Hands on: the Stanton SCS.4DJ
I got the chance to play around a little with the Stanton SCS.4DJ at this years Sonar. As this thing already got my attention when I heard the first rumours about it this was a good chance to find out, if it will be the big gamechanger it looks like on first sight.
Some words about what I am talking about here, but only in short as there are already dozens of articles about the technical details out there - which you can also get from the manufacters homepage. I want to concentrate on my actual experience and add some thoughts. If you have not heard about this piece of gear before, please check the Stanton website (link below).
The Stanton SCS.DJ4 is a media player designed like one of those days very popular compact midi-controllers for djing. At first glance you could even mix it up with one. The main difference in the interface is a little color-screen with 4 buttons on each side. The SCS.4DJ has it´s own computer and software included and can do all basic functions of digital DJing standalone - including some (basic) effects and auto-sync.
When I had the SCS.4DJ to test for some minutes I already knew a lot about it´s specs and the friendly people at the stand tried to answer my remaining questions.
The knobs and faders feel quite solid, not as good as knobs on a CDJ or Pioneer (or many other producers ;)) mixer, but a good kind of semi-pro. Actually exactly like most midi-controllers feel. I would not try to put some heavy weight on it, but it feels like you can trust the SCS.4DJ for regular use. It looks well-built and is incredibly lightweight (a bit more than 2 kilogramms) - perfect to carry around, especially if you think that the alternative is to carry a controller (some are even much heavier than this thing) and an extra laptop - sometimes even an extra soundcard.
The sound is good. The EQs do a good job and cut down their bands to zero. The filters (as part of the effect section) sound good and offer the possibilty to change resonance. The jogwheels do their job and are exact enough. The possibilty on the SCS.4DJ to use them with scratch ability on the top and for pitch bending on the outside is still not standard for some controllers, so i mention it here. Syncing works fine, both manual and automatic. To analyze a track takes about one third of it´s length, so you definitely have to analyze your whole collection before you get on stage.
The best thing about the SCS.4DJ might be the price. It is announced for about 500,- Euros. This is an incredible price considering how good it works and feels. And it is kind of unrivaled. There have been all-in-one approaches (like nextbeat), bot none that worked even close as good as the SCS.4DJ.
What I really miss on the SCS.4DJ is the ability to store cue points. They are standard nowadays, in software as well as on CDJs, and would have made this device disproportionately more functional. As the tested version was explicitely called a prototype there might be some changes until it hits stores. At this one I did not find any possibilty to store cue points and my question about this remained unanswered.
Also the labeling of the buttons could be bolder, as the backlight does not help you out during the day (what was the case when I tested it).
So, is this thing a gamechanger? Yes, definitely. For DJs who are satisfied to do the standard tasks of DJing this is a great and solid option. I am sure that you will see the SCS.4DJ at many parties soon.
If you are into controllerism or at least like to work with your equipment in a more creative way, you will have to stick with your controller and notebook. The SCS.4DJ does not allow any complex configuration. And the internal sound processing possiblities are not going that far.
Will any professional DJ use the SCS.4DJ? I doubt it. Even the classic Mixer/CDJ setup gives you more options, you are limited to two decks here and although it is well produced I do not think it will survive day-to-day DJ use for a long time.
The SCS.4DJ is what some people have been waiting for for a long time. But I think digital DJing should go further than just imitating the classic two-turntables-and-a-mixer thing.
http://www.stantondj.com/stanton-controllers-systems/scs4dj.html