Beginer Traktor controler for under 250€?

Currently: none.
Do not get me wrong, there are tons of controllers below 250 that you can map to Traktor, but the experience will be bogus, especially if he was using your S4. The controls will be less responsive, the jogs will be really bad,….
Fact is that currently only Native Instruments controllers are a good match for Traktor usage. No those (as you prolly know) are really good however, especially the S2 and S4 are excellent controllers.

Unless they put some stuff in that I am unaware of (possible, but unlikely 😀 ), the Z1 is a MIXER, with no controller functionality whatsoever, no transport (play/cue/etx.), no FX, no browsing, nothing. So you’d AT least need a Z1 with, for example, an X1. Which will bring things way outside the maximum 250€ range (approx. 380 together).

And if he is used to and enjoys the S4, chances are that he WILL miss the jogwheels. Add to this that (imho) one of the first serious skills to start practicing (because it take quite a bit of practice to get good at it) is to learn manual beatmatching. Although this can be done with nudge-buttons, I think it’s a good thing to learn with jogwheels.

Obviously there are other software choices to make, in which case there is a much broader spectrum of suitable controllers in/around that price range.

Terry, I recall you saying to me that I should not enter a discussion without knowing what I’m talking about. Yet I see you do the same thing now.

Using a non-standard controller works just fine. Lots of companies provide mappings for them that work just fine as well. I started with a Mixtrack Pro II with Traktor. The jogs are the only controls that are worse compared to the S2/S4, but you’ll only suffer if you want to scratch on them. As jogs used for searching or nudging they work, again, just fine.

Please practise what you preach.

I have to disagree Marco, I have used a Mixtrack Pro (not the II but they have the same midi functions) with Traktor.
If you are doing manual beatmatching and nudging etc. is an issue, you WILL have a latency and you will notice it.

The same goes for the transport and pitch fading section. Of course if you only use it “lazy” and only perform very basic mixing using sync, then even a DJ Control Instinct mapped to Traktor will work. But after you reach a certain skill level (which using a good course is like 2-4 weeks) you will notice the latency and issues there too.
That is why for example Midi Fighters use special Firmware to address this issue within Traktor and that is for example why as an addon controller the Midi Fighter range is much more snappy, then lets say an LPD-8 (and I am not speaking of the hack they did to make Remix Decks work). If you search google you can find a lengthy video about it by Ean Golden (the Golden standard of Traktor know how, no pun intended).
For example in the newer versions you can map Remix Decks, try to perform that with another controller than the F1 or a special MidiFighter and you will be lost and your timing will be crappy.

So read my post again: I did not say it will not work. However I did say it will not work good or as good as NI controllers or as good as a Serato entry controller with Serato. And I hold by my statement as I have used Traktor A LOT and I surely know what I am talking about.