Get an S4 or wait for Twitch?

[xtianw]

get the s4 because sync in itch is a worthless, broken, unreliable piece of shit.

with the featureset the twitch is shooting for, make damn sure they have completely re-written their sync code before you feel like novation and serato came into your house, banged your mother, kicked you in the balls...... twice.....

and then took 500 dollars out of your wallet.

[fullenglishpint]

One big question of mine being... Does switching between the performance modes switch the CC values of the pads via firmware, or will we have to map them as modifiers? S4racen?

short answer, yes, it changes the CC.

long answer, along with all the other answers to the questions I emailed them:

1. I'm going to be mostly using it with Traktor Pro 2 (though I'll certainly be giving ITCH 2.0 a try), and I'll be making my own custom mapping. Is the volume section in the top right hand corner hard wired to the volumes or is that midi mappable as well?

The 'Master' section controls (Headphone, Mix, Booth and Master) are all hardwired and are the only rotaries which do not send midi on the unit.

2. Do the 4 performance modes change the notes/CCs output by the trigger pads? Just so I know whether I'll have to use modifiers in Traktor to make them work for different functions. Just to clarify, if in what's labeled as hotcue mode a pad outputs C#1 (for argument's sake), does it output the same note in slicer mode or something else, like C#2?

Yes this is correct, each section - Hot Cues, Slicer, Auto Loop and Loop Roll send out subtly different CC messages. You should not have to make any modifiers.

3. Are the different LED colours editable with midi or do they depend only on which performance mode is selected?

I'm sure these can possibly be affected via velocity change info, however this is currently not supported (or tested here so I wouldn't want to give you a definitive answer).

4. Do the LED notes match the corresponding button notes? A major problem faced by people starting out with a custom mapping is being able to find out which note corresponds to which LED, since of course midi learn cannot be used for outputs. A map of the notes is invaluable.

There will be an implementation guide with the Twitch controller so that you can check these LED / Midi notes to make your own mappings.

5. Will it ship with a blank overlay for people to label their own mappings?

Currently it maps with the Traktor overlay only, however I will submit this as a feature request as I can see how it would be helpful.

6. Do the LEDs in the touchstrips work with Traktor?

Yes these work in a different way to Itch, however there is LED feedback. In Traktor your finger contact position is backlit, whereas in Itch, the LEDs pulse from left to right.

[DJZILCH]

the s4 can do a lot more than the twitch, but it is also more expensive

if you are looking into getting the twitch as your main setup then maybe you should consider the S4 instead because it does a lot more plus you can add in turntables later on and get the S4 scratch upgrade to use timecode vinyls along with the S4

just my two cents

i got an s4 and personally i was gonna get a novation twitch as well but now i think im just gonna use the money to buy a vinyl deck and the s4 scratch upgrade coz i really miss the old vinyl feel

[fullenglishpint]

I'm not sure I'd say the S4 can do a LOT more than the twitch, they're just different approaches. They'll each excel at different things.

[loop]

Twitch attracts me for creative mapping possibilities.

The S4, as is now, is somewhat limited in it's mapping. Yeah, it's OK for a it's workflow, but I'm missing the "personal" touch to it. Many have said it - it's like the S4 doesn't have a soul, when twitch might have a greater potential for becoming a soulful friend ...

NI disclosed that there will be S4 mappability enhancements in an upcoming software release, but when would that be, IDK. When the S4 gets the abilities for NHL mapping overrides, i'll be happier for sure.

Twitch seems great, IMO, but i''ll not replace my S4 with it. I see amazing potential in TWITCH, and if I didn't have the S4 already, I'd probably be more attracted to get twitch instead.

A good advice to the OP would probably be to get a second hand S4 now, and wait for a couple of months to see how the TWITCH's acceptance will be in the community. You could then decide what's best to keep in the long run. If you decide to sell the second hand S4, you are likely not to loose much money ... and you'll have a great tool for the summer party season ... NOW, instead of waiting or wondering

[DJZILCH]

i was saying the S4 can do a lot more than twitch in terms like timecode capabilities, 4 individual channel strips with EQ and Filter on each channel independently, the sample decks, the live recorder etc, but the S4 almost costs TWICE as much as the Twitch, so there's really no comparison between the two

I'd say the twitch would be a nice mini-setup, im actually looking forward to have a go at one to see how they would feel without a jogwheel and having a knob as a pitch slider, it'd be interesting

[loop]

Hey ZILCH, based on your signature, you have both TSP & S4. Haven't you got the TSP2 upgrade for free?

You said that you'd like to get the scratch upgrade for the S4, that's why i'm asking ... But you should already have it, i guess ...

[DJZILCH]

Oh when I bought the s4 I sold my tsp (which was a ts duo set upgraded to tsp) as I wanted to upgrade to the audio10
Bad move, should've kept it, I would have gotten the scratch upgrade for free

When I found out that the audio10 always have to be connected to the power adapter I changed by mind and by then it was too late, now my only option is to buy the s4 scratch upgrade and buy a separate audio6 Dj which would cost me extra

Silly me I know

[GI Trackt]

I've been debating this same topic myself, except bw Twitch and the dn-mc6000. However, after a while of figuring out my dj style and also using the sc2000, I've realized that I don't use the jog wheels that much. I'm more of a cue point dj. That said, I think DDM4000 + Twitch could be a crazy setup, no? Especially if I feel that I don't need jog wheels for my workflow.

Any thoughts on using Twitch with an external mixer (like ddm4000) ? Plus the Twitch integrates TriggerFinger functions so I could potentially sell my TF and my sc2000..

(sorry, don't mean to get this thread off topic...)

[Coldfuzion]

Twitch doesn't support turntables or cd for traktor scratch does it?

If so then it would be an amazing mixer combo considering the size and the options...

I agree with this.

I'm not sure I'd say the S4 can do a LOT more than the twitch, they're just different approaches. They'll each excel at different things.

This is true too, but my question to everyone is honestly how much cue point juggling and beat matching do you do? If you do it a lot then it's worth picking up the Twitch. If you just love the idea of it more so then actually utilizing it to its full potential then get the S4. I myself fall in the second group.

However if you can use timecode via the Twitch then whenever I end up picking up 1200's i'll buy a Twitch to use as it's mixer.