THE ALTERNATIVES

Pioneer DJ SP-16 £1,389

The 1000’s predecessor is slightly more expensive, and trades the Performance FX for an analogue filter. It has outputs for each track too www.pioneerdj.com

Elektron Octatrack £1,034

Elektron’s powerful sampler has some great performance features and tons of flexibility. Its deep workflow can be baffling though www.elektron.se

Akai MPC Live £969

With its built-in CPU and battery, Akai’s latest MPC can work anywhere: the studio, onstage, even out in the middle of a field www.akaipro.com