knowing what you know now....

.... would you have picked different kit/software to do what you did?

i think it's fair to say theres a heavy vci user base here, but some have moved to different controllers, added others or gone a totally different route with how they work.

for example i got a vci as 1) it's vestax - always good and 2) looked the simplest to get used to. also i'd been accepted for the credit for 2 xp5s and a mixer, and the xp5s were out of stock and the vci came to the same value.

however now i'm thinkin that maybe something like 4 nanopads (or similar) would be a better way to go with how i work. if i knew how stuff worked etc i may have gone that way more, but then i didn't know about djtt and couldn't get my head around how more than one thing could work with traktor. much like the new users we see everyday.

plus it would've been cheaper.

so? anyone else?

I got a VCi and loved it at first but after a while I found it limited when wanting to use 3 or more decks.

I loved the fader FX but I just ended up killin my set half way through lol

I ended up with an APC 40 and Iv just ordered a UC-33e, it seems this will suite my style much more than the VCi did.

Not slatin the VCi, its a top piece of equipment but just not for me! (although Id love an Arcade edition!)

that's what i mean, people just seem to 'outgrow' so to speak, and look for more buttons (apc/nanopads) or more twiddly bits (xones etc) and in a quest to gain more control, evolve it out of the set-up.

i'm sure this isn't just exclusive to the vci, and probably the case with any controller designed in that way. just once you've got a grip on what you want to do, it seems you have bought the wrong thing.

i think the point i'm also circling is, does this make it harder in some ways for people to get into it? yeah the software can help a 'noob' out, but they're lost in a sea of buttons, knobs and usb cables. whereas it used to be just get the tts you can afford if not technics

i bought a vci when i switched to traktor and i'm still really happy with this controller although i miss some spare buttons and knobs. but i guess its normal that your needs change the longer u use a controller/software. the only big bummer with the vci was the freeze problem with midi-out on. i think djtt coul have written something about this cause there still lots of users running win xp. but now that i found a solution for this problem everything is ok.

looking at other controllers on the market i have to say that the vci is still a real good choice. for me the quality of a controller is quite important. its a sad thing that most controllers still feel like plastic toys.

as long as there is no controller on the market that fulfills all my needs (ok the a&h controllers would be nice but currently out of my budget) i'll stick to the vci. perhaps i'll expand my setup with a akai lpd8.

for me the only real alternative to a vci would have been mixing externally with a good 4 deck mixer, ni audio8 and an addition midi-controller for the loops/fx/cues. i slightly regrett that i didn't have a closer look at this possibility but hey i have my vci now and like i said i'm happy with it.

ah i nearly forgot the fader-fx thing. it looks quite cool and fancy in the videos and is perhaps usefull for short controllerist routines but i personally never use it while djing cause i think controlling the fx with knobs is much more precise.

I bought a VCI and the padKontrol at the same time, but I wanted something more customizable than the VCI, and the padKontrol wasn't worth selling so I kept it. Jumped off the deep end and got the Lemur. Love it. However, still wanted more. Got the Zero 4 for actual knobs and faders, but it has a few issues with it also. Then I discovered that farmpad for the padKontrol makes it a completely different beast, so it's now back in my kit. So, I will probably never have exactly what I'm looking for, but in trying to find it, I've also found several new ways of doing things that wouldn't have crossed my mind otherwise.

I wouldn't have done anything different.

I'm currently riding a VCI-100 and it is indeed a great piece of equipment.
Bumped it into countless of tables and corners and it's still running like a clock, even tough one of the metal corners actually is bent - that's how hard I've slammed it.

However, I will move to 2 EKS Otus Raw as soon as my finances are back on track. A lot more desinged like I want to use it, and it fits right on top of any SL-1200 and/or CDJ-1000/800 which is awesome for cramped booth's. Also, awesome design and integrated soundcards.

I'm currently moving to my third different setup (midi controller &Traktor -> decks/mixer/SSL->midi controller & Ableton). I couldn't have foreseen it. I bought my controller to see if I like djing, then got serious and moved towards live remixing and looping. Evolution, really. If I had begun with Ableton, I would be itching for some decks for not having tried and knowing what I know now.

I am still using my VCI-100 and enjoy it, if i want to expand my setup i simply buy another midi controller to compliment the VCI-100

i started with itch and then moved to ableton. while i really enjoyed itch and all it taught me (beatmatching, simple scratches), i think ableton is more appropriate for my style. if i could go back, i would have just used ableton. would have saved me loads of cash and time.

after re-mapping my vci-100 about twenty times now I'm finally starting to get something going... although at this point 2x cdj-800s and a xone 42 would do the same thing and probably be more rewarding for me personally. If I hadn't bought all this junk lying around in my studio I could have easily bought some really good stuff, but as it is I've got turntables and audio interfaces and midi controllers just lying around that I haven't touched in years.

went from vci-100 traktor, then vci-100 deckadance, then mixing external with deckadance and an eks xp-5, then ableton with tabletpc with monotouchlive, then back to the xp-5 then DD in ableton, then DD in Usine, then the dascratch with Mixxx, then more ableton and now working with serato for DVS, and hardware/renoise/linux daws for production.

think back to a day (around forum join date) when i was in the store deciding between the vci-100 and serato...

don't regret the route i've taken, the journey is part of the experience...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by charo

don't regret the route i've taken, the journey is part of the experience...

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fair point. i guess without the journey you won't know the destination, just a shame in a way that it's almost impossible to know how your 'digital style' will pan out in the long run, without diving in.