the Numark NS7 control for Serato Itch.
I recently made a trip to my local Guitar Center looking to add to my arsenal of toys (a Korg nanoKey), and saw this piece of equipment on display in the extremely small Dj and turntables section of the store (for those in La Mesa GC know what I'm talking bout!)
This piece of equipment is probably the best looking out of ALL the controllers I've seen on the market, and this set up only feeds my intuition that even if you are a laptop Dj, or a vinyl purist, this combines the best of ALL worlds.
For those not in the know - Serato ScratchLIVE (or SSL)is the interface that most Dj's use to spin mp3's. Serato ITCH has been available since it's inception, but there haven't been a whole lot of interfaces that take this into effect. There are smaller desktop controllers available,such as the Vestax VCI-300, but for the purist in me,i still need to have the feel of a turntable pushing back when back spin a song, pull away when i let go of the plate when I'm done scratching. I myself have SSL, but seeing this in action was simply jaw dropping to me.
The controller is about 1 foot short of being a FULL set up for Dj's, but oh how easy this piece of equipment sets itself up. Since you are simply connecting the controller to a computer (laptop,or otherwise), that is it! Besides a microphone and headphones, you're done!. This all in one does everything that I've been doing with the keyboard for a year and a half.
My initial reservations immediately melted away. . . .Being I was unfamiliar with ITCH itself, but knowing the controls on SSL made that much easier. The layout of the setup is clean. Simple and easy to understand. The fact that you don't have to touch the laptop at all makes this the better of all controllers out there. To you other DJ'sout there, would you liketo have one night where you do not have to touch your laptop, and have other controls at your fingertips? well this is it! There are intuitive controls on this interface that make this FAR easier in terms of usefulness. There are knobs that control the scrolling forsong searches. There is a search strip where you can locate a particular part of a song (genius!), and allthe same queues for SLL are there (cue points, start/stop) . . .this is the part that get's to me. . .forthe "vinyl junkie" in me. . .taken from the Numark website for the NS7 performance controller:
"Forget your experiences with other controllers. NS7 has two seven-inch, motorized, high-torque aluminum turntable platters. The turntable controls feature modern and classic settings that alter the feel to model the feel you prefer. Seven-inch, legit vinyl records with 45RPM adapters sit on real slipmats. There’s no simulation here – NS7 is the real deal."
- Numark NS7 Performance controller. http://www.numark.com/ns7
I t gave me the feel of real TURNTABLES,minus the tonearm of course, but i did not once feel like this was going to break. It is what i expect from Numark, but i really didn't expect this to be as easy to use as I thought it would be. And for me to explain everything, i would have to sit here for 4 hours typing every little detail on what I didn't like about this,cuz that would mean that i would have had to stay at that place for 6 hours playing around with it. I don't really see a bad point yet, cuz from the very get go, I understood everything. All the controls were top notch. Not one thing about this equipment felt cheap (as well as it shouldn't. peep the price till the jump). The platters were awesome, and every switch and button felt responsive. Not one thing turned me off about this thing.
You have to see this in action. . .I have all the equipment I'll ever need (2 Technic 1200's, Vestax 05proII. . .I'm good), but step up to these bad boys, and you will see the future of all set ups! No lie. The price on this is very steep,bout $1300. But if you see it in these terms (turntables, good quality mixer) your probably in a better deal in the long run, considering that the RANE mixer with Serato controls run about $1000 easily. This would be the best investment in getting into DJ long term. If you just don't want to deal with the separate tables and the mixer. This is just short of being perfect (no real vinyl playback. . . .sad to say!) and the availability to connect a 3rd deck with an additional mixer (for guest dj's or transitions to another dj at places) and laptop hinders this for me,otherwise if I was a club owner, i would get this piece ust for the sole fact that is an all in one product.Ithink they may be onto something if they had a replaceable mixer style for every dj style (rotary faders, smoother faders at that). There just needs to be a lil more effects, but again, i haven't played with this thing too long so I don't know too much about it yet.
Go to the web page or even go check out youtube videos of it in action. Then find a guitar center that has this on display. It is simply awesome.
Review breakdowns (out of 5):
Quality = 5/5
2 leading companies in the industry, Numark and Serato! (DUH!) For obvious reasons, it get's 5 stars! Not a cheap feel on this, although copping a feel would better explain the love of this equipment.
Performance = 4/5
I'm opinionated on this, but the fact that this may give out makes me wonder how much repairs are going to be. . .especially on the platters. I'llkeep it high on the depth chart though.
Ease of use = 5/5
If you have tried or have SSL,there's no need to try to figure it all out again. You'll act as if you've had this piece the entire time!!!
Overall = 4/5
You now ask why the 4 star rating? This piece belongs in a clean studio,or a club enviroment where Dj's keep drinks away from the equipment. It's just isn't as versatile in a moblie enviroment. But consider this a 4.99 rating. I'm just seeing this in the long term. And since this is really new,I haven't read the reviews on time frame of when this will eventually breakdown.
Well. . .I know I've lulled some of you to sleep, but hey. . .this is me and my passion. . . .nothing will keep me from listening and enjoying what I do.
Your resident cool/geek/tech/musical guy. . .
Windz One"
