Traktor S4 First Look – A Live Unit!

Aaron has his S4 unpacking right now

Yep, Decks say mid to late Novemeber

So,

Yesterday (october 25th), I pre-ordered a Kontrol S4 from the NI website. I read here that a lot of people are worried if NI can handle the demand for them. Also, DJTT will start sending them from November 1st I read here.

Now, out of curiosity I sent an email to NI to ask if the promised delivery date (in approximately 9 days) is gonna be lived up to.

To my great surprise they told me that my S4 will be sent tomorrow and I’ll probably receive it in about 3 days, so I guess by friday.

It seems that NI is prepared for all those music-geeks out there, desperately wanting an S4 haha 🙂

guitar center USA has my unit in their back storage room and called me the day they had it in hand Wed the 20th then like 2 hours later called me again and stated they received an email from NI stating they cannot display or sell any of the units until Friday Oct. 29th so I will have a whole weekend of play and possibly be one of the first kids on the block to take it out for show. 7 Days wait seems like an eternity

I spoke to decks.co.uk yesterday,
according to them its expected mid/end of November.
I preordered mine & paid my deposit at the end of august so hopefully i will at least be getting one of the 1st batch,
When they eventually arrive that is…………..
Im pissed off though-I thought it would be in the store on the 1st so i would have it a few days later.
At least i get a bit more time to get the cash together,
Looks like the wife will be getting bugger all for christmas though (Maybe if she’s lucky i can stretch to a thong & a pair of hold up stockings)

29th of november? Thats still better than everybody else… I spoke to my store, they said mid november 😐

The pre-orders are on fire!! I just hope NI is up for all the pre-orders, because if its like Kontrol X1, then many of us will have to wait much longer…

NI keeps on delivering the goods! :)[/quote]
[quote comment=”37061″]Man… I’m really happy with my 2 X1’s and a DJM-800… but this one is looking better and better. A beast to bring to the club though. Lots of DJ booths will have problems accommodating this one unless you are the headlining super star that is.

NI keeps on delivering the goods! :)[/quote]

Hey Dumas,

This is a late hit and maybe you wont’ see this, but what advantages do you see to the S4 over teh DJM 800 + X1s? I’ve got an 800 and I’m thinking about either selling it for an S4 or buying a coupla S1s. Any Recommendations?

[quote comment=”38667″]pioneer is the best
is like game for kids :([/quote]
I would jizz in my pants if I ever got pioneer….

pioneer is the best
is like game for kids 🙁

[quote comment=”38465″]Hey i got a question. i know that you can switch decks C and D to be used for looping/sampling but what if i just want to use one deck for looping/sampling…. what im trying to say is can you use A B and C as decks and then use only D for looping/sampling?[/quote]

As far as i am aware you can set up the following options only…

1) 2 track decks only
2) 4 track decks only
3) 2 track decks & 2 sample decks
4) 2 track decks & 2 live inputs

If you have a look on S4 product page on the N.I. website,
expand the ‘more media’ tab on the left scroll down & select ‘software image gallery’ play the gallery & in the very last screenshot it shows you the configuration options.
Hope that helps,
Just over 2 weeks to go now-I feel like a kid at christmas again!
Oh the anticipation!!!!!!

Hey i got a question. i know that you can switch decks C and D to be used for looping/sampling but what if i just want to use one deck for looping/sampling…. what im trying to say is can you use A B and C as decks and then use only D for looping/sampling?

I have ordered mine – bye bye Vestax VCI-300 and Serato Itch it was fun whilst it lasted…….

So who’s going to be the first one to drill out one of these and install arcade buttons?

BIG BUUUUUUUUMP:
“Well i’m wondering if we can switch to traditional deck C,D to sample… it will be cool^^”

Price is a little excessive for what it is, i could get a pair of cd1000 mk1s on ebay for the price of this. Its absurd!

What is the construction like? is it metal?

So ive had a hands on play with the S4 today @ BPM event on the NI Stand.

First off, note to NI, your stand isn’t that great compared to some of the others & you should have more S4’s on show with more people around that know how to explain the technology & interface.

My first impressions now I have hands on fun with the device is that it is very well built and has a professional feel to it.

My only concern is that it is bloody big, much bigger than i anticipated, I wonder what would happen in smaller DJ Booths with little space to set this unit up.

I hope a clever manufacturer comes up with a device to allow you to sit it over a turntable CDJ etc.

Now I need to decide if I am going to buy one !

Well i’m wondering if we can switch to traditional deck C,D to sample… it will be cool^^

Am I understanding this correctly? It appears you can use decks A, B, C, & D as traditional full decks playing tracks (allowing for 4 simultaneous tracks total) OR you can use decks A & B as traditional full decks while C & D are being used for looping/sampling. Is that correct?

I’m also interested in how the Denon MC6000 compares. But even though the Denon appears to have more features (including ability to run as a standalone mixer) keep in mind the S4 basically comes with full Traktor Pro plus extras. The Denon comes with Virtual DJ LE in USA & Traktor LE in Europe. Factor in upgrading to pro versions (or buying Traktor Pro without an upgrade discount in US) & the Denon costs more (assuming you don’t already own the software you want to use).

For the couple Xone DX mentions on here: for comparison note that the DX jogs don’t scratch at all and there is no sampling supported in Serato Itch that comes with it (but it does have loop rolling).

I have already preordered mine with case from decks.co.uk,
At last i think the s4 might be the very thing to tempt me in to the digital realm.
I wont be givin up on my 1210’s or my vinyl,but rather hoping for a peaceful coexistence between the two,
Just wondering if the s4 will support wav files or is it strictly mp3 only?
Damn-only problem is i now have about 8000 records to convert to digital format…Wonder if i can get that done by November? =)

Pre-ordered…. BOOM! Right there baby and all you haters can suck my balls.

I’m going into hibernation till November baby, cause I don’t think I can wait till November!!

I pre-ordered from DJTT and I live in Canada (there are shipping options to Canada). The nice thing is they ship USPS so even if you do get hit paying duties (which you may not) they will not be the crazy high duties UPS charges. Also the exchange rate is so good right now it does pay to buy it from DJTT.

[quote comment=”37459″]Two questions -Is release gonna be first half of November or second? -Any chance there will be shipping in Canada? If not, I’ll have to contact a couple of US friends before I preorder it… I WANT THIS ASAP… losing all my self esteem by seeing how much time I spent checking this thing out…[/quote]

Moogaudio has it on their site, you can preorder it i think, and it will be available on 5th of Nov…

hey–what is that track on the left deck that ian is playing?

Really nice sneak peak at the new unit, and I know that it wasnt supposed to be a full review, but it was sooo brief, I’m not sure it told us anything at all, other than.. look guys, we have the s4 here and will be reviewing it soon!

Looking forward to the full review

Two questions -Is release gonna be first half of November or second? -Any chance there will be shipping in Canada? If not, I’ll have to contact a couple of US friends before I preorder it… I WANT THIS ASAP… losing all my self esteem by seeing how much time I spent checking this thing out…

[quote comment=”37310″]Wondering if anyone got to pre-order with the travel case?

I was going to go with the bundle. Ate dinner and the selection was gone. Wondering if they had more controllers than cases or if this was infact a mistake?[/quote]
Decks.co.uk is selling it with the flight case. Do not know where they will ship to outside UK.

Can I come by and look at it?

If Ean is struggling for timing on those pads then they aren’t effective. Could the S4 be modded with arcades? If so my VCI is sold.

Nice peace of hardware, but the software-hardware bundle package NI will be offering with this seems to me much more like merchandising power for Traktor, than attending PRO needs.

I really will like to see, NI’s engineers working with a series of “modular” hardware equipment that could be linked each other to achieve escalation for particular features of the Traktor main software family. It was the very success of the X1 controller, that fit’s quite well with pro equipment or installations like DVS set-ups. I was thinking on 3 main modular concepts:

A) A Transport module that could include a much bigger jog-wheels with this kind o design (S4). Loop controls, PLAY, PAUSE, CUP, etc, etc, etc, Effect Processor activation buttons, and a Track selector knob; 8 PAD’s at the button of the unit that fits ALL CUE point’s available on current Traktor’s (this could be hacked by DJTT to be replaced by arcade’s), and a mini-version of all this transports that can be flipped by a “Switch” button in order to have 2 Decks Control at a finger tip on each of this units. You could buy 2 of those in order to have full support to 4 decks, but always depending on the budget of the user… 😉 Maybe this could be the size of a CDJ-400’s.

B) An Effect Module that can handle all 4 Processors available on current traktor’s with a layout designed to control all the parameters of each processor both in chain mode as well as in advanced mode. Maybe this Controller Module could have a kind of a VCI’s reduced JOG wheel for doing WET/DRY manipulation or it could be a function button in order to put the Jog’s at the transport modules to function as WET and DRY effect manipulation, who knows… that’s the point…

C) A Digital Mixer Module: This could be a kind of an Audio8 “replacement” but like a Mixer table, with EQ’s with kills on each 4 channels (could be 4 band in order to have full support for all type of EQ’s available on Traktor’s), Fader controlls, CUE buttons, Filter and Key Knobs each with Kill’s, Master and Gain knobs for each 4 channels, etc, etc…

All of this hardware specially fitted to work with Traktor.

If NI could achieve something like this; I think they will gain much more attention both on the starter area as well as on the PRO users, and do some GREAT punch against SERATO guys on the Controllerism Battle that will start hitting market at 2011. I will definitely be buying each module little by little without the need of paying a lot of money for an “All in one” unit that can handle all features of the software completely well, but in a mediocre way. Each module will be designed REALLY WELL and with complete control of much of all aspects of the key parts of the software.!

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers . . .

What is the import duty to ship to the uk?

[quote comment=”37261″]Will this be sold later w/o the software at a lower price? I already have Traktor Pro, I feel like I’d be paying for it again in the $899 price tag.[/quote]

You might be able to sell you’re license on Ebay or something

I am trying to find the best website to by this slice of heaven from, and I don’t want to miss out on anything if I buy from this website, what are the benefits of buying from here rather from somewhere else( warranty, mappings, etc.)

I’m sold :]

Will Techtools release a custom mapping for this? I’d be sold if I could control effects with the fader and jog wheel like you can on the VCI-100.

[quote comment=”37245″]I was hoping you guys could shed some light on the quality of the built in sound card. This is a major selling point for me since right now I’m deciding between this and a VCI-100SE with an Audio 4 DJ.[/quote]

The sound card inside the S4 is of the same quality and utilizes the same parts as that of NI’s Audio 4 DJ.

[quote comment=”37141″]When I initially saw the S4 I was so excited but now to be honest I am really, really looking forward to the Denon DN-MC6000. It just seems more sturdy and a beast in terms of functionality. [b]Why is there no mention of their new gear here?[/b][/quote]

Thanks for noticing, I was wondering the same thing…?

Nice review and video, congrats to our partner NI.
We bundle Traktor LE in a few of our models, including the upcoming MC6000.

I’m pleased to read that some of the needs and wants for S4 have been implemented in the MC6000. Until a review or simple announcement is made, give the MC6000 a good look, you’ll find the extras.

nice preview and much better than ni does, but i have a question about the knobs. are they rubberized? i don’t find any informations about that. what would you say about the button placement, ean? can i handle it with thick fingers? 😀

by the way nice work, keep on! 🙂

/cheers
dennis

My friend brought up a good point; doesn’t it seem a little risky for the unit to have an integrated sound card? I’m just hoping native instruments really pulled out all the stops on this one and made the unit be worth its actual value.. good review and cant wait for the actual review of the non-proto version.

Well, use the RCA output and feed this into a passive volume control, there’s plenty of those around. Often used in car audio for subwoofer control. OR the DIY ones…

There’s still the “line mixer” or “solution box” option. For booth control, Behringer would be a smart choice :p

@TECHNICS DJ – well of course, obviously so would I too! my point really is that if your turning up to do a set in the middle of the night before and after other dj’s, pulling all the output cable’s from the installed house mixer ISN’T the done thing. Like I said, any one who plays out with there controllers will 99% of the time be routing there master output in to a spare channel of the installed mixer. Other wise you would have to stop the music, turn all the PA off, unplug the master and booth and plug it in to your soundcard and then do reverse after your set so other dj’s can play, turning a large PA on and off really isn’t a good move. Now if you had the night to your self, different story, but personally I’d always rather leave at least half a analogue set up (mixer &cdj) in place so I could play a cd if my computer crashed.
My guess they left the booth out is the fact that the soundcard inside is the Audio 4, which means they saved money on development and kept the final price down. Pretty sure there’s a way round tho, you would lose stereo but I’m guessing with the way Trakor pro works it’s pretty simple to route a booth out from the S4, there’s 2 left and 2 right outputs on the S4, so if the S4 software supports mono like Traktor pro all you would have to do is apply mono output mode and map a midi booth control.

How’s about a Denon DJ DN MC 6000 controller review Ean? It looks like a worthy contender for the S4 and most probably the VMS4, also given its price is lower than the S4 and not that much higher than the VMS4

“I bet my left nut that most controller dj’s here just take the master output from there soundcard and route it in to the installed mixer which obviously has booth controls.”

space on the console two mixers i would rather prefer to have the bhoot control on my controller for easy access !! rather than having to play around with the club mixer or a main PA mixer !!!

I would like to know how does the jog wheels compare to the VCI-100?

Are they the same diameter or larger? Are they more effective than the VCI-100 for scratching?

IT LOOKS GR8 !!
WHAT IT LACKS IS A BHOOT/MONITOR OUT IF NI WAS TO PROMOTE ITS MIXER
HOW CAN THEY MISS THE MAIN AUDIO REFFERENCE OUT FOR ANY DJ

BHOOT/MONITOR OUT – N/A

NE ONE WIT NE UPDATES ON THIS PLS DO LET ME NOE !!!

Thank goodness they ditched the logos on the jogs! When I initially saw the S4 I was so excited but now to be honest I am really, really looking forward to the Denon DN-MC6000. It just seems more sturdy and a beast in terms of functionality. Why is there no mention of their new gear here?

Apologies to DoubleDutch and MrBobby, bad day etc. was being a bit antagonistic. xx

Just ordered one, can’t wait to get my hands on it! Now I need to figure out what I’m going to keep in the home studio. Think I’ll use the S4 as my primary controller/mixer and the VCI-100 for decks C/D in a modified fader fx mode. Guess it time to think about selling my Novation ReMOTE SL (which I’ve mainly been using for cue points and loops) and Audio 8 DJ. The big question is whether to hang on to my Mackie d.4 Pro… is having a traditional dj mixer still going to necessary in some cases? hmm…

I can never part w/my 1200s even though I rarely use them anymore.

I’m not a big fan of logo’s too, but in this case I think they might come in handy. Some people marked they vinyls with stickers and the Pioneer CDJ’s have a display in them just to give the user some visual feedback. Without the logo you don’t have a lot of visual feedback, especially not in dark environments like clubs. And besides, the Traktor logo does look quite good after all.

in usb power mode, how much lower is the volume? is it loud enough to be used in a club environment or we need the power supply?

looks 10 times beteer without the jog wheel stickers

[quote comment=”37119″]The price reflects how much it costs to make, market etc. and so I think that is how it should be determined I mean how can it cost more in europe, isn’t NI a German company??[/quote]

Totally agree………If you compare Europe prices to Usa..everything is more expensive (all dj products), include products made in Europe !!!!!!!!!!!
WTF ????!!
S4 is about 875 euros in Germany… 875 euros= 1140 $
So price in Europe should be 690 euros !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@giorgio1712 – Seems unfair but think about it for christ sake! whats the minimum wage in the USA compared to the UK, it’s easy to forget how fortunate we are in England, we live in two very very different economy’s. £575 over there will feel the same as wot £730 feels for us. At £730 this thing is a bargin, you should only compare it against rival products sold in the same country it’s priced at, which is why you’ll notice a few Americans also moaning at the price.
If you really want something to cry about you should see how cheep Rane stuff is across the pond, a lot of that is more down to where it’s made tho.
Plus while your picking your dummy up, you should spare a thought for the Canadian dj market, they pay insane prices for dj kit and there only separated by a border.
++++
Oh yeah, I really prefer the Non logo jogs, makes it look much more pro and less toy’ish.

Some of the things I’m missing are:

XLR main outs

booth out with a seperate volume knob

XLR mic in

And most of all cuebuttons nr. 4-8…I can’t live with only 4 cuepoints!

Does this pre-order also come with a power adapter cord? Please tell me, “Yes.”

I’m torn between this and (2) NDX-800s with a Nuo 2.0. I think I’m leaning toward the latter since I already own a X1 and TPro is getting the loop recorder and sample decks in a future update. Also, the S4 looks a bit cramped to me.

Here’s hoping the final design gets rid of that acrylic – it needs to look like a solid piece of gear. I believe this is a big part of the appeal of the Hercules RMX – it’s entry level but it’s also a pretty sturdy piece of metal. If Herc would just upgrade it to a proper sound interface (ala Audio 4 DJ) and refine the buttons a bit, it would be even more popular.

I believe that the S4 looks great, but I for my uses I still prefer the flexibility of my VCI -100 and midi fighter configuration. For beat juggling the S4’s buttons don’t seem to offer the precision or durability. Although the S4 still offers a comprehensive all-round standalone DJ solution.

Regards

De-Lloyd

[quote comment=”37074″]i just remapped my apc 40 (solved some native behavior without getting into dumb mode) and now it’s really a hard decision to sell or not. only thing i’m missing here are the jogs, but on the other hand i have full control of 4 fx units :/[/quote]

@Paddy, can you share your APC40 TSI in the forum? I am also in the process of creating an APC40 mapping for 4 decks and can use some examples and inspiration.

I am really impressed with the S4. I may sell some of my current hardware and use the proceeds to buy this beauty.

can I connect this to my turntables?Sorry im a noob, just bought them:-(

I challenge you to a game of mini golf!!!!

everyone should wait till it hits the market… and then wait again 🙂

bought one of the first maschine’s… hardware got updated a lot. with different prints on the buttons etc.

[quote comment=”37091″]Hey guys, does this unit fits in a Mono 365 bag??? or any other bag???[/quote]
camelbak motherlode

Dude, I was planning to build my own controller but i`m really loving this controller. Looks so well built its just awesome.

but Ean, im going to ask you this because i just have to, Are you planning an customized .tsi for this baby….

One of the things i want to see with the S4 is loop roll for instance…

but i tell you something this babe with a midi fighter is just my dream setup. Maybe when i get it i will want something else but this is just great.

DJTT and Ean is the must humble and visionary person i´ve ever know its a pleassure read this blog and contribute at the forum.

And Im a just a simple computer and SAP engineer, makes me proud be part of this community, and more to know that DJTT work´d at this project!

ManDingo loves the image in the dj techtools store of your product placing on the shelf behind and all around you. The VCI and MIDI FIGHTER all up on their sides. Just don’t knock on that shelf!! Funny!

Ean, did you think(sorry for mistake in previous post) about removing sampler buttons (1-2-3-4) and installing our loved arcade buttons?))) is it possible in the future?))

“We could all use a few less logos in this world.”

WORD.

[quote comment=”37066″]Looks like the complete package, can’t wait for the complete review![/quote]

in my eyes, a complete package it could be, if it has 4 Decks Control without switching!
and well, maybe hip hop djs like the jogwheels, but for an electronic dj with timecode vinyl…i say put the jogwheels in the junk and give us 4 channels ;)…and well Ean, arcade buttons are the best! pads are great too, but this small buttons?? i dont know…

beside, what is with the NI Fans who using the Traktor for years, who had an Audio Interface from NI…it is not a controller for Traktor Users, its a controller to get more Traktor user$

is this only powered by an ac adapter or can it be bus powered. if you were to not use the soundcard and just mix internally.

Have a question: The unit in your office and on most other videos has the sampler buttons (above the Cue/Loop 1-4) marked as Play, Reverse play, Fast Forward, Fast Backward (other meanings as well, but I hope you get the idea). In the official pictures on the NI site, these are all labeled with Play logos (4x >), which makes sense for triggering the sample/loop decks playback.

I guess the diff is because all these videos feature pre-production units, but I’m wondering what is the final decision. Is there any confirmation how the production model will be labeled?

Cheers,
loop

I liked the Traktor logo on the jogs. Maybe it didn’t have it on that unit because its a Prototype. It would be cool if it had it on the final units when it releases. If not ill probably just add my own stickers on the jogs myself. And I would also like to know if DJTT will be selling the flight case on the site. I would think they will since Ean has such close relations to the controller.

traktor logo was nice in the jogs, but if they did it with the white/red instead of plain white 😉 otherwise it just make it look toyish

oooh, them blue leds are seksi… i love that particular shade, got that color xmas lights strung up all around my basement.

now if only that beast didnt retail for a grand 🙁 in that price range i think xone:dx may be serious competition for the s4, but thats if i only look at the hardware… considering the s4 set-up with its own custom traktor, well its pretty much unbeatable, which reminds me…

did you get the s4 version of traktor as well? would really really like to hear more about that, controllers are all over these days, but software upgrades are so rare

I did ask in the forums but am thinkin probably get a faster response here… will the DJTT shop be selling the native instruments flightcase also? how much would it cost to ship to brunei darussalam?

Thanks in advance

Looks like the complete package, can’t wait for the complete review!

Awww Yeah =). . .and Awwwww No =(!!!

“Yeah” for the controller part and seeing respond. . .

“No” for the loot I’m going to be out of when this unit is for sale!

Oh, and yeah… Great vid!

SWEET!!!!!

Very Nice! Send the unit down to L.A. so I can do a review.