Hey.
When it comes to chosing a controller, I have a pretty clear idea of what the best road to walk is. Just my opinion, but it has worked for me so far.
Search for a few of my recent comments on “what controller to buy” kind of posts.
Long story short:
First decide what you want to do/achieve with the gear, then figure out what kind of DJ you are/will be/want to be (i.e. technical, genre-specific, scratching, wedding, etx.). Based on that you can figure out what you’d need in your software to make that happen. I’ll get back on software further down. Once you pick the software that best suits your needs, then you go look at controllers. Phil’s 2014 Controller Buyers Guide being a good place to start. Keep an eye out on your budget of course and pick your top two (max. three) controllers. See if you can get some hands-on time with those and make your final choice.
This way you know that everything you bought supports your workflow as you see it now. Your workflow might change in the future, but you can act upon that then.
I’ve always thought that buying a controller (for whatever reason) and then working backwards isn’t the best way to get to where you want to be.
As far as software goes. Apart from the personal preference component (which is a major one by the way), it never hurts to know what else is out there. Since you will usually only play with your own laptop and software, I don’t see the bonus in actually learning the in/outs of other software.
When looking at software these days, I personally feel you should also take Cross (DJ) into account. Mixvibes have just released version 3.0 (which, in the full version, has video also). I’ve been using it for close to a year now (moved from Traktor) and am pretty impressed. They also have one of the broadest supports for controllers.
As far as buying used goes, there is an extra risk of course, BUT … controllers (unlike Pioneer CDJs for example) seem to have a shelf life of 1-2 years for many users and then the urge to buy something with the latest bells and whistles becomes too strong. So, there is a relatively large amount of young-ish used controllers out there. Also, there are people that buy stuff since it’s affordable now and after a year conclude that hey, you have to work (hard) at getting anywhere as a DJ, and decide to stop the hobby and sell the gear. Hardly used. Finally, those that DO put in the hours, will usually want to upgrade after 1-2 years to something more advanced that better matches their increased skills.
I would have no problem getting a decent used controller, if it ment getting more of my need/want list filled for the same money as a lesser brand/make/model.
Finally, on Hercules. In the old days I’d say it was a pure toy. They have moved up. Not into the mainstream I think, but the last one I touched didn’t shout CRAP at me. I would say that it’s a controller that probably won’t last you the desired two years (maybe physically, but not in specs).
There really isn’t much truly bad gear out there anymore. Sure, no comparing low end controllers (even if they have the same or more features) to some of the higher end ones (my own favorite MC6000 is a total tank, indestructible, for example), but nothing so bad it falls into pieces the moment you switch it on for the first time.
Hope that helps.
Greetinx.
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