I hope I am posting this at the right spot. I have sold my dvs system and want to use a controller instead. I am thinking of going either for the vestax vci 300 or 100mk2 or 100. every device has its advantages and disadvantages what makes it really difficult to make a decission. I really like the scratch performance of the vci 300 but it kinda pisses me of that I have to buy a vfx in addition to use the effects. it also doesn’t have 4 deck support… so if I want to trigger my samples I need another device or hopefully the bridge+ableton(if itch 2.0 is ever released) which will also cost another few hundered dollars.
so if I put all together I will spend at least 1000$ for a complete setup …
if I go for the vci 100 I need an additional soundcard and the 1.4 firmware upgrade…
or I go for the 100mk2 which doesn’t have the best soundcard and as far as I know also doesn’t have 14 bit midi pitchfaders.
to sum it up… is there anyone who can recommend me one of the controllers? All I want is ONE reliable device plus my macbook when I go spinning. or do you think it is worth spending a 1000$ and go for the vci 300 + vfx?
oh, before I forget… I have to buy it asap… need to spin with it on the 31st…
Well if you’re looking at $1000 i’d be debating between the NI S4 and Denon MC-6000, which or both really solid controllers.
But honestly, at 1000 you can buy two numark V7’s (with rebate that comes with it) as well as a mixer (Like the DDM4000) which would be the best setup INMHO.
But then again, if you want a single all-in-one thing, there’s also the new numark 4-channel controller that’s comming out soon, so if i were you i’d wait to see how that turns out.
hi there,
thanks for your reply… I was about to buy the s4 today but when I was standing in front of it I thought this is way to big for me… I have bought the mk2 now… will test it tonight on a big pa…
cheers
don’t buy it. I will return it on monday. the soundcard is loud and clear but doesn’t sound good at all. the knobs on the front panel feel very bad too. the buttons can also not be compared with the vci 300. the jog wheels don’t work better than the ones of the vci 300 used with traktor, rather worse. same issue with the pitch faders. some of the led’s do not shine bright enough(for my taste)… the only thing I like is the light weight and the feel of the eq and fx knobs. line and x-fader are also ok…
Well I’m going to Aage Copenhagen in March (that’s when I have enough money for some gear) and then I’ll try it out myself. I’m going to headphones too. I think I’m going for the AIAIAI (they are produced in Denmark. that is a plus). Should I be considering some other headphones? Anything else I maybe should be considering buying?
Asantehifi: Then what are you going to get instead of the S4?
I rock a macbook and the VCI 100 without the firmware upgrade and i have literally had NO problems at all. the led’s on the buttons go a bit funny but its an astetics thing i don’t really care about. It’s a decent sturdy bit of kit.
I’ve just order the VCI-100 Mk2 today.
I ordered it on the following grounds.
My requirements.
Midi-controller that is mapped for 4 decks in Traktor Pro.
Jog wheels for cueing and capable of very basic scratching.
Must be from a brand renowned for it’s quality.
Must not look tacky or look like a toy.
Get good reviews
Must be small and compact for quick setup in Clubs
need Balanced outputs
dedicated Mic with good EQ’ing
The choices
NI Kontrol S4
A&H Xone DX
VCI-100 Mk2
VCI-300 Mk2
ADJ VMS4
Kontrol S4:
comes across as the perfect controller however the Mic doesn’t have a dedicated channel and the switch is at the back of the unit. the worse bit is there are many complaints about having to recalibrate the jog wheels and some units not functioning on arrival with broken parts. The overall perception is this would be a great controller if only it worked 100% or arrived in A1 condition.
For me the reliability needs to improve before I’d take it on the road.
I did order one back in October then cancelled my order 2 days later.
Xone DX : Again the Xone DX doesn’t have a dedicated Mic and the switch is also not easily accessible. Reports on forums about units arriving DOA and nonfunctioning buttons was also a reason for concern. Then there is the Serato factor. Not that I don’t like Serato but there’s no way to upgrade ITCH for DVS control and the jog wheels definitely do not offer any scratch possibilities. The pitch control dials get a less than warm reception and although I use ‘sync’ to get a quick rough BPM match combined with some manual beat-matching I fear the ‘pitch-potties’ with probably have me relying on the ‘sync’ function more and more as time goes on.
So as with the Kontrol S4 there were too many quality control issues coupled with ITCH, scratch, sync complications that the price wasn’t worth the compromises.
VCI-300:
This controller would tick the right boxes for the price but there’s no 4 deck control without trying to add modifiers in Traktor and again the lack of mic EQ’ing still remained an issue.
VSM4:
I have a lot of praise for the VSM4 price wise it’s the cheapest of the lot. It can also be used as a stand alone mixer and has a dedicated mic input with mild EQ’ing. It’s has balanced XLR out and the jog wheels are capable of some basic scratches. So really the VMS4 should have been the one. However it wasn’t the winner because I need to map every button to Traktor which will take a few days to get right and as far as I can search there is still no .tsi file on the net that doesn’t have complications.
VCI-100 MK2
So how can a cheap looking midi box with no Mic input and no balanced outputs end up being the unit I ordered. Well it’s €300 less than the Kontrol S4 and €200 more than the VMS4. I feel that €200 is worth the extra money to have a unit pre-mapped for me and get the famous ‘Traktor Ready’ sticker. The €300 saving means that I can patch the VCI-100 into my €265 A&H ZED-10 FX Mixer and have a dedicated mic channel with good EQ’ing. I think the aesthetics of the VCI-100 aren’t too bad and although there’s a fair amount of plastic, reviews still mention that the unit feels robust enough especially with the metal surfaces being where it counts. I’ve read no DOA reports, no reliability issues and no broken parts problems. The main criticisms are that the MK2 isn’t all metal like its predecessor, which isn’t a deal breaker when you consider how much more plastic can be found on the other controllers I looked at.
So I’ve got a small unit for getting in and out of clubs with minimal setup and pack-up. It’s got 4 deck control. It has jog wheels that can do some basic scratching. It’s mapped to Traktor Pro, it’s built by a respected manufacturer. The aluminum surface will match my MacBook Pro and I’ve not read any bad reviews or reports so far.
It may not be right for many DJ’s but the VCI-100 Mk2 has a nice balance of price vs. compromise and that’s what I seem to find with all Midi-controllers at present.
Anyway I know it was long one but I hope my thoughts may help someone.
For a bit more you could get a vci 100se arcade instead of a mkii. The mapping for the VCI-100’s from DJTT makes them amazing, and I would consider it over the mkii simply for the mappings.
Not at all. . .I’m more concerned about supportability for DJTT firmware upgrades (if there’s going to be any) . I don’t have one, but me and a buddy maybe doing the arcade mod on an SE he found for cheap at a yard sale.
I think there’s no doubt that the mkII is going to be far less popular than the mkI. Worse build quality, mediocre soundcard and lack of DJTT support don’t bode well! for now I’m very happy with my sexy modded DIY SE.
So I make a great big post on why I ordered the VCI-100 MK2, only to send it back a day later as it stopped working. I think it also frazzled my Audio 8 in the process.
That’s what worries me about the mkII. . .Vestax has never been known for their sound cards. . but I do remember the TANK (VAI-80) and the VAI-40 were pretty decent sound-wise. Just unsure if it’ll work with new OS’s, and the whole Intel i3 / i5 / i7 chip issues. . .
. I don’t have one, but me and a buddy maybe doing the arcade mod on an SE he found for cheap at a yard sale.