Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 50

Thread: The new generation of digital controllers

  1. #1
    Resident Antagonist Benny Smyth's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Worcestershire
    Age
    38
    Posts
    1,964

    Default 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?

  2. #2
    Corabar Steve's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Welwyn Garden City, Herts
    Age
    56
    Posts
    31,974

    Default

    Which is a lot of why I've stuck with my HD2500s
    Steve Mad, bad & dangerous to know www.corabar.co.uk
    Better to study for one hour with the wise, than to drink wine with the foolish.
    The opinions of Corabar Steve are not necessarily those of Corabar Entertainment, or any of its subsidiaries

  3. #3
    ianforest's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    West Sussex
    Posts
    463

    Default

    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.
    just ian
    Wedding DJ - DISCOfever

  4. #4
    Shaun's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Fife
    Age
    51
    Posts
    14,771

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Smyth View Post

    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.

  5. #5
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    East Yorkshire
    Age
    68
    Posts
    26,833

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Shaun View Post
    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
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Doncaster
    Posts
    814

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Shaun View Post
    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.

  7. #7
    Shaun's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Fife
    Age
    51
    Posts
    14,771

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mattydj50 View Post
    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.

  8. #8
    Creature's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    sunny lincolnshire
    Age
    61
    Posts
    1,464

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Shaun View Post
    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.
    love my cortex got 8 of them sat here nnow plus a few for spares

    Took me ages to finally comit to changing to it - but still use cds at times
    new website domain name... http://www.dejavuroadshow.tk/

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Bristol
    Age
    45
    Posts
    3,487

    Default

    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.
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

  10. #10
    Shakermaker Promotions's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk
    Age
    56
    Posts
    7,018

    Default

    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.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •