So for the past year I have been DJing parties and dances. Nothing too serious and in that time I started using traktor without any controllers just to beat match/crossfade songs and do simple stuff that parties require. A few friends of mine own vci-100 arcades so I considered getting a controller but with the amount of guitar gear(11 guitars 7 amps) bass gear(2 amps and a bass) drum gear (3 drum kits) and recording equipment i have it was just never fiscally right for me to get a controller.
now i was at target a few weeks ago and saw a numark discover dj on sale for 30 bucks. I decided to pick it up and i am hooked. i purchased a audio 2 dj to help me mix in my phones as well as an akai lpd8 which is still coming in the mail. now i want to upgrade my controller to get some more basic functionality. i was looking at the numark mixtrack as it is still only 150 bucks and has the same feel as my current controller with WAY more features. so my question is should i go for the unit, wait until i get more experience and get a vci or some other controller, or any other options?
I was looking at the Mixtrack in more detail just this morning. My big gripe with it is the mixer section is missing a knob, the gain knob. Really, if your serious about your mixes, you should have 5 knobs per deck, 3 EQ+Gain+Filter, but as a minimum you should have 4. This controller has lots of buttons and knobs that could be useful for FX, looping and cue juggling, but the mixer section to me is golden and I wouldn’t want gain on a shift function.
This was my main observation. The other thing is that it is not yet released, so we will need to get an idea how well it is built before getting too far ahead of ourselves.
So for now, save your pennies a little while longer, I think the VCI-100 is going to suit your needs a lot more.
if you can save up and get a 100 maybe used, in all honestly its the best thing out there for Traktor (this is excluding high end stuff, 4D, DX, etc.).
However, there’s ALOT you can do with an Akai and a small mixer. I got my nephews a MP3 E2 and Maya 44 and they have been doing some pretty good mixes with it. Ask yourself what is this for, and what or how do you want to play. Don’t get sucked into the car buying deal ---- I’m gonna spend 10g’s, well for 400 dollars more I can get a sunroof, well if I’m gonna get the sunroof for a few hundered more I get leather interior, before you know it your 10g car cost 15g’s but you woulda been just fine with the 10g car.
Traktor has awesome midi mapping abilities - you can do alot with just a few buttons and knobs.
there are gain sliders for each track. seems cool for 150 bucks though. also according the numark site it says in stores now. anyone know if this is true?
I would save up for a VCI mate. That thing looks ok for practising with, but within a month or so you will craving a decent controller like the Vestax for sure. BTW welcome to the djtt crew buddy, peace.
Even though the VCI-100 is realllly solid, it is recommended to everyone coming to ask for help (ok, nearly). Is it really that good? I mean, I know it is, but aren’t there any remotely COMPARABLE controllers out there? In terms of price + performance + durability?
I think the reason we recommend the VCI as often as we do is that it has an excellent quality/price ratio, but most important an exhaustive resource network right here. A lot of us have cut our teeth with it, and even if we have other controllers, still have and use the VCI. So no matter what your problem, somebody on here has probably had it and can help you get up and running again. That support is priceless!
Mine is totally battered and i dont think that any of the alternatives (and ive had a go on most) would have stood up to my gigging schedule and lack of care when im drunk.
Id have killed anything less sturdy a long time ago.
well the one benefit you’ll get with the vci-100 / se (better) than any other cheaper midi controller, is that this community here, specializes in the vci100se and a lil 100. so i mean your basically in the same community with people who use the name product. so its easy to get help, and talk about the 100se. rather than another mixer like that numark one, it’ll be hard to find a community who all they use is that numark. so yeah take your pic
I think the VMS4 has potential, though I heard the jogs aren’t great. While it may be more than a VCI 100, it has a built in sound card and is designed for 4 deck mixing…
Also I hear the APC 40 gives you a lot of bang for your buck if you’re willing to spend the time being creative and mapping it to traktor. There was a blog post review a few weeks ago and I remember it being said that it was quite solidly built and costs less than a VCI 100.
The Typhoon and Spin are less than a VCI 100 (well Spin at least for sure), though I can imagine if I had either of those two I would be yearning for something more fairly quickly, as Jester said about the mixtrack.
I had almost the exact the same experience as you did I got the same thing at target for 30$ and quickly upgraded to more than just a simple touch wheels and a couple faders now I have spent close to a grand on different stuff for my setup
I would personally recommend the APC40 - it’s a controller that will pay for itself in it’s amount of knobs and buttons, but only if you want to deal with the confusion of manually mapping it yourself, and you might not get the thrill of the classic left deck right deck feel.
wow the steel is a great option and since its only 180 bucks on amazon it could be my next dj purchase. the numark for some reason intrigues me but i feel like the steel would be a better choice. anyone here use it with traktor and think im making the right choices?
^ exactly what this guy said…I purchased a Vestax Spin back in February because it fit my budget, and was the best bang for the buck IMO at the time. But now i’m looking to purchase a kontrol X1 to sort of fill in the gaps that the Vestax Spin leaves i.e. FX and cues for beat juggling.
The VCI-100 seems like a really solid choice, just unfortunate how it doesn’t have a soundcard, yes I know external soundcards are better anyways, but it has really helped me on my Macbook Pro to have a built-in soundcard on my Vestax Spin, so that I can add another USB device without the need for a powered USB hub. Although to be fair, the VCI-100 SE or Arcade could porbably do everything my Spin + a Kontrol X1 can do.
so any final suggestions? do touch sensitive platters make a world of difference or is it something i wont notice? im thinking hte steel would be the better made and better piece of equipment
