I’m new to Djaying. I already played around with Djay Pro which I like for the ease of use. Now I’m looking for a controller and wondered wether I should get the Reloop Buddy or the Numark Mixtrack Pro Fx.
Both are around the same price. I’m aware of certain differences and that one is officially supported and the other not (why ever?). I wonder mostly wether the Numark can be used with the iPad with the same integration as the Reloop Buddy (I know Neural stuff not so much, but not using this a lot anyway)
Would be interested in hearing voices, preferrably people who used both but also people who used the Numark on an iPad with Djay Pro.
@Nightjar well if you’re new to djing and don’t want to mess around with custom MIDI mapping then I’d say the Buddy is the obvious choice as it has tight integration with Djay. Plus I prefer the portability of the Buddy.
The main downside to the Buddy is the EQ section does not have dedicated controls for the Mid frequencies. The Mixtrack Pro FX does have these controls. You could, however, do some custom MIDI mapping on the Buddy to add the Mid EQ to a Shift layer or remap the Filter for the Low EQ.
The main downside to the Mixtrack Pro FX is ironically the FX layout and lack of official Djay support. You could custom MIDI map the FX section yourself, but this hardware layout is really not very well suited to how the FX in Djay work.
Buddy has tighter integration with djay Pro, it’s more portable and you can connect an iPhone/iPad with a standard USB cable. But I think the Buddy is better for people who know what they want and need. There are some compromises in the compact design that might hamper a beginner down the road. I’m thinking of the a. limited mixer controls, b. volume/cue mix knobs on the side c. short pitch faders and d. layout of the transport controls.
For a beginner I think the the Numark Mixtrack Pro FX is a more complete introduction to DJing. The layout is a mix of the standard club style transport controls and scratch mixer FX - so you’ll be able to get comfortable with those layouts. The jog wheels are decent within the price range. The long pitch faders are a nice touch. Though, I agree with @Slack_Jaw that the FX are not as complete as on the Buddy. But I also think the FX controls are decent enough that you’ll be able to use them pretty effectively.
The main thing I don’t like about the Mixtrack Pro FX is that you need the Apple adapter or a USB Hub to connect an iPad/iPhone. It’s a small thing, but can be fiddly in the long run.
One last subtle thing to consider, the Buddy decks have a mirrored layout, while the Mixtrack Pro FX decks are duplicated on the left/right. Once again a small thing, but it might trip you up down the road.
