Vci-400 ege vs s4 + kontrol f1

[IZNICE]

OK So ive been saving for the 400 EGE and now have enough money but now the remix deck thing is throwing me for a loop. I am now thinking a s4 with a kontrol f1 might be the better setup for the same amount of money. what do you guys think.

[squidot]

well, it is a tough call that i struggled with for a couple of weeks before i landed on the 400 ege. after looking at both, researching and getting a feeling for what other people thought, the 400 ege won out. i was also thinking about getting an f1 for the remix decks but the more i look at the midi fighter 3d, the more i want it so i'm gonna grab one of those too. i ordered the 400 on saturday so i hope it gets here soon!

here's the reasons i went for the 400 ege:

01. it seems far more customizable, but you have to be into that stuff as the s4 will just work better out of the box. although the 400 has the djtt mapping, so just install that and it should provide the same.

02. it has better build quality. don't get me wrong, the s4 seems solid enough but it's not constructed as well as the 400.

03. it's limited edition. i can't help it...i just tend to like things that are a bit more rare. s4's are everywhere! this may also help the resale value later. you probably won't have as many potential buyers but you should be able to get more from the audience that wants it after it's not being produced any longer.

04. i like the layout/setup of almost everything better on the 400. i prefer the s4 jog and tempo fader positions though, but the jogs are super low on the 400 so i don't think they'll get in the way when hitting the button banks.

05. the more i saw the 400 the more i liked the way it looked over the s4. originally i will say i liked the s4 better.

06. there is more than likely going to be firmware that allows it to be a standalone mixer (with 2 channels i believe).

07. i hear djtt has amazing customer service and i have seen glimpses of that from their blogs and posts. i can tell you that ni service has been less than stellar for me on a couple of occasions.

08. i like the look of the vu meters better. i love the dual color meters on the faders and the main meter is much larger and in a better position than the s4 (although people say the s4 vus are a bit more accurate - not sure on that).

some people say if you want to scratch with the jogs go with the s4, but i saw a dude tearing it up on youtube with the 400, so i think you can tweak it to sound pretty good if you know what you're doing. also, i have read that the tempo faders are not that accurate on the 400 but you can map one of the endless knobs near the fader to do .01 adjustments for manual beatmatching.

with that said here's some pros i found on the s4.

01. tighter out of the box integration with traktor.

02. it's cheaper so if you don't want to wait to save up for an f1 you can get both now.

03. super accurate jogs and tempo faders in hid mode.

04. overall very good layout.

05. comes with traktor 2.5 if you don't already have it.

06. can use timecode vinyl with a tsp 2 upgrade kit with no need for an external ni sound card.

however, if you are using a windows machine you may have to take more steps to get the right sound quality (no pops and cracks etc) with the s4. i am having an issue with my audio 8 dj causing cpu spikes and didn't want to deal with that anymore. it seems like ni cards have a higher chance for issues on windows laptops. as far as i understand if you want to custom map the s4 it has to be done in midi mode which doesnt allow the jogs and tempo faders to work in hid (someone can correct me if i'm wrong on this).

so, good luck on your decision and make sure you think long and hard and read all of the other 400 vs s4 threads on here and throughout the internet. i can say that i don't doubt my purchase for one second and am super excited to get the unit. i think if i had gotten the s4 i would always wonder what things would have been like with the ege...