DJ beginner controllers: best for reasonable price?
Hey guys, Im a beginner Dj, and I’ve seen a lot about pioneer and traktor, but I’m wondering what some good beginner controllers that are cheap are?
Denon MC3000 is a solid 2 deck controller. I prefer modular setups so a Traktor X1 or Reloop Contour are awesome. Zomo MC-1000 is super great too if you’re mixing house/trance where sync is all you need.
Numark Mixtrack pro 
To me it’s CMD modular series.
I was going to say the same thing.
The NI Kontol S2 (Mark 1) is a good value, since it also incorporates a reasonable sound card. You might have to hunt to find a new one, they are readily available at the typical used sources.
So let’s turn this into a discussion:
Do you think a person new to the DJ scene needs to have platters on their first controller.
Two points in favor of jog wheels…
I use the jog wheels on the S2 to control FX using the mapping from DJTT. Turning one big wheel for a set of FX is certainly easier to control for beginners than four knobs (wet/dry, and three FX controls).
I find that jog wheels are more intuitive than pitch bend buttons for nudging the tempo on tracks while beatmatching. This is likely because I started with physical DJ players…but that still makes jog wheels better for me for mixing.
Will CDJ’s with big Jogwheels still be in use in 5-10 years time? If so, are you always going to be willing (or let) to bring your own gear to each an every gig.
Personally I think platters are a necessary in order to learn the trade correctly and in order to transfer your base skill set to pretty much any standard club equipment - much like any trade, you start with a basic standard set of tools in order to hone your craft and then start taking shortcuts as needed when you master it.
I’d never want to play without jogwheels, even with sync. They are just extremely handy to have.
Look into the Pioneer DDJ-SB. Cheap and fun! To start out with DJ’ing and learning the trade I def think it’s a great option for the money it costs
Judging by the feedback I get, many people would appreciate a good Traktor map for the SB.
Well, I’d say it’s usually a good idea to start out with a controller with platters for a couple of reasons.
The first reason is the more obvious ones - you can emulate CDJs. Although not all people move to CDJs eventually, most people don’t know what they’ll want later, so it’s good to have the option.
Also, simplicity - it’s much easier for a newbie to just buy one controller rather than mix and match modular ones. Do correct me if jogless all-in-one controller other than Twitch exist.
x1 + z1 is a good cheap. I use that instead of an S2 for small gigs now…
But i agree that first controller should probably have jogs so an S2 or SB are both good was to go