Ableton Forum

Hey chaps,

I have been working on a youth project with kids who want to DJ, and there are a couple of kids who would like to take it up and buy some gear.
Do any of you have any equipment suggestions?

There a few a few things that need to be considered:
There are sadly no more vinyl shops where we live so it would preferably have to be a digital solution.
A vinyl feel is however important as they want to scratch.
Low budget is also very important as the are kids whose parents won't want to part with €€€€€ to buy CDJ's etc.

I was thinking about suggesting the NI Kontrol S2 http://www.native-instruments.com/#/pro ... ontrol-s2/
as it looks good for the job although I have no experience of it.

What you think?

I used one of these for the first time on the weekend. What impressed me the most was that I was able to walk up to it, having never seen one before and start mixing perfectly acceptable mixes straight away. It felt remarkably similar to CDJ's. Even beat-matching properly using the pitch fader instead of the sync button felt familiar and comfortable.

I was only using it for about 20 minutes at a friends house, so cant really comment on the features or anything else apart from saying how easy it is to transition from other equipment to this. Haven't got a clue about whether its possible to scratch on one, I'll let someone else answer that. On the S4 that I used, the jog wheel looked a little small for scratching.

For a limited budget and use with a computer I would suggest either a Hercules RMX or a Numark Mixtrack (or Mixtrack Pro).

The Hercules is small but has two 'players' and a mixer, and the Numark is larger so looks a bit more 'professional' and less like a toy.

In that market sector though, they are both fairly limited (from a pro DJ POV) but it will be possible for them to scratch. Not like Q Bert, but good enough for kids to play around.

These look great and are cheap

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Category/US ... spx?s=O500

The Behringer looks good. I wonder how much it will cost in comparison to the Traktor S2.
I am guessing the Behringer won't come with software.

I say get and older version of Traktor like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Trakto ... 500wt_1416

Then look for some turntables.
nice price on these, you may even find cheaper somewhere.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAIR-TECHNICS-S ... 500wt_1416

plus some simple mixer, and old used one, something vestax.

maybe even something like this
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=DJ+ ... &_from=R40

I would consider a few other things other than just DJing, for example the tactile experience of hooking up equipment and using actual turntables. Those would be things one could learn and not realize how much they are "learning." Plus they would be getting somewhat of a history lesson with turntables. ALSO, the turntables will never go out of style or be outdated or need upgraded software to work, if you take care of them you will be able to use them as long as you live.

Granted these things will cost a bit more, but the decks will out last an S2. Maybe down the road you could invest in a newer version of Traktor or Serato.
EVERYTIME I do a DJ gig, someone comes up to me and says, "COOL you still use turntables, havent seen that in years." When kids see my rig they want to mess with the turntables, not my APC40.
Also learning to DJ like that, gives a budding DJ the opportunity to get into controllers, if they choose, flawlessly.

I bought 2 Tecnics 1200's and a cheap mixer on ebay for 600 once. Got rid of the mixer in a garage sale, but the Turntables will always be as good as I got em.

just my 2 cents.

JuanSOLO wrote:I say get and older version of Traktor like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Trakto ... 500wt_1416

Then look for some turntables.
nice price on these, you may even find cheaper somewhere.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PAIR-TECHNICS-S ... 500wt_1416

plus some simple mixer, and old used one, something vestax.

maybe even something like this
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=DJ+ ... &_from=R40

I would consider a few other things other than just DJing, for example the tactile experience of hooking up equipment and using actual turntables. Those would be things one could learn and not realize how much they are "learning." Plus they would be getting somewhat of a history lesson with turntables. ALSO, the turntables will never go out of style or be outdated or need upgraded software to work, if you take care of them you will be able to use them as long as you live.

Granted these things will cost a bit more, but the decks will out last an S2. Maybe down the road you could invest in a newer version of Traktor or Serato.
EVERYTIME I do a DJ gig, someone comes up to me and says, "COOL you still use turntables, havent seen that in years." When kids see my rig they want to mess with the turntables, not my APC40.
Also learning to DJ like that, gives a budding DJ the opportunity to get into controllers, if they choose, flawlessly.

I bought 2 Tecnics 1200's and a cheap mixer on ebay for 600 once. Got rid of the mixer in a garage sale, but the Turntables will always be as good as I got em.

just my 2 cents.

Like I said, we live in a place where vinyl and decks are hard to come by. Digital is a better option.

I'm suggesting a DVS system, not necessarily "records" on vinyl.

Checl the Stanton scs.4dj http://www.stantondj.com/stanton-contro ... cs4dj.html it doesnt need a computer, but it can also be used with one as a controller.

Also beheringer is going to realease a new line of cotrollers the all in one will cost something like 300 uSD http://www.behringer.com/ES/Category/US ... spx?s=O500

eggnchips wrote:Like I said, we live in a place where vinyl and decks are hard to come by. Digital is a better option.

I'm with JuanSOLO.

You'll be able to pick up a decent pair of decks and a mixer and a few crates of vinyl pretty cheaply and it's a great way to learn the basics.

If learning to scratch is a high priority then it's another good reason to go with vinyl to begin with.

You've always got the option of Traktor in the future to go digital.

You might want to look at Numark's V7, NS7 or NS6 if you're looking for real vinyl feel (except that it's 7" instead of 12") for scratching. The platter is motorized and high torqued just like turntables but it's an all digital controller. It's bundled together with Serato Itch. The NS7/NS6 is all in one and comes with it's own mixer. If you want more flexibility, then I suggest the V7's coz it's a separate unit and you could use your own mixer. I have 2 myself and they're built like a tank. If 2 V7's is out of your budget, you can actually use only one V7 to control Serato Itch. It has a switch you can toggle to control deck A or B. You always have that option to add another unit in the future.

here's a review at DJTechtools... http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/11/23/n ... x5-review/

I have the S2 & I highly recommend it. The jog wheels are a little small, which was said earlier, but it just takes a little getting used to. If learning to scratch is your thing, these will help you get there.

Good suggestions thanks.
Is there anybody with experience of the Stanton SCS 4DJ?

^ not personally but i heard complaints about the somehow sketchy "DaRouter" software, that is needed to get those things running - the name alone puts me off

i find all-in-one 2 or 4 deck dj-controllers far more straight forward and really enjoy mixing on them.

really love my S4, but if the budged is a bit tighter i would really consider the S2 or a Denon MC3000 and since the S2 is the currently cheaper unit - that would be my pick as a recommendation

No offense to anybody on here who put in the time and years, but I think at this point if you’re just getting started there’s absolutely no reason to get started on vinyl decks.