Help on buying beginning equipment!
I am a complete beginner and would love some tips on buying beginner equipment. I was looking into the S2/S4 but have limited funds. I was wondering if its worth getting the S4 over the S2? And I would eventually like to dj in clubs and was wondering if buying a controller would be the right move. Thank you for all the help!
Buying a controller, if you have a laptop that you can and want to use, is the cheapest and most straightforward way to learn.
No, the S4 is not worth buying for a beginner on a budget over the S2.
+1 for both points.
The S2 is a VERY capable controller. Working on you two deck techniques is the best investment a beginner can make. Adding two more decks (remix or not) is a distraction from the work you need to put in to build your technique with two decks.
Say I were to master the S2 would you suggest I then move onto the S4? (because if so I feel like I should just buy that now) or should I master the S2 first then buy an F1 or X1?
Depends on your budget. It’s always cheaper to buy 1 piece of equipment than 2. I personally have an S4 but find myself only using 2 channels on it most of the time. I was actually originally going to buy an s2, but I got a really good price on an s4. 2 channels + an F1 is just my style of DJing. You might end up different as you develop. In fact, you may go in a completely different direction in 6-12 months, and want/need a completely different style of equipment. You can’t go wrong with either, but I personally would go with an s2. Less of an investment if you change your style as you develop.
I think the S4 is worth it just for the filter knobs 
I use filter too much to not have dedicated filter knobs.
That said, I’d grab an MK1, not an MK2.
being honest
so istarted with an ion discover Dj (the one that is identical to the original numark idj), then upgraded to a numark miktrack using an alesis multi mix 4 for my output, back in january i was at guitar center and they had the 4trak (aka traktor version of the NS6 only with the fx bar) on clearance for about $300 so i picked it up, never been happier thing is built like a tank, just like the ns6, (which i might add is on sale right now and can be bought cheaper used than the s4) the 4trak has survived falls out my car, and people spilling drinks on it but i dont suggest that (i also vinyl wrapped mine using a modified NS6 template. the big think to consider when buying a controller is the outputs, mine is all XLR and RCA. another plus is the fact that both the ns6 and 4trak can be used as independent mixers with other controllers meaning you dont need a computer.
So…this isn’t an attack on your or an argument in the thread, but…how in the heck do people use those filter knobs? (Pioneer’s are no better)
All of the range of adjustment where you want detail is from like 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock…
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be able to use the filters on Traktor’s mixer, but the way the knobs turn makes them completely useless to me. Are people just using them like switches or what?
I have the S2. I am debating going modular for my next setup. Mostly due to space restrictions in the booths where I work.
BUT…what you will do will depend heavily on what you learn about your style and workflow as you master the basics with the S2. For four deck controllers, the Denon mc6000 looks better to me than the S4. That said, the S8 looks better (but HUGE) as a four deck controller.
Why not re-map the knob to have lower sensitivity - so the useful range is from 9’oclock to 3’oclock…or something even wider??
Because Traktor’s mapping won’t do nonlinear relationships, and I want it to go over the full range, just with a different curve. Plus, the only way to remap it like that is to use relative mode, which can lead to the knob being centered wrong…which is impossible to play through without having the mixer on screen.
Basically…Traktor sucks at mapping knobs. It’s easier to just use the filter effects with separate hi- and low-pass knobs.
best way around it is those cheap little controllers with knobs and pads map 2 knobs to each deck.
I use filters all the time. I don’t see the problem mostapha is having with them. They are not mapped in a special way either.
Traktor is great(I use it myself) but the learning curve is almost non existent.. If you just want to learn how to be a DJ and throw some tracks together it’ll be perfect but if you want to learn the fundamentals like proper beat matching and cueing etc i would recommend going with CDJs or even better, some turntables.
You can pick up some old Pioneer CDJ 800s for next to nothing these days, these are easier than TTs but the learning curve will still be longer than 5 minutes. It depends on what you want to achieve when DJ’ing… in my experience clubs still favour CDjs over anything else so it may not be a bad place to start… I know each club and area is different but i’m yet to see a controller in a club setup unless the dj or promoter has set it up themselves.
cross
mixvibes cross is a very simple to use software and very easy to learn and its almost like a mix between traktor and Virtual DJ