Want to buy a "traditional" midrange priced DJ controller? Consider the APC40!

[Navcore]

I know a lot of laptop DJ/controllerists who work with "traditional" DJ progs like Traktor, Virtual DJ, Serato etc. will consider buying a controller that looks like having 2 CDJs. At first sight, this seems like the most logical choice.

These DJ programs basically look like having 2 (or 4) decks. Additionally you will have more effects, more EQ options, more hotcue options, etc. Controllers like the VCI-100 and Torq Xponent will probably be the first things you will consider buying. They look a lot like having 2 CDJs with a mixer and extra effect and hotcue buttons.

But think about this: a DJ controller is just a MIDI controller, it sends and a recieves MIDI signals. You can map it any way you want and with a bit of practice, you will get used to your mapping.

The VCI-100 and Torq Xponent are two popular DJ MIDI controllers in the 400-500 dollar/euro pricerange. The Akai APC40 is also a MIDI controller in that pricerange. It does not have much text written next to it's buttons and therefore you might think that the buttons are not meant to control "traditional" DJ-ing options. APC stands for Ableton PRofessional Controller, so you might think that it is not meant for other DJ programs. Both claims are far from true. It is probably one of the most robust and multi-functional (a lot of buttons and mapping options) controllers in it's pricerange.

I went to an audio store and tested the VCI-100 and Torq Xponent, and at home I played around with my housemate's APC40. The quality of the buttons and faders of the APC40 are significantly better than the VCI-100 and Torq Xponent. If you want to mess around with four decks and create true controllerism mayhem, it will give you a hell lot more cuepoints and looping options.

Just type in "APC40 traktor pro" in google::

http://www.listentopro.com/forum/sho...d.php?p=637168
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuJQjrDj96g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf0B1k_8vRQ

Also keep this in mind: DJing is fun, but creating your own songs/samples and adding them into your own live set is the next step. The APC40 + Ableton are a great tool for that. If you will use another program than Ableton, I am 100% sure you will be able to map your APC40 to that.

The only downside is that your APC40 does not have jogwheels. Then again: will you be using a 400 dollar range controller for turntablism? The VCI-100 offers pretty good jogwheels, but still I do not believe they are really meant to do a lot of scratching with.

I don't mean this thread as a commercial for Akai or bashing of Vestax and M-Audio, I just want to give my personal advice based on my own experience.

[MiL0]

agreed - and why not team it up with a pair of EKS XP5/10s if you really need jog wheels (or go down the CDJ / Traktor Scratch route)

[Str8upDrew]

+1
I still use timecode's on decks A&B, so no need for jog's there. And I've been looking at possibly getting some xp5's for decks C&D. But i dont really need the audio outs, but the midi jogs would be nice.

[Villinus]

Mmmm... looked a little disorganized to me, but that could change if I programed the buttons myself. Personally, I think the ideal setup would be a VCI-100/time-coded decks to control Traktor, and the APC40 to control Ableton

[Navcore]

I just wonder, can anyone tell me something you can do with a jogwheel and not with a knob, except for scratching?

[Navcore]

btw, the grid on the APC40 can be programmed to do ANYTHING:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S-v-Gkiajs

check out the program Monomulator and change the grid into a very advanced music controller.

[SherpaPsy]

btw, the grid on the APC40 can be programmed to do ANYTHING:
check out the program Monomulator and change the grid into a very advanced music controller.

That's a trippy little track there!

Curious what sort of mappings you could do with this thing...Akai makes solid stuff, and the price is right.

[Zac Kyoti]

I use an APC40 in a hybrid Traktor/Live setup where full functionality for both programs is maintained (Bomes MT is mandatory). The APC has been challenging to map, but very rewarding in the end. It's kind of like a virtual mixer, and "main brain" of my rig. My VCI is like an auxilliary controller that I use on the side. The more I worked with it, the more I started to think that it is a really insane bargain. The build quality is fantastic, faders feel great, it has a zillion controls, and it's pretty much a blank slate for custom programming. Add to that it's native automapping within Live, and you really get bang for your buck. I got mine for $350 US with a guitar center coupon!

I tried to take a poll on how windows users were faring with led programming (many problems), but I never really got any replies. I can't make a recommendation for windows, but with a mac this unit is a beast.

The deal with jog wheels is that they are much more playable. The movement is a gesture, rather than a "twisting". I can say without hesitation that jogs have a better "expression" over knobs doing the same thing. Also, if you do want to scratch on a controller, you have to have jogs IMHO.

[oliver20]

What is the other controller that he uses in the first video?

[grazz16]

thanks for the post, i've been considering getting the APC 40 for a while now but was unsure if I could use it effectively with Traktor if i so choose to go down that route as opposed to using Abelton. Looks like you sold me on it

btw what is that trippy little red touch controller the guy in the second video is using? (that thing looks pretty interesting...)