Traktor S4 or Numark NS6

I was just in the same boat as you and ended up going with the NS6.
It really comes down to personal preference (If you can get a hand on both to try that would be great)

I may try and put a side by side chart together (with input of other members) of the key and maybe even minute differences between the two. I don’t know how in a rush you are to make a purchase though.

Any specific questions I can help out with since I have been scrutinizing the two and still have it all fresh in my head?

The NS6 is a very very good unit when used with ITCH!
IMO the best hardware for Itch that money can buy.

The NS6 is on the other hand not so good with Traktor IMO because the layout is for ITCH
and the layout is not good for Traktor as on other controllers.
You also pay for the ITCH software when buying NS6 wich is a waist if you do not use it!

I suggest you deside what software to use before buying anything!
If you are good with ITCH then the NS6 is a very good choice IMO
If you want Traktor there is Denon MC6000/3000 and Native Instruments S4/S2
That is all good units IMO

Hee Won Jung, post: 11813, member: 948 wrote: ITCH can be downloaded for free…but wont work without the proper hardware. I could be wrong here but isnt all Serato software downloadable for free but is totally useless because you need a proper soundcard/controller to work with them. Which is why copies of Serato are included with the Soundcards?

There is an “offline” mode for itch where you can set cue points analzye files and beatgrids and modify loops and such, but it requires an Itch controller to be plugged in to utilize the actual functionality of the software.

And a cool trick I learned is anyone can download itch analyze all the files which will then give you BPM of all of your tracks which will populate in iTunes for you if you were missing this piece of metadata or didn’t have another way to get it.

Ftruck, post: 11807, member: 1060 wrote: @DJ Hessler I agree I definitely need to decide which software first, Serato just don’t make it easy since you can’t use their software without the hardware. At least traktor the software is fully operational on its own. I’m leaning towards traktor on moral grounds because it just kind of pisses me off that you can’t really try Serato before you buy unless you know someone using it and can use theirs.

@VinnyBlanc yeah i had heard you lost the resolution of the jogs, the search strip becomes a filter and the effects are crippled because there just isn’t enough corresponding hardware buttons like on the S4. I’d deifnitely be going with the S4 if I went with Traktor.

hmmm i guess this almost belongs in the software section for some Serato vs Traktor comparisons….I think I’ll probably end up with traktor just because it seems to be able to do more and though i won’t need most of it for a good while it’ll be handy down the track. If it was a matter of purely hardware i think i’d definitely go the NS6 but the S4 is winning the software front since i can actually play with it and it’s so tightly integrated with Traktor.

If you considder the S4 you might also first want to check the Denon MC6000 or MC3000.
They are a bit better in quality than S4 IMO.
Also a bit cheaper but that eats up because you have to buy the Traktor or VDJ software because only LE versions is bundled.
S4 is a very good controller but IMO Denon is a bit better so try before buy 🙂