VCI-100SE w/ Arcade Mod vs. VCI-300?

[mmauve]

Hello everyone, been reading the forums for a while but decided to go ahead and start posting. Great community by the way, love the stuff posted here

So anyhow, I recently got rid of my CDJ-1000mk3's ($2000+ for the ability to only play CDs just seemed really restricting on a creative level). I sold the decks, and bought a Unibody MacBook Pro 15" with one half of the money, and now Im wondering what to do with the other half, thus the title of the thread.

Is there any significant performance differences between the VCI-100SE w/ Arcade Buttons, and the VCI-300?.

Some other questions I had:

1.) Assuming both will be used with Traktor, does the VCI-300's high resolution MIDI signals provide better overall control and feel than the VCI-100SE?.

2.) Is the sound card built into the VCI-300 considered high quality?, or would a VCI-100SE paired with something like a Native Instruments Audio 2/4 interface be better?.

If Im also missing any other key points or comparisons, by all means let me know. Thanks!

[sine143]

Alright, I dont own a vci 300, but I know for a fact that the audio card built into it is a maya 44, which retails at around, 80 dollars, and is said to be a decent intro card.

This part is mere speculation

I dont think the vci 300 can make use of the Hi res feature withen traktor, thats an itch only kind of thing.

It really boils down to what you want to do. If you have decided traktor is your beast, I'd think about the fact that the vci 100 has a number of good mappings to control traktor (namely Eans, which I use a slight mod of). I havn't looked at mappings for the 300, but they seem to be sparse.

[mmauve]

Definitely, the mappings for the VCI-100 are really nice from what I can tell.

If the VCI-300 has a built in MAYA 44, Ill have to read up more on it to see how it holds up to NI's sound cards.

Also, to my understanding, the newer versions of Traktor support High Resolution 14-bit MIDI signals, which would indicate that the VCI-300 MIDI signals would work without prior conversion if Im not mistaken:

http://www.laymansreviews.com/news_item.php?id=127

Assuming this is correct, Im curious to see if the 14-bit MIDI signals are more responsive than the standard signals which the VCI-100SE uses.

Thanks for the heads up about the sound card

[digital-dj]

Welcome to DJTT

I was in the same boat you are about 2 months ago..

i decided to go digital and couldnt decide between the two vci products,

they both cater for different things that you wanna do,

the vci-100 seems to be more for fxs, looping etc when used with traktor pro, and the vci-300 seems to more for scratching..

also the arcade edition will make a difference as well compared to a standed vci-100

i have a macbook pro, vci 100se, traktor pro, audio 2 dj soundcard, you will have a blast as you almost have the same set up as me

[sine143]

Hmm, actually, the maya 44 is what is in the VCM 100.... so, I might be wrong there, sorry for the mixup (although it could be the same one in the vci 300). Maybe Bento or someone else could correct me?

[mmauve]

Nice to know Im not the only one who has come across this dilemma lol.

Thats awesome though, you pretty much have the same setup I was thinking about, since you like it, thats a good indication Im on the right train of thought for my needs.

However, what makes you say that the VCI-300 is more oriented towards scratching than the VCI-100SE?. Is this due to jog wheel size?, or latency issues?, I don't really scratch much, but I take it into consideration cause jog wheel responsiveness and pressure sensitivity are big key points for me (this is why I loved the CDJ-1000mk3).

Also, does the Audio 2 suffice well for your needs?. Im thinking a compact, straight forward 2 channel soundcard, one output for master out, another for headphones. Plenty of "umph" on sound output if possible.

[josh@firestorm]

if you're just after a 2 channel card, then definately get the audio 2... i havent used a 2 (yet... mines in the mail) but it has the same processor in it as the 4 and 8. i've used the 8 and it sounds fantastic.

[DvlsAdvct]

Traktor only supports 14-bit messages from faders, not from jog wheels. Because of this you still need to run the VCI-300 through the mini.translator that DJTechTools developed, and will then lose the 14-bit faders.

The internal card on the VCI-300 is okay. I have an Audio8 and it is light years beyond the VCI-300's internal card. Beautiful piece of kit.

If you want to use the VCI-300 to its full potential you should really pick up Serato. If you're going to spend that much money on a piece of kit you might as well use it for what it's meant to be used for, as long as changing that intent will cripple the ability of it as much as will happen.

Assuming both are used with Traktor, I would say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to get the VCI Arcade edition and an Audio 2 or 4. I don't even think this would be considered a debate. I would only recommend making a single change to the formula. I use my jog wheels for pitch fading instead of the pitch faders due to the added control. It makes up for the lack of control the 128 step pitch fader gives you.

Other than that, you're going to have a rather solid setup with you. Only thing to make it any better would be a little drum controller on the side and you'd be unstoppable.

[MaxOne]

Better to go modular ie vci 100 + separate soundcard. If something goes wrong with one you still have the other. If some thing goes wrong with vci-300 then you need to replace both sc and controller.

also, you get more knobs on a vci-100.

Unless you want to scratch proper... then a vci-300 and itch would be a better way to go

[mmauve]

DvlsAdvct: thats the gold mine of info I was looking for, I KNEW there had to be a catch of some sort to the high resolution MIDI support, and if the jog wheels aren't supported, the VCI-300 is most certainly not appropriate for my needs as far as Traktor goes.

You mention using the jog wheels for pitch control, are the pitch faders that lacking in resolution?, Im used to using a pitch resolution of 0.02% on a ±6% parameter - is this a bit too demanding from the VCI-100SE?.

My only real reserve with ditching the VCI-300 altogether is the Ableton/Serato partnership which has yet to announce its new product (Im hoping a Scratch/Itch plugin for Ableton Live) and the fact that ITCH 2.0 is going to released soon. Augh, decisions.

Thus far, the general consensus is pretty clear: For Traktor, a VCI-100SE Arcade w/ Audio 2/4. Thanks for the input!