I’ve been DJing for about a year now, using Traktor 3 and a BCD3000. The sound quality of the internal soundcard on the Behringer is a bit pony, and the controller feels a bit plasticky, so I thought I’d treat myself to an upgrade.
I like Traktor, so upgraded the Traktor Pro, and would like to stick with this.
I play Old/New school funk, soul, and hip-hop sometimes the breakier end of things and would like to be use my new controller to scratch with.
I’ve had a look at both the VCI-100 & VCI-300, and have a few questions
For the VCI-100 I’ll need an external soundcard - I’ve got an M-Audio FW Audiophile that I used to use when I had no controller for Traktor. I should imagine this will need replacing? I was going to get an Indigo DJ , but my new laptop has no PCMCIA slot. What would you lot suggest - being compact is good! Is the soundcard inthe VCI-300 up to much?
Is it feasible to use either of the VCI boxes to scratch with?
Any further suggestions for a controller that I could look into?
The only real difference from the VCI100 and the 100B is that the Black one has nicer LEDs and is, well, black.
The firmware upgrades give a whole bunch of extra functionality (with the disadvantage of added MIDI messages) that can be used in concert with Ean’s custom TSI’s.
The upcoming FW1.4 should get rid of a lot of those weird MIDI messages and should, hopefully, allow the jogs and faders to transmit 14-bit MIDI, which allows for MUCH better accuracy in regards to scratching.
Ah, cheers. Not sure a 15% price increase for a black one is worth it tbh …
And Traktor Pro can now cope with 14bit MIDI? Nice! as I understood it one of the major differences between the VCI 100 & the VCI 300 was the ‘higher granularity’ jog wheels.
Cheers for the help chap. Sorry for coming across as a bit of a n00b on this one. I’m doing a gig in about 10 days with a mate who’s got a VCI-100 and rates it, so I might have a play.
Figures this was probably the case, but I was trying to minimise the number of connectors I was going through. I assume you wouldn’t be able to draw power through the bus adaptor? else it’s yet another wall wart to find a home for when I’m setting up.
I’m using the BCD2000 for about 3 years now, and I’m also spin mostly non-electronic (funk / groove / hip hop / ska and so on).
I’m actually having the same dillema: to upgrade my controller (to VCI100 or Reloop Digital Jockey) and use a better sound card or to switch to turntables with Traktor Scracth.
They are completely different beasts. I started on Final Scratch to keep the feel of vinyl, but once I got a VCI-100 a whole work of possibilities opened up to me. First and foremost, I can carry the whole rig in a backpack.
Turntables have advantages, but really, I think the main reason people are drawn to them is the “look”. I am more of a utilitarian person, and find the overarching ability and tools that the controllers give me MUCH more advantageous than the style of spinning vinyl (DISCLAIMER: I am not saying that all vinyl DJs are only vinyl DJs for the look. This is a personal opinion of some, if not many, DJs who use vinyl and look down on controllerists).
Although, you can always get the Audio8 and the VCI, and if you can find a cheap pair of Technics or some sort of decks you can give those a shot. It’s an expensive “end-game” solution but can work out in your favor.
I actually started DJing on Technics and I like the feel (it was about 8 years ago), but then I switched completely to laptop + controller.
Something missing for me right now in my current setup. Most of the music I spin is from the 60s-70s, so playing it using plastic controller feels wrong.
I would also like to hear from the people who made the move from Technics to VCI100.
I’ve never had a vinyl background, so buying decks and going down the Serato/Traktor Scratch Route seemed totally counter intuitive - the only thing that tempted me was until recently it seemed that if you wanted to scratch, you needed vinyl. I reckon if you can get the latency of your ASIO drivers down low enough a decent controller should allow you to do anything a deck can do, and a shedload of stuff besides.
