Hercules DJ T7 Premium

i really wanted to put this thing through a lot of use before posting a review... and as of writing this, and using it steadily since i bought it, I can say that this amazing piece of DJ wizardry has taken everything I've thrown at it and more! Pros: Where do I start? Having been a turntablist for years and coming from a traditional 2 Technics 1200's and an Ecler HAK 360 mixer set up, i can't imagine going back (without some serious upgrades) to that as long as i have this. Being a scratch DJ, the most important question is "does it feel like real vinyl?" And the answer is a big YES! I've see the industry grow and adapt over the years and it was only a matter of time before something like this came along...and the road to get here, equipment wise, was a long and expensive one filled with disappointments, one after another. The CDJ thing never really worked and Serato Scratch Live eventually earned its place in the world of wax. But even that had its drawbacks. This unit, in my opinion, gives you the most bang for your buck as there are similar units available. I got the premium version with upgraded faders (of course) and eventually went for the full Innofader upgrade. And as you can see in the pics, i designed my own faceplate since it included a clear one with the Innofader. I also changed a few knobs to my liking and found an unbeatable combination of quality, functionality, playability and style. The 7 inch platters and provided "records" are spot on and very accurate. And being familiar with Serato, it was an easy transition to make. The tracking is superb with practically zero latency. And i mean ZERO. I never felt that my movements were getting lost in the software or that it couldn't keep up. Every scratch felt like it should and even better since the possibility of the needle skipping has been eliminated. The entire layout has a good work flow to it and it was easy to know where to find what you needed and what its status was due to the many lights and indicators being in the right places. At first I viewed some of the features as cheating, but have found many ways to turn that into a technique of its own. And, there is no short cut for hard work and talent. Every knob, button and fader feels solid and responsive. So you get the feel and precision of wax, but the details and advantages of technology. The unit itself is well built, but not heavy and can be raised or lowered with the four folding legs built in. And even though the platters are belt driven, they never feel as such and i assume thats due to them being 7 inches instead of 12. Start/ Stop works on a dime and if that still isn't precise enough, you have the 8 pads to assign as cue points, samples, loops, etc. as you see fit. Add to that the effect paddles and the choice of effects...the possibilities are endless. The jump to full on digital was a bit intimidating at first, but you'll feel right at home in no time. I honestly could keep going on and on about the Pros because there is so much to cover that it would take forever. If your on the fence about this unit or brand like i was, rest assured that this will be an investment you wont regret. Not to mention the resale value keeps going up. Just make sure you have a good laptop or Macbook that can handle the speed you'll need to process all of this magic. Oh, and it comes stock with access to STEMS out of the box! with dedicated buttons to boot! It also has standard stereo phono and XLR outs. Cons: As much as I love it, its not without some room for improvement... First the 8 pads per deck. While they do perform well and very much get the job done, they don't feel like MPC pads. They are a bit clicky and rightfully so at this price point. But not a deal breaker at all. Also, There is very limited connectivity. Meaning that, like its more expensive counter parts, there are not additional INs or OUTs to add additional gear like a sampler or turntable. You can however, add a few pieces of gear through your laptops USB ports, but no additional phono or 1/4 inputs. The only existing input is for a mic and that is a 1/4 input, not XLR, and only has a volume knob. you cant apply FX to it or even run a stereo adaptor as its a mono only input. For a gear junkie like myself, i like the ability to add this or that when the ideas are fresh. But again, this is a cost saving measure that most DJs can learn to live with and find a work around. Another thing to note...there is no "booth out" option. that didn't bother me either way, but i know some folks that do count on that. The entire thing is encased in a plastic housing. A cost thing i'm sure, but it is missing that "built like a tank" feeling even though it is a very sold build. Thats about all the Cons I can think of currently, so there's not much to else to say. Different DJs will have their personal preferences, but considering what you get from this beast, its easy to over look a few things here and there. Conclusion: The Hercules T7 is a force to be reckoned with. Nothing on the market to this day comes close for the price. It gives you a true vinyl feeling while also giving you all the advantages of the digital world. The customization options are there and the quality will keep you going strong. Make no mistake, this is not a toy. Its a work of art that will push your creativity and skill to its limits and beyond. Easy to carry, dependable at gigs and has that "what is that?" allure to it when the crowd get a peak. Best piece of DJ gear to come along in a while and from a name thats new to most of us...for now.

This is hardly a "budget" controller in the sense that you can get $150 little controllers that have jogwheels and all the buttons and knobs you need. But there is nothing like a spinning vinyl platter for a scratch DJ. The other dual spinning platters on the market are in the $2000 range. So compared to those this is indeed the "budget" model. It has all of the essentials and then some. It's got a beat match guide, with lights that help you master beat matching. Which is perfect for beginners. It has the 8 performance pads per deck, meaning 16. And each 8 has 8 different modes. Some of them you can program in your software. Speaking of software. That's what outputs all of the sound, effects, and mixes you do. This is just a controller. I highly advise if you are serious about getting into DJing even for a hobby. To watch some videos about different DJ software out there. Serato Pro, DJay Pro, Virtual DJ, and Rekordbox are among the top popular. I chose Virtual DJ myself. To get good performance. You need a PC or laptop with atleast a good i5/ryzen5 or i7/ryzen 7. And I would suggest 16gb of ram. To use "stems" which is an amazing tech that can separate the voice from the base, strings, and basically all of the individual elements. This allows you to do amazing things like rip acappelas straight from any song. Back in the day DJ's would have to buy separate acapella versions of the same song. And you can blend different sounds from different tracks together for amazing new mixes. I personally like to rip voice out of songs to use as scratch samples. There are some other good jogwheel decks out there like the Pioneer Rev1 but this is about the most affordable (and nice quality) deck controller that has dual moving vinyl platters. And the thing I like most is this looks like an old school 80s battle DJ deck. Just miniature size. It's got a sick look. And I dig it.

Easy mixing

Buyers beware.. Bought New. Received a very damaged and used box. Controller shows signs of use and tampering. Bummer, we buy new for a reason.

So far quality and smooth functioning has been surprisingly good and with excellent sound. I'm having fun with it and it's a good buy for the price.

Excelente equipo

Really happy with this purchase !!!

La console si presenta bene, la sensazione dei jog motorizzati è davvero simile a quella di un normale 45 giri. Il fader premium è piuttosto buono. L'Unica pecca è il software incluso, djuced è completo ma ha un sistema di time stretch decisamente mediocre rispetto a serato, e serato lite ha troppe limitazioni rispetto al potenziale della console, però per questo prezzo, ci può stare.

Don’t waste your time or money with this controller. I went off several reviews before buying this, finally pulled the trigger after two years of mauling it over, when I finally got it and hooked it up I noticed that it made a crackling sound, it almost sounded like static noise like when you play a regular vinyl record. I looked everywhere for info to see if this was a normal thing, it isn’t. Many users have claimed that it tends to make noise every now and then. This is not acceptable of a controller priced over $1300. I have a two year old IMac at home and a one year old PC laptop, the laptop has 32gb memory, Ryzen 7 5000 series and Serato is the only thing I run on it. I have optimized the laptop settings because I need it to be reliable. And it works great with my numark controller. I have switched the RCA and the USB-B cables to ones that are meant for audio, re-installed the drivers several times, changed the buffer settings, played with MP3, WAV and AIFF files and they all do the same thing. I started the return for that one. Then I bought a second unit, that one was even worse. Not only did it have the same issues, but this second one has lights that do not turn on. There is a light under the platter that lights up indicating which deck is playing so you don’t accidentally kill that side. Deck 2 doesn’t light up. I posted a video. I reached out to Hercules and the only response I got back was, record a video so we can make the return process easier for you. I’m sorry, what? The item is faulty. Both items are faulty. There shouldn’t be ANY issues with the return. I had high hopes for this device considering all the praise it has received over the past two years, save the money and go for a Rane instead.

Vino fallada y no me lo quisieron cambiar mucho cuidado. Luego no hacen válida la.garantia. y muy mala solucion

Features are there such as stem separation and good faders it’s just the output problems. I did research about this controller before buying it some had output problems and had static sounds or sometimes screeching but some there is nothing, decided to gamble and see if I got a good unit but unfortunately did not get a good unit mine had popping sounds and sometimes screeching (I’ll add videos) it’s not good when you are djing a wedding or any occasion. I have tried from updating every driver from my laptop to the dj controller, tinker with settings replace every cables and still end up with the popping sounds with the controller. I also have a pretty high end gaming laptop. I7 12700f RTX 4080 32gb ram

Many issues with this turntable. It looks very nice at first glance, but there are a lot of bugs with Serato. I bought it, and everything was working fine, but three weeks later, during an event, it suddenly turned off in the middle of a set and never turned back on! I’m really disappointed; I had high expectations for this product. 💔