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Originally posted by Senator Clay Davis wow that is truly not practical lol. but still its better than a laptop. if it only was touch (imagine ableton on a 21" touch launching clips, muting channels, adjusting them filters and shit). Imac touch please! (with batteries)...

It's just as practical as a laptop, even more so.

It's just as much hassle as a laptop. Just don't forget the mouse and keyboard at home, or else you are fuuuukkkkeeddd.
It actually fits in more places than a laptop and you can put it farther away and still see what's goin on.

The wireless mouse and keyboard are actually awesome, cause you can put them anywhere.

My mate sold cdj 1000 mk3's and a djm800 for an S4, after about 2 months with the S4 he hadn't been converted to the laptop way of thinking so he's since sold the S4.

As for me, I bought a djm700 and 3 months later sold it for the S4, kind of wish I kept it to go with the s4, that would be a near perfect setup. S4 is excellent however the effects aren't the best, so many possibilities for mixing however you don't really need to use effects to make an interesting mix. Hopefully they'll be an update coming out if they don't bring an S4 replacement out.

Why would you say that the S4 + a djm would be a perfect setup?

Would you route the S4 sound through a DJM channel just for effects?

The only effects I ever use on the DJM is the filter, and the echo.

If i'm using traktor I use the 92filter instead of the DJM filter.
But I still use the echo of the djm.

It's all about choice, I used quite a few effects on the djm and the only fault I have with the S4 is that the effects aren't great, that could be solved by linking the DJM with the S4.

I'm on the same boat. Right now I have 2 CDJ-1000s and an Allen & Heath Xon32 but am strongly thinking about switching to the S4.

The main reason is not having to burn CDs anymore and the ability to have the same set-up everywhere I go. The parties, bars and clubs I usually play at always have shitty gear. So that forces me to bring my CDJs there (and sometimes mixer) which is a huge pain. If I were some big DJ playing at nice clubs with CDJ-2000s I would be fine with that.

So are there any major drawbacks with the S4? I'm still on the wall about it. I always make fun of bar DJs with laptops who can still barely mix with them but now I'm finding that it's not a big deal anymore. If anything I just worry about spilling drinks on the laptop

Anyway, it's exciting to have these new options to toy with. I don't think the crowd cares either way but it has to be fun and engaging for us.

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My friend just got the S4 and absolutely loves it.

The only downside I see with it is you don't have that feeling of space like you do with separate components, and you are sort of tied into that system.

But if you need to be mobile, and play in places that don't have nice gear, seems perfect to me.

I've played on some controllers in the past, and they do feel rather cramped.

The S4 looks like it will be a lot less cramped, but I don't know.


I've decided not to get rid of my DJM and CDJs, but I will get an S4 for supplement and outgoing play.

Deciding what kit to use is all a bit of a tricky balance at the moment - DJ tech's in a slightly funny place.

We all want minimum hassle in preparing, carting kit around and setting up, but we also want all these fancy features and still want it to be as tactile as possible.


I'm procrastinating pretty hard right now, so it's pros and cons time motherf*ckers


Installed CDJs + mixer
You have to burn off CDs, but all you need to take with you is a CD wallet and a pair of headphones. Most people would say CDJs are a pretty ideal control interface and in most booths they're the best use of the space. But then you're at the mercy of the install kit, so might be lacking some features like advanced looping, decent waveform display, filters, effects, good pitch resolution etc.

Preparation: 2/5
Lugging: 5/5
Setup: 5/5
Features: 2/5
Tactility: 5/5
Total: 19/25

Take an FX box or an extra CDJ to bump up the Features score but decrease the Lugging and Setup scores.


DVS with laptop + install kit
No CDs to burn off now, but now you've got a laptop and an audio interface to take with you and plug in. You still get to make the most of the kit in the booth, but you're still a bit limited in features unless you want to use the mouse and keyboard a lot.

Preparation: 4/5
Lugging: 2/5
Set up: 2/5
Features: 2/5
Tactility: 5/5
Total: 16/25

Add a small MIDI controller to up the Features score but kill the Lugging and Setup scores.


Kontrol S4 (or similar)
Now everything's in one place so it's going to be easier to set up, but you still need to take a laptop and that's a big box you've got to take on the train now. You still don't need to burn off any CDs though and you've got all the features you could want, but if you can even fit it into the booth you'll probably find you're forced into a cramped corner. Plus those jog wheels aren't a patch on a CDJ.

Preparation: 4/5
Lugging: 1/5
Set up: 3/5
Features: 5/5
Tactility: 2/5
Total: 15/25

Pay some poor fool to carry it for you to improve the Lugging score, but it comes off your take-home.



Of course the numbers I've given things have been my own (very rough) opinion and the totals are evenly weighted: if you play out a lot, then burning CDs off might pale into insignificance compared with having to carry loads of stuff around and set it up every time.

But if you've got too much time on your hands like me, you could have a crack at filling in your own numbers.

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Stu Cox |

great post stu. engineers love to see numbers instead of subjective statements, even if the numbers are subjective too

Thanks Stu! Very good points. It all depends on people's situations but those are all the important points to examine if you're going to switch or stay with your set-up.

After playing with S4 again at friend's over the weekend I think I'm going to take the plunge. I don't think it's perfect and I'm still a little nervous about carrying around a laptop to gigs but I'll just have to be extra careful. I've always wanted to be able to drop samples instantly and now I'll finally be able to do this easily. I'm also pretty OCD so I love having tons of playlists and being able to call up songs with searches. Can't tell you how many times over the years I'll forget where a song is in my group of CDs and I can't find it.

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The S4 has an interface in it by the way, one of the NI audio interface's, can't remember which one though.

I forgot this thread was going, so I deleted mine about S4. I'm looking for something small to take with me on my little house party gigs, instead of having to luge Cdj's around. Not replacing the Cdj's completely, just as a second option. Has anyone demoed/purchased/used one? What's your opinion on the S4? I've narrowed my search down to the S4, Pioneer DDJ-T1, and the Denon DN-MC6000. Just curious of the S4's worthiness before purchasing.