I’m pretty sure I couldn’t without necessitating a trip to A&E, but I get the impression I could put my fist through the S4 flight case, and I don’t get that with Road Ready’s CDJ-1000 cases. It's tough, but it doesn't feel as tough as my Road Ready CDJ-1000 flight cases. Would I buy one? Most likely, but it isn’t perfect. It’s large and sturdy enough to accommodate a large LCD screen and a full size keyboard without it feeling overloaded. Perhaps the best thing about the stand is its size. Push the stand too far back and it’ll come clean off its runners, pebble-dashing the pub carpet with broken Vaio. The stand can be pushed back, giving access to the top panel of the S4, but be careful. Not only does the flight case protect your S4, it also gives you a sturdy laptop stand on which to position your beloved computer. The handle is spring loaded and attached behind a sheet of metal that’s riveted to the case, locking the handle in place. The case is pretty tough and can be padlocked in two places. In fact, the case and the S4 are a perfect match. The cue pots and MIC volume pots can be pushed in to give the front panel a lower profile and make it easier to place the S4 in a flight case, but someone hadn’t done this and the flight case paid the price. It was only after many minutes of careful coaxing that the front panel came loose and I could see that this wasn’t some elementary design fault on the part of NI and the case manufacturer, but neglect and carelessness on the part of whichever uncaring hack had reviewed the S4 before me ( I swear it left here in first class order! Gizmo). Not only was the foam damaged, it also made it difficult to remove the front panel of the flight case. The front mounted pots had cut into the foam of the flight case. When I first popped the lid on the S4’s flight case my first impression was that it had been designed by a clown. Countless controllers have been anticipated with barely contained excitement, only to meet with readily expressed derision and disappointment when their jog wheel deficiencies have been exposed. And then there are the minuscule jog wheels, which are much smaller than those of an SL1210 or CDJ-1000. This quibble aside though, as a highly portable, seamlessly usable controller for casual DJs, the S2 is a great option at a keen price.The Kontrol S4 is widely regarded as the ultimate Traktor controller, if for no other reason than it’s manufactured by Native Instruments, but is it really the best? It’s not particularly big, which is no problem in itself, but with so many controls crammed into such a relatively small space there’s going to be some impediment to use. Failing that, it feels like NI should fully commit the S2 to Traktor DJ byĪdding an expanded pro version for hardware owners. Unfortunately, there’s not quite enough compatibility between these two versions right now – but the option to seamlessly sync libraries, metadata and cue points across both versions would resolve this. While Traktor DJ can be used crossplatform, it seems pretty silly to use it on PC/Mac when a licence to the Pro software comes bundled. Traktor DJ works great with an iPad but it is a free app and, as you’d expect, lacks many of the advanced features of Traktor Pro 3. The main drawback to the S2, however, is that it’s currently caught between these two applications. Traktor DJ adds a track recommendation feature that will, again, appeal to beginners and casual users. Traktor DJ also boasts integration with SoundCloud Go+, meaning users can mix streamed tracks on the fly, which works pleasingly smoothly. One nice touch is the USB input for iOS devices, so you can connect an iPad via its standard cable, rather than requiring a specialised lead from NI.
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