Hey Beatdigger,
As your link wasn’t working, I linked to the other post you made with the video in it. Which is were I also commented on the review.
And yes, they are beginner (although VERY … well) controllers, but pretty complete. At the price point you can’t fail them. And they have been always been adviced on here as starter controllers. Personally I think that, based on your learning curve and the amount of hours spent practicing on them and whether or not you’ll be playing live gigs with them soon, they will serve you well for quite a while.
I seem to be noticing a bit of a tendency amongst some starting DJs to “complain” about 200-300 USD controllers not having certain features or build quality or …
Don’t forget that the low-end Pioneer CDJs (350s) will set you back at least 500 A PIECE and you need two of them and a mixer too. And you will not have a fraction of the functionality of a controller/laptop combo.
So, I’d say we are dealing with unreal expectations. It’s not fair nor real to expect a 200-300 controller to be pro-level. Or even semi-pro really. The fact is that you get a great deal, a wonderful and (relatively) cheap platform to start learning the craft. Once you’ve figured out your workflow, trained and honed your skills and generally know what’s missing in your first controller, you can move up and get something better/more advanced. Count on spending 500+ dollars easy to go to intermediate and in the 750-1500 range for high-end pro controllers.
Managing your expectations when you get one of these units is good and if you are a starting (digital) DJ, this can really be a nice tool to get into the game with.
