before that new version of Traktor Pro is released to everyone else so buying it just for that is stupid as well.

Everyone here bitches about “why wont this club book me with my controller?” Well, thats just the way it is. If you want to play clubs then you gotta play their game – learn to use CDJs or whatever and put your creative twist on it. Im well aware how much you can do with this unit but that doesn’t mean its going to be respected… If you want to get booked and are being rejected based on your equipment then maybe its time to change something…

I dont know why everyone on this damn website is so lovely dovey and lacks the ability to criticize anything posted here or anything Mr. Golden puts his hands on. I respect Ean a great deal and think he is a great DJ and runs a great site… but I think this product fell far short of what it should be – not thats entirely Ean’s problem because I’m sure its not.

I know a ton of you are going to get all hot and bothered over this post…Thats not my goal though; I just want to encourage at least one of you to not suck the DJTT c*ck so hard – lightly will do just fine.

I think the points about this not being a professional solution are valid. If you’re anywhere between a club DJ to a travelling DJ, to international superstar, I don’t see why you would want to use this over CD’s or a DVS system (Serato). Hauling the controller to gigs and then having to set it all up when you get there is a headache, especially if you are play with other DJs. It is much easier to just take your CD’s or take your laptop and plug it into the clubs Serato box. There is also the question of reliability.

As far as all the features you could do the same thing with CDJ’s or DVS, it’s just a little more difficult. Also in practical terms playing four songs at once, with how ever many samples going rarely ever sounds good. Sure you can remix stuff on the fly etc, etc, but the average club goer doesn’t care. You could just as easily make your own edits and remixes using whatever DAW (which have way more features and are way more powerul) and then just play it.

That being said I think this is perfect for a mobile DJ, who does weddings, and various other types of events, becuase it is cheap, mobile and very powerful. It’s also good for people who are just starting out, primarily due to the value you get for your money. Just my 2 cents.

[quote comment=”35704″][quote comment=”35563″]SOOOOOO UGLY

god. none of you have any sense of aesthetics. this is the most unprofessional, toyish looking thing ive ever seen. please realize that CDJs are the industry standard for a reason… sure, this thing is cool and im sure a lot of fun but its not not professional – end. of. story.[/quote]

How many times are people going to try and convience us that CD technology from 1984 or worse record players from the 1800’s are the s___??? If you are tempted to write something like this please stop yourself for your own good!

Fact of the matter is mixing music is art. You use pencil, I use photoshop. The results of both can be impressive. Give Jimmy Hendrix a basic bottom of the line guitar and he’d blow you away, give a crappy guitarist the best made and he’s still s___. Just because clubs have CDJ’s does not make them more professional, CDJ’s were just the progession from records. Club owners provide a basic set of tools for the artist’s they hire to come do their show. Artist who push creativity never use house gear because house gear is basic! Professional in my opinion is a box that is rugged and can reliable work with heavy usage in a club or touring enviornment. So before we can say this is or is not professional we have to put it on the road.

It’s funny that DJ’s can’t handle more than 3 peices of gear! Try setting up a band![/quote]

This post just made my day, thank you sir!

[quote comment=”35471″]I’m a lttile disappointed that there are no xlr outs… a pro feature for sure…[/quote]

Yeah – im a bit peturbed by that one – could have been a good idea – might hang on to my Xone Dx a bit longer!
Looks a top machine though !

Can someone please explain exactly how the input gain structure is going to work with the unit? It would appear that channel D has a gain, but not C. Is this single gain going to be applied across all the phono/line input sources or am I way off base?

Also, the mic. Is the mic input just going to be hard fed into the master or channel D with no way to limit the music when it’s in use? Talk-over type of feature would be sweet.

[quote comment=”35689″]

3. F___ jog wheels. Why can’t they just add more buttons for juggling or knobs for FX control?

Ean said they have fader effects. I love my Beatmasher!!!!!!

[quote comment=”35689″]1. Everyone in this comments section has extremely poor grammar.

[/quote]
@karatechopaction

This site is geared toward DJ’s not English majors. Go find an Englih lit site if grammar is so important to you. Also as Ando said, a lot of users here are foreign and English is a second language. How many forums do you post in that do not use your native language?

Redlight thanks for the specs.

1. Everyone in this comments section has extremely poor grammar.

2. Love the sample decks. They should come in handy later in Traktor Pro.

3. F___ jog wheels. Why can’t they just add more buttons for juggling or knobs for FX control? I know everyone is different but I typically use all 8 hotcues for A and B decks and ALL 4 FX slots. If the software has 4 decks, 4 FX slots, and 8 hotcues and the controller has 2 decks, 2 FX slots, and 4 hotcues, then really it is only HALF the controller I need. I’d pay HALF price for it. 🙂

Did they fix the s_____ USB connector? I gotta take both my X1’s back because the connector has gotten loose and disconnects during a show. =\

[quote comment=”35683″]I haven’t heard anything about being able to control fx 3/4. I mean…I rarely use fx3/4…I only use them to store special combo chained fx that I don’t want to lose. So is the conclusion that we really only need two fx units? To me it seems enough. Just wondering if anyone out there uses fx3/4 and doesn’t like the fact that ANY of the all-in-one dj controllers lack this feature. Either this or I missed it in the pile of comments 🙂

Cheers!

D[/quote]

I have noticed that as well. You could always add a modifier in the midi map to include fx3&4.

DJ ALLY SAID:
“The VCI-100SE is listed at 850 or so isn’t it? The S4 lists for 1000, but includes a soundcard. Is the soundcard that bad, or are we in for a surprise like a VCI-100SE price drop?? 😉

On a serious note, am I missing something? Are the two products not at competitive price points?

Thanks!”

The VCIse is $549.
The custom VCI arcade edition is $850.

I doubt NI would put out a shitty soundcard. Based on reviews and feedback Audio DJ 2-4-8 are all great soundcards. I expect no less from this unit.

Bye Bye VCI 300 and Itch 🙂

Ean

I know this controller will not be available for a little while but is there any way you can give us the dimensions of the unit?

Ean, just wondering. How bigger than an APC40 is it? I need to know if it would fit my Big Namba bag 🙂

[quote comment=”35661″]no booth output
…why??[/quote]
cause you plug the controller into the club mixer and not directly to the clubs pa. the club mixer is where you control master volume and monitors.

Xone DX or Traktor s4, someone help me pleaase!!!

@Shinohara Heavy Industries: You believe the track choice was cheezy. gotcha. However everyone I have shown the vid too says ” thats cool, he is using the tetris song”. When advertising its better to use something everyone is familiar with instead of some underground track nobody knows.

don’t know if the ppl complaining about the price have realized that this thing’s price is freaking low for what comes with it.

if you want a traktor setup right now you go buy a vci-100se and a sound card, as well as traktor pro and to have enough buttons to smash on a midi fighter (to catch up with the knobs you’d need a novation nocturne…). so where are we now? vci is about $549.00, 2dj is around $99.00, traktor pro’s upgrade from le costs $139.00 and the midi fighter has $125.00 on it. to sum it up we reach $912.00 ($1011 with a nocturne for full fx control).

you can change the bill by changing ingredients, but you will always see that a comparable setup will have an equal price, whether its with traktor pro or serato itch.

[quote comment=”35651″]hey could this be used as an Analog mixer, or run a Turntable into and run it through the software, like with the Xone XD, sorry if someone already asked this but i swear i read most of the 200 comments,,,[/quote]
As far as I understand, it’s not a mixer but a normal midi controller with integrated soundcard.

If there are so many of us using software and controllers, and APPARENTLY, SOOO many clubs and promoters and owners who either don’t know or don’t like controllers,…why are we, as DJs, not running and/or operating our own clubs or nights?

It would seem that from the comments here alone, oone could discern that there is still a large un-tapped market of party possibilities out there, where through the use of a controller instead of more expensive hardware, one could amass a nice soundsystem.

Will someone please refute the idea that there are no clubs using controllers.
(other than my own experiences of thurs nights I play classic,70s,80s country at the legion hut, and the geezers and grannies seem to love that it comes from “that things with all the lights”)

Nothing special…Don’t get me wrong it is nice and incorporates the sample decks which is nice…but It may be just me but I would rather shell out another $300 bones and go for the Xone DX…I feel the setup is more appealing and I mean come on its made by Allen Heath and its somewhat original in its nature….I feel NI is just trying to steal money away from Vestax instead of actually making something really useful and unique for a $1000…Not for me but nice product and definitely not trying to knock Ean and the time he spent…I mean like he said this is perfect for some I am sure and will capture a lot of peoples attention and pockets!! Just put my two sense in and trust me it isn’t worth much but I like to get it out there! I do love Traktor though and would love to get my hands on the new software…Nice job!

@Shinohara Heavy Industries: How did you do in the DMC?The guy that did the “cheesy” remix is a DMC champion. But I’m sure your better than him ay? Quit hatin.

Hmm, I dunno. If you’re trying to get people to take DJing on computers seriously, maybe a cheesy remix of the Tetris theme wasn’t the best way to go…?

Hey Ean, I don’t know if it’s necessary, but it could be a good idea to have an article compare the vci-100se vs de S4. Maybe also some insight into what possibilities are there about doing any MODs to it, like arcade buttons, and adding some of the DTTs mappings and other extras. I guess some of it is pretty obvious, and that everything is possible, but I’m sure you guys have already a few ideas there, and maybe you could inspire some of us to start exploring possibilities with this new controller. Once again, thanks for everything, and I will be buying one very likely as soon as it is out, but there will always be a part of me wanting to have arcade buttons available. I guess you can always get a midifigher to complement this issue. It’s still nice to have all you need in one controller.

Cheers!

I can’t believe that 50% are slating this, as i think its the next step in the evolution of Djing. There are a lot of top DJ’s around the world whom use Traktor Pro/Scratch already within there setup. I started Djing 15 years ago on crap decks but then got myself a pair of technics a couple of years on and a pioneer mixer. I loved using them but knew they were limited to there functionality. Since then, I didn’t bother with the CDJ’s as i saw the potential in what the early traktor software was capable of. The only problem there was there were very little midi controllers available and using the keyboard and mouse sucked. Now this day and age NI are finally going to release a controller and i think that is going to be excellent, I know it won’t appeal to skratch dj’s but thats what DVS is for. The price i think is reasonable as you get a quality NI soundcard built in and the software as well (audio 8 & traktor pro now retails at £519) but i can understand if you already have this equipment, you may be asking yourself why you need to buy it again. If you do want to go down the CDJ route, you can be expecting to pay up and over £4000 for a 2 deck pioneer system. As for portability, i rather carry my laptop & controller with my entire music collection than 100 vinyl records and the traktor S4 flight case isn’t any bigger than some of the CD flight cases. When this is released the is going to be a lot of potential with this unit as we have seen with what Sir Ean Golden has done with the VCI 100se.

I’d pass on the controller, i think an AH 92 mixer would be better quality, plus i already have a 1d and audio 8. Also, it would be too much of a pain in the arse lugging the thing to gigs and trying to set it up in a cramped booth while someone else is playing.

But… loving the new software! REALLY hope NI let existing TSP users in on that soon! Maybe as an xmas present..? Please?

I think this is a great revolution to the digital DJ world. It allows young inspiring musicians who may not have all of the old equipment to hand to put all of their creative arrangement skills into mixing skills by using the sampler, and loop builder.
TBH I am definitely thinking of placing an order on one of these as I am having trouble getting on with my vci SE arcade atm 🙁

Thank you Ean and NI for creating such a versatile piece of hardware that will hopefully help shape the youth of the DJ revolution.

There’s more room outside the box !

sjaak, please check the hardware explorer on ni site

[quote comment=”35494″]I just want to know one thing. Has there been algorithm’s written for the knobs such as the fx so that they don’t jump around but rather you have to turn them until they pick up there pervious point?[/quote]

it’s called software takeover, it’s a check box in the mapping screen and is in normal TPro.

can`t wait, i got the money for the allen & heat 4D and now i got to wait 4 more months to get this,
which one is better for play music? need an advice!!!!

[quote comment=”35447″]When Traktor Pro gets updated with the sample decks, we will update the SE mapping to add that functionality.[/quote]

WHEN or IF?!

Happy with my 2x VCI-100, thanks.

I would, however, happily trade up to a 4MidiLoop should anyone have it lying around…

[quote comment=”35612″]i wonder how DJTT can possibly maintain its shakily objective “we aren’t at all influenced by NI” stance after this announcement? I want a website that provides unbiased objective information, not another NI marketing tool.

Ciao Ean and NItechtools.com[/quote]

I have a tendecy to agree with this in some ways although i realise that ean work with ni so you gotta relise that there is gonna be a lot of stuff about ni n ean uses traktor over serato and other tools plus he is running a biz @ the end of the day but y noy ad a serato section to the foroms or beta yet contribute to the site instead of just knicking all eans tricks ect help to expand it if you aint happy

ho n the sample banks cant you do that in a ableton live smart mising setup

I LIKE THIS CONTROLLER FOR MIX,BUT IS NOT FUNTIONAL FOR SCRATCH, FOR THIS I PREFER THE NS7 😉

You can convert 1/4 to XLR with Passive D.I. box, or with audio adapter. If those 1/4jack are balanced, then you just need an audio adapter.

[quote comment=”35471″]I’m a lttile disappointed that there are no xlr outs… a pro feature for sure…[/quote]

I absolutely agree, this seems like a major oversight to me. Unless your sound system has a 1/4 inch input (which mine doesn’t), it seems like you’re completely screwed unless you have a separate mixer to feed the signal through. Is there a way to convert the signal to XLR without having to use another mixer?

Jes C and I already got to play with it at the DJ Expo

Clearly well thought out, smart design, and loaded with features. I am looking forward to working with it. When can we actually purchase it? Is there an expected date?

Ean, bravo on a successful partnership with NI. I think people need to recognize what you’ve accomplished by creating a resource like Tech Tools out of pure passion for DJing and controllerism. I applaud your dedication to the community you’ve brought together here on DJTT.

I have to say I’m excited about S4. I’ve been waiting for a controller that exactly emulates Traktor’s setup. Having easy access to the FX banks without having to switch and remember new mappings is a great benefit. Also switching quickly between A-D decks and loops is also a great benefit.

Controllerism is a skill that I can equate to learning to play a musical instrument. I think the S4 is a great tool bridging the gap between DJing and controllerism. I think once you get comfortable with the S4, moving to the Arcade VCI for full on professional controllerism will be a breeze.

It sure looks like some piece of work. Great job Ean and NI. I like when the “masters” get together and create the best..field expirience rules here allot…and all in 1 unit…looks too good but i guess it is true…
But for as while i have to stick to my VCI100SE&DJTT mapping and Roland SP555 sampler.These 2 do almost the same as the new sample decks and cue points jugling as the demo from shifty. One day i might have to post a demo so it shows how mine works.
Some people complain about the price tag or look. But realize that a VCI and a USB sound card and a TR-Pro software ads up like $540+$199+$229=$968. So this Tag ain’t bad at all and NI took a fair marketing standpoint….and look wise it doesn’t seem like a Lego or FisherP toy as some claim….Look at the Deck Vu-led’s and knobs and faders, as EAN says it is all well laid out and designed.
Effects in the S4 soft ware look like they are as in TR 1.1.2 . I have never upgraded my version to the newer one with the 4 advanced effects per deck..Maybe I have never seemed to desire more.
All summed , it is great for any starter that doesn’t have any equipment jet. Or any that want’s to leave the MK’s and CDJ’s home….It Looks professional and rugged. In/Outputs are all present.
But does it run on USB power or external???? And what is the footswitch input for…Real curious about these last 2….

the ” bridge’s” brain is pretty powerful

Damn Serato you better step it up Sooner

That travel case for it is pretty cool with having a built-in laptop stand. I personally don’t understand all of these rather uneducated comments about this not being ‘professional’ enough for ‘real’ club djs. Hmm….have you been to any club in the last year? Almost every touring dj has gone digital and is using some sort of controller. I would, of course, carry a book of cds just in case though. Plus, with those comments, you really are on the wrong site in the first place. No controller is going to be perfect for everybody. Having an audio interface built-in and being automapped for Traktor makes it quite a bit better than that Vestax TR-1.

I’m one of those “bedroom DJ’s”, I guess, or even worse, a “bedroom DJ wannabee” since I have diddley squat at this point aside from what I’m able to find cheap/free (as evidenced by my MIDI fighter contest entry a few weeks ago).

Nevertheless: this has me a bit excited as a first jump in the pool. My current want list was a full set ($500) of the DaScratch stuff plus Traktor (which is what, $2-300), mostly because I have a limited amount of space to set this up. Now for $1K I can get all of that in one package, with actual faders and pretty lights, PLUS a soundcard/mixer. That’s a pretty fair comparison and while I’d have to buy it all at once as opposed to spaced out over several months, it’s mighty tempting, and looks like it would fit on my desk to boot – with room for an eventual MIDI fighter and a small MIDI controller for production work.

[quote comment=”35565″]Looks nice but man its fucking huge! No way someone is going to be lugging that thing around from club to club. Seems like the midifighter is still the best option for mobile DJing + traktor control. Just needs some knobs :)[/quote]

Maybe they won’t be lugging this from club to club, but for guys like me who DJ as part of a band and the occasional wedding gig, this means not lugging a full boatload of gear. Laptop to controller to PA, is a hell of a lot lighter than turntable to soundcard & MidiFighter to laptop to mixer to PA. Plus the M LESS CABLES IS A GOOD THING.

(Oh s___ let’s be honest. I’ll probably still use turntables for A/B and use the hockey pucks for C/D. 🙂 )

I like but price is high ok, here this VMS4, USB HUB, KORK NANO SERIES MIDI CONTROLLERS, A CKACK WHEN IT IS DONE CHEAPER SOLOTION NOT A FAN OF BUT IT WILL HAPPEN!!!

whats with the guys going on about booth/master knobs.. If your in a booth, your in a club.. which means you will more than likely be plugging this into a DJM800 because your not going to be ripping out the booth wires out of the 800 and putting them into your mixer. your gonna rock up, put your set up to the side while the other dj is playing, then plug 1x line out into one of the channels in the 800. your seriously not going to plugging your s4 into the clubs amp system.

i really hope that TPro will be getting an upgrade that adds them sample players and the inter-face lift, otherwise i can already hear the pissed off masses.

awesome lookin piece, but a grand seems somewhat expensive, especially once you realize that similar amount of control can be acquired for way less then that… unless you absolutely must have touch sensitive jog wheels…

[quote comment=”35563″]SOOOOOO UGLY

god. none of you have any sense of aesthetics. this is the most unprofessional, toyish looking thing ive ever seen. please realize that CDJs are the industry standard for a reason… sure, this thing is cool and im sure a lot of fun but its not not professional – end. of. story.[/quote]

I quite disagree here. Even at a glance this has an obvious build quality, and Ean’s input on layout is practical and attractive to the professional. I find CDJ’s in general to be unrefined and clunky by design, as many of the functions need to be clumped around the jog wheel. What could be *more* professional than having all the functions you require right there on the one piece of kit?

doesnt seem this thing is any bigger than the A&H DX or M-Audio Xponent. I like the layout and the pricing, but wish it did have XLR outs and extra controls for at least a booth out. That part reminds reminds me of my BCD3000, one output, which limits me when I need to connect multiple outputs. Im almost leaning towards, but I cant wait to see me more videos with at least House djs giving in-studio demos on the unit and ideas on workflow.

Looks nice but man its fucking huge! No way someone is going to be lugging that thing around from club to club. Seems like the midifighter is still the best option for mobile DJing + traktor control. Just needs some knobs 🙂

SWEEEEET

So Did NI and you Ean forgot to include Booth/Master? I really don’t like to mix in my headphone. So I have to plug the S4 into a mixer in a club to use booth/master?

I love this thing, and will probably buy it. But sometimes it seems, if you want to make name in the club scene effectively, working with some Pioneer CDJ’s is a must.. The sad thing is, with this controller you can do so much more, for 1/3 of the price of 2 CDJ’s. Just something that’s bothering me right now..

to the people who talk about lugging this around, for christ sake, its not that big!! Especially if your into controlerism which is what this site is about.. If your here to take a swipe at Controlerism DJ’s then F___ off!! we dont care about you stupid f___ sticks that use barbaric pieces of s___..

Im a controlerism dj that has to lug 2x EKS OTUS controllers, 1 BCD3000 and a Audio 8dj soundcard plus all the wiring.. I seriously cant wait for this to come out as it basicly combines all 3 of my controllers into one neat small package and i can bet it uses less processing power than my current set up.. I spent 50+ hrs midi programming my controllers to do what this new system does so im super excited about it.

and for god sake, native instruments went fare to cheap with its Traktor system anyways! I remember pay $1400 australian when the current system came out.. now its about $650 australian.. not happy about how they went about devaluing my gear!

I honestly thought an all in one system would have cost double what there advertising it to be.. and it should to keep newbees away and making it look bad. I would have paid double the price because its worth it.. think about this, its cheaper than a CDJ2000 and you get some much more!!!

I saw this and thought ok new software 1.0, new controller, and then ordered a VCi-100SE and will get this S4 when its released but only as a practice unit, I will still use the vci-100 until I can guarantee the s4 will be a replacement 🙂 Im really really really hoping that it can one day replace my VCI

Not bad…but will wait for the TSP update instead.

I don’t see Dubfire using it in this video…can’t verify the date is accurate either:

will there be choking group in the sampler (to mute a sample when another one is trigged)

[quote comment=”35419″]”There are phono inputs in the back which support control vinyl and this feature will be supported in a future version of the s4 software”

Will this require the purchase of TSP? or perhaps just the timecode?

I’m not sure how I feel about this as an owner of TSP… I love the a8dj, but if the S4 will support TC without a copy of TSP, I don’t see why I should keep TSP/A8DJ around…[/quote]

I was wondering this as well.

Love this thing, looks awesome. High res jogs, 4 channels, SAMPLES *drools slightly*, can’t wait for this. Well done to Ean for the assisting of the devlopment. Special mention to Karlos for staying silent as you took a lot of brow beating this last month!!!
Can’t wait to try this out!!!!

NOW FOR A TROLL RANT AS IT’S RUDE NOT TO:-

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.
Elbert Hubbard

“Ooooh look at me, I’m sooo bored with my own set up and life that I’m going to post on a site I obviously came to look at to see what the interest was but that doesn’t agree with my outdated view on life so i’ll hate without understanding.” The route of all evil!!!

CHINGON!! BIG UPS EAN!

I would really like to see a controller only version (at a proportionally lower price).

Can’t wait until the sample decks are available in the normal traktor software packages!

Also, NI put out the per-deck controller earlier, and now this full control surface, how long before you think they’ll put out a mixer only controller?

it looks great and with Ean’s involvement in the design process I’m sure that it will do the job very well…but sorry I don’t see any major advantage with this product over my xone 4d using TSP with 1210s……have we really reached the top of the curve already with innovation??

no hate here, massive respect as always to NI and Ean and the DJTT crew…but I don’t see anything here to jump up and down for joy about – other than looking forward to a TSP update where we get the samplers too…….

Impressive… Most impressive… However the $1k price point is tricky. To me if I save that much for a controller setup then the Allen & Heath XONE:DX/Itch is what I am going to have to compare this to. Then things start to get real fuzzy, real fast on where I should plunk down my money. Hmmm lots to think about…

– Short faders
– The absence of many standard controls (Pitch bend, beat skip, seek position, browse in tree list, cue play, tap button, viny/cd mode, balance, keylock, …)
– No booth Output
– No symetric Output
– Does not work as classic dj mixer (This allows Denon DN-MC6000, AA VM4, Reloop Digital Jockey 2 Master Editon)

I like it, but priced out of control. I guess it all comes down to how well the jogs scratch. At least it’s Traktor direct supported.

Only one way I can see this taking off and that’s if every big club buys the controller and it’s installed alongside the CDJs, no one will want to carry that around from gig to gig and flight to flight.

Faders are too short?
Same as djm800, the club standard mixer.

Great controller : visual feedback, spaced out layout, perfect controls for traktor.

The price is awsome for a beginner! 
For the price of one cdj player, you get 2 players and a mixer.
Th mixer looks as good as a djm800, and the only improvement of real cdjs is the screen and the better jogwheel..

But for traktor users ?
I alredy gave you guys 500€ for TSP
200 € for the kontrol x1 

I don’t need a built in soundcard, I have already payed a lot for that.
That sucks. They should make a special offer for traktor owners or a version without a soundcard. 

Just a few questions :
How to you fit it in a tiny Dj both where there are already 2 cdjs and a mixer?
Size and weight? 

anyone who compares this to a pair of turntables or think it’s actually direct competition to scratch djs: IT’S NOT, SO QUIT TROLLING.

Ean continues to blaze the trail in UX design and hardware integration. The genius of the S4 is sure to be in its intuitive work flow and the resulting freedom it provides for musical expression and production. Fantasizing about the ideal controller is one thing, getting a company to build one is another. Obviously one controller isn’t going to be for everyone but this is a nice addition.

As a UX and hardware designer I find it interesting the amount of physical space a controller like this takes up. It will be interesting to see when the software UI begins to evolve (fast switching between layouts?) to help reduce the size of the controllers.

@ DJ Fresh: The fact is no one pays you to use anything.

@DJ Fresh: Your right this is not made for turntablist. That is what turntables are for. However timecode will be supported so turntables can be used with the S4.

The fact is not craze, klever or shiftee will use this live unless traktor pays them a huge amount to do so. It´s maketing & promotion, not the real world. This is a commercial made 4 peeps like double dutch who ever that cat may be.

Remmber j-roc rocking the technics sldz1200? the loser on youtube thinks he uses them in real life,pretty dumb imo..

The other fact is, these teeny weeny platters are toyish, not made for turntablists like shiftee, more for christmas wanabee dj kids with middle income parents.

hey ean… amazing work on this… there’s no mention of sound quality and latency.. one of the main reasons i originally bought a vci was having the option to choose an audio interface… all controllers have their features and faults.. to me, sound is the biggest factor… an update on that would be great…

of course, shiftee makes this thing look amazing. obviously, none of us are shiftee. therefore, this controller is not worth purchasing. ill stick with my technics. more fun, less ___.

and i guarantee shiftee will do the same.

its a nice device but if you are going to make a mixer, than make a mixer. No EQ kills … well that sorta bites.

Nice looking 4 channel controller but I really the price point is a little steep for me.

well if money were no issue i’d only be sad that i had to wait til this winter. i’m thinking i’ll still go with an apc40. i have teh kontrol x1 to pair it with – so when the sampler functions get added to tpro, i’ll have lots of buttons and knobs to control those.

i’m disappointed the software is bundled with the controller – no surprise they figured a way to sort of do what serato did with itch. don’t want to be all negative about it. it is a slick controller.

anyway, big ups Ean – you’re building a legacy in this industry and no matter how many people come to rain on the new gear parades, you’re doing your thing. good job.

Is that $1000 MAP or MSRP?

Wohoo Can the new Traktor s4 work on a Vci setup ?? the program looks wiiiikeeed,, and controller 2 have 2 do a couple off more jobs this autumn 😉

anybody wants to buy the vci 100SE custom by ean golden let me know.. i need some money to get the S4 system.

So when do we get to see Ean do a routine on this rig?

[quote comment=”35456″][quote comment=”35429″]Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.

Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting shitty clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.[/quote]

Err i’ve seen Tong just using x2 Kontrol X1’s before…in Ibiza[/quote]

I don’t really understand why it is important what some DJ use. Pete Tong doesn’t (or actually) does use Kontrol. So what? He still can’t mix! Why would anyone want to copy the setup of someone who (even after all those years) hasn’t managed to learn to properly beatmatch tunes.

Just ask yourself what it is that you are trying to achieve, what are your needs and buy the equipment that will allow you to perform to your best.

[quote comment=”35491″]

People like flashy, neat looking things while they dance. People do NOT care if you are using turntables or controllers. Only snobby DJs care about such nonsense.

GO AND MAKE MUSIC INTERESTING AND DANCEABLE![/quote]

http://i33.tinypic.com/2yv5ukz.gif

I really like it…but it is just too small!

there’s another video on youtube which tells some more information about the hardware and the case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqdf3G8Kpms

no thanks, looks like a shameless and horrendous knock off of the NS7. traktor has to start making products with a more revolutionary edge. $900 bucks can get you the NS7 or VCI-300 and serato is more favored as the “house set-up” …what sets this S4 system apart in the controller race?

[quote comment=”35468″]
Really? You have never heard of Dubfire? producer / DJ. fairly popular DJ.
[/quote]

Might just be me but i took that question with a grain of sarcasm.

Concentrating on the software for a second and I personally really like the new colour scheme. Highly the loops/samples with green over the white looks really nice. Much nicer than the little yellow triangles at the bottom of the waveform.

Fingers crossed they’ll port some of the new feature if not all over to TSP.
It would suck if some/all features were kept for the S4 to entice people to switch over.

buy real turntable!

seen this ?

Denon DN MC6000
American Audi VMS4

theres plenty of 4 deck controllaz onda road.

But where should i put it?
Most of the time, There is only a small place next to the mixer for a X1 oron top-right of a DJM for my Faderfox DX3 (its kickazz btw.)

From a full time DJs perspective I’m not feelin it at all . To be completely realistic the majority of DJ booths don’t have room for controllers with this big of a footprint and too much stuff to plug unplug and move around in the coarse of a night . I would totally drop the cash on a VCI arcade edition vci before I would purchase this unit .

I’m a lttile disappointed that there are no xlr outs… a pro feature for sure…

At last HID midi support maybe soon i will be able to use my numark V7,s to their full potential

@Ean Golden
Looks awesome. How’s the fader fx mode different on this new controller compared to the vci-100se?

Also, why no fx presets? You’ve tried the controller, is there any good options to “bank” fx? :/?

@Djyoutube:
Tell me why this is just a toy instead of just another random rant, based on facts that you just pull out your a__ 🙂

[quote comment=”35447″][quote comment=”35420″]so is the VCI-100se a pointless purchase? it’s half the price so i don’t know. i was going to buy a VCI but now…??????[/quote]

The VCI_100SE is a very different product and I hope people will still find a place for it. Some benefits the SE has over this controller:
__
More Portable
way less expensive
all of the Dj TT features
fader FX
instant press fx presets
juggle all 8 cue points
arcade buttons!
already has loop record!
___
They are both fun controllers just different products for different needs. When Traktor Pro gets updated with the sample decks, we will update the SE mapping to add that functionality.[/quote]

thanks so much for answering my question, Ean! much appreciated!

What? No separate output control for Master volume vs. Booth/Monitor volume?

[quote comment=”35429″]Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.

Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting s_____ clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.[/quote]

Err i’ve seen Tong just using x2 Kontrol X1’s before…in Ibiza

Wonder why Ritchie Hawtin is not on one , but Dubfire.

Guess he is more into Ipads.

Dubfire, aka Deep Dish. He does usually spin with Traktor, X1’s and Maschine. The Liebing/Hawtin kinda setup.

Anyway, sampler slots yay, piece of hardware nay. Can’t wait for the update to TSP.

As for the hardware, the faders are too short, they may as well just have made it an actual alternative to normal DJ setups and put real faders on there, and possibly even a 4 band EQ. As it stands now, I’d still use a club’s X:92 over this POS any day.

Also, nearly anyone that actually has a proper concept of using this thing to its fullest already has gear. Are we really expected to just up and forget about our Audio8’s, 1D’s, VCI’s, X1’s and what have you? Completely overpriced for that kind of target audience, imo. They should have just done away with the built in sound card & mixer section, then it may have been a tad more realistic. Then again, then it would have been a direct competitor to X1’s, which would have been quite useless.

All in all then, it’s quite useless.

Who is Dubfire?????

Just because a DJ gets paid to road test a product dosen’t mean its not a TOY.

He will be back at the next club or at Home on some Pioneers or Technics with dvs.

Just face facts if you want any respectability you wont touch this product with a barge pole.

[quote comment=”35435″][quote comment=”35429″]Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.

Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting s_____ clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.[/quote]

yes, pathetic is the right name 😉

it’s not important how music is made, but only how it sounds and feels at the end…
creativity has nothing to do with the tools used…[/quote]

Exactly my thoughts

@[quote comment=”35443″]$1000.00 and no tc support…till a later time! & this requires an additional software? none of this is selling me to buy this.[/quote]

its not out until Winter anyways. My guess is that it’ll be ready by the BPM show, if not Winter NAMM.. can’t wait to get my hands on thing!

Eventual TSP Software update enabling samples.

X2 controller released for controlling of those samples.

End of the day there’s going to be something out there for everyone. Not everyone will want to swap over to a full controller set up. Not everyone will want to use samples. Some will want to continue using Timecode with external mixer.

I’m impressed with the unit but i wouldn’t use samplers personally so not that interested in purchasing it.

Looks amazing! I’m going to have to start the long debate in my head as to whether I want to actually buy it though.

My only concern however is if it’s running on a seperate edition of traktor will the old version of traktor get neglected? Will the new version of traktor be forgotten once its released? Will they eventually merge both editions into one?

I just dont wanna be left behind because I have a certain version of Traktor.

Also I’d rather purchase DJTechtool’s version anyway. I’m sure you guys will turn this into a creative monster like you did with my beloved VCI.

I really need to pick one of these things up to start playing with it. Coolest part about the video though? My blog, White Folks Get Crunk getting some shine from the cover art on the Diplo remix of Flashing Lights.

🙂

Yay Shifty

This looks awesome. I was going to buy the Vestax VCI-300 but this just looks like it will wipw the floor with it. I am happy to wait until the winter. Whoop Whoop

[quote comment=”35429″]Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.

Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting s_____ clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.[/quote]

Except it was already used in Ibiza at Space by Dubfire.

@Tomii – i’ve asked this question on other forums but can’t seem to get an answer. i was going to buy the VCI-100se, and i may still do that because it’s half the price of the S4. $500 is a lot of money to me.

Toy, this will never ever be in any respectable club.

Just try to imagine craze or tong using this Ibiza, dream on these are toys aimed at unprofessional DJs who spend too much time putting s_____ clips on you tube and will never amount to be anything more than a bedroom DJ, and I use the term DJ very loosely.