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.

Metal feel in the midle (where knobs are crossfader are placed), nice and useful functions for a beginner (maybe a bit too much), rgb pads and soft touch gives tou a feel of childish but also a very expensive device. A bit heavy and difficult to transport (you really need a case or a big backpack). Interesting lights play when in standby, just connected to a laptop or powerbank. DJUCED offers everything you need, I won’t pay for serato pro license for the momeny. Pay attention when you connect it in order to avoid having a sound delay in headphones & monitors, so you should follow this steps: open your laptop, then connect the console and wait for initialization (lights will bling several times), then open Djuced and start playing some music.

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.

Everything was as expected, great small controller, bunch of cool features for learning how to DJ which I do not use but good to have for beginners. Does not really fit in any backpack but it will easily fit in a DJ bag or backpack. Comes with serato DJ lite and djuiced software for free, again, great for beginners but I use it with serato DJ pro which in my opinion works best with this controller. But for a cheaper option djuiced would be perfect since unlocks full features of the controller for free. Also comes with a nice braided cable which is enough to power the controller. Only bad thing to say would be that although some of the buttons and pads are with a backlight and rgb, a lot of the buttons aren't. That can be an inconvenience in dark ambients but a simple small led reading light would do the trick. All in all, would recommend.