Is the Numark 4Trak still a good controller?

[DJwindowsJedi]

Hi guys.

I'm thinking about downsizing my DJ rig from CDJs to a controller for portability reasons for mobile gigs.

I'm tossing up between the S4mk2, DDJ SX or the Numark 4Trak. I'm drawn to the 4Trak due to its build, inputs and outputs. IMHO its the SX for Traktor. I've read many reviews that say it is/was one of the best Traktor controllers around, however it is a few years old now and I was wondering if thats still the case. Or should I look at buying something new (SX, S4mk2 etc)?

Cheers guys

[elmooso]

It's certainly a well built all-in-one, I played on a friends a few times back in my college party days and I had no complaints at the time, apart from the size. No way you're ever getting that thing anywhere near the booth in a club, which is actually the main reason I use modular gear, but that a different argument.

My problem with buying one today would be that it's from the generation of Traktor gear before RGB performance pads and hot cue buttons were a standard feature. I don't think I'd personally ever go back to a controller without color coded hot cues. Also, I was never a fan of MIDI jog wheels, but that's a problem for all Traktor controllers except the NI ones and the higher end pioneer CDJs.

I think it would be worth it to shell out a little more for one of the newer controllers. Between the ones you mentioned I'd say the the S4 mk2 has far better Traktor integration and RGB pads, while the SX is better built and has hardware filters, but is designed for Serato, which makes mapping the fx section awkward as serato uses a slightly different layout for its fx controls.

[the_firm]

It's certainly a well built all-in-one, I played on a friends a few times back in my college party days and I had no complaints at the time, apart from the size. No way you're ever getting that thing anywhere near the booth in a club, which is actually the main reason I use modular gear, but that a different argument.

My problem with buying one today would be that it's from the generation of Traktor gear before RGB performance pads and hot cue buttons were a standard feature. I don't think I'd personally ever go back to a controller without color coded hot cues. Also, I was never a fan of MIDI jog wheels, but that's a problem for all Traktor controllers except the NI ones and the higher end pioneer CDJs.

I think it would be worth it to shell out a little more for one of the newer controllers. Between the ones you mentioned I'd say the the S4 mk2 has far better Traktor integration and RGB pads, while the SX is better built and has hardware filters, but is designed for Serato, which makes mapping the fx section awkward as serato uses a slightly different layout for its fx controls.

The s4MK1 does have hot cues buttons and they are color coded... blue for cue point and green for Loops... just the slit in the button tho. Well if i remember correctly ? I agree that the sx pads are bigger but I must say i did mobile gigs with a s4MK1 since early 2011 (loved it but my 13yrs old cousin that wanted to learn to mix so sold it to him)
but yeah awesome for gigs... just make sure you get a external mixer if you play with a lot of microphones and other inputs.

[elmooso]

The s4MK1 does have hot cues buttons and they are color coded... blue for cue point and green for Loops... just the slit in the button tho. Well if i remember correctly ? I agree that the sx pads are bigger but I must say i did mobile gigs with a s4MK1 since early 2011 (loved it but my 13yrs old cousin that wanted to learn to mix so sold it to him)
but yeah awesome for gigs... just make sure you get a external mixer if you play with a lot of microphones and other inputs.

Most all-in-ones made for Traktor have had hot cue buttons, but they were usually single color buttons before the release of the X1 mk2. The S4 mk1 was the first attempt in Traktor (as far as I know) at color coding hot cue buttons, but the bi-color green/blue implementation was pretty inadequate.

The X1 Mk2 was the first Traktor controller to implement full RGB hot cue buttons (unless you count custom mappings for the F1 and Maschine mk2) and they've become a standard feature in basically every all-in-one except the bargain-bin controllers.