My advice, and keep in mind I am still a NOOB myself, would be to consider the price of upgrading to the full software of your choice. Either add that into the price of the entry level controller(although you can spread out the expense some), OR in a way, you can subtract that price from the more mid-level controllers. I personally don’t like the SB or for that matter the Beatmix series. They seem a little too stripped down for my liking. Similar to how the pads on my first controller were set up, the Numark Mixtrack Pro 2. I like it and still use it a decent bit, but if I had understood how the pads were set up fully, I would have probably chosen a different first controller. If memory serves correctly, the bottom pads on the SB are transport controls, don’t be fooled by looks, these aren’t exactly “performance pads”. I think the MTP2 would have been a much better controller if the top row of pads were more usable, and not just the “buttons” to turn on the effects. In hindsight, I kinda wish that I’d have taken another fellow on this forums advice and looked more heavily at the Denon MC2000. It’s small size and build quality would likely keep it in my arsenal for the long term, for practice, small gigs, etc. I would keep saving your cash and keep researching, the controller buyers guide on DDJT is full of info, and videos on YouTube can provide some insight into plusses or minuses to each setup. Let us know the reasons why those two made your list, and your goals as far as budget, use, etc. Keep us posted and when you do pick one, let us know which and how it’s working out for you. I’ll keep an eye on this thread….