What to buy my budding DJ (12 Yr Old)

I was very happy with a Hercules as my first controller, though it wasn’t specifically the Universal. That said, while it’s nowt for mobile devices, I do highly suggest the Hercules DJ Control Instinct as a great intro controller in the “find out if you’re going to stick with it long enough to go for the more expensive toys” range. I paid 85 euro for mine a couple years ago, I don’t think the price has gone up.

Since then, upgraded to a Reloop Terminal Mix 8 and am letting the kiddo use the Hercules.

Yeah, it is going to be important to consider kit that has a soundcard in it, as cueing on headphones while you play is a pretty important thing to have and learn. That said, it looks like both of the ones you’re looking at include built in soundcards, so you’re good in regard to that. The Universal looks like it has better options for output, including both RCA and mini (in addition to the headphone jack), which should cover home stereo and powered computer speakers for taking it to friends’ houses, but as I look at the images over at Hercules’ site, it appears that when used with a mobile device that it may not support headphones when using it with a mobile device in Bluetooth mode.

On the other hand, the Pioneer brand certainly has a lot more respect than Hercules amongst the DJing community, so while you’ve heard me pound on about the Hercules, that is not to say that the WeGo3 isn’t something to seriously consider.

If possible, it might be good to get out to a local music hardware shop that sells DJ gear and see if you (and he, of coz) can maybe gerfingerenpoken with them both to see which feels nicer too.