I bought a Numark Omni Control and returned it after a week of aggravation. The controller itself is pretty wimpy but works. The audio interface however was just awful. Sound drop outs and the controller stopped responding after mixing for 30 minutes. I am thinking about buying a VCM100 in two days. Will it give me the same trouble as the Numark did? I have a brand new laptop that meets all the VCM’s minimum requirements and I trust Vestax but I am scared since I just got burned with the Numark. I really want to use Traktor and the Vestax controller. Any thoughts?
I heard that the Omni audio interface was very bad also.
Admittedly i havent got a VCM but i have got a VCI and a Vestax Mixer and i just think the quality is above reproach . Ive never had a complaint about Vestax and the VCM looks like its built to the same standard as the VCI.
Id be concerned about the lack of buttons. The Omni has shit loads. Also did you not choose the Omni because it has Jog Wheels ? The VCM doesnt have Jog Wheels.
The VCI has jog wheels but obviously no soundcard. If you need jogs get the VCI and a soundcard and you will not regret it.
The jog wheels on the VCI are nice but I really like the rotary knobs on the VCM and I tend to use the pitch bend buttons and pitch sliders more often anyway. Also the VCM has the built in audio card.
As another option, I actually like the SDJ1 from American Audio but I can’t control Traktor with it.
Rotary knobs are a double edged blade - one one hand they are handy because they can do multiple different thing with preset changes and you never have to soft takeover. However on the other hand they do not have the same feel as a traditional knob with that very nice reassuring clunk at the 0 and 127 positions which is extremely useful when your doing things like freezes at the 127 position. With a rotary its difficult to activate the freeze on time with the music especially when compared to a traditional knob.
What about buying Numark Stealth control (same as Omni but no soundcard) for less money than VCM and adding a decent soundcard? I guess that would work.
Hi.
I own OMNI CONTROL for about 4 weeks and i had some problems with it.
There was some cracking sounds from time to time during play when WI-FI was on.
What i can recommend is to update the BIOS in your computer and keep WI-FI off while you playing music.
Now it seams to be ok.
Seems like a good idea going with Stealth control and a separate sound card but I sent my Omni control back and will try out the VCM-100. I’m really just beat matching and adding fx here and there. Another good looking controller is the HC-4500 from Denon.
I’ve got a VCM and I can vouch that its a solid piece of kit. I really like the rotary knobs- the perfect resistance for soft touches and smooth transitions. If you’re into a harder mix, you can combine the knobs effectively with a well placed dramatic cross-fade technique. I personally can’t see myself making much use of the jog wheels of the vci, so the built in soundcard perfect.
It’s compact, basic, sturdy, and plug-n-go… if you can deal with the lack of buttons (it really forces you to get creative with your mapping) then go for it.
Something I found out after the fact, too: vestax doesn’t provide a warranty unless you buy it directly from one of their very few dealers in North America. I’ve never had to bother with them, but just fyi.
Good to know painchiller. I was considering the Omni Control… but decided on the VCI-100 after a hands on session. The wholeness of the piece just felt right.
And the more I thought about it, the modular characteristic of having a midi controller separate from the sound card was the way to go.
