So I’ve been doing as much research as I possibly can for the last two weeks all in order to get back into DJing after a 2 year lapse. The biggest reason was because i was a vinyl DJ and I never had time to search for tracks as I travel loads for work, and this really meant i never had any of the latest greatest tracks. Since i have found hypem.com and beatport.com finding tracks has been a breeze and within 2 weeks I’ve got over 100 awesome tracks at my disposal and I am ready to get back into the swing of things.
The question is after doing tons of research its still a very difficult decision, for all those who are also first time buyers and first time digital heres what i have come up with so far (i’m not going to go overly technical but I have linked to some good youtube reviews of each):
(PLEASE HELP ME UPDATE THIS LIST WITH PRO’S AND CONS SO NEW BUYERS CAN GET AN UP TO DATE PICTURE)
AS you can probably tell i’m leaning towards the VCI-100 since its been out for longer, its cheaper, it has great mapping/mods set up to Traktor Pro which from what I’ve seen looks like the best software for my purposes. I originally was going for the Torq Xponent before i discovered this website since it had everything i wanted, such as effects, all in one ready to go. But the VCI-100 + Traktor Pro combo looks miles better and cheaper (if you already have traktor pro or know how to get it).
Btw my previous setup was 2x technics 1210’s and a vestax mixer.
I also looked into Traktor Scratch Pro and using my old set up and I think I’ve decided against this because of the cost for just the software + vinyl setup, with still no midi controller purchased. I also want to be moving away from vinyl even tho they look cooler they take up to much space and aren’t versatile in terms of programming. It makes it easier to do parties with etc as well.
Well, keep in mind that if you integrated your setup with Traktor Pro you would only need to carry two pieces of vinyl (or 3 or 4 for backups) of timecode, and you’d have access to all your music, and still have the vinyl look, and the possible addition of a MIDI controller.
Now, if you know that’s not what you want, then we have to look at your options.
Now, I think the VCI-100 is a beautiful machine out of the box. Granted, the SE is prettier, but black makes everything prettier. The cost is less than the other two options but it doesn’t have an external sound card, so you have to factor that into your budget as well. Granted, a VCI-100 and a sound card can be cheaper than the VCI-300 and the Torq.
The VCI-300 also has 14-bit output, and the new update of Traktor Pro is going to support 14-bit. I’m not a big fan of onboard sound cards cause, well, I think modular set ups are the way to go with what we do, but that’s a personal preference to a large extent. I also like big set ups with lots of knobs and buttons all over the place.
Definitley, didn’t realise about the lack of soundcard, will add that in as a con. Whats your opinion on the VCI-300 vs VCI-300 with Traktor Pro, theres no custom “skins” right on the VCI-300?
No, and I doubt there will be. Personally, I think the VCI-100 is the best bet for Traktor Pro. It isn’t mapped perfectly to it, but, well, the VCI-300 offers NO effect control, which in my mind, is a large part of the appeal of T-Pro.
If you are going to be doing things that requires 14-bit MIDI (pitch fading, scratching) then the VCI-300 and something on the side for effects might be a good idea. But if you’re just going to be using the controller for stuff that doesn’t require 14-bit I’d say go with the VCI-100. shrug But it’s a personal thing.
With some smart mapping there’s no problem controlling the fx in t-pro with the VCI-300,
altough serato itch there are no fx’s and many other things.
I you still want a vinyl kinda feeling vci-300 and itch are great.
my vote goes for the vci-300 (what a surprise as i am owner of one )
my personal opinion is that it is a really rocksolid controller, the built-in soundcard makes it possible to carry around even less stuff…
and if you let your tracks be synced by traktor pro, then you also have enough controls for fx (at least i do) as you can use the jog wheels, the pitch fader and the line faders for fx (that’s my current mapping of it and it works like a charm for me). if this mapping wouldn’t work for you you could still use a korg nanopad or nanokontrol (around 60€), i’m owner of a nanokontrol and although it feels a bit cheap it really has a good price and works quite well.
i personally don’t know the xponent, so i can’t give you my opinion on that one, but i don’t think you can do anything wrong with the two vci’s. they’re great pieces of gear and the help of this community making them nearly unbeatable
The lack of soundcard on the VCI-100 definitley poses a big problem money wise, considering you will have to spend up to 25-30% more than the purchase price to get a decent one.
I have been using Traktor with the xponent for about a year, 6 nights a weeks, 3 different clubs. Its perfect with Traktor, the a/b switch makes mapping of four decks easy, if thats what you want. I think the true power of the xponent is the a/b switch and the x/y pad (those tricks with the krog padkontrol has already been possible with the xponent). just imagine the vci-100 with a a/b switch, in (a) you can map the jog to scatch/tempo. switch to (b) now assign the same jog to search playlist and the top to load track. or even assign it to control effects all this without any modifers or midi pages. awesome I tell you. now imagine all that power with modifers!
What is the mapping like to Xponent, is there some good TSI’s out there?
I think im now leaning towards the VCI-300 simply because of the built in sound card, the look and feel, and the build quality. Plus I also think it will be come industry standard when they release the 14 bit version of traktor.
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