Most Reliable/Highest Build Quality Controller

[David Schonborn]

Hello all, first time poster, long time reader of DJTT and the forums. Thanks for making this a great resource!

I've come to you because I'm looking to replace my year-old Numark Stealth Control. Some of the buttons are beginning to die out on me, and since I'm getting more serious about DJing I'll be looking for something that won't let me down with some hard use. I'm controlling Traktor and I also have an Audio DJ 4 and a Midi Fighter.

I'm satisfied with the controls offered on the Stealth Control, so something along those lines would be great. I really don't need touch-sensitive jogs or anything but I'm not necessarily opposed to them. I tried searching for "reliable controller" and such but only specific examples came up and I wanted to get an idea of the broader picture.

Do you have any recommendations? Or own a controller that's lasted forever?

Thanks,
David

[sidetrakd]

Word has it the vci is near indestructible!! Have heard endless good reports!The s4 is getting so many good reports and I haven't heard many people that bought one complain.Hasn't been out long enough to tell whether it withstands the test of time!
I don't own either so can only tell you what I've heard!

[XplodeHD]

i own one xone 1D and its all metal and hard knobs faders top quality etc.. really good bulid but i dont know if your looking for a traktor mixer controller then go for something else

[fullenglishpint]

The original VCI-100 mk1 (the one you can make an SE from) is bomb proof, can't vouch for the mk 2. I've heard its built in sound card is pretty average.

The S4 is a beast of a controller and good build quality from what I've heard. Felt really good when i tried it out.

Reloop's controllers tend to have metal casings and seem to be quite good, not really heard any bad reviews of them except the DJTT complaint about the jogwheels on the new Digital Jockey 3.

Denon's controller range in general is very well made, everything from the brilliant DNSC2000 up to the really big units like the one featured on the blog.

The new novation twitch, coming out in a few weeks, has a metal casing and looks very well built. I'll be picking one up!

Don't buy behringer. Their build quality is unreliable (with a few exceptions, such as the DDM4000, but that's not the kind of thing you're after).

[XplodeHD]

yea i have a vmx300 behringer dj mixer almost 2 years and its starting to loose precision and the faders and knobs are going crazy.. the behringer controllers are all plastic..maybe only good for home use but thats why the price is low

[photojojo]

None of them come without their own problems though. I think one reason the VCI-100 MKI was so successful and considered bomb proof was because of DJTT and the tech support you could get here.

[sarasin]

Word has it the vci is near indestructible!! Have heard endless good reports!The s4 is getting so many good reports and I haven't heard many people that bought one complain.Hasn't been out long enough to tell whether it withstands the test of time!
I don't own either so can only tell you what I've heard!

mmmmmI love my VCI.....but she is DEAD...for no apparent reason!

Don;t let this put you off....I have gone NUTS on the thing!

[josh@firestorm]

None of them come without their own problems though. I think one reason the VCI-100 MKI was so successful and considered bomb proof was because of DJTT and the tech support you could get here.

this.

the djtt community did 100x more than vestax ever could have in p.r and promotion for the product. they do have a nice solid feel to them too which helps

unfortunately your topic question is a bit like the old statement 'how long is a piece of string'. what one person sees as the best controller on the market, theres another person that doesn't like it.

the best advice i can give you personally is to work out where your mixing is now in terms of skill, creativity etc and also where you wish to take it in the future. personally i think you are better off growing into a controller than buying a controller that suits you now. then work out your budget and decide how much you are willing to part with - then hit all the gear stores in your area and get hands on with their display models!

if you can't get to stores, hit up as many forums, reviews, and youtube videos as you can and try to answer as many questions as you can yourself about the product based on that information (and ask any specific questions you may think of on the forums AFTER searching yourself for it first)

at the end of the day you want to end up with a product the YOU are happy with. you only need to impress yourself NOT others.

impress everyone with your music choice and skill, not your gear

[DennisHuiberts]

The Xone 4D is a best of a controller. Don't know if it's out of your price range...

[David Schonborn]

Thank you all for the responses so far!

fullenglishpint: I saw a few posts on this board about the S4 specifically where people had some buttons that were losing their pop etc. and it hasn't even been out for very long, so I'd be wary about going that route.

DennisHuiberts: I would love a 4D, but for now it's out of my price range and well into the realm of "excessive for my needs." I've used one before and it was great but I'm going to be connecting only with MIDI and I already have a sound card, so I'd be wasting a lot of the functionality of the controller.

josh@firestorm: It's for that reason though that I didn't ask what the best controller is, I'm primarily concerned with reliability/build quality as I mentioned before which is really not that subjective when it comes down to it. It's either likely to stand up to long hard use or it's not. I'm not concerned with features as much precisely because I'm trying to focus on my abilities and grow. That is to say I have more than enough knobs, faders, and buttons to grow on for a long time already. The thing is that some of them aren't working properly after a year and that's going to be an issue.


Seems like the VCI-100 mk1 is a popular option. From poking around other threads I had already heard good things, and this isn't a huge step up price-wise from where I am now so that's also a good thing. I'm still going to look around for a while before I make my decisions and would love any more opinions you all might have!