These are probably the most important posts here…though there’s a lot of good information.
Here’s what it boils down to.
- You don’t know what you want to do, but you want to be able to do a bit of everything.
- “Everything” includes turntablism to you.
- You have no experience with hardware.
- You have no hardware to build off of.
- You have a computer of some kind.
If that’s an accurate assessment, then you have to ask yourself a few questions.
Is your computer good enough to run whatever DJ software you want?
- DJing isn’t that intensive, but it does have demands.
- Halfway recent (as in 2 years or so) Macs are more or less guaranteed to work, but a lot of PCs give flawless performance. If you’re in that camp, others will be able to help you with that, because I haven’t used a PC in years.
What turntablist capabilities do you want?
- Nothing will give the control of Records, not even a DVS…but most people don’t do anything that actually requires the records. Even Jazzy Jeff uses SSL.
- Short of records, nothing gives the feel of a good moving platter. The NS7 kind of wins hands down on that one: I’ve watched very capable vinyl-only turntablists throw down on an NS7 with no preparation. It was inspiring…well, it would have been if I actually cared about scratching. It was at least entertaining.
- Short of that feeling of control, there are a LOT of good jog wheels that let you do a lot of tricks…the controls are just very small compared to 12" records, and you have to be able to deal with not seeing the platter move when you release them.
So, what compromises are you willing to make, and how much are you willing to upgrade/crossgrade should you find that what you choose isn’t suitable? And how long will you have to learn before you feel like you have to?
The best control you’re going to get is with a pair of turntables (SL-1200mk2s or above are the standard…a lot of turntablists like the top-end tables from Stanton or Numark better). Compared to a DVS, this adds techniques that incorporate physical manipulation of the records…there are advanced scratch techniques that involve bending records away from the slip mat and/or drumming on them to get different sounds.
The next step down is the same turntables and either Serato Scratch Live or Traktor Scratch. If you’re spending that much on the DVS, there’s no reason to seriously skimp on the tables, though TT200s are okay if you’re strapped for cash. The only thing you lose are the physical manipulation techniques that very few people do anyway.
The next step down is either a top-end CD turntables with a moving platter (Denon makes the only ones that IMHO don’t suck) or the NS7. You loose the modularity, which means a hardware failure in the controller or laptop will be more devastating than the CD system. You lose the full-size records and have to make do with a smaller control surface. In practice, it’s not that big of a sacrifice, though some people can’t deal with it. If you learn on the smaller control surface, you won’t miss the bigger one.
The next step down is probably a Vestax controller (the VCI-100 or 300). Both of them work with Traktor, though the 300 is required for Itch. The 100 also requires a separate audio interface, negating some of the cost savings. At this point, you lose moving platters. What that means is that the platter doesn’t move when you “release” it, which screws with some people’s heads. The control surfaces are even smaller, which some people can’t deal with.
The interesting thing about all of these is that each time the platters get smaller, the possibilities for effects grow. Personally, I don’t use many effects, so I don’t think that’s a benefit. But a lot of people do.
I honestly think that’s a good summary of the information given. Here’s what I would do:
If you think you can save up a bit more money and are pretty sure you want to stick with DJing, just save up for the NS7. It’s big and heavy and a b*tch to transport, but it’s not as bad as carrying around turntables and a mixer. It’s also a lot cheaper than a battle mixer, good tables, and a DVS. As you’ve already deduced, it’s probably your dream. Serato Itch is good software. It’s somewhat limited compared to Traktor, but the limits won’t really affect you for a while. By the time you’re ready to grow, the controller market will look completely different…and you’ll probably at least be considering tables and a DVS if you get into turntablism. If not, then your needs will have changed significantly. Fortunately, with the NS7, you won’t need to change immediately if you decide scratching isn’t for you. I could spin my normal sets on it today, and I don’t scratch at all.
If you can’t/won’t save up more money and are willing to sacrifice spinning platters, the VCI-300 is probably the next-best option. It lets you use whatever software you want, though some of them will cost more; it has a proven record of reliability; it has a built-in audio interface; and it’s very easy to transport wherever you go. It’s probably the most no-nonsense general-use controller I’ve seen, followed very closely by the VCI-100. The VCI-100 is better for people who are using Traktor Pro and want to get deep into mapping it for additional functionality or want to build on that kind of work done by others. DJTT sells a few versions of it, though I think the Arcade version is about to burst your budget on its own…and you still need an audio interface, headphones, and possibly speakers.
That’s kind of it.
If you go cheaper than that, you won’t get your money out of it if you ditch DJing. Even with those, you stand to loose a good bit because that’s just how technology works. Buying used helps mitigate that threat, but it opens you up to potential problems from not recognizing abused equipment.
