Numark Mixtrack Pro vs. Vestax Typhoon vs. Reloop Digital Jockey 2 : DJ Controller Comparison

Which DJ controller should I start out with?  This is a question that we are asked quite often here at Unique Squared.  There are many choices out there so we narrowed it down to three.  The Numark Mixtrack Pro, Vestax Typhoon, and Reloop’s Digital Jockey 2.  These controllers cost less than $300, have similar features and are suitable for beginner to intermediate DJs.  Controllers are becoming more prevalent in the market and it is tough to decide which one will suit you best.  Maybe we can help.  Check out our comparison video.

 

Video Transcript:

Hi, what’s going on this is Scott Magno, DJ Madflip here with UniqueSquared.com. Today we’re going to talk about controllers, you guys have had a lot of questions about some of the controllers out there. We’re going to go through some of the differences and even which one we would recommend.

Today we’re going to talk about some of the beginner to intermediate controllers that we carry that we think are probably going to work out for you.

Alright, first let’s start off with the Mixtrack Pro. This is going to come with Virtual DJ LE.

Next we have the Vestax Typhoon, this is also going to come with Virtual DJ LE, specifically for Vestax it is also Traktor LE ready.

Now the last one is going to be the Reloop Digital Jockey 2, this one is going to come specifically for Traktor, laid out perfectly for LE and also Traktor Pro.

First off, the size and contruction the Mixtrak Pro is full plastic construction, a little bigger than the other ones, bigger jog wheels. Right off the bat you can see that that one is a little bit bigger than the other ones.

The Vestax Typhoon is a little bit more compact, a nice red color, nice construction. This thing is very, very, light weight and compact.

Now the Reloop Digital Jockey 2 is going to be primarily metal construction. A couple of the elements are plastic, but this is going to be the heavier and taller of the three.

So on all of these you’re going to have the built in audio interface. This means that right out of the box, you can install the software and you can plug it in to your laptop or computer, and you can be up and running, without having any other kind of soundcard.

That means you can have your master out and you can also have your kind of headphone cue built in directly to the interface.

Ok, so the Jog wheels on the Numark have dual function, they’re a little big, bigger than the other two and you can use those to scratch, and also speed up and slow down your tracks.

On the Vestax Typhoon, you’ve got a smaller jog wheel and you can use those to speed up or slow down, scratch on top, and you can also hit that filter button so you can modulate your effects with the jogwheel itself, you’re also able to adjust the sensitivity of the jog wheels on the back.

Now on the Reloop Digital Jockey 2 you have a smaller jog wheel, but kind of a heavier feel when you scratch on it.

This is going to give you four functions, on this one you’re going to be able to speed up and slow down your tracks, you’re able to hit another button and do some scratching, you’re also able to scroll through all of your tracks by hitting another button and using the jog wheels for that, you can also hit one more button and you’re able to control the effects.

Ok, now all of them are pretty set up just about the same as far as the mixer section, but I want to talk about the EQ’s. On the Mixtrack pro you’ve got the rotary EQ’s for your mids, highs, and treble on the Vestax Typhoon.

You’ve got more of that PMC 05, 07 pro trademark, Vestax, vertical sliders for your high, mids, lows, and also for your gain.

Now on the Reloop digital jockey 2, you also have the rotary faders for the Low, Mids, Highs, and also for your gain, but you also have it for pan as well now you can also hit the knobs and that will serve as an EQ kill. So you can take those right out, I really like that about the Reloop.

Ok, so all of them are going to have the ability to do looping right on the fly. You’ve got in, out, you can select your loop on top of that.

Now the Numark Mixtrack Pro actually has designated hot cue buttons. You’re not going to have that on the Typhoon or the Digital Jockey 2, but since they’re both MIDI assignable, you can actually map your cue points to any of the buttons on the controller and have those conveniently for you.

Browsing is pretty much going to be the same on all of them, except you have another rotary on the Mixtrack pro, so you can just go through your tracks and you can just hit a button to go left and right to your decks.

On the Typhoon you’ve got sort of that Nintendo, D-pad where you go up and down and you will go left and right to put your tracks in the decks you also have the rotary on the digital jockey as well. Boom, boom.

Ok, so we just checked out three controllers that we consider to be for beginners all the way up to intermediate. If you have any other questions about this, please leave me a comment and I will answer it personally.

If you would like us to do a review for another product or if you want us to do another comparison for other controllers, leave a comment too and we’ll be happy to consider it.

Now, if you want to be a DJ and you’re wondering how to get started, please check out my article, go to UniqueSquared.com/blog. As always follow us on Facebook and also on Twitter. Thanks again so much, I’m Scott Magno, DJ madflip, Be U, be Unique, at UniqueSquared.com