Traktor S4 - My 2 cents

DJ Software & Apps Traktor
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Traktor S4 - My 2 cents

Easy all!

Like many I’m sure, I’ve been reading through this forum for months now, weighing up my potential purchase of the S4. I’ve been using Traktor for years and it’s taken a lot of umms and aahs to make the jump to the S4 from Audio 8 & Traktor Pro.

Well this week I went ahead and bought one and I thought I would share my thoughts on the S4 and answer a few burning doubts I had in doing so to help others out who were in my position. I figure my general scepticism after reading about so many problems and issues on here and the native instruments forum will provide a good base for unbiased judgement as, to be honest, all I expected were problems, especially using a PC.

First off I’m running it on an HP DV2700 series laptop with 2.5ghz Core 2 Duo, 4 gigs of Ram, Windows 7 and a very very messy set-up as I’ve been using the laptop for work/home use. I own a pro tools production and mixing studio as well as a macbook but I thought I would give it a go on the PC first to eliminate that hurdle. And I’m a bit of an audiophile at the best of times.

Now to answer some of my personal biggest doubts/questions before buying:

Is the audio quality from the S4 up to par? Especially for playing out

Yes. There’s no other way to put it, the S4 sounds as good if not better than my Audio 8. After a few tests I actually find the S4 cleaner. It has an output similar but not quite as loud as a DJM 800 which we’ve tested in the studio and also through a 1.5K Mackie active mobile rig. The real test will be on Friday through a 15K Club install rig, I’ll update this once we’ve given it a blast.

Does it actually work on a PC using its own soundcard

Well for me, it works perfectly with the HP laptop. No pops or crackles even with 4 decks running with effects going. Works fine with the Audio 8 too (which I’ll be selling).

Am I going to have to dedicate my laptop solely to Traktor, create a new partition, disable every process known to man, completely re-program windows and sacrifice a small goat to get it to work?

In my experience, no. Despite the HP being used as a general work horse for the past 2 years, net browser & downloader, home media mule and everything in between, Traktor S4 is running great on it. I haven’t disabled anything or optimised in any way. I’ve even got 3 installs of Traktor (3, pro and S4) on it at the moment. Admittedly I try and keep a clean house but after everything I’ve read I would have thought it would be in the worst possible state to even try and run the S4 off.

Will it arrive in pieces, with bits missing, jog wheels falling off, headphone jack loose and crackly etc…

Well despite my general run of bad luck with equipment recently, mine arrived in perfect nick, I didn’t even need to calibrate the jog wheels? I am actually missing the USB cable that’s meant to come with it which baffles but is no biggie. Headphone output is loud and clear and everything seems solid as a rock. It is surprisingly light but that’s a good surprise in many ways.

Am I happy with my purchase

Without a doubt. I reckon £750 is a little steep (without control vinyl support out the box) but for the sheer ease of use, great soundcard and the ability to make mixing intuitive and creative, turning the mixer into an instrument itself, you can’t fault it. It’s been a while since I’ve been so excited about a piece of equipment after I’ve owned it for a week as Im prone to picking out problems or not enjoying the workflow right off the bat. I have to say NI has won me over.

Anyway just my 2 cents :smiley:

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I didn’t have any problems wit my S4 either, glad you had a good experience as well.

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Here’s hoping everyone to have the same experience like you guys did. :wink:

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i did :slight_smile:

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Great Post.

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Definitely nice to hear. I’m in that gray area of trying to decide if I listen to my fears of the S4 or not.

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No problems with the fear s4 is a good thing, back in the days when The Netherlands didn’t have a professional army, we got enlisted.

First you had to go for a test, everything between s1 and s4 was good, But s5 meant mentally instable, i’m a s5 guy:smiley: and still rocking the s4. Go for it

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no problems with mine (maybe if you bump the headphone jack it crackles a bit)

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I had to read it twice, but now I get it. LOL.

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I was thinking about getting a S4 right now I am using TSP with 1200’s and dicers with the Audio 8 and so far this has been the best set up I have ever used. I had an Xponent with Torq in the past I really like how it matched the software at the time but the build quality was weak buttons would stick and I was always concerned about the fader going out since I like to scratch. Can you say its durable build and does anyone know if they will have replacement faders. I am not saying I scratch all the time but I do enjoy it from time to time.

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and how many scratches are there now on the faders platter?
I was really shocked when I went to the shop yesterday and saw how easily it gets scratches on it.

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you know the S in S5 wasn’t a S at all but a paragraph sign…? :stuck_out_tongue:

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I’ve actually had an Xponent in the past and totally agree with you, I was amazed (at the time) how well it worked with Torq, really felt like you had complete control of the software with the controller. The build quality like you said was crappy though and I ended up selling it on as I couldn’t use it anywhere but at home and it wasn’t good enough to take me away from vinyl.

The S4 actually feels 1000x more integrated with the software, it’s been designed so you only really need to look at your computer to select the tracks or see what effects you have on, with all of the other main features visually cued on the controller itself. You really do feel like you have direct control of Traktor S4 which creates an amazing workflow and makes it really easy to use and get in to.

As for the build quality, it’s a lot lighter than I was expecting but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s completely solid, all the faders and pots feel great, the platters have a bit more resistance than say CDJ 1000’s but that’s how I like it anyway and they seem to be getting better the more I use them. They’re great for scratching and give you really precise control, if you’ve scratched on CDJ’s before then you’ll feel right at home. Coming from scratching vinyl there’s a bit of a learning curve with the lack of resistance and you’ll probably feel like the platters aren’t big enough, but it hasn’t taken me long to get the hang of it.

The crossfader is really good out of the box, I prefer it a little lighter for scratching but it’s not far off, a good compromise I reckon. The channel faders have a lot more resistance on them then any other mixer I’ve ever used, but this is actually great for me. I hate loose channel faders as they got knocked and get broken really easy by over excited DJs.

I don’t think you can replace the faders but don’t hold me to it, doesn’t look like you can though.

I really do think once the S4 get the control vinyl update, this will more than surpass the TSP / 1210s / Dicers / Audio 8 setup. The only problem being, where to put the damned thing in a club if you’re using decks! Would need a stand that puts the S4 over the mixer then work out where to put the laptop..not sure about this yet.

[quote]and how many scratches are there now on the faders platter?
I was really shocked when I went to the shop yesterday and saw how easily it gets scratches on it.[/quote]

I do find the shiny black plastic finish on the mixer section a strange choice when they have nice matt metal sheeting on the platter sections…surely the other way round?!? The mixer section will get scratched up eventually and is a finger print magnet but its the same with anything that gets used intensively and I’m not too bothered about face value wear and tear, it is a mixer not an ornament!

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Thanks

Cyphizer,

Thanks for the detailed repy and it really helps to know you had the Xponent as well and know where I am coming from about the workflow vs build quality as this is even more of a concern giving the price tag of the S4.
The Vestax VCI-100 would be the other controler to consider it looks like a tank but with them being discontinued the S4 would be the right controler for future support I assume?

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Nope didn’t no that

Wow did you sign me of in those days, thanx man,

by the way i lived in Eindhoven for about 8 years before moving to Curacao.