Reply to Why NOT to buy an s4

Ok guys, prepare for a little rant about the oh-so-great s4. FYI, I bought it in August and have been performing with it frequently since then. I got convinced by the seemingly high build quality etc. etc.

Here is my personal list of annoying things about the s4 (from the least to the most annoying), which finally lead me to realize that it was a mistake to buy it in the first place.

1. The LED lighting / layout of the unit

-The s4 has plenty of lights on the surface, but their position hardly makes any sense. It is nice to see it light up, but why on earth are there no lights inside the EQ knobs? Almost the complete middle (mixer) section is dark and to make things even worse the lights around it (loop section etc.) are rather distracting than helpful.

-only the deck switch button and the load into deck button are 'mirrored' from the left to the right side, but everything else is not. -> confusing

-the pitch fader is TOO SHORT!

-there is no quick access to changing the pitch bend range (at least as far as i know)

-the browse library button doesn't always react perfectly, which can be fatal if you get used to doing quick moves to browse for songs

-size of the unit

2. Too many (useless) features

-Scratch upgrade, loop recorder, standalone mixer etc. - it sounds tempting but in reality the practicability of all those features remains questionable. Take e.g. the final scratch option - the phono amp included in the s4 hardly creates a decent volume level when using it to play vinyls

-the loop recorder is IMHO useless except for toying around with your voice in your living room

-the loop section is not bad but also lacks usability (in order to even use it all of your tracks have to be gridded perfectly), and you have to use your mouse to adjust volume, filter etc

3. THE USB PORT / HUB

I admit that the above mentioned points are more in the category of 'annoying' than 'reason not to buy at all', but this one really kills it for me:

Everyone in possession of an s4 should have noticed the insanely tight USB port of the s4. I know, I know, it's for safety reasons and so on, and the idea itself is not that bad.. but WHY on EARTH is the mechanism that actually holds the plug in the port then made out of PLASTIC???

To see what can happen, check this thread:
http://www.native-instruments.com/fo...d.php?t=131229

If you put together the immense power you need to apply to get the plug out on the one hand and the fact that the inside is made out of shi**y plastic on the other it doesn't require much imagination to understand how easily it can break! Just the slightest angle while pulling it out could make it break, and as you might have guessed, that's what happened to me.

So if you are tempted by the fancy Ads by NI, take your time and reconsider. My 2 cents.

-rant end-