DJ Equipment Reviews

 

Stanton SCS.1m

"Enter the System." Enter a world of absolute convenience.

The world of deejaying in the near future is becoming very clear with all the latest DJ equipment the top DJ suppliers are distributing. More convenience, more power, more digital, more money. In the DJ community, it’s never really been about "out with the old, in with the new". It has been about "re-invent the old so that it’ll appear new." With Stanton’s mix controller, the SCS.1m, Stanton clearly states that it can be referenced as a mixer. Its got many of the same components, only if these components were on steroids, which is why the perfect term to describe it would be a "mix controller", the re-invented form of a mixer. What does it have that a DJ wants? For starters, it has four channel strips that are sporting faders, EQ controls, high precision metering, a responsive crossfader and even a very straightforward cue/monitoring section.

Pretty basic features, which makes navigation a breeze. Check out the faceplate for yourself, shown below. Everything is right where it’s meant to be. This design was formulated for easy set up and basic mixing within seconds of eying the face of this "mix controller".

The award winning SCS.1m is said to be the best mix controller ever

Other features include:

• Familiar 4-channel design with intuitive high-precision metering
• Assignable Encoder section with 360° of LED feedback
• LCD “scribble strips” for two-way communication with selected DJ software
• Easy controller mapping into popular DJ and VJ software
• Navigation section for remote browsing through playlists
• Mic and Phono / Line input for sampling, archiving vinyl, and remixing
• Built-in FireWire connections with full Mac and Windows compatibility
• Perfect as a standalone mix controller, or in combination with SCS.1d deck
• Balanced, studio-quality TRS output for mains; RCA booth output and 1/4˝ headphones output
• Unique footswitch input enabling hands-free control of software parameters

You can find all this and more on Stanton’s official web site.

The SCS.1m has won its share of awards and is said to be the worlds best mix controller. With features including firewire connection, rotary control knobs and auxiliary inputs for turntables and CD players, that "best mix controller in the world" claim may not be entirely baseless. It might actually border the truth. The firewire connection on the SCS.1m provides a simple single-cable connection with enough bandwidth working DJs will need for mixing/controlling related tasks. The SCS.1m controller literally controls your DJ software while it sends and receives audio to either you Mac or PC, and this is all thanks to Stanton’s firewire connection. The other feature Stanton, and the world, have been religiously praising are the rotary controls.

These four fully assignable rotary controls can be mapped into DJ software functions while giving off visual feedback of knob position. Stanton states that this is done in whatever lighting a working DJ is in; if it’s a hot club cloaked in darkness, thankfully, the visual feedback could still be seen. One of the hi-lights of these rotary encoders are the amazing LED rings wrapped around the knobs, along with the LCD scribble strips. Last but not least, Stanton totes the auxiliary input for both CD players and turntables. Personally, I feel this may be one of the better features, since working DJs can easily use the switchable aux input to connect tables and CD players into their Macs and/or PCs.

After reviewing this product, DJs will find that every intricate detail has an intricate detail to provide much needed simplicity while they work. If the Stanton SCS.1m sounds like your kind of controller, then get it as soon as possible. Thanks to the quality in build, it’s tough to withstand all the DJ "plagues". All the accidents, negligence and abuse. The SCS.1m can withstand it for several years to come. There aren’t many obvious blunders or bad things to say in this DJ product review. A bad thing DJs could say is that maybe it’s too extreme, taking "convenience" into "laziness". And personally, I can’t entirely say if it’s scratching DJ friendly. That isn’t an aspect Stanton really promoted…and I wonder why.

Anyway, good mix controller nevertheless. Stanton outdid themselves yet again. Check out a clip of the 1m controller as well as the SCS.1d (view 1d post here).

 

Press Ctrl+D to Bookmark Your Favorite Posts - scratching DJ, working DJ, Stanton

Related Posts

• Stanton SCS 1d (0)
• Numark NS7-Part 1 DJ Product Review (0)