Kontrol S2 / S4

RocksteadyUK

RocksteadyUK

SkimoBeats
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Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Location
Peckham
Thinking about doing the switch from DVS to MIDI control. Essentially because its becoming more and more difficult to set up the DVS system especially at bigger events infront of big crowds... not about it really.

So been looking at getting the Kontrol S2.... as its the only one thats fully intergrated with Traktor.


Anyone used either the S2 or S4??


Have any suggestions for any other MIDI controllers?
 
mates of mine all swear by the X1 - and are making some really good sets with it. check it out!

you even can combine 2 to 4 of them!
 
I used to own the S4 for about a year, quite enjoyed it, but it felt to much like a fisher price toy and wasn't the biggest fan of Traktor personally think its to clunky.
Much prefer my DVS system.
You can Midi map an x1 to do everything for you so you could literally mix internally with Traktor using nothing but 1 X1.
 
MLT said:
I used to own the S4 for about a year, quite enjoyed it, but it felt to much like a fisher price toy and wasn't the biggest fan of Traktor personally think its to clunky.
Much prefer my DVS system.
You can Midi map an x1 to do everything for you so you could literally mix internally with Traktor using nothing but 1 X1.
Click to expand...

Well.. this is what i dont want really... i still want to mix... otherwise it just all a bit boring really. And yeh... DVS is no doubt better option.... but facing the thought of having to set the fucking thing up 2 or 3 times a weekend is fukin long.... at least with the S2/S4 its just one cable straight to the line in of the mixer and your sorted!
 
I know what your saying about the hassle of setting up a full DVS system, the only good thing i can say about the S4 is that all you need to do is plug into the mixer, boot up the laptop and your ready to go, but then honestly and this is just my personal opinion its not as fun to mix with, although your still doing everything providing nothing synced it to me didn't feel right.
You may get one and love it though who knows.
Go read on the forums at DJ Tech Tools after you read a few fanboy posts about the S4 you'll want one in a heartbeat, this is what happened to me and i regret it.
But hey like i said my opinion dont let it put you off. Opinions are like arseholes everybody's got one.
 
Hi mate,

I bought the S2 in october as my first venture into Dj'ing...

Personally I think its a great bit of kit.. its got a solid build quality, its great to use and as you said its literally a job of plugging it in and away you go!

I would say however I think I wish I spent a bit more and got the S4... although this is because I feel that having more than two decks is VERY useful, obviously if you are used to two and arnt bothered about being able to get more creative I wouldnt worry... with the S2 you can use the sample decks.. which I still dont really know how to use purely through ignorance because I think its more important for me to learn to mix properly before getting creative!

Sam
 
Bought the S4 December last year. Fucking amazing. I haven't even begun to get to know half the extra FX and sampling functions and stuff. So easy to DJ if you beat match it making easy money at commercial nights a fucking breeze. You do have to beat grid all your tracks though. Each to their own though...
 
I bought my s4 about a year ago and it's absolutely amazing.
It actually was my first controller, before that I only used virtual dj and a mouse.
But the s4 is really great, I have placed beatgrids in every track, so I can even dj without headphones xD
but it's very nice, I won't lose time because of syncing so that means I can play with three and four decks all the timé.
I sample some great tracks as teasers while already playing three decks, and the crowd goes crazy =)
 
Its odd seeing the digital generation move to analogue and the analogue generation move to digital all at the same time.

I started on controllers and moved to DVS and analogue. imo, controllers, on their own, are boring.

If you respect the music that you spin, you dont wanna smash the shit out of it with effects, you wanna blend them up nice. With vinyl this takes care and patience, with digital it can be ridiculously easy. Which leaves you with a lot of time on your hands standing idle, drinking too much or excessive EQ tweaking.

I do agree with you on setup times though, its a pain in the arse dicking around with RCA's.

The X1 will handle all the transport controls, but you still need to plug it into the mixer like your DVS setup. It doesnt handle EQ's when you get it out of the box, you'll need to augment it with mappings. For such a small controller, you really dont wanna have to be switching control layers because you will eventually lose track of where youre at and fuck it up proper.

The NI series of controllers is the best imo, there are many more that are well made too. I liked reloops stuff from a while back, theyve gotten better too. Denon also make some excellent hardware.

If you can hold off till summer, head to BPM at the NEC in August and check out all the controllers in person. They really vary massively in quality of components.
 
Got the S4 and love it. I upgraded to Scratch Pro for the DVS and haven't looked back sense. Being able to create custom maps is a plus as well–right now I have my jog wheels assigned to control my FX parameters.

NI will be dropping Traktor 2.5 in May (free upgrade) which will introduce remix decks as well as a new algorithm for the BPM calculator for those without DVS.

Hold off on getting the X1 until they drop the F1.

Cheers.
 
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