Xone dx or 4trak for mixing?

[keeb]

I thought the 4trak was a controller that could act as a standalone mixer too...

Yes it is, at least according to the promo video, an analogue mixer. The Xone: DX and the S4 I was talking about aren't; they're just midi controllers which use Traktor's internal mixer and have soundcards. Sorry if that was unclear.

[Best99]

I get you. But if I wanted to buy a brand new controller for less than $1200, which one would you reccomend me?

[keeb]

I get you. But if I wanted to buy a brand new controller for less than $1200, which one would you reccomend me?

If you're absolutely set on brand new, I'd say either the 4trak or the S4. The S4 is potentially cheaper (I had purchased mine at Guitar Center for $765 or so with a 15% off coupon), is proven reliable, has high resolution pitch faders and knobs in addition to the wheels (unclear if the 4trak does or not), has the potential for DVS, much better buttons (4trak look very plastic) and individual channel LEDs. I didn't like how short the pitch faders were on the S4, the jogs could have been bigger, and being stuck mixing internally kind of sucked (though I am a bit of an audio quality snob at times). Feature and layout wise, I'd probably go with the 4trak, to be honest. However, quality/feel wise I'd probably go with the S4. Plus if you go with the S4 you can throw in a midi fighter classic, x1, or scratch upgrade for about the same price as the 4trak. The 4trak is also ugly and even bigger from the S4 from the looks of it, so it might be hard to fit into a DJ booth if you plan on gigging with it.

At the end of the day, I had the S4 and I liked it. My gripes about it probably won't concern most digital DJs, and were it not for my desire to mix externally for sound quality (warmth and detail) I probably wouldn't have switched to the DJM900. The S4 is a great and compact piece of kit and you can't go wrong with it. The 4trak looks promising, but it is a Numark product and it's completely untested. I'd wait a month or two if I were going to buy it so that I could see the reviews first.

Also, with the deal I got on my S4 I'm looking at losing somewhere around 65 bucks when I sell it off. If the 4trak isn't the second coming of the S4, you're probably going to lose a lot more than that if/when you move on to other gear.

Bottom line? I'd say buy the 4trak from somewhere with a decent (easy and no restocking fees) return policy, try it out for a week or two (without registering the copy of Traktor that comes with it if you can) and see how you like it. If you don't like it, return it and get the S4 instead.

[Best99]

Thanks for the reply! But again, 2 things. First of all, are you sure the 4trak's got a plastic construction? I'm pretty sure it's alluminium. Secondly, do you think the DX is in a way overpowered by the S4? If so, why?

[deevey]

With that budget like that burning a hole in my pocket i'd probably go for a DX + dual SC2000's for the best of all worlds and you save $250-300.

LOTS of control and not "too" big. A pretty traditional setup and easy enough to upgrade individual bits and bobs if you wanted to... only issues is you'll need to map a lot of things yourself (if you are comfortable with that no prob).

Of course if you don't "need" or want jogwheels you could just use a DX for now with itch 2.1 (quite nice) or Traktor (which works well but you'll need to budget for a license)

I just love the "built to last forever" feel of the DX's mixer section, and the sound card is the bomb.

Although the S4 has traktor pro2 included in the sale price making it attractive, I doubt the Numark will come with much more than a slightly better version of Traktor Lite.

The Numark also uses plain 'ol pots rather than encoders by the looks of it for the FX section which means using soft-takeover on those decks (ugh!)

4trak look very plastic

I think you are thinking of the N4

and there's defiantly some DJ shop selling the Xone 4d which is GORGEOUS! for 1200 in canada I believe, one of the users posted the contact details / address up before but I can't find the darn thread (only a few days ago as well!)

[keeb]

Thanks for the reply! But again, 2 things. First of all, are you sure the 4trak's got a plastic construction? I'm pretty sure it's alluminium. Secondly, do you think the DX is in a way overpowered by the S4? If so, why?

I was referring to the buttons which definitely look plastic. The chassis does look to be aluminum or something similar. As for the DX, it's not going to be nearly as good with Traktor as the other two since it's intended for itch, and you're not going to have an easy time finding a midi map template for it for the same reason. Also, the jogs are small, the buttons aren't great (small, bad action), and there aren't any pitch faders on it. Nevermind that the jogs aren't high res midi or NHL. Plus you have to toss in the cost of traktor on top of it to make it a fair comparison and the S4 has DVS capability to boot.

[keeb]

With that budget like that burning a hole in my pocket i'd probably go for a DX + dual SC2000's for the best of all worlds and you save $250-300.

Although the S4 has traktor pro2 included in the sale price making it attractive, I doubt the Numark will come with much more than a slightly better version of Traktor Lite.

The Numark also uses plain 'ol pots rather than encoders by the looks of it for the FX section which means using soft-takeover on those decks (ugh!)

I don't know many people who are actually happy with the SC2000s to be honest. They seem like a good idea but in practice I'm not so sure.

Good point about the software - I didn't even notice the "4trak edition". So, add another what, $140 onto the 4trak's price for equal comparison? Now the S4 looks better.

Don't the knobs control FX 1 and 2? So it doesn't matter if you switch decks? Or do they switch to 3/4 when you switch layers? If so, that's a good point but it's not something you're going to remedy with just about any other controller in this form factor. Plus, I'd rather use knobs with soft takeover than detented encoders, which are usually the alternative.

[Best99]

Do you know of any other good midi controller (better than the sc2000)?

[Best99]

and there's defiantly some DJ shop selling the Xone 4d which is GORGEOUS! for 1200 in canada I believe, one of the users posted the contact details / address up before but I can't find the darn thread (only a few days ago as well!)

Please tell me about it as soon as you can!

[Steve Zorilow]

Solotech Inc.
5200 Hochelaga
Montréal (Québec)
H1V 1G3

Tel: 514.526.3094 Fax: 514.526.2447
Sans frais: 1.877.514.SOLO (7656)
ask for Kevin Rhoades.
if you want his e-mail let me know in private