Traktor DJ Controller

Those seem rather expensive for hobby controllers.

Well he said recreational not trash 😛

I would go for the S4 if your heart is set on it. Traktor is great with the S4.
The S8 will be a controllerist special controller, so it fills a very specific niche and is not an allround controller like the S4, so I would advise against an S8 for a hobby DJ.

Hello,
Why would you not consider s8 as an allround controller ?
Is it just because of not having jog wheels ? Although not all the details are clear yet, it looks like a very functional controller (except the lack if jog wheels). I bought a new s4 and f1 recently and then s8 came up. I am also confused on if I want to should to s8 ir nit. Of course, price is another issue that comes into play, too.

sinan very simple:
I consider the integration of screens into a controller a waste. Even from the pics they are very small and actually looking down at a controller if you are in a DJ booth is something, when you are familiar with your controller, that is rarely done as you break eye contact with the audience and it looks not cool.
I always setup my laptop (slim MacBook Air or MacBook pro) the way that it does not block me from the audience but at an angle where I can glance at the screen without having to move my face away from the audience much, so I can stay in contact.
Also even at 13” and displaying everything on one screen, my laptop screen and resolution is WAY better than any included screens.
I saw this actually when I moved from CDJs to controllers. I got response from some fans that I seem to be more connected to them as looking at the CDJ screens was much worse than having the laptop there, even with some CDJs on stands.

Now the omission of jogs does not sound like a big deal when you have touchstrips, but honestly for most pro DJs it is (not for controllerists of course!). Why is quite simple, in many situations sync is not enough and you have to do some manual things, so the better the jogwheels the better I can do things like nudging (if you do not know what nudging is, check out the Forum Video sticky thread).
And yes I have tried this before, I have a Novation Twitch since it came out. Now I have used it for exactly what I said: controllerism together with 2 midi fighters etc. but would I want to do whole DJ sets on it…. no.

So yes if you are a controllerist (and yes this is what Traktor is absolutely the best software for), then by all means go for the S8. For all around DJing I would rather have an S4 (I actually had one and it aint so bad) and if I need more then add an F1 or other addon controllers later.

Here in the Netherlands, that 30% is because of VAT, as the VAT here manages to be just about equivalent to the value difference between the dollar and the euro.