Hello all, first of all thanks DJTT for a great blog and great forum and all the tutorials posted here.
I recently purchased a VCI-100 together with traktor pro to start mixing some music at home. I really love it, if you compare with my first Midi controller the DJ-Tech’s I-Mix wich is really crap compared to VCI-100.
Im now offered to buy a Akai APC40 from a friend in mint condition for around 150$ looks like a good price been checking ebay and stuff and compared prices.
So my question is if it’s possible to controll 2 decks in traktor with the Akai APC40 when controlling 2 other decks with the VCI-100, so in total 4 decks running simultaneously. Is it hard to configure? Have anyone tried it?
Very possible. I have a similar setup, but generally use the VCI-100 for deck transport controls and track browsing while the APC40 takes care of effects and cue points.
It just requires some time spent making a mapping in Traktor. The learning curve isn’t very bad though, and once you know how to make your own mappings you open up more creative opportunities for yourself.
I’m working on a mapping for the two controllers for TPro 1.2, should be posted in the coming week.
FYI - an APC40 at $150 is a pretty sweet deal. I really like mine and if you think of the buttons and knobs/cost ratio, there are very few things that can compete.
Get it, and if you end up hating it, you could always resell and probably make a profit
I’m almost done with a standalone mapping for the APC40 to control 4 decks in TPro 1.2, and I’m getting really excited about it. The feel is different, but in a good way. I’ve kind of got a similar thing to Misa when I use the VCI in conjunction - essentially I have the APC40 dealing with most things, and the VCI controls scratching and scrubbing around tracks.
What is freakin badass about the APC40 is how it’s able to update the led rings to indicate settings on various loads (with the right bit of tsi programming, of course) - personally I’ve got the lower fx banks controlling TPro fx in groups, and things are set so when I instantly load specific effects, TPro sends the updated settings and the APC automatically sets leds to the right position.
I’ve been spending a lot (too much) time with this unit over the last couple weeks, and actually if anyone is interested I was thinking about setting up an APC40 (ab)users thread, for those of us that are trying to work with it outside of Live as well. I’ve gotten very familiar with the ins and outs of programming the thing, and have learned a lot of little tricks to get it to do what I want (especially leds) that I think would be very helpful for other people. I’m combining TPro with Ableton Live and the APC40, and having great results too. So anyone hit back if there’s interest in that.
Also, $150 for a mint unit is sick. Get it just on principal.
I’m definitely interested in a thread about APC40 users working outside of Live. I also just finished going through a few weeks of mappings of the APC for TPro. I feel pretty good about how it fits into my workflow but I do see some spots where it could be even better. Collectively sharing ideas would be very helpful. If you start something, post the link back over here if you can so others can find it. Great idea!
