I usethe Numark NS7 and I love it. Try each one of them and see which one you like better. Numark NS7 is my choice!!!!!!

honestly they all can do what you need...... the ns6 has 4 channels, the ns7 has moving platters, the ddj is lighter and has slip mode. which of those feature do you need then decide which one to get. the all mix music and rock crowds

I currently use the ddj s1 and I love it! i'd say if you don't really need one now, i'd wait a couple months to check out the vci 380. As much as i love the ddj s1, i can't wait to check out the vci 380. if it's anything like the vci 300, the vci 380 will definitely be the winner unless you want moving platters...

Thanks guys. Looking at the VCI-380...I know I won't be a fan. I think i'm going to be in the DDJ-S1 boat.

I'm not a fan of controllers smaller than the ns7 or ns6, I bought twitch 3 days ago and it's being returned tomorrow; I tried the VCI 300, ns7fx, ddjs1 before I settled on the NS6. The DDJS1 was horrible but then again I was never a fan of the CDJ's, you can only control 2 decks with it too, the platters suck big time, its a scraping mess) The NS7fx was damn near perfect; the deal breaker was that it was only 2 decks instead of 4. The VCI 300 looked and felt like a toy to me just like the VCI 300; NS6 felt perfect; platters are very high quality as is the sound output, Itch control is flawless; I only look at my laptop screen when i need to load a track, I don't need to use the keyboard at all. FX Control and SP6 control all at your fingertips (you do however have to use the keyboard to switch to sp6 and then switch to controller mode, after that you just press the shift button and the left deck cue buttons control the first three samples and the right deck cue buttons controls the second 3)
NS6 hands down

error; i mean to say that the vci 300 looked and felt like a toy to me just like the novation twitch.

In a nutshell;

2 channel/deck control, NS7fx hands down.

4 channel/deck control for Itch - NS6

i consider my ddj-s1 and upgrade to my vci-300 due to size

Hmm. Thanks Dave! I'm still in debate over whether or not 4 channels is going to be useful or not...care to shine some light on that?

Well in my case for live remixing the 4 channels are phenomenal, you can get away with using the sp6 if you beatgrid your songs ahead of time, they'll stay in sync, it's a little more work but it's like controlling 8 decks at once with the 2 channel controllers (sp6 has 6 slots per bank)

I like the 4 channel/deck control because I can use the jog wheels to scratch or spin back or lightly touch the outside to keep my tracks in sync. Lots of possibilities with 4 decks and 20 hot cues along with the SP6; might seem like overkill for some but it's just what I needed.

Here's a great demo of most features of the NS6 including a great demo of what you can do with the 4 decks at once while doing loop rolls etc...

Check it out: youtu.be

Alright. Could I get any great DDJ-S1 users or NS7 FX users to attempt to counter Daves statement? I want to get all sides.

i own both the ddj-s1 and the ns6... i use the ddj-s1 for my gigs when i use itch. not going to go into all the this one is better than that. it is all personal preference at some point. if you dont see the need to use four decks you probably will not use for decks. i personally am not a great fan of the ns6 jog wheels either.

For non powered platters, coming from 1200's, The NS6 has the best feeling platters, IMO. The DDJ-S1 had a scrape that I could not get past but has a stellar audio card.I run the sound through a MOTU Ultralight so I can beef up the sound of any controller so for me sound is not an issue. The VCI 380 seems very nice as you can control the platter torque as you can on pretty much all Vestax Controllers. Of course you should get to your local audio outlet and test as many as you can then make your decision based on that. Controllers are very subjective to each user. Is one better than another? They all have pros and cons and there is clearly no winner just what people like and what they do not. Hope This Helps.
Peace,
LM

Thanks mate! I Just need to find a place to test them now. I don't think Guitar Center will let me, haha.

I had the NS7FX then moved to the DDJ S1. I dont regret having the S1 but there are times I miss the NS7.

If you're coming from CDJs then go for the DDJS1, or if you're from vinyl then go for the NS7.

If you want 4 tracks then go for the NS6.

Between the three, consider your style of playing. I spoke to a product developer for Pioneer and he said their controllers are specifically designed to feel like CDJ's. If that's what you're most comfortable with or will go to gigs where they have house CDJ's you plan on using instead of your controller, that's your best bet. If you're a scratch DJ, the NS7 is going to be more your bag. The NS6 excels at long, smooth, manual (non-autosynced) mixes you would use for trance, progressive, or house because it's jog wheels have superior resolution and perfect tension. If you're an auto-sync dj, the NS6 is still the way to go for the four decks, strip search, looping, and the touch-sensitive portion of the jog wheels, although the Pioneer isn't a bad choice for that, either.

I have to mostly +1, though I find the NS6 to be the best "all around" console of the three if you run in several genres as I do (from hard dance to hip hop and everything in between). 4 channels and pretty decent loop controls gives you some live-production capability as well. You can do SOME turntablist tricks, but you have to adjust your technique.

If you're mostly a house DJ with some occasional controllerist tendencies, I think the DDJ-S1 is a good bet, because you'll get some insight into the Pioneer workflow and you may find this to be applicable elsewhere. ;) Also, the "snap-scratch" feature is something that seems to be unique to Pioneer (probably a patent thing), so it's perfect for occasional scratchism (though personally I find scratching on Pioneer jog wheels to be odious).

NS7 is a perfect hip hop setup and you can pretty much do anything you're expecting turntables to do. For utter perfection, get some decks and go to SL-land, but I see many pros using these to great effect. I think for other genres, the NS6 is going to do everything the NS7 does, but better, and it will be slightly more mobile.

That would be me. I guess the DDJ-S1 will work great! I have heard great things about it and have even seen some guys with it out at a Club.

I've had the NS7FX for about 3 years now, and its the closest things to 1200's in this new digital age... I also have a VCI 300MKII And its kool an all, cept everything is too cluttered...

If its not direct drive, I dont want it...

I hear ya. I need to mess around on the Numark and Pioneer before I make a final decision...yet I do kind of have my head set on the S1.

i am the opposite i am a scratch dj turntables and i say the platters on the ddj-s1 beat the ns6 and same opinion of other scratch djs that have tried both of mine

You're right. NS6 can scratch, but it's not really meant for that and it has a noticable lag in scratch mode. The NS7, with it's motorized platters, is really the scratch console of choice over NS6 and the DDJS1. That's what NS7 is built for. As a techno and sometimes prog\trance dj, I went for the NS6. I like the Pioneer, but superior jog wheels, four decks, overall workflow, and the fact that the all-metal NS6 is built like a tank while the DDJS1 is all plastic won me over. Don't get me wrong, the DDJ is fairly smooth to play on, but for my money, the DDJ is built like a Camaro, the NS6 is built like a Porsche. It feels like a real piece of studio gear, while the DDJ feels like a toy.

ledpaint's response is correct in showing that you motivations and styles as a dj may dictate more that other peoples opinions on the web when it comes to choosing a controller

noticable lag in scratch mode? Not mine. Mine has no latency at all in scratch mode. If you watch any of the YouTube video's you will also notice there is no lag when performers are scratching Example: youtu.be maybe you should contact Numark.
Hope This Helps.
LM

No lag with my NS6 platters neither. NS7 and NS6 quality are miles ahead of anything else out there.

I also had no problem scratching on the NS6 platters. But they are in no way substitutes for the platters of the NS7.

It's you thought...

yep, an im one of them.....i also choose the ddj-s1

no lag in the ns6 but the platters are just a littl too loose for me

@Papa Midnight - I agree, Unfortunately I don't think there is a substitute for NS7/V7 platters. They are really amazing.
LM

No lag on my NS6 at all, so far solid, and lovin it!

If you're having lag on ANY ITCH console, check out your ITCH settings concerning the USB buffers. The default can be a bit laggy on the highest-resolution consoles (like the NS6). It's a tradeoff between lag and dropouts. A decent $1500-ish computer that is less than a year old should be able to take the most ambitious setting, though.

The biggest problem with scratching on the NS6 is the lack of natural feedback of a rotating record, but you're going to have this problem on ANYTHING other than the NS7.

Hit the nail on the head! I don't really scratch, so I never really bothered, but now that the lag is gone, I might start messing around a bit more with it...Thanks!

Hi,
Ima chime in on this a lil. I own a NS7FX, a VCI-300 MK II and as of yesterday a NS6. as a beginning mixologist I found the NS7 easy to learn. As a novice a prefer to have headphones completly on as opposed to one ear on and one ear out. My Issue with the VCI-300 is how stuf is routed to the heaphones sometimes I can hear both sources and get them matched and sometimes I can't. However DJing on it isn't really an issue. Only drawback to my NS7FX is it's size and weight in a flight case. Carrying that thing up and down flights of stairs can be a drag LOL. I am still learning the NS6. when mixing the tracks seem to stay in time better. However when using auto sync I wish the newer tracks wouldn't synch to the other 2 decks. Once again I am still learning the NS6. Once last thing is I wish Serato Itch would let you configure the decks on the screen in a different pattern instead of.
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just my 2 cents. I like all my controllers and I can't wait for my flight case to come for my NS6. I will probably sell my VCI-300 MKII and keep my NS6 & NS7FX.

Generally this has less to do whether you're a novice and more to do whether you have a monitor. :P

Thank you revancheX there is no monitor in my strip club :) does it make things easier?

Much...with a monitor you only need both headphones for something difficult.

I own a NS7fx and my boy who I dj with every weekend owns a ddj-s1 so I use both a lot.

Things I like about the DDJ-S1:

is that you dont need to buy a seperate effects bar like the NS7 which comes seperate. The looping controls are a bit easier on the ddj-s1 because it uses a knob instead of a button which the NS7 uses (1/2 loops, 2x loops control). You can connect up to two mics on the ddjs1 and even incorporate effects into the mic. DDj-s1 is lighter, smaller, and cheaper than the ns7 and designed to replicate the feel of cdj's. Best feature about the ddjs1 to me is the slip mode.

Things i dont like about the DDJ-s1:

It's too small in my opinion, I can't stand controllers smaller than a ns7. Scratching is not up to par with the ns7. Controller is a bit too cluttered, buttons and strip reading are too close to each other. The plastic material it's made out of. Platters are smaller than that of the ns7.

Thing I like about the NS7:

the feel of the vinyl is superb, closest thing to technics on a all-in-one controller and I am in love with the moving platters. It is completely lag free which I also love, definitely on point. The syncing is easier to me on the NS7 because of the sync meter reading it has (lets you know when the songs are in sync without actually looking at the laptop). Scratching is easier on the ns7, ns7 is more durable and made out of stronger material (can actually take a hit). It's more spacious, you can identify buttons a lot easier than that of the ddjs1 in a place where there is not much lighting.

Things i dont like about the NS7:

It's weight, for a all in one controller its pretty darn heavy. The need for calibration sometimes.

My conclusion:

Well the ddjs1 definitely has some perks over the ns7 but they in large do have identical features, but the ns7 makes the ddjs1 look like a toy in my opinion. I personally love scratching so this conclusion may be biased but nothing beats the ns7 when it comes to replicating a turntable on an all in one controller. DDj-s1 is just not up to par when it comes to scratching. The ddj-s1 may be best for someone who doesn't care about scratching and is constantly doing mobile gigs. The ns7 you can just make it to a club/bar with and still do your thing, as well as do mobile gigs. I feel like its easier to cover a variety of genres with the ns7 as well like hip-hop, reggae and so forth while the ddj-s1 I feel is great for only house (but of course can be used for everything still). The ns7 just makes me feel more like real DJ compared to using a ddjs1.

Hope this helps.

+100

I have the ns6/ns7 and agree with the comments posted. However, for those of you that are still uncertain and want to see these in action I recommend you see the DJ Cerla YouTube videos.