what controller to buy for a 4 deck setup??

[DJPhaidon]

I would recommend first thing, to make absolutely sure which program you are going to want to use first. Granted, it makes more sense when you have a controller in front of you to do all the tricks and truly show what's possible with each software, but the software I beleive is the first thing to nail down. There are a lot of choices these days, the top two I in my mind are Traktor and ableton, but there are others that can acheive the same product, like mixmeister fusion, dj decks, PCDJ, mixvibes, and a whole slew of others.

I say program first, because you will have to have a foundation to base your controller needs on. Secondly, you will also know the limitations of the program so you will have an idea of what other expenses might come up, ie other controllers, midi translators, extra vst's. You can always expand your foundation later, but it's good to know if you're going to need jogwheels for Traktor with manual beat matching, or if you would like endless encoders because you will be controlling 10+ channels in Ableton. This will save you some money and frustration of trying to adapt a controller to your specific software needs instead of having the closest match to what you're trying to accomplish.
Also, make sure that you know the basics of the mapping procedures for each software and each controller you look at, because some are far superior to others and allow you to do more without a midi translator or other software.

[alien2k]

how did you guys go about it in the beginning? or did you all start out with the vci 100?

I did , but I think the best beggining is to download a demo of the software and get to know it, play around with your mouse. This can give you some idea of what you are going to do with the software and with that information you will have an idea on how many knobs and buttons per deck are you going to need.

Your question about a controler for 4 decks is something that about every Traktor user is going to ask himself at some point. And the answer is quite similar for everyone, you can look at the Xone4d which is good for a stable setup and if you have the $ available. If not the answer would mostly tend to be a combination of controllers that suite your style of playing, and if you are going to mix internally or externally. The vcm 600 seems to have enough fader and knobs to control all 4 decks, but as I tell you it will depend on your style of playing and the way you like to handle your workflow.

[DvlsAdvct]

My first start was DVS. Then when I went digital I got the VCI-100. The main reason I'd recommend getting a cheaper VCI-100 to hold you over is so you can understand how to use MIDI with a familiar interface. Once that becomes a breeze then you can start figuring out how you want to integrate a less average style of DJing.

[battlestar]

hello everyone

so i'm lookin for a controller that works well with Traktor and most importantly - can provide control over all 4 decks.

btw i'm aware of what xone offers - in fact i would love to have mr. hawtin's setup - but its just too pricely.

the way i see it the VCI-100's pretty popular around here and i'm seriously considering getting it. but can it do what i need, all by itself and just hooked up to a laptop?

thanks very much people

[tekki]

Merged threads.

@battlestar, please use the search next time.

[DvlsAdvct]

Battlestar, yeah, read around the forum and there are lots of solutions. With TPro, if you have the patience to code the modifiers in Traktor then you can do it all out of the box.

If you are willing to use Bomes and learn some more advanced MIDI work then you can also do it, and a lot easier. There is no "out of the box" solution yet, though. Still requires some hands on work.

[battlestar]

sorry for the repost fellas!

i've had an entirely pio setup for some time now (cdj400s, djm600) and sometimes i borrow my mate's turns; but honestly, i'm hoping to make a complete switch to digital djing and traktorscratchpro - already have it on my macbook, been messing around a little but just with the mouse.

i checked out some of the stuff y'all recommended, like the behringer/novation controllers, but i do want something with jogwheels tho. just doesn feel like right without them, for me

from what i've read online bomes + vci100 still doesn enable full control over all 4 decks yes?

tekki: Quote:
-and the xone 2d: but i don't know wether that is possible to mix on just alone the 2d
Again..... Why(not)?

how does that work out? i mean i once watched richie hawtin using just a macbook pro and a xone 1D/2D (i couldn see, too drunk).. is it true that u can pretty much map anything u want to any button/knob?

thanks peeps, and sorry again for bein so clueless

[tekki]

No proBLAMMO mate!

Richie is doing it in a mac setup.

Nowadays he makes use of:
2 x Macbook unibody
and either a A&H X:One 4D
or soundcard (N:I Audio8DJ?)
2x A&H X:One 1D + a X:One 92 mixer

1 Macbook is used for Traktor
1 Macbook is used for Ableton

----
Map anything? Well, as long as the functions can be mapped to MIDI, it should be possible.

But, you don't have to take my word for it, the entire forum is a well enough informationbase for that.

[PILX]

Why not start out with 1 VCI-100, familarise yourself with that and the software. Then when you want to move onto 4 deck mixing with complete control buy another one, you can run 2xVCI-100's on a single computer with firmware 1.2.

[vjmedium]

I think you should read a bit more about midi and mapping....
Every key on a Midi controler can be programmed into a specific function,
Basicaly you make your own controler.... You don't have to be stuck on a pre mapped Ableton box....
I had the same problem... How to control 4 decks.
I came from a vj background, so I already own a Hercules Rmx (CH1)
(used for Modul8).
So I learned how to use modifiers and yesterday I got myself an M-Audio Oxygen8 keyboard (CH2) to add control to the decks CD and Fx, I have not found the perfect mapping yet but first test try were pretty cool.
I'm planing to use CD for fx and looping..... and it's very cool to trigger loops via keyboard..
Not the perfect solution but when you can't afford an expensive 4 decks controler this solution works...
Just wished I had more than 10 fingers..... :-)
Hope i make sense..
Good Luck