Monday, February 27, 2012

Review: Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station – Master the Mix

 

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In January I attended the 2012 NAMM Tradeshow and I was awestruck by the multitude of manufacturers exhibiting their newest additions to their lines. The floor was buzzing with excitement as we were given the opportunity to experience it all “Hands On” and I have to say I spent much time checking out the newest innovations for the Music Industry. Among the many new products I checked out was the latest in equipment for the DJs and the mixing of Digital Music. There were many to choose from, some would link to PC / Mac systems, some to iPads / iPods, some to large mainframe systems, etc. I would like to say that all of them impressed me, but some were just too bulky or some too confusing, or required a master’s degree in software configuration, this was a bit of a distress because the typical DJ needs a system that, in my opinion, is lightweight, durable and can make the DJ’s job easier. No offence to the many quality products at the show, but I was not very satisfied, that is until I saw and was instantly and completely “floored” by the new SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station by Stanton, a company whose name is synonymous with the art of the DJ, and well known throughout the industry as one of the first names in DJ technology.

The SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station is, in my opinion, the best of the new DJ Equipment presently available. From the first moment it is obviously created with the DJ’s needs in mind. From it’s both stunning and easy to navigate design, solid construction, versatile input / output features and its “lifelike” feel of the platters, otherwise called “Jog Wheels”. The Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station is a complete solution to the needs of both the amateur and professional DJ in mobile and studio settings. The Stanton SCS.4DJ is a fully integrated system that offers one button automatic synchronization and an embedded computer that assists in the mixing and “Beat Matching” at the use of a single button. This particular feature is used in the “Auto-DJ” mode, which can be set to automatically mix music on a preset playlist and even beatmatch the songs if desired. The Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station is designed to allow the person using it to become more creative and focus on the music, not on the machine, freeing the Dj’s mind to manage the mix and make the magic.

Here are the SCS.4DJ Tech Specifications: View on Site

Mic Preamp:

Equivalent Input Noise: < -112 dBu A-weighted, measured

Sensitivity @ clip: 14 dBu (trim at max)

Mic Input to Line Output:

SNR 20Hz-22kHz: > 99dB A-weighted

THD+N @1kHz, 20Hz-22kHz BW: < 0.007%

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 3 dB, +/-0.25dB 100Hz to 15kHz

Sampling: 24-bit, 44.1kHz

Digital Playback:

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 2 dB, +/-0.25dB 100Hz to 15kHz

Signal/Noise Ratio: >106 dB A-weighted

THD+N @1kHz, 20Hz-22kHz BW: 0.005%

Max Output Level: +14.5 dBu

Crosstalk (left to right): < -90dB @ 1kHz

Sampling: 24-bit, 44.1kHz

Headphone Amp:

Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 3 dB, +/-0.25dB 100Hz to 15kHz

Signal/Noise Ratio: >90 dB A-weighted

Misc:

Fader Kill: -85 dB

Mic Input: 1/4" TRS

Master Outputs: RCA unbalanced, ¼" pseudo balanced

Headphone Output: ¼ ", 1/8"

Power: Supplied Adapter

Power Into 33 Ohms: 180mW RMS @ 0dBFS

Power Into 150 Ohms: 40mW RMS @ 0dBFS

Minimum Safe Load: 16 Ohms

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT

Unit: 17.4" x 11.4" x 2.9" / 442mm x 291mm x 73mm

Box: 19.9" x 15.1" x 4.3" / 505mm x 383mm x 108mm

Weight: 5.0lbs

The Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station allows the DJ to draw their digital music from any storage facility a DJ would want to use, from a small USB memory stick, external drive, their pc / mac computer, smart phone or from an internal hard drive that can be installed by the owner, again versatility and flexibility is a key factor in the greatness of this mixing powerhouse. The Stanton SCS.4DJ has one feature that I did not see in any other mixing unit at the show, nor was it covered by any of their competitors, with the Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station the DJ can record their performance, from start to finish to a mass storage device which can be created and shared instantly by burning it to a thumb drive. This way, the DJ of a Wedding could provide the music and microphone dedications to the bride and groom to remember the soundtrack of their life’s first moments as man and wife.

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I like the simplicity of the Stanton SCS.4DJ design in regards to the placement of the Input and Output component connections. The Unit has both ¼” Jack and RCA outputs, 4 type A USB connections and 1 type B USB for connecting to a PC/Mac in MIDI control mode, ¼” and 1/8” Headphone outputs, a separate microphone input and a variety of controls that let you set your filters, effects, loops, delays and more. Each Jog Wheel has independent touch and scratch modes as well as cue, sync and tap. The slides and faders have genuine resistance and don’t feel loose or flimsy and the onboard computer system is very easy to navigate, set and produce. Offering real time cueing and full pitch and range of the digital waveforms, the Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station is a complete DJ solution.

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At the NAMM Tradeshow, I was able to get an interview with a Stanton Executive. In our interview I found that the key to the Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station is that it does not require the DJ to have a laptop, mixer, software or the multitude of accessories that some of the competitor products need to function. It’s all there in the Stanton SCS.4DJ, all onboard and works from day one, and whether the music is from the DJ’s library or from a personal cell phone or mp3 device, it’s all accessible and playable after track analysis. I would like to add that a great pairing to Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station is the KRK Rokit 5 monitors, a powered monitor system that is used by Grammy winning producers and musicians around the world, a pair of KRK Rokit 5 monitors were connected to the Stanton SCS.4DJ at the show, and it was a perfect match.

After the NAMM show, I was able to get a unit from the Stanton Company to put through our test and review process. First, we tested it in our offices, and it was everything it claims to be, and it was fun and easy to use. I personally, with no past DJ experience was able to mix down tracks, feed in beats and mix up some fantastic tracks. The ability to perform file browsing and use of the playlist system makes the SCS.4DJ work flawlessly with digital media, monitoring of the waveforms, combined with convincing scratch sounds and the overall perfect sound quality, it is just going to blow you away. The onboard software is better than many 3rd party PC Computer DJ software and Mac OS music mix programs.

Our in house DJ then took the Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station out to use at a show, he loaded his tracks and beats, set the unit up all ahead of time and then went to his show. He gave himself one hour to set up all the equipment and the Stanton SCS.4DJ while setting his turntables up as a backup and his other equipment on standby. He did a 2 hour show and never had to swap out any equipment, or mix from his turntables or other digital mixer. Our DJ had only 1 hour of time to learn about and work with the unit and the 1 hour to load in his tracks and set all his auto mixes. Our DJ was so impressed he went out the next day and bought a Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station for himself.

The Stanton SCS.4DJ Digital DJ Mix Station is exactly as promised; it is a full solution to the needs of a DJ that wants a high quality digital music mixing unit that allows the user to explore, innovate and perform to the maximum potential possible. I encourage you to visit the Stanton website at http://www.stantondj.com and check out this and the many other quality DJ products by Stanton as well as meet the Artists and Professionals that swear by their products.

Stanton is a division of Gibson Pro Audio.

Joseph Timmons

Xombiewoof.com Magazine


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