Breakdown time:
So as J-Duffin said before, the S4 is made with Traktor in mind. Traktor is mostly based toward EDM and controllerism with its multiple high quality effect banks, advanced looping controls, and many cue functions. It is a complex machine and can take some time to get used to if it is your first controller. However, it is EXTREMELY powerful with all of the functionalty built in to the controller and the software. There isn’t any learning curve with the controller to software because everything thing on the controller looks exactly the same on the software. Much like Mac apps, its made with to operate best with a certain set of hardware. It is really quite intuitive, IF you can get over the learning curve of Traktor(all considering you haven’t used it. If you have, THIS IS THE ULTIMATE TRAKTOR CONTROLLER!).
Now the ERGO may look kinda childish with all of its lights and shiny things, not to mention it has more plastic than Dolly Parton’s face, but that doesn’t mean its a child’s toy. This thing has a fully featured FX panel, much like the S4 and S2, a cue section, and a sample bank. The only thing it is missing compared to the S4 is the detailed looping segments and it has a 2 channel mixer instead of a 4 channel mixer. Another thing it is missing is size and weight (this is a good thing). Compared to the massive S4, you can drag this from venue to venue pretty easily. Its no Vestax Typhoon, but lugging it around isn’t going to be as arduous as a task. Also, it has a convenient laptop port so you can tuck your laptop underneath it so you can focus on the music. Also, because it is raised off ground, your controller isn’t going to get completely ruined if some idiot comes in and “spills” his “adult beverage” right next to it.
If you don’t like the price of the S4 compared with the functionality of the ERGO, you might want to look into the S2. It effectively shaves off most of the unnecessary things from the S4 and puts it into a much thinner, smaller, lighter, not to mention less expensive, 2 channel DJ controller. Also, factoring the cost of the upgrade to Traktor pro from the ERGO could put you back quite a bit of cash in comparison.
Hope it helped!
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