Digital DJ Tips reader Justin writes: “I am a rookie DJ and have just exhausted my first starter controller. I have been reading a lot of reviews on controllers trying to upgrade to something within a reasonable price range. The two I found that seem to be the most logical in aspects such as ease of use, price, etc are the Traktor Kontrol S2 and the Denon DJ MC2000. I was wondering if you could give me any suggestions on which way to lean?”
Digital DJ Tips says:
To avoid making the one big mistake nearly every new digital DJ makes, first thing to consider is the software. The Denon DJ MC2000 uses Serato DJ Intro, which if you want to upgrade it to have “full strength” software (Serato DJ), you’ll need to pay extra for – $199 to be exact, although when this becomes available (it will on December 1 2012), there will be an opening offer of Serato Video as well, so you’ll be able to video DJ on your controller too. Meanwhile, the Traktor Kontrol S2 uses Traktor Pro, and in this case, it’s already in the box – no need to pay any extra for the software.
However, both programs are different, and while you may change your controller down the line, you probably won’t want to change your DJ software, so you should compare features and choose wisely. Many feel that Serato is the better program for playing a wider choice of music than straight EDM due to it corresponding more faithfully to the traditional way DJs play music, but Traktor is more suited to cue-point DJing, controllerism and so on because it is built for that style.
Hardware wise, the Denon DJ MC2000 is a well built, predominantly metal controller, that’s small and so portable. The Traktor Kontrol S2 is more plastic than metal, but it’s still durable, although quite a bit bigger. It has more features and is a flexible. Again, you need to compare feature sets and see if the Denon lacks anything you’d like to have that the Traktor Kontrol S2 has.
Have you considered both or either of these controllers? What helped you to make your mind up? Do you have any tips you’d like to add to help our reader make his mind up? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Phil Morse
