I have been lately experimenting with my soundcard and running separate outs to the mixer and thinking if it really is worth it. The sound for me is not that different. The best thing I find as it frees up the VCI volume levels and eq’s and those can be focused as fx sends etc. (2.2 is awesome for this).
Of course this is all relevant to the external mixer used. I use mainly a Pioneer DJM-600, but if it were all the time a real A&H Xone with filters, I think this post would be not here
On the debate, Traktor Pro’s eq’s are quite good too - mainly the A&H Xone simulation.
Maybe the real power is heard in a club to add some analog power from a mixer?
i much prefer the tiny tiny adjustments you can make real time with real faders on a real mixer, it just never felt quite the same using the vci-100 midi faders, but then again, i enjoy stiffer faders as the resistence seems to allow for even closer adjustments.
Um… just as a quick note, I don’t know how “analog” your signal is going to be going through the A&H Xone mixers. I’m pretty sure the insides are all digital these days.
I just “A / B’d” my Pioneer DJM -600 mixer (yes, a little vintage), vs Traktor “Xone” simulation and with my Presonus Firebox, and closed my eyes , I honestly think Traktor sounded better, but not sure on how 4 signals compressed will sound vs. a real hardware mixer like DJM-800 or A&H.
The main benefit for me in using a hardware mixer over Traktor’s internal mixer is that there’s no midi lag. I do a lot of quick chopping of beats, and so even a tiny amount of latency can throw you off in this situation.
I prefer T-Pro just cause its easier to use the VCI while mixing and effecting, i find that working a regular mixer, and several midi controllers can be quite overwhelming(BUTTON OVERLOAD ) .
After mixing externally I never wanted to mix internally again. I just love the feel of a real mixer, and the easy it is to cue and to keep a good workflow. The vci is kind of a small unit for all the features it has so, I also enjoy the space in between knobs and faders that I have with my mixer. Not to mention that if you use 3 or 4 decks you will find it hard to mix with only one vci.
Regarding the sound, the adjustments are much more precise and the sound imrpooved for me. The cuts feel better and there is a bit of more deepness in the sound also.
And as you sayed you can assing the mixer knobs of the vci for other things , as well as the faders. So this solves most of the problems that you encounter when internally mixing with the vci and using 4 decks.
For my way of playing and workflow, I would consider internally mixing again but not with a vci-100 . I mixer type controller for multiple decks.
depends on how i DJ. Often i do back-to-back sessions with friends, and then i use an external mixer. If i’m DJ’ing solo i don’t care to much, although i must say i still have trouble getting used to the different headroom levels when mixing in the box instead of using a decent hardware DJ mixer.
