Scratch Controllers ???

[Drimachus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MiDd9GSQbY

I have played with that Denon a lot, and it's a bad mother. Can't say what it'l do in Traktor, but with cds it's an F N scratch machine!!

[Drimachus]

There are only 2 "scratch" controllers right now, the Numark NS7 and the Stanton SCS.1d. Everything else fails pretty miserably in one way or another.

[Matt]

I've seen some decent scratching on a vci-300.

[Kupujte_Pytle]

i tried those Denons at my local GC, they are sick, nice and clean feel - just like TTs... it was scratching of a CD tho, so i dont know about Traktor route.

[wrong chris]

VCI 300 & Itch works well

Or make yer own:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2j5OoIu5kw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2j5OoIu5kw

:eek:


i cant believe those sounds are coming from that thing. lol. fucking awesome man! Is that controlling traktor????

[BentoSan]

i cant believe those sounds are coming from that thing. lol. fucking awesome man! Is that controlling traktor????

Nope i am pretty sure the sound is internally generated on that one

[wrong chris]

^aww bummer... even still tho... wow !

[nem0nic]

LOL! Yeah, I know. And I work for them too. But I stand by my statement. I think that if we define the term "scratch controller" to mean that it offers the same or better performance as a traditional turntable, and that the skills one acquires on one transfers directly to the other, then there are only 2 that come close.

The 3700 is close behind, and is a great unit, but as was stated before there's no built in logic for detecting a scratch and sending the required note on. It wouldn't surprise me if there is a yet unrealized functionality to support absolute mapping in Serato ScratchLive - which would turn the 3700 into a very capable scratch controller.

Everything else fails to deliver that kind of performance. The VCI 100 and 300 are fine for baby scratches, but the platters are tiny and do not rotate. All of the VCI-100 knockoffs out there suffer from the same problem, and most of them don't address the need for higher resolution and higher speed messages (the 300 being the exception). The Otus is able to accommodate the higher resolution messaging, and is a good size, but isn't motorized.

Another dynamic that's ignored by most of the controllers out there is the interaction between the platter, the slipmat, and the work surface (record). In my opinion, this is an even more important element than the drive motor's power, because it only needs to supply enough torque to keep the platter spinning at a constant speed while the turntablist performs - and that force is in many cases mitigated somewhat by using very slippery mats (like Butter Rugs). The relationship between the record, slipmat, and platter is not only important, but highly customizable by the DJ. And this is totally thrown away when a single slab of static plastic is used as the interface.

That's not to say that other controllers out there can't be used in one way or another. But they just aren't "scratch controllers" by my criteria. I'm lusting hardcore for a VCI-300 because it's a slick piece of kit, and it would be a perfect addition to my setup. And I have a number of other controllers in my studio/lab that I love. But I call them like I see them.

[compact]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQgvBJUNMJk

[nem0nic]

Cool, but it's not real yet.