Why NOT to buy an s4

[BelaBang]

Ok guys, prepare for a little rant about the oh-so-great s4. FYI, I bought it in August and have been performing with it frequently since then. I got convinced by the seemingly high build quality etc. etc.

Here is my personal list of annoying things about the s4 (from the least to the most annoying), which finally lead me to realize that it was a mistake to buy it in the first place.

1. The LED lighting / layout of the unit

-The s4 has plenty of lights on the surface, but their position hardly makes any sense. It is nice to see it light up, but why on earth are there no lights inside the EQ knobs? Almost the complete middle (mixer) section is dark and to make things even worse the lights around it (loop section etc.) are rather distracting than helpful.

-only the deck switch button and the load into deck button are 'mirrored' from the left to the right side, but everything else is not. -> confusing

-the pitch fader is TOO SHORT!

-there is no quick access to changing the pitch bend range (at least as far as i know)

-the browse library button doesn't always react perfectly, which can be fatal if you get used to doing quick moves to browse for songs

-size of the unit

2. Too many (useless) features

-Scratch upgrade, loop recorder, standalone mixer etc. - it sounds tempting but in reality the practicability of all those features remains questionable. Take e.g. the final scratch option - the phono amp included in the s4 hardly creates a decent volume level when using it to play vinyls

-the loop recorder is IMHO useless except for toying around with your voice in your living room

-the loop section is not bad but also lacks usability (in order to even use it all of your tracks have to be gridded perfectly), and you have to use your mouse to adjust volume, filter etc

3. THE USB PORT / HUB

I admit that the above mentioned points are more in the category of 'annoying' than 'reason not to buy at all', but this one really kills it for me:

Everyone in possession of an s4 should have noticed the insanely tight USB port of the s4. I know, I know, it's for safety reasons and so on, and the idea itself is not that bad.. but WHY on EARTH is the mechanism that actually holds the plug in the port then made out of PLASTIC???

To see what can happen, check this thread:
http://www.native-instruments.com/fo...d.php?t=131229

If you put together the immense power you need to apply to get the plug out on the one hand and the fact that the inside is made out of shi**y plastic on the other it doesn't require much imagination to understand how easily it can break! Just the slightest angle while pulling it out could make it break, and as you might have guessed, that's what happened to me.

So if you are tempted by the fancy Ads by NI, take your time and reconsider. My 2 cents.

-rant end-

[Yul]

I suppose everyone has different opinions and I'm no one to say you're right or wrong, but just for the sake of discussion (and I'm no fan boy and I have even my own personal griefs about the s4):


1/

*considering the s4 has the best led feedback I had on any controller I've used, I think that's a bit a stretched opinion here. The information you get is quite important. I agree the mixer section is dark, but then any controller is a compromise; it could have had lit knobs but then, more hardware features -> higher price point, so I suppose that was a choice made.
*

-only the deck switch button and the load into deck button are 'mirrored' from the left to the right side, but everything else is not. -> confusing

personal issue I imagine, never been one for me.

*

-the pitch fader is TOO SHORT!

Well, ok, but then it's wasn't a surprise it's not like it was hidden in any way?? so I don't understand.

*

-there is no quick access to changing the pitch bend range (at least as far as i know)

I personally would have liked to see a indication about the pitch range instead.

*

-the browse library button doesn't always react perfectly, which can be fatal if you get used to doing quick moves to browse for songs

I can't tell, never happened to me.

*

-size of the unit

once again, no surprise, the dimensions were known so...

2/
*

-Scratch upgrade, loop recorder, standalone mixer etc. - it sounds tempting but in reality the practicability of all those features remains questionable. Take e.g. the final scratch option - the phono amp included in the s4 hardly creates a decent volume level when using it to play vinyls

I can't tell for the scratch upgrade.

*

-the loop recorder is IMHO useless except for toying around with your voice in your living room

Hopefully you wrote "imho" so I won't be to mean, but it just reflects here your own limitations, the loop recorder is a very useful and decent feature. It may be not for you of course. From using it as another audio source to free a deck, to record your juggle actions on hotcues or samples, to record implementation of different fx on a segment and record that, the possibilities are quite large.

*

-the loop section is not bad but also lacks usability (in order to even use it all of your tracks have to be gridded perfectly), and you have to use your mouse to adjust volume, filter etc

it's not related to the hardware, it's related upon how softwares work. And you can still use manual loop in and loop out like on any cdj and you don't even have to use snap engaged. But are you talking about the sample decks?


3/ yes, fair enough.

[photojojo]

So what are you getting to replace it?

[Louie_V]

while the unit is not 100% perfect, i see this more as a rant then a reason not to purchase. Almost everything you mentioned was based off your preference, so while it may not be a good unit for you, others may not feel the same.

[padi_04]

The mixer section darkness is the only point i agree completely.

The USB plug is tight indeed but it just takes a little bit to get used to use a "crablike motion" to unplug it instead of yanking it. I guess they didn't made a special USB lock for compatibility sake and went for plastic (like the rest of the industry) to avoid contacts messing with each other.

As regards the volume/filter of the loops (i assume sample decks) I suggest you give the manual a second (or first) read, it's all there.

[kooper1980]

Sounds to me like you didn't do your research before you bought it! All of these issues are either highly subjective or already known issues that are already known about so a little research beforehand would have told you this!

Im with Photojojo.... tell us what you are going to get that will resolve each and every one of your annoyances? I'm guessing that there isn't a single controller out there that can do this! Prove me wrong!!

[Xonetacular]

The VU meters are also completely unusable but that is also a traktor thing that will affect any controller unless they rethink them and instead of having 0db at the top and then going right to clipping make them emulate analog VU meters like any DAW or digital mixer.

It's not perfect but it's an all in one controller and a pretty good deal, I'm not sure what you were expecting. No all in one controller is going to solve all of those issues or not open up more.

[thisisian]

The VU meters are also completely unusable but that is also a traktor thing that will affect any controller unless they rethink them and instead of having 0db at the top and then going right to clipping make them emulate analog VU meters like any DAW or digital mixer.

I fully agree with this. How can you tell if you're "over" the required level, if the required level is at the top of the meter?

[BelaBang]

First of all, as I mentioned in the beginning this is my personal little rant that has been triggered mainly by point 3, as I said, everything else mentioned is more in the department of annoyances which admittedly exist on every controller. Still, if you look at e.g. the American Audio VMS4 you will find lit EQ buttons, and considering the extent by which price and quality of the s4 exceeds the VMS4 it remains questionable why there are so many LED's and none on the EQ.

The fact that some (not all) issues can be known beforehand doesn't really make them any better, does it? Plus the easily breakable USB port was nothing that I could have found in any manual, description whatsoever. If you think about the fact that you pay the price an s4 costs and receive a unit with a supertight usb port that contains a flimsy little plastic thingy which breaks of easily it is in my eyes indeed a reason to raise your voice and scream to the gods for that they may throw some brain from the sky.

If anything I hope that some people at NI will happen to read this and hopefully consider to improve at least some of the mentioned issues in the next version of the s4 if there should be one.

And to be honest, I indeed think that the nearly perfect controller will still be invented, and if no one points out the disadvantages of existing ones how should we ever get to see it come to life?!

I do have to admit that the title is misleading and should be "Why I should NOT have bought an s4", although I think it is still a good thing to create awareness for point 3, it is valid for every owner.