Kontrol S2 vs. Denon MC3000 vs. AA VMS4.1

Kontrol S2 vs. Denon MC3000 vs. AA VMS4.1

Hey guys, new to the forum here and wondering if any of you can help me out
I’m looking around for a controller upgrade and the 3 that it’s pretty much come down to for me is the:
-Traktor Kontrol S2
-Denon DJ MC3000
-American Audio VMS4.1

But beyond that I’m stuck, I keep leaning towards one.. then back to another.. and so on
Some things about me.. I currently have a shitty Pyle-Pro controller, it was basically the cheapest thing I could find on the internet lol. I’m looking to step up to a more professional controller for parties, small clubs, and bar gigs. I just recently purchased Traktor Pro 2 so I’ve got the software, and assume all 3 are equally priced.

Which controller would you suggest? What are some pros/cons etc?

Thanks in advance!

Have you looked at the Stanton DJC.4, I have one and its a beast. I think its one of the most over looked controllers out there…

I have seen the stanton djc.4 but didn’t give it much of a chance, i don’t remember why exactly..
possibly because it is stated for virtual dj?

How would it work with traktor?

It works pretty well actually, 2 track decks, 2 remix decks, nice use of the loop recorder and now we have post fader fx’s internally… Stanton should have a new mapping in a week or 2 so I’ll be able to make more use with flux mode. It’s a Well built controller, faders nice, not to cramped, lots of knobs and buttons. The thing that sold me was the fact that it had it’s own section for loops, cue points and sampler. Look at most controller s even the high end ones, you almost always have to use a shift button between your hot cue buttons and sampler. So for example, I can now launch hot cues on deck 1 and start up a couple of remix decks at once with having to do some crazy macro mapping. Basically I have two times more buttons. I hardly find myself using the shift button anymore.

And VDJ isn’t a bad program, hell I can run all 4 decks and 8 samplers with the DJC4 when using VDJ. Plus the scripting is stupid powerful. And with VDJ I can plug my turntables straight into the DJC4 and run timecodes, whereas with Traktor I have to hook up my Audio 8.

They both have their pros & cons but the Stanton unit is pretty solid in my opinion…

appreciate the input, even though it gave me one more controller to consider instead of narrowing down my search lol, but I would’ve overlooked it if it wasn’t for you.

I’m just doing a lot of research and thought this time so I don’t drop 400 or so dollars on a controller thats not right for me, first one was only about 100 so it wasn’t a bank breaker

best build quality the denon

best integration with Traktor (i.e. jog wheels that respond 1 to 1 with Traktor) the s2

I don’t rate the AA, but i’ve never used one…

the tight integration with traktor is why I’m kind’ve leaning towards the s2 right now
I feel like with all the support / mappings out there, there’s a lot I could do with it

Probably more possibilities with the denon due to number of buttons but I’d have to do some mappings by myself and I feel like I could screw that up pretty easily lol

More opinions still welcome, everything helps my decision

I loved the s2, hated that it lacked filter knobs though. But in beau brutes s2 mapping shift and gain are mapped to the same knob, with shift. Based on my use with it, if you use traktor, the s2 is layed out to fit perfectly with the software. Feel free to pm me with questions if you have any

VMS 4.1 has standalone mixer to, very handy for the future to add on stuff like cdj’s/turntables.

that is nice but I don’t see myself adding any additional sources like cdj’s or turntables anytime soon so thats not a major factor for me

What do you mean by this exactly? How is that different than its original shift + gain = filter setting

was gonna say the same as well.

in settings i have mine switch so that gain is filter, and shift+gain knob is gain up/down.

ya that’s a setting I’ve seen used. how is the filter with the encoder knob though?

ehhh not bad. obviously its a bit notchy with its travel cause of the encoder which kinda sounds odd sometimes. but if you do it all in a a sweep its okay. but i have an X1 so i have a filter on there which is regular knob.

oh ya thats a good idea, i guess thats why a lot of people use that combo. i could probably deal with a sketchy filter for awhile until i can afford something else like that. or map it to a different knob?

Well I mean you only need the s2 really, it just depends how you mix, if your more filters I’d do the filter as the primary, I mean you can always do shift plus filter to get the volume up before you introduce the track anyways. But if you are more eq and less filter I’d just use the gain as the primary. But yeah I ran an s2 and an x1 and f1 for a while and loved it, wish I still had my s2.

But the shift plus gain knob would be your best bet, just whatever way fits your mix better would be your choice.

alright thanks, i’ll have to play around with it for awhile first. I’ve never even used traktor before so I’ll need to get a feel fore that as well. but the fact that you’re saying you wish you still had the s2 is always a good sign lol

Yeah worst decision ever on my part selling it, product support and mapping updates on the s2 made it solid as it gets. But no problem!

Look at the Twitch!