Hercules DJControl Instinct

Posted July 27, 2012 by b|0-0|n - 1 comment

If you want to check out at home whether there’s a DJ living inside you but are afraid you’ll need to spend too much money on a controller? Don’t despair as for less than 50 euros you can now try for yourself whether you belong on stage at Tomorrowland or not.

Hercules sent us a DJControl Instinct controller with the question whether we could have a close look at it. Which we of course did as just like everyone else we think (or rather… thought) that we have it in us to mix records.

What gets noticed first and foremost is how easy it works. You connect the controller to your PC (or Mac) so that you can use the files on your computer and next to that you need a headset and a couple of speakers. Or what did you think? There’s also software present that easily lines up all your songs so you can swiftly use them and also allows you to record your mixes. Those who intend to not only use it at home will be happy to know it’s small enough, weighs only 1 kg and is solid enough to be dragged around in your backpack.

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Also the looks are better than I thought, with a shiny surface and some fake metal. The built-in lighting gives you the feeling of being busy with something serious but we do have to be honest: this is no alternative for professional material. It does give you the possibility to try out stuff at home for a small price, entertain a party at your house or friends, and also the average sports club party can be served with it. Ideal for beginners!

Using the controller is really fun. Tracks can be listened to in advance thanks to the seperate headset exit and if you really don’t know what you’re doing, the software will suggest tracks that would fit with your current song by itself. Of course you also get to see the length and BPM of the tracks, and what I myself found to be very handy is that you can use an autosync to automatically have songs tied together. You can also cue tracks and change the pitch as well as experiment with samples and loops (through four buttons per channel) and there’s an EQ left and right for treble, mid and bass. The crossfader is well-placed at the bottom and we would almost forget the most important thing: you get two pleasantly-working jogwheels to scratch with, adjust pitch or navigate quickly in your library.

All you need to learn to become a great DJ and for those who don’t have that ambition there’s plenty of aids to get something decent out of your mp3s. Everybody DJ one could cal it. The full specs can be found below, but for those who would really love to start working as a DJ and don’t have hundreds of euros to spend, this is an ideal starter kit.

Specifications:
- Two-Channel DJ MIDI controller
- Built-in audio interface
- Headset and speakers directly connectable
- Compact construction
- Good, touch-sensitive jogwheels with ribbled design
- Scratch-function to activate thanks to pressure-sensing
- Pitchbend possibility with the jogwheel
- Pitch-function
- Pitch-bend buttons
- Four buttons per deck, switchable between hotcues, samples, loops and effects
- Mixer-section with two channels
- Triband EQ per channel
- Swift volume faders
- Swift crossfader
- Navigation buttons for music database (no need for mouse or keyboard)
- Load-buttons for Deck A and B
- Headset volume adjustable
- CUE-button per deck to pre-listen
- stereo master exit through RCA (tulip) or 3.5mm jackplug
- Headset exit through 3.5mm jackplug
- Fixed USB-cable, non-detachable
- Delivered with DJUCED DJ-software
- 16-bits, 44.1 kHz sample rate
- WSM, ASIO and Core Audio drivers for geluid, MIDI for controls
- Size: 265 x 187 mm
- Weight: 1 kg

DJUCED software:
- Two-channel DJ software
- Mix can be recorded and saved

Minimale system requirements:
- 1.5 GHz CPU or higher
- 1 GB RAM or more (2 GB in 64-bit mode)
- powered USB-port
- 100 MB disk space
- CD/DVD ROM drive
- internet connection
- speakerset with amplifier or active speakers
- 32- or 64-bits OS
- Windows XP, 7 or 8
- Mac OS 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 (Core Duo)

More info here.

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