ANOTHER "help me choose a controller" question…

Very simple: Do not get the Behringer or the Gemini.
Reloop, Pioneer and Numark are usually safe bets for quality and bang for the buck most of the time.
Vestax is out of business.

I would safe up and if you want to stay with Traktor get an S4. The only real good Traktor controller is the Native Instruments controllers.

If you are open to Serato then safe up for a Terminal Mix 8.

why such a grudge against Behringer, Terry? 🙂

To the OP: If you are certain that you’ll DJ for a few years at least, then go for a 4-deck controller. If you don’t want a 4-deck controller or you are not sure how serious you are about DJing, stick with a 2 deck controller.

For 2-deck controllers:
VDJ and Serato: Mixtrack Pro 2, Traktor: S2.

PS- How is the Launchkey Mini? I’m looking to buy a small keyboard controller and have been eyeing that one for quite a long while now.

and other similar forums

There are similar forums out there ?????

But seriously.

@ Tonecraft: I second Terry’s sentiments about Behringer. It’s consumer gear and budget at that. Great if you are 12 and you get some of this stuff for Xmas to play with in your bedroom. But not something to actually recommend to somebody who wants to get into DJ-ing for earnest.

@ OP: Thanks for the clear explanation. While long, it definitely beats the “Hi am starting to DJ, please tell me what sub 150 controller to get”-questions that we get a lot too.

It can definitely be daunting to make these choices. Like software. You say you play lots of stuff from lots of era’s, but Traktor isn’t the best suited for non-EDM style of tracks. It has no way of dealing with older (hand-drummed) disco tracks for example. And while manual beatmatching alleviates that as a source of trouble for mixing, not having properly gridded waveforms might become troublesome once you want to start adding beatsynced FX and such.

When considering a choice of software I would throw in MixVibes Cross as something to consider as well. Low price (49 euro or so) and supports a broad range of controllers.
Is you stay with Traktor, the only real advice we can give you is to stay with NI/Traktor gear. It’s the only real tight hardware/software integration. Third party gear, while there might be mappings, usually don’t fare too well in that aspect (the jogwheel integration is notoriously bad). So, keeping budget in mind, a used S2/S4 could be an option, there are plenty of them around.

If you opt for Serato, that is now pretty much supporting all controllers (including low end Hercules pfff), so no limitations there anymore (as it was til two,three years ago).

With your desire to go loops/samples and such, getting something with pads is a good plan. As Numark is launching the MTP3, I am guessing there will be many sales on the MTP2 coming up, as well as an increased number of second hand ones for sale.

It’s a solid control for the level you are at, it offers the extra pad options so you can continue developing your skills and workflow and narrow down your choices of features you need and the ones you want, making the purchase of the next upgrade a lot easier. By then your software choice will probably not change anymore and your workflow will dictate a lot of the other choices.

To sum it up – ala Tone : Traktor – a used S2/S4. Serato/VDJ/Cross – a (used) TMP2.

One word on the speaker issue. I hear you say “monitor speakers” and then “playing out at friends places”. There are a few articles on the reason not to take your monitor speakers to play out with over on the blog.

You’ll have to decide what you want to do: get monitors and rent/borrow PA speakers for occassionally playing out, get monitors and a PA set, get a PA set that you can also use for practice. Be sure to check all the NAMM reviews, there are some nice contenders for small practice/PA hybrids.

Hope that helps some.

Hi, you are welcome.

Cross also has video upgrade.

Twitch is love or hate, couple of die-hard fans on here, most people, not so much. And for many the lack of a jogwheel is still an issue.

The Lightwaves, from what we know now, would be a shoe in for a home/small party setup imho. They actually have holes for speaker stands. At home you turn the lights off and they are just nice practice speakers.

Now that you’ve made up your mind:

Go for the Mixtrack Pro 2 if you want 2 decks, go for the Mixtrack Quad if you want 4 decks. Both perform flawlessly with Serato and of course you can add your iPad. If you’re not doing any fancy beatjuggling, this should should be a pretty powerful beginner DJ setup.

Buy based on your needs and the needs of where you might need gear to perform in the future. Anything pro should have balanced outputs (XLR preferred) and a booth output. Those two things are a must. Then I’d look at brands and their supported software. Serato and Traktor are the kings. I bought Denon MC 60000 based on size. A lot of the Pioneer and NI controllers are just too big for my taste. I like the rack-sized 6000. You can make it go with Traktor (mk1) or Serato (mk2). I’ve played with the Pioneer controllers. They’ll all good. Bigger.. and more expensive.. but I like the feel of them.

If I was buying on budget, I’d get a used Denon MC 6000 Mk 1. $200 or so on eBay today. If you can spend more, get a Pioneer anything with the features you want. Avoid the toy plastic models that non-pro. Lower-end brands that have only RCA outs, etc.. those are toys.. get something solid.. and whatever you buy.. get a case!!!! Good luck.