cheapest place to buy an s4?

BigDaddyCan

any suggestions? DJ tech tools have them for $900 but wont ship for another month, worth the wait or spend the extra 200 odd euro in Ireland/UK?

electrogrimey

Thomann is normally the cheapest, up there for €885, with free delivery, and no chance of getting stung for VAT like you will buying from tech tools.

eeloe

Thomann would be the cheapest, but I'd rather buy from Aquarius, if they have one in the first batch in stock you'll have it for Tuesday.

garthv

Aquarius are sold out of their first batch, wont have it in for another week,

If you order it from that states, you will get stung for tax because its that pricey, €885 is pretty much the best online price you are going to get. Most of the english sites are selling it for around £749 which still works out at just over €885

smight

Ordered mine from Aquarius, it arrives tomorrow. Can't bloody wait to get my hands on it!

eeloe

Was on the phone earlier to Aquarius, getting a case for my 2nd x1, and they said if ya order one of them this week, ya probably won't have it till after Christmas.

They ammount of people making the jump to controlerism is crazy by the sounds of things!!!!

scott.s

smight wrote: »

Ordered mine from Aquarius, it arrives tomorrow. Can't bloody wait to get my hands on it!

Mine came from NI today. Updating the software now and then gonna be playing with it for the rest of the night. It is f**king awesome! Everything feels and looks great

ED E

Jealous, I am.


No way I can afford one though, unless I get really lucky and win the jackpot:P

BigDaddyCan

eeloe wrote: »

they said if ya order one of them this week, ya probably won't have it till after Christmas.
!

gutting.... i'll prob order off them alright... christmas is ages away though!!!

run_Forrest_run

why are people reluctant to order from Thomann, I found them to be brilliant in the past for prompt transactions and deliveries.

I'm surprised to see how fast this is selling, I thought recessionary times would have had an impact but I guess most DJs buying this aren't forking out a fortune in childcare costs, fcuk, I could buy one every month and still have change left over for some MP3s :eek: me = jealous

copeyhagen

so whats peoples first impressions of it?

in 2 minds about picking one of these up for xmas or a set of cdj350's

BigDaddyCan

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

why are people reluctant to order from Thomann, I found them to be brilliant in the past for prompt transactions and deliveries.

I usuailly use them but have found them not to be the cheapest all the time any more and when spending this amount of money its nice to save a few pounds!!

does anyone know any way around the tax thing when buyin from the states?

ED E

BigDaddyCan wrote: »

I usuailly use them but have found them not to be the cheapest all the time any more and when spending this amount of money its nice to save a few pounds!!

does anyone know any way around the tax thing when buyin from the states?

Thats tax evasion and will have you sitebanned.

copeyhagen

if its marked as gift your fine. afaik

i brought my car in from japan in july and got raped by the poxy government and their illegal tax so if ya can get away without paying tax do it.

ED E

copeyhagen wrote: »

if its marked as gift your fine. afaik

If you can get an S4 for €22 or less.....

scott.s

copeyhagen wrote: »

so whats peoples first impressions of it?

in 2 minds about picking one of these up for xmas or a set of cdj350's

Solid piece of kit.

It seems quite big for a controller but when you think about what it's capable of the size isn't a big deal.

Super easy to use. Buttons, faders and knobs all feel great. Nice finish to the controller too. The LEDs are nice and bright and the controller is easy to see/use in the dark.

Jog wheels are very sensitive but I haven't really used them much yet though.

The updated software is great. The addition of the loop recorder feature to the software and hardware is fantastic. Didn't think I'd use it much but last night I tried it out. Can easily record whatever's playing and then layer more and more on top. Can apparently then copy this loop to one of the sample decks but not sure how yet.

If you're looking for a controller that works perfectly with Traktor and has a very professional feel then the S4 is what you want.

Sorry if I haven't covered a lot here but I haven't played with it much yet. Any specific questions just ask

Paul1979

I think it looks crap, like a toy or summink

copeyhagen

scott.s wrote: »

Solid piece of kit.

It seems quite big for a controller but when you think about what it's capable of the size isn't a big deal.

Super easy to use. Buttons, faders and knobs all feel great. Nice finish to the controller too. The LEDs are nice and bright and the controller is easy to see/use in the dark.

Jog wheels are very sensitive but I haven't really used them much yet though.

The updated software is great. The addition of the loop recorder feature to the software and hardware is fantastic. Didn't think I'd use it much but last night I tried it out. Can easily record whatever's playing and then layer more and more on top. Can apparently then copy this loop to one of the sample decks but not sure how yet.

If you're looking for a controller that works perfectly with Traktor and has a very professional feel then the S4 is what you want.

Sorry if I haven't covered a lot here but I haven't played with it much yet. Any specific questions just ask

whats the quality of the mixer like on it. are the eqs decent? and whats the quality like on the soundcard, i imagine its decent.

scott.s

Haven't noticed anything wrong with the sound quality. Sounds great. As for the EQs, I'll get back to you on that one. Going to give it a proper test tonight after work

Ronan Raver77

May get one of these but will wait and see.Is there phono inputs into it so you can hook up 2 cd players?? Is there also a booth out aswell as master volume.

electrogrimey

copeyhagen wrote: »

whats the quality of the mixer like on it. are the eqs decent? and whats the quality like on the soundcard, i imagine its decent.

The EQs on Traktor are better that most high end mixers, so even with a €20 controller you're still going to have great EQs.

But at the same time, you still won't be a real DJ :pac:

jtsuited

electrogrimey wrote: »

But at the same time, you still won't be a real DJ :pac:

:pac: all you like but that yoke is just fcuking ugly.

Scubadevils

I'd want one anyway, just to add to my collection of sh1t that I rarely use. I remember about a year ago thinking it would be fantastic to add a midi controller to my setup, it looks well on its side in the corner!

Paul1979

it looks cheap and sounds ****

electrogrimey

Paul1979 wrote: »

it looks cheap and sounds ****

It doesn't make any sound.

milltown

Paul1979 wrote: »

I think it looks crap, like a toy or summink

Paul1979 wrote: »

it looks cheap and sounds ****

Thanks for your reasoned, considered and expertly structured review. :rolleyes:

Keep us posted Scott. Out of interest, what were you using before the S4?
Definitely on my Santa list, although Santa would have to hit at least 5 numbers on the Lotto. Hard to convince even gullible little me that I need one of these to replace the VCI that currently gets a couple of hours' use a month.

I want to hear it's good though, so I can keep wanting one.

ED E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YldA54QREK0

jtsuited

electrogrimey wrote: »

It doesn't make any sound.

eh it's got d/a's in there.

cian1500ww

I'd love to get my hands on one in the future but if they put up student fees much more it'll be a long while before I get one
Looks like an ideal setup for someone that's looking to bridge the gap between a hardware setup and a software setup.
I wonder will they release a new version of Traktor that has some of the new features but not specifically designed for the S4.

garthv

cian1500ww wrote: »

I'd love to get my hands on one in the future but if they put up student fees much more it'll be a long while before I get one
Looks like an ideal setup for someone that's looking to bridge the gap between a hardware setup and a software setup.
I wonder will they release a new version of Traktor that has some of the new features but not specifically designed for the S4.

Well they've just slashed the price of all Traktor Pro bundles which NI always do before they release new software so I'd say there's a standalone version of the S4 software on the way. They probably wont release it until the initial honeymoon phase of the S4 is over though

scott.s

milltown wrote: »

Out of interest, what were you using before the S4?

Well, I can guarantee this will sound like I'm wasting money but it's my first bit of DJ equipment. Got interested in DJ'ing just over a year ago. Was at this thing where we're in a sports hall for a whole weekend and a guy had 2 CDJs, a mixer and speakers with him. I spent the whole weekend learning how to use CDJs and really enjoyed it. Got hooked then.

**EDIT: Btw, I can beatmatch on CDJs before someone complains about laptop DJs and sync buttons...

Since then I've used other people's CDJ's and midi controllers when I've had a chance and played a lot with Traktor on my laptop. Thought I might as well invest money in some good kit while I have it so I don't complain later :P

To those of you saying the S4 looks/is s**t without having seen or used one, I can say it looks better in real life than in the promo pictures. The finish to the controller is great and I think the layout is perfect (personal preference I suppose).

electrogrimey

jtsuited wrote: »

eh it's got d/a's in there.

But it's mainly a MIDI controller, so most of the sound is coming from Traktor (through the soundcard I know).

Hang on, it's hardware mixer? So does it use the Traktor EQs or does it just have its own hardware EQs?

milltown

Good man! Fook the begrudgers, it's your money, do what you want with it.

As I've said before, beatmatching is over rated. If you've an ear for music you'd master it in an hour or two (if you don't, you shouldn't be DJing). It's just used as a stick for the luddites to beat software/controllers with.

That thing you were at, in the hall, for a weekend, with a set of decks and speakers. It used to be called a rave

jtsuited

I think most of the proponents of vinyl aren't too bothered about the beatmatching thing. It's more about sound and culture of vinyl.

jtsuited

electrogrimey wrote: »

Hang on, it's hardware mixer? So does it use the Traktor EQs or does it just have its own hardware EQs?

Yeah I've been wondering this since I first saw it.

scott.s

milltown wrote: »

That thing you were at, in the hall, for a weekend, with a set of decks and speakers. It used to be called a rave

Haha I wish

milltown

jtsuited wrote: »

I think most of the proponents of vinyl aren't too bothered about the beatmatching thing. It's more about sound and culture of vinyl.

Some, yes. I'll be the first to admit I miss the feel and smell and sound of vinyl, but personally it's not an option anymore. My boxes of records will live in the attic until the kids go off to college, or at least convince me they're not going to skate across the kitchen floor on them. But the beatmatching nonsense pops up here from time to time, on the DJTT forum quite a bit, and every second of every day on youtube comments.

And here we are precipitating the debate. Aaagh!

copeyhagen

without getting into the whole vinyl debate again, i sometimes miss vinyl, and some great tunes i have on vinyl ill never be able to get on mp3 so thats why im kinda thinking of going for a set of 350s to use as midi controllers and 1 or 2 turntables.

after a while, i did find hitting sync does get a little boring.

s4 or above setup........

scott.s

Could get an S4 and 2 turntables and have the best of both. They're adding support for timecode vinyl to the new software soon (no date yet).

Was thinking about maybe getting turntables next year and learning how to scratch

copeyhagen

2 cdj 350s, and one 1210, cdjs as midi controllers on traktor and 1210 for vinyl all running into a cheap mixer - behringer 750 or something....

ooooooooorrrrrrrrrrr, a single s4, with room to expand to cdjs down the line...

scratching gets actually quite boring unless you wanna get into the whole dmc shizznit

scott.s

copeyhagen wrote: »

2 cdj 350s, and one 1210, cdjs as midi controllers on traktor and 1210 for vinyl all running into a cheap mixer - behringer 750 or something....

ooooooooorrrrrrrrrrr, a single s4, with room to expand to cdjs down the line...

scratching gets actually quite boring unless you wanna get into the whole dmc shizznit

S4 will cost you €900. How much would the alternative set up be? And also on running the CDJ's with Traktor... The S4 is perfectly mapped already for Traktor and has the same layout as the application. Using Traktor with anything else won't quite be the same (unless you're using X1's I suppose)

ianuss

copeyhagen wrote: »

after a while, i did find hitting sync does get a little boring.

I've an xponent and I can honestly say I've never used the sync button. I just can't see why you'd bother. Surely that just takes most of the fun out?

copeyhagen

scott.s wrote: »

S4 will cost you €900. How much would the alternative set up be? And also on running the CDJ's with Traktor... The S4 is perfectly mapped already for Traktor and has the same layout as the application. Using Traktor with anything else won't quite be the same (unless you're using X1's I suppose)

of course will cost more but would be worth it, your wrong about the second part though. theres hundreds of midi controllers out there being used with traktor that work just as good!! my xone:3d was mapped perfect to traktor after i mapped it myself.

ianuss wrote: »

I've an xponent and I can honestly say I've never used the sync button. I just can't see why you'd bother. Surely that just takes most of the fun out?

thats quite impressive ian, sync DEFFO took the jam out of my traktor doughnut. the a&h series didnt have a jogwheel and was as awkward as sin to mix without it.

hope the s4 isn't just another sync machine?