Today i’m taking a look at the newest dj gadget on the market… The Stanton SCS3 System.
The “System” consists of two seperate peices of kit which effectively build up a full decks/mixer deejaying system.
SCS.3d DaScratch -- Performance Control Surface
SCS.3m -- Performance Mix Surface
The device is designed in such a unique way that you will not be able to engage in such a mixing experience with any other device on the market. Stanton have clearly thought about this one… the control and diversity just can’t be matched. We have been playing with the kit for several weeks and still can’t seem to keep our hands off it.
Let’s take a look at some of the Features:
- StanTouch® Interface -- Stanton have developed their own unique interface which can be used for scratching, rubbing, navigating through audio, triggering effects, loops, cue points, pitch… basically anything that can be mapped through MIDI.
- Multi Touch -- The whole device is Multi Touch enabled allowing for quick kills on EQ’s and triggering more than one object at a time, such as changing EQ and FX.
- USB Powered & PnP - Powered straight from USB so no plugs are needed (although, a plug is provided) and also Plug and Play, so no messing around installing drivers. It’s literally ready to use from the moment you connect it to your computer.
- DJ Friendly Design - The device is designed and laid out like existing DJ setups. The System sports touch sensitive faders and sliders for EQ’ing, pitch, mixing. Circular touch surface which also doubles up as sliders and buttons, also for triggering FX, EQ’s and loop points. The DaScratch unit has 4 sturdy buttons that are also replaceable. 100s of LEDs making the experience that little bit more exciting, all of which have full MIDI control.
- Compact Design - Both the SCS.3d and SCS.3m have a magnetic strip lined down the side of the device, this allows you to connect the devices together. USB cables are also hidden in a compartment under the device and can be fed out of the device from any location thanks to the amazing design.
- NI Traktor LE -- The system is also bundled with a fully licenced copy of Native Instruments Traktor LE, probably the most versatile dj software available. Of course, The System is also compatiable with most alternative DJ software.
You can find a much bigger and more in-depth feature list over at the SCS.3 System website: http://www.enterthesystem.com/system3/
DaScratch -- Performance Control Surface
This is where the system really shines. The DaScratch unit boasts a large circle similar to the look of CD mixing decks or even Vinyl. You have the ability to mix in a way you would on those traditional methods with features such as spin back and cue’ing a track. But what makes it even better is that it has 3 modes. One if which is the traditional circular mode, the second is the fader mode which gives you 3 faders that can be used for changing the EQ (Mid, High and Low) or triggering effects.. similar to the 3 faders on the mixer unit. Last but not least, the circular suface also has a button mode which give you 8 buttons to trigger the loop effect. Of course, all these buttons and sliders can be mapped to trigger whatever you desire.At the bottom of the unit there are 4 buttons that are used for triggering basic features such as Play, Cue. The buttons have a nice rubbery feel to them and they also light up. They are also fully replacable or easy to clean if they ever happened to get damaged.
SCS.3m -- Performance Mix Surface
The SCS.3m is the newest addition to the “System” family (at the time of writing this, obviously) which now gives you the ability to control every aspect of your DJ software.
The kit has all features of a traditional mixer and has individual sliders/buttons for triggering FX, pitch, channel volume, headphones output, equaliser and the fader.
One feature that stood out to me was the equaliser display for both channels so you can check your levels.
Videos
After searching youtube for some suitable videos to show off what this kit really can do, i noticed there was no videos demonstrating a basic mix using Native Instruments Traktor… all other videos demonstrated the looping or scratching capabilities. So here is my own video mixing 2 dance tracks, showing how easy it really is and also demonstrating some features:
Apologies for poor video quality and please comment & rate 
More interesting videos i found:
Conclusion
If your looking for a compact mixing setup or are a bit of a technical geek then this will be right up your street. For those who prefer the traditional methods of mixing then the “System” can also make a great addition to your exisiting setup and due to the size of the device you wont need any extra room.
While the price tag may put you off we do believe its a worthy investment. To take advantage of the full DJ setup you’ll need 2 DaScratch units and 1 Mixer unit which will set you back £489. If you would just like to add a DaScratch unit to an existing setup you can pick one up for £155 which would be well worth any impulse buy.
Pro’s:
- Almost everything, we love it…
Con’s:
- In some areas the device seems a little over sensitive, the ability to set the sensitivity of the controls would be amazing.
- No Power button -- while the device claims to be USB Powered, i was required to use the external power source when connecting the DaScratch units, i don’t know if this was due to the power limitations of my computer but it would not pick the extra devices up until i added the extra power. Therfore i am constantly left with the unit turned on unless i decide to pull out the power cable, which in my case is not an easy job and even after shutting my computer down the LEDS still remain leaving me no option but to disconnect the power. While this probably wont be an issue in most cases i still think it would be handy to have the power button.
- Price tag -- unfortunatley not everyone will be able to afford one of these, especially in todays climate. Hopefully the price will come down as converion rates drop.
Now What?
Ok so after reading this your probably already holding your credit card ready to purchase the System.
If that is the case, we reccomend you purchase the setup from Hard To Find Records.. Stanton are currently running a promotion where if you buy any SCS.3 Series Controller you will recieve a FREE Stanton UBER STAND.
Click HERE to take advantage of this promotion.
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