So the big day came and Native Instruments unleash the Kontrol S4 to lots of ooohhs and ahhhs - me being one of them and make no mistake on that!
For me the debate is much of a nothing - okay vinyl is one kind of expression, as is using a CDJ, which is in part digital sound anyway - but it comes down to what can be expressed by the DJ at the end of the day. How many vinyl DJ's use all of the functions on their mixers? I'd guess not all, whereas with aspects such as the beat matching facility on Traktor the user is free to managed a host of effects, sample loops and what not - pushing the NI world closer to the Ableton Live arena of creating music on the hoof. Now surely that's got value?
At $999 USD it's not cheap, but then again it's not over the top I think, and a flight case for a further $189 ain't bad either. It looks sexy, it has more knobs than your average superclub on a Saturday night and those lucky enough to own one this winter are sure to be off the social radar as they get up to speed on the functions available.
Where do I sit on the debating fence? Well, I'm honest enough to know I'll never be the greatest DJ, and old enough to know that too many late and wild night ain't conducive to getting the day job done. Having only switched to Traktor 18 months ago I've still learning how to get the best out of it, what does what and all that. I really only play music for me, sometimes online, sometimes in a bar but more often than not to a select few and it's more about the night than the tunes. There's some that would class me as a microwave DJ, and it's been said, but as one of those time served vinyl lovers who've moved on I enjoy the relaxed nature of DJ'ing with Traktor. Being able to plan the set with a degree of certainty that allows me to enjoy the atmosphere without the stress of controlling every second of the groove!
I'm off to start saving. But you should check out the full info on Native Instruments' site.
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