New Traktor? New NI Controller?

[stphotog]

Anyone know anything about Traktor/Maschine integration?
NOT using Maschine as a Traktor controller but being able to Dj in traktor (perhaps with the S4!!!! love it!) and run Maschine as a 4th (or 5th deck) and make your own beats on the fly (like bridge perhaps.)
The guys at the NI booth at DJ expo had NOOOO idea (frankly they didn't seem to know anything and they were not DJ's that is for sure.)

[Wickedsight]

I know I've been busy lately because of my new job, and besides Ableton (that I mess with mostly for composition purposes now).

I have to say, the S4 was what I was wanting out of a controller. Exactly what I was looking for. I love the sampling ease of Ableton, and I like the solid controls of a more "normal" setup. This update to Traktor and S4 HID controller hits how I want to mix exactly on the button.

I'm so glad I've been broke so I didn't buy something else before this.

I was planning on getting the VCI-300 with ITCH. Having been mostly familiar with Serato products, and wanting HID, this seemed like the best method to go. I like Traktor, but having HID is a must for me because I'm a precise person.

From what I can see already, feature wise, the S4/Traktor combo blows the competition out of the water in it's price-range. The VCI-100 will always have a solid place because of it's custom layouts, but I think controllers are growing a bit more with technology now.

I'm really interested to see, and haven't researched enough yet, if I can run 3 decks with the S4 digitally, and then use the 4th for a sampler partition. I can really see that being how I'd like to mix overall.

It's really just floored me. I know some people have mixed reviews and thoughts on it. But besides the jog wheels being on the top (which honestly I think I'd get used to because I'd probably play with the stuff on the bottom more often than the jog wheels anyhow) it really feels like this is EXACTLY what I personally was looking for, and wasn't out yet.

I really like NI products. And this seals the deal with me. (Of note: You know you can buy the Audio 2 DJ at Best Buy now???? Saw it in the store the other day.)

I'm a guy who is tech savvy and knows the in's and out's of the techie nerd talk, but whom needs to work on his actual mixing skills a lot. I feel like as a controller for a beginner to master, this is one that can hit a lot of places. Some people have different workflows, but for me, this hits everything on the spot.

+1000 I agree with you on this 100%

[rdej47]

NI would have been really wise to allow beatgrids to function like warp markers. I'm in the process of trying to warp Acapellas and it's such a hassle. Traktor has such a nice wave form and it's so much easier to see where exactly the fluctuation occurs. Plus this way we wouldn't have to create a warped version and have duplicate files running around.

[Dragonfyre]

Here is a glimpse of the 'street price':

http://www.audiomidi.com/Traktor-Kontrol-S4-P14168.aspx

They are taking pre-orders.

[dubgiant]

Ughhh hate Cali tax.. Waiting to get from somewhere out of state

[Chuntz]

I had a quick squiz and couldnt see, but if we wanna run 4 x stereo channels of audio via an extenal mixer do we need to keep hold of our audio 8s as well?

[empolo]

You know, now that the shock and awe has worn off a bit, I got to thinking about the S4 and how it compares to the Behringer DDM4000. See, I already have my $ put away for the S4 but just a couple of months ago, I was salivating over the Behringer, particularly because it has built-in sampler and FX sections and everything is pretty much MIDI assignable on it.

Just had a thought tonite while looking at a screenshot of the DDM4000...NI has confirmed that Traktor Pro is going to pick up the S4 sample decks and loop recording features - hmmm, how does that change things now? Looking at the screenshot of the DDM4000 (plus a picture of its MIDI callouts), I can see some very nice mapping possibilities once these features are available. There are already buttons and LEDs for the recording sources and sample lengths. Sure, it will take some time to map these out but $1000 vs $350 is a consideration that I will surely keep in mind, plus NI provides a basic mapping for the DDM4000 that one can begin modifying. Only thing missing are the jog wheels but I do have a X1 to put next to the DDM4000 so that helps to compensate a bit.

What do you guys think? Me personally, I think that the feature update in TPro + the DDM4000 mapping possibilities + potentially over $600 USD in savings is worth thinking about. It gets positive reviews pretty much across the interwebs.

[haze324]

^ sound card. Can you use an Audio 2 and still use the DDM4000 or do you need an Audio 8 so you can plug in each channel. I honestly think you are comparing apples and oranges. In the grand scheme of things its DDM 350.00 + 200 (X1) + 350 (sound card) + 200 Traktor Pro. Grant it you already have some of these, but for 899.00 (s4) it all comes in one box, mapped and ready to launch. Thats a deal to me, also the quality of the DDM4000 I personally feel is less than the X1. If the S4 compares to X1, then S4 all the way.

[empolo]

^ sound card. Can you use an Audio 2 and still use the DDM4000 or do you need an Audio 8 so you can plug in each channel. I honestly think you are comparing apples and oranges. In the grand scheme of things its DDM 350.00 + 200 (X1) + 350 (sound card) + 200 Traktor Pro. Grant it you already have some of these, but for 899.00 (s4) it all comes in one box, mapped and ready to launch. Thats a deal to me, also the quality of the DDM4000 I personally feel is less than the X1. If the S4 compares to X1, then S4 all the way.

Well that's pretty much it as I have the X1, the A4 and T. Pro. So I am pretty much speaking from the perspective of someone who already has an established setup. Also am speaking from the perspective of someone who sees the DDM4000 as more of a very nice MIDI controller that can also work standalone and still provide pretty nice sounding effects as well as a built-in loop recorder.

As far as the quality of the S4 vs the DDM4000...well, it's hard to be objective when the S4 has only been seen in pictures and videos whereas the DDM4000 is sitting on a display shelf down the road at GC. A lot of the reviews that I have read regarding the DDM4000 have all been positive as far as build quality and responsiveness are concerned (plus there have been revisions of the mixer based on early adopter feedback - that's very good to know).

Until the S4 is sitting side by side where one can compare the two in person, it's a bit fanboy-ish to assume that higher cost == better quality in this case. BTW, nothing personal there - one can argue that I am a NI fan because I have T. Pro, Maschine, a X1 and the Massive Threat pack.

[photojojo]

[QUOTE=empolo;154532]
Until the S4 is sitting side by side where one can compare the two in person, it's a bit fanboy-ish to assume that higher cost == better quality in this case. /QUOTE]

You are absolutely correct, but I'll bet you $100 the S4 is better than the DDM4000.