It’s that time of year again when I ask my wife for yet more DJ’ing kit. This year however I’m stuck between the SCS System 3 and the Kontrol X1. Anybody got any good reasons to prefer one over the other? Or am I missing some potentially awesome kit completely?
I’m basically after a portable controller to travel around with, not particularly gig with. I spend a lot of time in places like Afghanistan so lugging an S4 about isn’t the best option! I already have a full DVS setup for home and a JWILL mapped Launchpad for portable effects and basic transport, I was just after something with a bit more control.
i like my scs.3d’s. they’re very small+light so perfect for carrying around. i don’t have a scs.3m, which would be cool for effects control. surely having a builtin soundcard would be handy for you too? a k2 might fit the bill nicely…
Glad to see someone showing the love to the SCS! How do you find the lack of physical controls? I’m not after some crazy knob tweaking but are the FX faders up to the job?
the surface is quite nice to use. it has some grip, unlike using an ipad or something, so u can at least feel how much you’re moving it etc.
on the scs.3d the top left/right faders are fairly narrow, so maybe not ideal if someone has really big hands. i really like the main circular area which u can put into one of 3 modes… circular/slider/buttons so it’s really flexible.
the midi implementation is fantastic and so is it’s various methods of led feedback. i think darouter does most of that for u and not sure how much u can edit it, since i don’t use it.
you’ve got the 6 layer buttons at the top, 4 buttons on the outside of the circular area plus the 4 physical (moving) buttons at the bottom for transport. they have quite a nice feel but i wish they moved a bit more maybe.
all in all i think it’s pretty cool. not sure i’d pay full price for them tho since you can get them 2nd hand for a song. both of mine were about the 50quid mark from ebay. 2nd hand the scs.3m’s seem to be a lot rarer tho and go for more cash when u do see them.
for transporting them a single unit fits lengthwise perfectly into a 6x9 laptop neoprene sleeve, but there’s a bit of slack widthwise, space for a 2nd cable or something tho - as u can fit the main usb cable inside it anyway.
Cheers for the update! The full system retails for about £250 new at the minute so it’s a tad more expensive than the X1 or the K2 but it seems like a whole lot of control for the money. And it’s nicely portable too!
I tried the SCS System 3, damn that doesn’t look practical at all to use. Not natural for me.
I feels like they made something tactile because it’s stylish and fashion, and not because it really adds something to the mix.
On the other hand i’m super pleased with my X1 Rubber knobs, nice buttons, nothing bad about it imho.
This pretty much. The touch is just a gimmick I only see being inefficient and impractical and trying to play on them it felt pretty pointless, the X1 is a solid well thought out midi controller that gets the job done.
K2 has built in sound card where as X1 and SCS do not.
I have an SCS.3 system for $175 shipped if you want one though. I liked it alot, but moved on to the S4. I miss the EQ kills and touch control for Fx the most.
Rubber knobs, nice buttons, nothing bad about it imho.