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Resident Antagonist
The new generation of digital controllers
So Numark kicked it all off with the Numark NV and those who went to BPM no doubt saw it and may have even had a dabble on it.
Native Instruments have been working on something similar for a while in what was the worst kept secret in the industry and have recently announced the Traktor Kontrol S8 (which wasn't at BPM...disappointingly!).
It's hard to not think that all high-end controllers over the next couple of years will have these screens. Having played on the Numark at BPM, there was one thing that really bummed me. The first thing I did was touch the screen...and it wasn't touch screen. In this day and age, everything is touch screen and to see a screen that is about the same size as my Samsung S4 smartphone...it was odd to not have that feature. No doubt that others will have touchscreen in the future, but it seems to have been a missed step at this point.
Besides the non-touchscreen, there are two things that are putting me off jumping on the bandwagon (for now, at least). Firstly, is looking at your laptop that much of a problem? I know that some DJ's don't like the laptop being there as it is seen as another barrier between you and your crowd, but I see it as a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
The other thing - and this is a big thing - you still need the laptop! It's where your music will play from and on top of that, if you have many folders with many songs, you will eventually need a search function (which the controllers themselves don't offer). Granted, the Club DJ will only have three or four folders (and this will be the primary market for these controllers), so navigation is easy enough but for mobile folk who like using this sort of kit (I have the Kontrol S4 Mk II, for example), it's not there yet.
This is a very good starting off point and I can see a lot of people buying them, but for me, it's not quite there yet. There needs to be a touchscreen function, an internal hard drive to store music and a way to perform a search within the controller so that the laptop can stay in the bag.
The new generation is here, folks. What are your thoughts, and what would you like to see?
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Well let's be honest, this new breed of controllers is just the pre-cursor to seeing fully integrated controllers with their own OS and USB storage controller....but even then...you will still need a computer at some stage in the process to put the tracks on the HDD/memory stick or whatever.
If I remember with the HD2500, the D2 and even with the SCS.4DJ you still needed to build the library on a PC...it was a far quicker method than using the controller to do it. I remember sub-20k tracks on the HD2500 was painful watching the library update.
Another couple of years and there will be fully integrated devices...can't wait.
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Originally Posted by
Benny Smyth
What are your thoughts, and what would you like to see?
A controller that suits my needs that doesn't require a laptop. Until then...I'll stick with my HD2500's.
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Dinosaur
Originally Posted by
Shaun
A controller that suits my needs that doesn't require a laptop. Until then...I'll stick with my HD2500's.
Hey Shaun, watch out for the low flying
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Originally Posted by
Shaun
A controller that suits my needs that doesn't require a laptop. Until then...I'll stick with my HD2500's.
A bit like a Cortex.
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Originally Posted by
mattydj50
A bit like a Cortex.
I had a cortex that I used for backup. It wasn't for me though, I ended up selling it. I played about with the Pioneer MEP too, but preferred the Denon.
I'm reluctant to go the midi route. I love the simplicity (with just enough added features) that the Denon has. There's been rumour for years regarding a predecessor to the hd2500, but nothing's materialised yet, midi controllers seem to have taken over. Still, I'm holding out hope that a standalone controller will hit the market sometime in the next few years. Fingers crossed.
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I just wish Numark would make something which doesn't look and feel so plastic. Some of their units are serious bits of kits, but I've just watched the video of the NV and it looks like a toy under the demonstrators hands with weeny little jog wheels.
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I'm another member of the HD2500 fan club. It's so easy to use and (almost) indestructable. I couldn't believe my luck when I picked up an absolutely mint, used once HD2500 for £250.00 a couple of months ago. I was stuck because my original one started playing up. I've still got it and have yet to get it looked at.
I have VDJ8 on a laptop as back up with a HD4500 and it works perfectly for me. I don't really have any intentions of changing my playout set up for quite a while yet.
I didn't go to BPM (I've been once in 10 years) so I don't really have any idea what the new technology is. All I do know is that I am happy with what I have. It works for me and that's what matters.
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