All of the knobs on the front and back can be stowed flush with the unit by pressing them in, which is a nice touch to prevent them from getting damaged in transit.

ENGADGET: Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S4 review Alt

You're presented with a mixture of absolute and relative knobs across the surface -- smoothed action on the absolute, notched on the relative.

ENGADGET: Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S4 review Alt