I've fallen outta love with my VCI-300!

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

I’ve fallen outta love with my VCI-300!

I love the vci-300 but the sound in a big club running through an ALLEN&hEATH mixer is poor, it distorts easy and I have tried 2 300’s and 2 different mixers and it is just not up to the job, I have tried it in 3 big clubs and I am sad to say i feel its best used for house partys and bedroom use.

I plugged in my backup vci-100 via a connectiv sound card and it was miles better and no distortion but alas the vci-300 is dead for me, i might grab an audio 4 sound card tbh and then i will use time code when i dont use the vci-100.

Just out of interest anyone here use a vci-300 in a big club on a reg basis?

2

Sounds to me your issue is with the sound card, not the controller it self. Just scoop up the Audio 4 and use the VCI300 as a controller

3

+1

or bring the levels for your software down and compensate on the mixer

4

Yeah, I’m thinking you should be using the Audio 4 for sound not the mixer.

5

soundcard

I have tried everything there is with levels and stuff and it only happens after an hour or so, well last night it was more like 20 mins, so turning the vci-300 levels down do not help.

As far as i know you cant use a different soundcard for itch?And using traktor with it is a no no, i tried it and it sucks.

Don’t forget i did try a friends vci-300 as well and pretty much same thing happens so i truely think the 300’s sound is just not up to the job, so i will be selling it here and on ebay and gumtree.

6

The output of the VCI 300 is a little low, but as long as you set up your gain structure correctly, then it’s generally ok.

I work like this;

VCI Channel gains. - Set so just the 1st red led is peaking on the channel meters. (think this is correct? …i’m at work at the moment). Don’t peak any higher than this, as it just causes itch’s lmiter to kick in, & that sounds pretty rough!

Main output - dont go any higher than “3 ocklock” on the main volume control. Again, any higher can cause distortion.

VCI 300 output in to a channel on your Allen & Heath, & adjust gain / EQ on that channel as necessary. …it’s worth checking what inputs are available. If you have inputs labelled as both “CD” & “Line” you may find one sounds better / is louder than the other (normally because of different impedences).

Basically, avoid distortion at any stage. Garbage in = garbage out.

EDIT - are you using Itch or Traktor? All of the above is based on using Itch, but the same general advice should apply with any other software. …I’ve used itch / VCI 300 on big nights in front of 1500 people, & it sounds great. But you have to stay within it’s limits & have a proper understanding of gain structure etc.

7

I tried it that way and its just not loud enough for a big club, i matched all the gains in the vci-300 and the clubs mixer and its just so low its not useable so i am selling it and rocking the vci-100 again.

8

I had a Vestax vai-80 and that was a pile of shit. I would have been devastated if I payed the RRP of it, considering the price of the NI audio 4.

I think Vestax make good quality mixers and midi controllers but as for the sound quality they produce, that’s another story.

9

Just a quick update on the 300, i had a call at 9.15pm to ask to cover a gig at short notice and as i have not really set my 100 up as i wanted i took the 300 and it did not miss a sound all night, this club was huge and the sound system was amazing, had no problems but still selling the vci-300.

10

I love my 300. Grant it, I don’t use it to play in big clubs — but I’m really diggin the direction Itch is headed. I also think with an added controller like an X1, the 300 can do everything the 100 can and more in Traktor.

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…I reckon you’ll regret selling it.

I own both Itch & Traktor, & my weapon of choice every time is Itch at the moment.

As well as the VCI 300, I also own an Echo Audiofire 2 soundcard (which is highly regarded on this forum). Sure, the Echo sounds better. But it’s not a huge difference, as long as you’ve got the gain structure set up correctly.

(Sorry to bang on about gain structure again, but your 1st post said the VCI was distorting through the A&H, them your last post said it sounded amazing in the big club. …so clearly something wasn’t set up right??)

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It seems the club with the A+H was just one of them things, i plugged the vci in to the line the cd player was and it was poor, but last night it was a BIG club and i set master on the vci to about 3 o clock and kept outta the red, and gotta say i didnt have a prob, but i will use the vci 100 for now and traktor as I am not playing as much r’n’b as i used to more house these days.

13

since we are on the subject, what the finest pitch resolution you can get on a VCI-300?, can you get 0.01% or 0.02% like on a CDJ-1000?

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Dont know mate, i dont measure it, but i can feel it and its the most you can get outside a cdj, infact it feels good pitch bending on a vci-300.

15

Right now I consider my VCI300 a prototype in the experimental progress to new highs stage.. Right now the VCI100 & Eans’ .tsi is by far the most creative & muti-functional midi arrangement on the block, but when “the Bridge” finally does come out, the flood gates are gonna open up and as a hole new realm of possibility breaks out trust me, our boy Ean will sure to be pioneering new techniques to help people get it crackin when I comes out. - as will I. - stephen