DJ Equipment Reviews

NS7 – the only DJ controller you’ll ever need

Hopefully, I’ll be able to cover the rest about the NS7 this time. As you know, working DJs around the world have been hyped for some time about the NS7 launch which happened not long ago, and now everybody wants to hear about it, to try it, to use it, and it’s no wonder they’re so anxious, because one look at the NS7′s features and you can tell you’re missing out.

Let’s start off from the MIDI compliant part, where NS7 excels, even if the only connection with the computer and the Serato Itch DJ software that does the work is just one USB cable. Well, in order to achieve this level of hands on control perfection with which only Numark users are familiar (due to previous CDX, HDX launches), the NS7 builds on all that great digital vinyl-like controlling history and comes up as close to perfect as possible. It’s no exagerration to say that once a working DJ will get his hands on the NS7, he’ll have some spoiled child-like problems when it comes to leaving it. Everything works flawlessly between NS7 and Itch, and it’s the USB connection that makes that happen, as it sends signal at ten times the regular MIDI speed. This means a huge difference in control and feel on the NS7, and you’ll be hooked as soon as you touch this amazing piece of DJ equipment. 

Of course Numark set out to make the ultimate DJ controller, so they couldn’t have made sacrifices on anything, sound included. The internal circuitry of NS7 is carefully arranged bunch of professional audio connectors, audiophile-grade capacitors and a multi channel 24-bit USB digital audio interface that tie up together to produce tight, vigourous and aggresive audio that can be recognized on any venue a working DJ plays. 

As I said in my previous post on NS7, this DJ product is made for digital DJs, but tries to take them away from the laptops and into entertaining the crowd, which is the main thing any working DJ should do. So how do you take a digital DJ used to operating DAWs on a computer and put him in front of a DJ controller and expect him to not touch the laptop for the whole gig. Simple, and Numark knows it: you give the digital DJ the option of doing everything he did on the computer on the Dj controller. That’s where the perfect harmony between NS7 and Serato Itch becomes visible, as they work together like no DJ product team out there. The NS7 is built to control Itch, and Itch is designed to take the working DJ‘s commands from NS7. Nice, huh? If you’re having trouble believing that with the NS7 a working DJ can actually do anything he did on Itch with his computer, this is going to burst your bubble. NS7 even has custom built controls on it to help the formerly digital DJ easily search through his Itch or Scratch Live libraries and instantly get to the track he wants. Then just load and it’s all controllable through the NS7 alone.

About NS7′s partner, Serato Itch, which deserves a whole post by itself, but I’ll leave that to some other time. I’ll only say here that being the brains of the operation Itch is a strong, fully featured DAW that will be familiar to anybody working with Scratch Live, as the compatibilities are huge. The main thing about Itch is that it basically eliminates all time code requirements which are so familiar to the working DJs controlling digital files in the old vinyl way. Itch does it all through USB, so it works flawlessly with NS7 and is otherwise a great DJ software in its own right.

Now back to the NS7, let’s see a bit technical information that I know some working DJs are waiting for:

• one 1/4" balanced microphone input and one RCA stereo line input
• master stereo XLR and RCA outputs
• stereo RCA output for booth
• and stereo 1/4" and 1/8" headphones outputs
• extensive looping, cueing and track access controls
• a patent pending Strip Search option, which allows working DJs a virtual needle drop control to get to the exact point they want on the track
• the fully MIDI compliant NS7 DJ controller will work with most MIDI applications without requiring a mouse or a keyboard
• the NS7 construction is based on a rugged, all metal enclosure, with a professional, mostly black look
• an amazing more than 100 LEDs for continuous visual information and more than 100 hands on controls otherwise done on the computer

I’ll be hoping I’ve done enough to get your attention to want and try the NS7, and if not, maybe this video, which is kind of an overview of NS7′s features, will. At any rate, no matter what kind fo working DJ equipment you’re used to, the NS7 DJ controller from Numark and Serato will probably have you drooling at one point, just because it’s so damned great! 

Oh yeah, and before I end it, that tip I was promising last post…the worst thing about the NS7 is that it costs quite a bit, as you would expect from such a worthy piece of DJ equipment. To ease the blow, HollywoodDJ offers a bundled Ultrasone 550 pair of professional DJ headphones to use with your NS7 DJ package for the regular NS7 street price of under 1300$. Oh yeah, those Ultrasone 550s are themselves worth a couple of hunderd bucks easy, so that’s quite a deal, not to mention the quality and features of the NS7 which really make it shine in any DJ package you’d put it.

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