Numark Mixtrack Platinum FX DJ Controller Bundle - 4 Deck DJ Set with Mixer, Audio Interface, Jog Wheel Displays & HF175 Headphones | Professional DJ Equipment for Live Performances, Clubs & Home DJing

I have a lot of experience using different controllers for my DJ work and i have got to say that as far as the lower end of high performing deck controllers, the Numark Platinum FX is certainly one of the better pieces of equipment i have ever had the pleasure to own and work with. let me take you through both the pros and cons of what i have experienced so far for this piece of equipment:PROS:) Has options to plug directly into the controller itself instead of trying to work out the audio channels for your audio cue. this makes mixing sounds and previewing them so much better.)AUX cables for external speakers. super convenient to have as i can plug in amps and even a subwoofer if i want to without having to go through extra steps to make sure my computer has the ability to run it.)external microphone jack. so now i can actually put in the ability to use a stage microphone which in most cases especially when trying to make announcements or speak during parts of a mashup im making, i can do so without the curse of having weird background noises from a computer mic set up.)smooth and easy to use hardware. picking this up and using it is easy enough as long as you have a basic understanding already of how things work. being able to run 2 decks for songs then 2 separate decks so i can play loops and stems in addition to the music opens up the possibility to mix matching and remixing music for me i was not able to before.and nowCONS:)as well made and intuitive this controller can be, shifting between decks 1 and 3 as well as 2 and 4 comes with some difficulty. you have to push down on the shift key then while holding it you press scratch and that tells the hardware that your now using the other deck on that particular side that you pushed the buttons on. as simple as it may seem, it can be difficult, especially during critical moments when trying to execute a drop that requires the coordination of 2 decks in addition to the primary deck playing its song i dont see why it wouldnt make more sense to introduce a toggle switch or even just have a completely different set of buttons that all you have to do is push it. for that matter... why is the shift key and the scratch button all the way apart on opposite ends of each deck? why not just have them closer and positioned so i dont have to use 2 hands or awkwardly stretch my hand to just to shift to the other deck.)buttons and slides and toggles sometimes dont register. what i mean by this is if i swap decks real fast and try to twist a couple of dials and drop the volume down if i move to fast or dont have everything positioned just right when i make my swaps and audio changes the commands sometimes dont register in the hardware so the software wont register either. this leads to undesired overlap of sounds sometimes ruining an otherwise perfectly good mix recording or the perfect set up to a drop or well executed fade out in a song transition or failure to transition a song correctly.) make the FX buttons customizable. as nice as it is to have the flanger and phaser and what have you readily available, i dont have the ability to change those buttons from those functions to instead run something like noise or pitch/speed changes on the fly when i want and need them to happen. if i go through the settings of my software and painsakingly make those changes that means i have to change the function of my FX buttons through a long and tedious process that during a DJ set i frankly dont have the time to deal with or do. so its either your stuck with your preset FX effects from the start of your set till the end or risk fumbling while trying to fight your software and switch decks in a difficult wayOVERALL:Its a good piece of hardware and as frustrating as it can be in its moments, it also has brought along some of my most incredible sounds and transitions. i would most certainly recommend this controller to anyone however, best to get experience with maybe a nuwmark mixtrack pro 3 or something first and get used to playing with only 2 decks at a time before taking on this beast and its 2deck to 4 deck shift key set up.Thank you Numark for this excellent piece of equipment!