Hercules DJ Control Inpulse 500

Quite solidly built, has practically every output and input type you may possibly want from DJ hardware of that price range and even a bit more (and you can`t state the same about any other controller for that price), and pretty much every feature you expect from a controller of that gauge. It even has a mic input with basic EQ function for it.

The only possible complaints (arguably) can come from - and these are all quite nitpicky - the lack of dedicated sampler volume knob (but if you really need that you could probably map it inside your DJ software to some other knob w/ shift button or something), pads having more of a button functionality and not being actual drum pads (which is kind of common on DJ controllers anyway), and pitch faders being quite short and having some amount of luft (while the former is, again, standart for that kind of controller (with probably only the Numark Mixtrack being the exception), the latter can pose a bit of a problem). And the built-in soundcard is not that powerful hence the output levels are not that loud, but perfectly sufficient for playing at most places you would be expected to bring you hardware anyway (smaller-sized venues, house parties, etc.). But again, some of the other controllers in that price range don`t even have the same output capabilities anyway to bring them to a more professional environment.

Overall, it is a great DJ controller, especially for its money. Probably among the top picks for an entry level DJ hardware - it has everything you would need and possibly even a bit more.

I bought this as my first DJ controller, and they were phenomenal! Amazing for house parties, with advanced features (for the price) e.g. RGB pads, mic settings etc.

Some particular highlights were: Beatguide, which is excellent for beginners, 8 RGB pads with 8 "modes", nicely sized tempo and volume faders, decent crossfader, quantize button (very handy!) and loads more.

Perhaps three gripes that I expected but worth noting are: You only have access to DJuced (I never used) or Serato DJ LITE (I highly recommend getting Serato DJ Pro as Lite is extremely limiting beyond the very basics of DJing). Secondly, I found that the Effects weren't great - it was good enough, but paddles are definitely my preferred. Thirdly, again a personal issue was that the jog wheels were quite stiff, so if you want to backspin, you can't do this naturally.

All in all, it is a fantastic controller particularly for the price, however, if looking at the £200 or so price range, I would think about the DDJ FLX-4 since you can use either Rekordbox or Serato, so a bit better for learning.