In case some of you are wondering why you haven’t seen me in a few years it’s because of the Traktor Kontrol S4. I’ve never loved a piece of music equipment more in my life.
Even after two years, I still get excited to see her after a long day at the office but I’m not allowed to play until after dinner and some quality time with my lovely wife.
The reason I love this device is very simple, it’s a 4 deck mixer and performance controller with a variety of effects and decent scratch capabilities, granted you can actually scratch.
Finding the right gear is fun and also a challenge, thank god for Youtube and review sites like DJ Tech Tools that really do a great job giving you the information you need to make a good buy. For example, while I was looking for affordable DJ controllers I came across these 4 videos that gave me the inspiration to move forward with the Kontrol S4. Combine that with a sick price from Pro Audio Star and I really felt connected to this purchase and I am sure some of you know what I am talking about.
Check these clips out if you’re curious to see what the Kontrol S4 can do in the hands of professionals. They are awesome!
S4 Review & DJ Shiftee demo the Traktor Kontrol S4
Controllerist legend, Ean Golden EPIC live remix with the Traktor Kontrol S4
DJ Promote on the Kontrol S4
DJ Promote on the Kontrol S4 Demo 2
The Kontrol S4 is a complete DJ solution that fits on your desk and packs up nicely in a flight case so you can bring the show on the road, say to your friends Nerd Bar in Milwaukee or to private parties for which I am available. In addition to being a great piece of hardware, the S4 is user friendly and came with great documentation allowing you to get up and running quickly. Once you start learning what it can do you find yourself recording loops, using samples for finger drumming or loops all while mixing live. You can really bang on the keys to trigger those hot starts, drops and builds and it all works seamlessly with Traktor Pro. I will eventually try Serato but I find Traktor is perfect for my needs and plays nice with my Maschine.
Coming to the decision to grab a Kontrol S4 was not easy, I read reviews and visited my local DJ store to check out the Numark NS7 and Vestax VCI-300, but was not impressed, with the exception of the motorized NS7 platters, they were cool but it was just too big for me given the space I had in my office. Eventually, when I have my own music man cave, I would love a pair of 12″s or CDJs which I cold easily connect to the S4 and run like a champ. It’s been extremely fun learning the S4 and I am currently experimenting with the Maschine and midi mapping to Traktor Pro so I can add more hot starts and other production improvements.
If there were negatives with the S4 there would be only one however it is USB latency related and has to do with Windows background processes. Windows provides me with periodic challenges and I conquer them, just like I’m doing with the Kontrol S4!
Check out my latest Mix: