Numark Omni Control Review

Although it is possible to "scratch" on the Omni Control, a DJ with these skills would find it very frustrating. The size of the "platters" (really just jog wheels used to scroll through tracks) and the proximity to the cross fader would be very limiting.

I could find only two issues with the Omni Control - the first is real estate. In the interest of making a controller that is compact yet packed with the standard features you would find in a setup consisting of a mixer and two CD turntables, a lot is packed onto the face of this controller. Anybody with average to large hands will have to be careful as to not bump other knobs or faders. In fact, while mixing a set for this review, there were several times that I accidentally bumped the jog wheel/platter or hit the pitch fader, consequently messing up the mix. I don't have huge hands, but I still found myself barely grabbing the knobs with the end of my thumb and forefinger in order to not bump anything else.

The second issue is the lack of discrete knobs to control the booth and headphones volume. Many times in a club, your headphone level is not going to be the same as your booth level and you end up manipulating the volume of these independently. Also, the DJ typically does not have access to the amp that powers the booth speakers in order to adjust the volume. I think Numark would be wise to figure out how they could incorporate just one more preamp/knob into the Omni Control for this purpose, likely putting the headphone volume knob on the front of the Omni Control near the headphone jack. Just this one small addition and the Omni Control would be the perfect all-in-one DJ controller, giving you everything that a mixer and two CD turntables provide at just a fraction of the cost.

The Numark Omni Control is a very durable, well thought out MIDI controller. It sounds good, looks good, and maps perfectly with Traktor LE. The design and layout is very intuitive, making for an excellent combination mixer/digital turntable that includes all the standard features of a ‘traditional’ mixer and two turntable/CD player setup (and then some well-placed extras). Any DJ with experience on CD turntables and a basic understanding of DJ software could step up to this controller with their drive full of tracks and be spinning a set in no time at all.