So I am as n00by as can be. After going through various software DJ sites, hardware sites and youtube video’s, it seems like I want to start out with Traktor 3 LE and a VCI-100. I guess I can always upgrade to Traktor Pro later on (and save 100 Euros because of the Traktor 3 LE license). But I guess at the start I will not be doing 4 deck magic. I will run Traktor from my Macbook/Macbook Pro. I guess that will let me start playing around with things and then later I can ponder a VCM-100 or Audio Kontrol 1 and stuff like that.
It’s a good start for sure (basically what I did), i predict that you’ll be upgrading the LE copy that comes with the VCI pretty quickly
The one thing you are missing though is an external soundcard - a copy of Traktor and a VCI-100 will allow you to do a massive amount of stuff, but you will not have a monitor ‘cue’ (e.g. deck A is playing, you want to be able to hear deck B without it coming out of the speakers until you are ready).
Check out the gear reviews forum here for plenty of info about USB and Firewire soundcards that will do the job nicely depending on your budget…
I was thinking of using a USB Headset. Actually I was planning on using a Callpod Drone USB stick, it basically behaves like a USB speaker towards the laptop, but actually connects via bluetooth. I guess for cueing it should be sufficient audio quality and it gets rid of the cable fuss.
i don’t get it. that drone is standalone soundcard? Traktor 3 onwards does not support multiple soundcards (unless you use some 3rd party sound driver applications).
plz take look at Ean’s soundcard 101 video. Even though it’s got to be little out of date, it brings important points for selection of your future soundcard. (can’t spare link atm, but you will find it in Ean’s youtube videos on his channel or deep inside article history here in blog.
Ah, its not. I was assuming that Traktor would be able to send different audio to the normal line out and a USB speaker (apparently DJay can do this). So doh, yeah I guess I will quickly need a separate soundcard .. I guess the VCM-100 would have me covered in terms of cueing .. but that would make the initial investment a bit bigger than I had hoped.
I actually do have a Macbook and a Macbook Pro, but its probably not easily possible to use the Macbook for cueing stuff to be played on the Macbook Pro.
Actually I guess the solution is to do the following. I manage my playlist on the Macbook, so I can cue from the Macbook. But I then import this playlist in the Macbook Pro, that manages the actual final output. Now the question is if Traktor can deal with using a “shared” playlist .. auto refreshing etc ..
Further looking I have not found out yet if Traktor supports reading the playlist from another machine, but it seems like there is a hold over solution to be able to cue via a USB headset: http://www.nativeinstruments.de/forum_us/showthread.php?t=71939
My friend you are making things more complicated for you, the whole idea of cueing is to prepare the next song that is going to be mixed (find the part of the track you want to mix and beatmatch it with the track that is playing) and then actually mix it. This has to be something simple to do beacuse it is the hard part of djing so … This is done on 1 computer, if you have 2 macbooks (then give one to me lol) it will require that you alredy know how to Dj and beatmatch to use them together on your mix (and much more things that i don´t think are useful to mention now). Using usb phones is a cheap solution but won´t work with traktor and it would work wrongly on other software ex: Virtual dj. Because that involves listening to your track on 1 soundcard and cuing on another one that have different latency values and other diferences that will damage performance and make it hard to work with.
So to sumarize… you will need a proper sound card or a controller that includes a sound card ex: VCI-300, Hercules, Bcd 2000 and much more. And remember to keep your setup simple beacuase you are learning and you need a reliable setup so you will avoid unesseary frustration at the begining.
ok .. sounds sane .. so I guess I will go with a vcm-100 along with the already planned vci-100. still cheaper than the new folding bike i was pondering and ended up not getting
I don’t get where you’re going with this - why are you considering a VCI-100 and a VCM-100? The VCM-100 has built-in audio but no platters, the VCI has no audio but does allow you to scratch etc… both have pros and cons, but i’d recommend one or the other depending on your actual mixing needs.
Alien2k is right - keep things simple. A VCI-100 and a cheap USB souncard such as the Numark DJIO is more than enough to keep you happy for a long time. There is no reason to be getting 2 macbook’s involved, if you have 2 then i’d consider streamlining one just for audio apps, and having the other for all your day to day applications (mail, internet etc..)
Right, I was going crazy in the gadget shop in my head
So VCI-100 (probably ordering from Ean in March .. its more pricey to get it shipped to Switzerland but I will wait for the 1.4 firmware and plus I am quite greateful to Ean for all his articles and videos) it is plus an intro level soundcard, though I would want one with a mic in, because I can see using my setup during some sport events where I might need to do some announcements. But currently I can live with medium level quality and maximum loudness.
Thx for keeping me focused on my real needs
PS: The Macbook Pro is my work machine and the Macbook my private machine.
