Mixer and Sound Quality
If the impression you’re getting so far from my waxings on the 4Trak is that it’s good, you’re on the right ‘trak’ (sorry, sorry). There’s one key feature that pulls the 4Trak out of ‘good’ territory however, and leaves it knocking on ‘great’s door: 4Trak isn’t just a controller/audio interface, it’s a completely standalone mixer with phono preamps on two channels. Admittedly not every user is going to feel this is a massive value adder, but it literally doubles the value of the unit for anyone that has turntables, CDJs, samplers, synths, or anything else that they want to combine with Traktor or indeed use instead of it from time to time – pop a 4Trak either side of a couple of decks at a small to medium sized venue where most kids turn up with a laptop running Traktor and a small controller, the rest with DVS or an Itch specific controller that can be plugged into the 4Trak in mixer operation, and you’re actually approaching a standard that people can turn up and plug into no matter what controller they have.
I’m disappointed that it’s not Traktor Scratch Certified, but NI seem to be saving that honour for gear that’ll help them get their foot into new markets, not pull focus from their first party controllers. The 4Trak is a serious contender for the Kontrol S4’s throne in the plug and play Traktor controller stakes, so keeping the Traktor Scratch capability was a wise move (or, who knows, maybe it was on the table but Numark decided against it. I guess people like myself who are always looking for a way to get my turntables involved are a shrinking market, after all).
Helped along by the fact that the 4Trak is powered via the mains, the 4Trak is loud and proud from every channel. It sounds good too, with the 24bit audio hardware ensuring that dynamics are nice and smooth for internal audio and there’s a pretty decent showing for the hardware mixing. It doesn’t have the insane headroom of top end Pioneer or Rane mixers, but it doesn’t struggle and the clarity is fine, even from the phono preamps. Similarly the mic inputs can be boosted pretty loud before they start getting overly noisy, and whilst they’re not exactly pro studio quality mic inputs they’re easily enough to jump on the mic quickly to inform people there’s a light blue Ford Mondeo blocking the fire exit. Or, you know, emcee.
Wrap Up
Features and Implementation: The 4Trak does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s laid out to be a ‘proper’ DJ unit, and it does it all very well. The built in mixer doesn’t stand up quality wise to a pro level club install mixer from Allen & Heath, Rane, or Pioneer, but it’s definitely got balls.
Build Quality: Brilliant. I can’t really think of any part of the 4Trak’s construction that I could reasonably expect to be improved without drastically increasing the price.
Value for Money: If you’re looking for a mixer and controller in one, 4Trak’s one of the only pieces of gear that can really give you it all. Add to that the fact that you get the 4Trak edition of Traktor in the box and it starts to get hard to see how the 4Trak can be so cheap.
Overall: The 4Trak is one of the best large all in one controllers I’ve laid my hands on, and it’s largely due to its size and build quality. I’m not totally sold on the angled effects unit, but I don’t hate it either; if the effects control section was optional and left some money in your pocket to choose your own effects controlling device I think Numark would really be onto a winner, but of course it could also be tough to find somewhere to put your choice of third party unit. The mixer functionality is really great, too.
A Right To Reply
After reading the review, Numark had this to add:
“At Numark we have a good 20 years experience putting wheels on controllers, not including turntables, as well as 30+ years putting crossfaders on mixers. When we design any piece of gear, quality and reliability has always been core and we still also try to create value driven pricing. Since the Numark design and engineering team is comprised of actual experienced working DJs we know how important this is.
The Wheels: The 6” wheels on the 4Trak are smooth and solid, with the highest true resolution of any non-motorized platter. Though our mechanical engineers considered friction adjustments on our wheels back in the days of our Axis CD players, we also recognized the addition of this feature is a quality liability. Instead we’ve focused on getting the feel right of the grease, tolerance right on the spindle, and the algorithms of our capacitive touch surface making sure when users use our units the feel is consistent, thus enabling a solid next level performance.
The Crossfader: On the 4Trak we use a high quality Carbon Polymer crossfader. Quite reliable for extended use. Our research shows user expect complete control over the crossfader down the the tiniest cutting distance. Our research also shows they expect a bit a weight to the shaft so you do get that thud when it hits the end point. In order to machine and control this precision, we take advantage of the metal crossfader plate to capture the end points, so you will hear a click in a quiet environment. But we are talking Djing, and DJs are far from quiet. “
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