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ONCE AGAIN, THANKS TO THE CREW AT SKRATCHWORX.COM FOR ANOTHER DOPE REVIEW!!

Nostalgia Bytes

Remember when you were young, during the glory days of 8 bit computing, when miners were manic, eggs were dizzy and Far Cry was nothing more than a noise your sister made when you hit her with a frisbee? Fantastic wasn’t it? And yet, as good as those games were, can you remember how you also longed for better, more colourful graphics, more realistic gameplay and a multi-button controller that didn’t look like a prop from those naughty films your dad watched?

Of course you do.

That’s why, as soon as you saw the exquisite detailing on Chun Li’s hem-line you ditched the Spectrum in favour of a SNES, SF2 and a loin full of misplaced lust. You might even have fond memories of typing obscenities and unrecognised commands into the Rod Pike classic, Dracula, but would you really prefer to play a text-based adventure when you could be slapping zombies in Resident Evil 5 and admiring Sheva’s cleavage instead?

Of course not.

The same is true of mobile phones, cars and royalty cheques. You love the one you have but cannot wait until a better one comes along. It’s ironic then, that in an industry where the chief players prefer the sound of a flatulent robot raping a dustbin to the sound of a real instrument, the arrival of the next best thing is either met with derision or hostile suspicion.

Back In The Day, when Technics was more than a type of Lego and your sole reason for buying an OEM turntable was to take it to the tip three months later, DJs longed for samplers that didn’t cost the same as a small planet, that could fit in the palm of your hand rather than the boot of your car, and had a memory capacity greater than that of an elderly relative. Being able to remix tracks and add additional production to your set without ‘cashing in’ your parents’ life insurance was truly the holy grail of DJing.

And yet, as soon as that holy grail became apparent and affordable to all but the most bankrupt of DJs, those that adopted it were derided by proponents of the old-skool as ‘fakes’, ridiculed by old ladies in supermarkets and given a good kicking by anyone wearing a stripey jumper and trackie pants tucked into their socks.

Why?

Possibly, because having spent at least a grand on DJ equipment and years of practice perfecting your skills, the last thing you want to see in a DJ booth is some pretty boy with fancy hair and a winning smile getting paid more than you to press a few keys, impregnate groupies, get drunk and still mess it up. More likely for old-skoolers, however, is that hitting a couple of mouse buttons is nowhere near as fun as pushing faders, rotating dials and moving platters.

Which brings us onto Akai’s face-punchingly desirable APC40 (finally… Gizmo).

In recent years many manufacturers have fallen over themselves to introduce MIDI controllers that offer a tactile feel familiar to DJs and allow them to exploit the creative possibilities offered by software. What has been missing is bi-directional communication between controller and software, together with Plug & Play connectivity that genuinely works.

NI have plugged this gap with Maschine, but unlike NI’s electronic nicotine, Akai have come up with a unit that is to be used to control mixing, on-the-fly sequencing and effects devices. It’s also intrinsically connected to a software application that splits opinion in the DJ community like no other – Ableton Live.

The APC40 features 8 channel faders, a master fader and a crossfader, more dials than a clock factory and plenty of buttons to trigger the play of music. It also ships with a special version of Ableton Live 7, creating a package that you can use straight out of the box, and the £379 that Akai ask for the APC40 buys you a lot more functionality than you get with traditional hardware, whether vinyl or CD.

Have Akai finally created a controller that will allow old-skool DJs to incorporate software without feeling guilty?

Disco Buttons

The first thing you’ll notice about the APC40 is the soul-tearingly beautiful, slick and stylish veneer. Akai have ignored the boxy, utilitarian traditions that dominate DJ hardware design and have gone for something that wouldn’t look out of place in a Giger-inspired space shuttle.

The second thing you’ll notice is the mass assemblage of rubber buttons that dominate the fader area of the APC. The majority of these buttons make up the Clip Matrix, and for many DJs and producers the Clip Matrix is where their attention will be focused. It is an 8X5 matrix which means it contains no less than 40 buttons with which you can launch and re-launch clips from Live’s Session View. Tracks are represented horizontally whilst the clips are stacked vertically so as to match the on-screen session view within Ableton Live.

The clip buttons are illuminated either red, amber or green according to their state. If a clip is currently playing it is illuminated green, otherwise it is amber. If you have armed a MIDI track for recording then pressing a clip will select it for recording and it will light up red. Sure, this is a simple traffic lights system but it works so well, the visual cues presented by the APC mean that you don’t have to squint at a tiny laptop screen to work out which clip is playing, which is armed and so on. If you know your set well (and let’s face it, you should) you can concentrate on the APC instead, allowing you to work much more quickly with Ableton, especially during a live performance.

Below the Clip Matrix are eight Clip Stop buttons, one for each track. To the right, stacked vertically, are 5 Scene Launch buttons that when pressed trigger an entire row of clips.

Somewhat disappointingly, the Scene Launch buttons have no back-lighting to denote the currently playing scene, as the lighting of the Clip Matrix makes it blindingly obvious which scene is playing. Below the Scene Launch buttons is a solitary button that when pressed ceases play of all clips.

The buttons themselves are fabricated from a soft rubber that nicely cushions your fingers as you bash the living daylights out of them. As with all of the materials and switches that adorn the APC, the buttons of the Clip Matrix stand up well to prolonged battering and give you every confidence that they’ll last a long time.

Although the APC Edition of Live limits you to a maximum of 16 tracks (8 MIDI and 8 audio) the APC is capable of supporting the unlimited number of tracks and scenes that the full-fat version of Live 8 can support. The logistical nightmare of traversing a vast Ableton landscape is eased with the Shift key that, when pressed, uses one Clip Launch button to represent a full 8X5 matrix.

If your Live sets are more modest you can use the bank select buttons to traverse the set one track or scene at a time.

The rest of the fancy flashing buttons are located below the Clip Matrix and consist of Activator switches that enable or disable a track, Solo/Cue switches to silence all other tracks except the one you want to hear and Record Arm buttons that allow you to record your performance into a MIDI track.

Faders

The channel faders are stiff, which aids precise positioning for mixing down studio tracks, whilst the crossfader is taken straight from the parts bin of the Numark’s budget assembly line. Any attempts at turntablism and even basic scratching will cause the crossfader to bleed in no time at all.

Luckily, you can quickly replace the crossfader by opening a hatch on the underside of the APC and pulling the old one out. As long as you’re fading and not scratching the crossfader won’t be an expensive consumable over the life of the unit. The crossfader bay is short on space so the fitting of aftermarket solutions isn’t possible.

Actually using the crossfader is an unpleasant experience due to the scratching sound it makes as you move it, a sound akin to that made by fingernails as they’re scratched down a blackboard. It isn’t loose and although you can’t accuse it of feeling jerky, there is way too much resistance to the crossfader travel.

This stiffness has nothing to do with precision and everything to do with the use of a cheap fader. That said, it keeps the cost down. There is no need for a high quality fader in a unit like this and besides, how many people actually need a crossfader with Ableton? I’m sure over time the channel faders will loosen, but they feel well constructed and should last a long time before replacements become a necessity.

In fact, only two criticisms can be levelled at the faders. The first being the close positioning of the transport controls to the crossfader, something that could cause the Play or Stop buttons being accidentally hit during an intense mix. It must be said, however, that this never occurred during the test period.

The second is an irritating fader phenomenon that afflicts all MIDI controllers, not just the APC, although it is more keenly felt when using the APC due to the fact that it has 9 faders rather than the more usual 2 or 4. And that is that Ableton cannot detect the fader positions at start-up, you have to fully open a fader to engage it in Ableton and then move it to the desired position.

Sure it’s not a major niggle, but the irritating effect is heightened over time rather than diminished.

Device Controls

The lower set of dials to the right of the APC control the effects devices and software instruments loaded into the currently selected track. So if, for instance, you have the Akai 808 drum instrument loaded into the currently selected track you can control the 5 parameters offered by the Akai 808 instrument with the rotary dials of the APC’s device section. The dials are infinite rotation, but to help you keep track of your device’s setting each dial is surrounded by 15 LEDs. Turning the dial clockwise will illuminate the LEDs in a pretty green colour. Turning the dials anti-clockwise will turn them off.

Although there are 8 dials on the APC not all devices have 8 parameters in Ableton. Naturally, when that is the case some dials on the APC’s device section will be disabled. Similarly, some devices in Ableton have more than 8 parameters and you cannot therefore control some of them. In those cases the shift key can be used to select different banks of device controls, but to be honest it’s a bit awkward.

The rotary dials feel well constructed and lack the wobble of similar dials seen on the Ecler Evo 5 and the Korg Zero 8, giving the user confidence in their sustained use. The LEDs respond to dial turns quickly as does the corresponding parameter in Ableton.

As effects devices can be chained in Ableton there are two directional buttons just below the rotary dials that allow you to select the device you wish to control. There is also a button for switching the currently selected device on and off as well as a button for switching between clip and track view.

Physically, the buttons are hard-wearing plastic push buttons. They might lack a luxury feel and have something of the ZX81 about them, but can take a beating.

Track Controls

At the top right of the APC lies the Track Control section, which allows you to control the panning of eight tracks as well as the dry/wet controls for Sends A, B and C for eight tracks at any one time. If you have more than eight tracks you can use the bank select buttons to move horizontally amongst them.

This means that if you have 12 tracks running and your track control dials are currently assigned to the first eight tracks, pressing the right bank select button will assign the eighth dial to the ninth track and the first dial to the second track. The Clip Matrix is updated as you press the Bank Select buttons so you won’t get confused as to which dial controls what track.

Performance Controls

Dotted around the APC are a number of miscellaneous performance controls, such as the Play, Stop and Record buttons. Their names betray their functions and they work exactly as you’d expect. They’re unforgivably obscured, however, by the crossfader, to the point where you’re tempted to remove the damn thing in its entirety and just use the channel faders instead. To a lesser extent the crossfader also affects the use of a further set of illuminated buttons that control Live’s quantization, overdub and metronome functions.

Akai could argue that the APC40 is supposed to be used whilst performing, standing up, but most users will be seated at their workstations with the rest of their studio gear, meaning that most users will find the lack of space between the crossfader and these controls problematic.

Interaction with Ableton Live

The most striking and pleasing thing about using the APC is the speed with which the APC and Ableton interact. There is no lag between tweaking a control on the APC and something happening on-screen. Similarly, as soon as you tweak something in Ableton, such as an effect parameter, the APC has changed its colour scheme accordingly.

Ableton Live APC Edition

Ableton Live is much too sophisticated and feature-rich an application to cover in a review of another product, but it’s worth covering the general ethos of Live and the tools it provides. Put simply, Ableton Live is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that also features some DJ functionality.

Included in Ableton Live are a set of instruments with which you can play and create the building blocks of a song – beats, rhythms and melodies, as well as a sequencer onto which you can record your musical efforts and use them to construct a song.

You can also ‘borrow’ audio from sources other than your own talent and include them alongside your own work. It also features audio and MIDI effects and a mixer – all standard DAW material – but what Live also gives you is a novel way of sequencing a track ‘live’ by triggering individual clips or scenes (entire rows of clips) through it’s Session View. This means that you can trigger a breakbeat, let it play for 8 bars, bring in the bass for 8 bars and then launch a scene of clips to kick off the song proper. After that you can exclude or include clips and scenes as you see fit, sequencing the song as you go along. It is the Session View that you use for DJing.

The best way of getting round the concept of the Session View is to view it as a table with each column being a track and each row being a scene. Each cell within the table is known as a clip.

Tracks (the columns) come in two flavours: MIDI and Audio.

The full-fat edition of Live 8 places no limits on the number of tracks you can include in a set, but with the APC edition you’re limited to 16 – 8 audio tracks and 8 MIDI tracks, though that should be enough for most people, especially if you’re DJing with Live. The look and feel of the APC Edition of Live is exactly the same as the ‘proper’ version. If you’re familiar with Live then everything you need will be where you expect to find it.

The difference between the two editions is predominantly a case of limitations rather than omissions, such as the limited number of audio effects that can be used in a set and the limited number of VST plug-ins you can use. Examples of features that are missing include the import and export of video, the editing of drum, instrument and effects racks, as well as the transmission of MIDI data to hardware instruments.

Perhaps the most annoying limitation is the inability to import audio file types other than wav. If you only have your tune collections saved in MP3 or some other format you’ll have to convert them to wav before you try to import them into Live APC Edition.

The full list of differences can be found here. On the whole, though, the APC Edition of Live is a fantastic piece of software to be bundled with a piece of hardware as good and as affordable as the APC40.

If you already own Live you won’t need it, but if you’re new to Live you’ll find the APC Edition is a great learning platform and a cost effective springboard to the full edition via upgrades.

DJing with the APC40 and Ableton

The APC features everything you need to use Ableton purely for DJing and creating live remixes, except a soundcard. Songs are loaded into Live by dragging them on to a track, with each song occupying one clip within a track. This means that you can have a stack of songs in one track or a stack of the same song split up into loops so that you can use the APC’s Clip Matrix to launch individual sections of a track.

Once the songs have been loaded into their slots and analysed you can set their cue points or loop points within the clip view for that song. Each track can be assigned to either side of the crossfader or just routed straight through to the master output, just like your average mixer, with the curve of the crossfader being set to your individual taste through Live.

To play a song you just bash its Clip button and Live will start it at the appropriate point using quantisation. If, for some reason, it does start off-beat you can always hit the clip launch button again and it will rectify the problem.

EQs are assigned to a track as an audio effect as the Live mixer doesn’t have any integrated equalisers of its own, which is actually quite handy as this allows you to choose the exact type of EQ you desire. The EQs are therefore controlled by the Device Control section of the APC.

Effects are controlled in the same manner as the EQs. You select the effect you want from a list, give it a double-click and it appears in the detail view for the currently selected clip. Best of all, Live’s effects can be side-chained, which means that you can get some really warped audio coming out of your monitors.

Using the APC with Other Software

The APC is a MIDI controller and can therefore be tailored to work with other applications, such as Traktor.

Mapping the APC40 to your software of choice will, of course, be an idiosyncratic endeavour as everyone will have their own idea of how the APC can be put to best use. This also means it’ll take ages if you want to map all every control on the APC to every control in your software, but if you just want to configure a few controls to get you going and then configure more later you can be up and running in no time.

Of course, you lose the flashing lights of the APC when you use it with other software, but it’s still a good controller, nonetheless.

Conclusion

Should you buy one? Yes, if you want the ultimate all-in-one Ableton package. The APC40 is inexpensive for what it is and does. £379 for the APC and a fully usable edition of Ableton Live is a bargain.

There are some quality issues – notably the crossfader – and there’s no escaping the cheap feel of the hard plastic buttons, but in all honesty Akai seem to have chosen the right materials for the job. Akai could easily have shipped the APC with a non-contact, optical crossfader, but why when the APC isn’t intended for turntablists and the addition of such a thing would increase the price? That said, one way the APC could be improved on a practical level would be the inclusion of a built-in multi-channel soundcard, as on the Xone:4D, for those that may not have one.

So can an old-skooler use the APC40 without feeling pangs of guilt? If you’re into a linear, deck-to-deck style of mixing then the APC40 isn’t going to convert you to the dark art of Ableton DJing, but if you want to augment your sets with a bit of your own production or mash-up some tunes then check it out.

The APC40 combines all the tactile fun of traditional DJing with a new and exciting method of mixing music.

Ratings

Build Quality
Some of the controls feel a bit cheap but they are fit for purpose and don’t detract from what is a well built unit. Should prove reliable and long lasting.

Features and Implementation
Everything on the APC serves a purpose and is easily accessible, bar the buttons in the crossfader area.

Value for Money
£379 isn’t pocket money cheap but it is fair considering the quality of the controller and the software.

Bottom Line

If you need a realistically priced environment controller for Ableton Live, the APC40 should be top of your shopping list.

Good alternatives

Ohm 64 – The wooden, home-brew feel of the Ohm 64 lends it a unique charm that the APC could never possess.

Xone:4D – if you have the money you could get the ultimate A&H mixer/controller, but you’d be missing out on the APC’s Clip Launch matrix.

Novation Launchpad – solely for launching clips, but if that’s all you want to do it is cheaper than the APC.

So the white sheet has been pulled back, and American Audio’s monster MIDI controlling VMS4 has been laid bare. This 4 deck beauty blends analog and digital in one slight oversized box as well as a heap of other goodies too.

The video gives the best overview in one bitesized 2 minute chunk, but most interesting is the emergence of a new version of Traktor. I’m guessing that a new 4 deck version of Traktor LE is coming, but still seems to be in the stages of delicate negotiation right now so no info is available. But the rest of this unit is out in the open, and it’s quite some piece of kit.

Tom says $499(usd) in the video, but the official web page says $699. I’m sure this mixup will be sorted soon, hopefully in the favour of the lower price tag.

Thanks again to Skratchworx.com for the news!

Thanks again to the crew at DJTECHTOOLS.COM
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It seems the whole DJing and production world is looking for the ultimate Ableton hardware controller, and Vestax are the latest to rise to the challenge with their VCM 600 Midi controller.

Ableton is a killer piece of software that allows a DJ to add more production techniques to his sets, but it has a few major drawbacks. For example, it’s impossible to use Ableton to its full potential in a live performance due to the amount of navigating involved between clips. And when glued to a laptop, it’s easy for DJs to look like they’re just checking emails rather than orchestrating the crowd.

This is where hardware controllers come into play, but so far very few take full advantage of Ableton and the ones that do aren’t exactly intuitive for DJs moving over from vinyl or CDs to digital laptop systems.

The Vestax VCM 600 is a dedicated hardware controller for Ableton. The first thing we notice when lifting it out of the box is that it’s heavy — not in the hippy sense, but in the excess baggage charge kind of way. And it looks like the bastard offspring of a DJ mixer that’s had a one-night stand with a studio console after the Vestax labs were shut for the night.

The control surface layout is complex for someone who’s more at home with a DJ mixer, but not intimidating, and it’s really obvious where all the important bits, like the channel faders, EQs and master faders are located, so DJs will be up and mixing in no time once the Midi controller is rigged up.

Appealing
Pretty much everything about the VCM 600 will appeal to DJs using Ableton for live performance. It’s a Midi controller with no in-built soundcard so an audio interface is required, but think of it as six-channel mixer with the ability to control more channels via the bank switches.

Each channel has a three-band EQ with kill switches, two sends, a mute, a cue (sort of) and some extra bits for controlling Ableton. The additional controls on each channel start and stop clips, swap between the channel views in Live and also provide resonance and frequency control. It’s important to keep in mind that these controls are only the defaults supplied by Vestax but can be mapped to pretty much anything easily and quickly in Ableton using the Midi learn feature. And the VCM can be used with any other Midi enabled software such as Cubase, a VJ system or even a lighting rig.

Lots of buttons and knobs have been set aside for filters or anything else the warped mind of a DJ might wish to control, while the nearby loop controls are a great size and nicely spaced.

The faders and pots have a good quality feel, while the crossfader is of the light-as-a-feather variety, which can be a bit of a nightmare because it’s easy to accidentally brush it in the wrong direction. A curve adjustment for the crossfader can be set-up however needed.

An interesting quirk is that the VCM 600 is lacking a designated cue button. The solo button, however, doubles as a cue, just like in Ableton, and it’s been placed in a slightly awkward spot, right below the mute button, so there is the potential for mis-triggering while in the heat of the moment.

Amongst the VCM 600’s best features are the tempo control slider and nudging buttons. The tempo control slider is basically the same as a pitch control on decks or CD players and the nudge buttons behave exactly like the nudge feature on CD mixers, making mixing into and out of vinyl and CDs nice and easy, complemented further by a fine tune knob to get your beat mixing tight as you like.

Choosing between clips — what Ableton calls tracks or audio loops — is taken care of quite neatly using a knob located below the pitch fader and the play buttons on each channel. This means less time spent hunched over a laptop and more time with hands in the air or where they need to be — on the control surface and wowing the crowd.

Installation
Ableton Live users not using the new version 8 or the latest version of 7 will find the install process a bit fiddly. A whole heap of manual midi mapping and assignment of buttons and faders on the VCM to the corresponding buttons on Live is required before you can start mashing up those beats. But with newer versions of Ableton Live installation is easy, as all of the controls are mapped to the VCM 600 automatically. And it even comes with a simplified version of Live 7 for instantaneous start-up.

Overall, the VCM 600 is pretty damn cool and offers lots of control and performance enhancing features and that’s what makes a set more fun both for the DJ and the party animals on the dancefloor. For instance, the EQ kill switches are cool as fuck and light up when in full kill position — great for those fancy bass blasting EQ tricks that rock the discotheques.
Powered by USB direct from your laptop, the unit is fantastic for ‘on the road’ applications or for showing off on the plane on the way to the gig, but it is a little bit heavier than the average laptop and there’s no way it will fit into any laptop or record bag.

Its all-metal construction is solid and the build quality is so sturdy it feels like it could take a full-on battering, and keep on going. The faders and knobs are mix-friendly and the layout is clean, user-friendly and for the most part intuitive despite a huge number of controls.

In a nutshell, the VMC 600 is a cracking piece of kit, which is in a league of its own at the moment. There’s no other product on the market in its price range that has the same number of features and similarly satisfies the needs of the Ableton DJ.

Currently Available through Lightsounds.com

Hiroshi Watanabe (aka Kompakt producer Kaito) isn’t a name that springs to mind when thinking of DJ pioneers, but Watanabe San has been making a big noise in Japan and has been pushing the boundaries of DJing in the most tech-obsessed city in the world, Tokyo. It’s no big surprise, then, that Vestax turned to him when it came to designing their new TR-1 Traktor Controller.

The TR-1 is their latest piece of shiny new DJ equipment, a controller designed with one thing in mind — controlling Native Instruments’ DJing software Traktor.

The design philosophy behind the new hardware DJ controller is emulating the feel and fine controls DJs are used to having at their finger tips. Working with someone who actually stands in a dark DJ box night after night, like Watanabe, makes a lot of sense. Most products are designed in brightly-lit labs and meeting rooms, so it is little surprise to see so many that ALMOST work brilliantly in a club environment.

The TR-1 is a four-channel controller that allows access to pretty much all of the features in Traktor without needing to reach for the mouse. Smooth long throw 60mm faders and nice feeling pots all make for a great time while DJing, even if the TR-1 is missing a cross-fader. The knobs used on the TR-1 are great, the grip is excellent and they are spaced well, so there is no chance of accidentally moving the knob next-door, while tweaking knobs madly in the middle of a set. Another simple, but effective feature, is that every time a knob or slider is adjusted, a little data light flashes in the top right hand corner of the unit — an important visual aid.

The TR-1′s control panel is laid out like a two-channel mixer, with effects and various other controls to the side. Each channel has the same set of controls. Four-channel control is via switches at the top of each channel, which select the current channel being controlled; this is a clever way of squeezing extra channels into the same sized box, and makes a lot of sense for a unit that is designed to be portable.

This should make moving over from traditional DJing formats like vinyl and CD even easier.

Each channel has a fader for volume and pots to control EQ (Low, Mid and Hi), a Pan pot and a filter control. At the top of the fader, we find a cue button for each channel sitting either side of a four-way switch (sort of like a joystick), which is used to browse and load tracks.

To the left and right of the faders, in a mirror image arrangement of the Traktor screen on the computer, are buttons to control features such as Loop, Key, Sync, Cue Forward and Back, and set Cue Point. Also located in this area is a large button which toggles play and pause as well as buttons for FX 1 and 2.

The Move Control Section allows precise manipulation over the four channels’ loop parameters. A simple button selects between channel A, B, C or D, while another button, Value, then lets the length of the loop be tailored to suit, from 1/32 of a beat to eight bars. Once again, the emphasis is on ease of use. The Mode button allows the loop start and end points to be adjusted, and in conjunction with the Move button, the loop can then be placed around the track.

The FX section is also a relative joy to use. Four knobs and four buttons activate the desired effect, which can be turned on or off at the push of the corresponding button. How much effect is added is determined by how far left or right the knob is turned — simple.

The influence of Hiroshi Watanabe can be seen in features like the lovely long Tempo faders and the placement of the Bend buttons at the bottom (just where you want them). At the top of the fader is a knob to control the key of that channel.

The master section is also designed well. A knob rather than a fader takes care of the master level, which saves space and avoids potentially knocking a fader while your fingers are darting around. Next to the master level are the monitor mix and the monitor level knobs.

The TR-1 is sturdy and well built, as well as being small enough to fit into a laptop bag. The control surface is well spaced, and packs a lot of control into a small space without feeling cluttered. All in all, the TR-1 gives control of 160 parameters and the shift button allows customisation of controls in a very neat way.

There are a few things missing from the TR-1 like a cross-fader, the ability to switch master tracks manually, and no built-in soundcard. But this is a great product. The TR-1 offers control of a computer-based programme, whilst putting performance back into the hands of the DJ. By mimicking everything that would normally be done on screen and with a mouse makes for a fast, easy, hands-on way to control your tracks and sets. The art of the digital DJ has evolved and the time is definitely now.

This unit is currently available exclusivly through Lightsounds in Australia.

THANKS AGAIN TO SKRATCHWORX.COM FOR THE WRITE – UP.

Having got through the BPM coverage, it’s now time to get back to the business of news and reviews again. Teasing me badly are the new Pioneer CDJs and the putting together of the preview feature. I was going to do it all in one lump, but I figure it’s easier to trickle the material out as you’re probably somewhat hungry to hear my thoughts on this new shiny stuff. First up is Slip Mode, something that had me scratching my head as to what exactly it was. Watch the video and then you’ll know.

Essentially, it allows the current track to keep playing underneath while you pause, scratch or spinback on the platter. When you release, the track picks up exactly where it should as if it had kept on playing. It’s quite simple, but instantly understood when you try it for yourself.

It’s certainly a new feature to me, and one that will allow users to come up with some new creative ways to rock a crowd. Imagine the fun that could be had spinning doubles of the same track – perhaps offbeat as well to create new ideas for old sets. Of course, it’s also open to abuse in that a DJ could sequence a string of tracks on a USB key – all slam mixed together and only needing a spinback at the right point to appear like they’ve been mixed. I doubt however that a DJ who is in the market for such aspirational products like these is that type of DJ anyway.

This is the puzzling thing about the feature – why isn’t it on the 2000? This is one reason why I made the previous statement about which unit to get isn’t as straight forward as you might think. I’ve just filmed some scratching, juggling and drumming and will edit that into a 2 minute clip later this week. All you need to know for now is that the difference in feel between the 900 and 2000 is minimal, and that just like the older CDJs, both are extremely capable scratchers.

I’ve currently got the decks LAN’d up via an older wireless router and talking to each other happily. The next thing to get my head round is cueing and looping and how the units differ, which I feel will be another key feature that will make a decision one way or another for potential buyers.

 

Taken From Skratchworx.com

NEW PIONEER CDJ DIGITAL TURNTABLES BRING THE ART OF DJING TO NEW HEIGHTS NEW PIONEER CDJ DIGITAL TURNTABLES BRING THE ART OF DJING TO NEW HEIGHTS
CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 Enable DJs to Access Their Music Directly from the Players

Long Beach, CA (September 17, 2009) – Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. Professional Sound and Visual Division, the leader in Pro DJ products and the innovator of the CD turntable, today launched two multi-format digital turntables, the CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900, with features that put the performance back into the art of DJing and reduce the need for laptops to access music files. DJs of all experience levels can enhance their mixing and scratching capabilities using proprietary technologies such as rekordbox™1 music management, Pro DJ Link, Needle Search and USB and SD card connectivity.

“Understanding the expanding needs of today’s evolving DJs, Pioneer’s new multi-format digital turntables allow DJs to access, search and control their content directly from the player itself,” said Matt Dever, Vice President, Professional Sound and Visual Division. “The new CDJ players provide the same legendary quality standards and playability of the CDJ-1000/800 with the added convenience of native playback of key digital media file formats accessed through a multitude of compatible media, whether it’s on CD, DVD, portable hard drive or flash memory device. In addition, both models are HID compatible with today’s top DJ performance software, making these players the natural selection for any performance DJ.”

Prepared For Any Performance
Adapting to today’s variety of media formats, the CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 enable playback of MP3, AAC, WAV and AIFF audio files from CDs and USB memory devices, and from DVDs and SD cards as well on the CDJ-2000. A USB port located on top of the turntable enables users to quickly connect an external storage device such as a Tonium Pacemaker™ or a hard drive packed with music files, minimizing the need to bring a laptop computer to performances.

Both the CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 turntables include rekordbox™, Pioneer’s proprietary music management software that organizes and catalogs a DJ’s entire music library. When music files are imported to rekordbox, the software analyzes each file and prepares them for use specifically with the new CDJ turntables. Key elements of Pioneer’s rekordbox software:

Analyze:

Beats Per Minute (BPM) Data – BPM / Tempo information for each song is identified and processed into rekordbox for use by the DJ in preparing and performing a set.

Waveform Data – The waveform of each song is identified and then displayed on the bottom screen for quick data visualization and for use with the needle search function on the CDJ-2000 turntable.

Customize:

Tag Info & Artwork – Edit and customize the file information to performance needs.

Hot Cues, Cue Points, and Loops – Prepare and customize cues and loops as well as create and manage hot cue banks.

Playlists – Create, edit and manage customized playlists for various performances.

Beatgrid – Utilizing the new Quantizing feature, cue points and loops can be set perfectly on-beat. The Quantize feature ensures cue points are set accurately and automatically, correcting and synching beats during manual looping or a real-time cueing, preventing off beat mistakes.

Users can then transfer analyzed music files to their preferred storage media and play them directly from the new CDJ turntables. The software offers song information that can be viewed easily during performances on the CDJs’ large displays to quickly search and access content by genre, title, BPM, etc. Also, as analyzed tracks are played through the CDJ products, the turntables automatically create and save a play history enabling users to review past performances on their PCs.

Pro DJ Link
The new turntables feature Pioneer’s Pro DJ Link that enables up to four CDJ-2000/900s to be connected via the Link Port to share a single music source, whether it is a hard drive, USB and/or SD memory card. Once linked, users have the ability to quickly find, display and choose the music file from a connected source through the CDJ’s built-in display and control knobs. A quick turn of the knob lets users scroll through created files and folders and a push of the knob confirms the song choice.

Advanced Connectivity
The new turntables feature a 24-bit/48 kHz sound card and HID and MIDI control compatibility via USB port. Up to 35 controls on the surface of each player can be used to trigger other devices, such as DJ effecters and software by way of HID and/or MIDI.

The HID controls were implemented into the players for superior interfacing with software, faster communication speed over MIDI, audio/visual streaming and two-way information on displays. HID enables easy, precise and native control of DVS systems such as Serato™ Scratch Live, Native Instruments’ Traktor series and MixVibes Cross2 without the need for time-coded discs.

CDJ-2000 Enhancements

LCD panel and Graphic User Interface – The flagship CDJ-2000 features a large WQVGA 6.1-inch full-color 480 x 234 LCD panel for displaying song titles and jacket art as well as detailed track information so DJs can select songs at a glance. The wave data of each song is also illustrated on screen, showing high and low amplitude to further assist DJs.

Needle Search – Helps DJs instantaneously get to a specific part of a song with a simple touch of the Needle Search pad. Found directly below the CDJ-2000’s high resolution LCD panel, the touchpad lets the DJ “place the needle” and jump quickly to a specific part of a music track.

Jog Dial – Adjustments for tension were enhanced from previous models allowing the DJ to further customize the feel of the jog dial from a light to heavy sensitivity. Four illuminated areas on the sides of the Jog Dial aid the DJ in finding the desired spot on the plate in dim lighting environments.

CDJ-900 Enhancements

Slip Mode – When activated, Slip Mode silently continues song playback during a loop, reverse or scratch and continues audible playback at the exact time when the loop, reverse or scratch is ended creating smoother transitions.

Advanced Auto Beat Loop – The CDJ-900 generates a four-beat loop at a touch of a button creating a customized sound to provide more time for DJs to blend in transitioning music.

The Extras
For more accurate tempo control while mixing, each player is enhanced with increased frame increments of 0.5 frames that allow the DJ to set a cue point or loop point with more precision.

To achieve the highest sound quality, both the CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 were equipped with the audio industry’s highly respected Wolfson DAC processors, delivering a very transparent, accurate audio signal resulting in a highly improved signal-to-noise ratio and increased headroom.

The CDJ-2000 will be available in November 2009 with a suggested retail price of $2,150.
The CDJ-900 will be available in December 2009 with a suggested retail price of $1,600.

Pioneer offers a complete line of professional DJ Equipment through its Professional Sound & Visual Division. Its DJM series of mixers has become an industry standard at clubs, studios, mobile rigs and homes around the world, known for its high quality sound and reliability. For more information, visit www.pioneerprodj.com.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and its U.S. Web address is www.pioneerelectronics.com. Its parent company, Pioneer Corporation, established in Tokyo in 1938, is a preeminent manufacturer of high-performance audio, video and computer equipment for the home, car and business markets.

1 rekordbox is music file management software developed by Pioneer in cooperation with MixVibes for use in combination with Pioneer products.
2 For more information on the version that improves compatibility when connected with the CDJ-2000/900, please see the Tonium’s website at http://www.tonium.com.
3 For more information on the version that improves compatibility when connected with the CDJ-2000/900, please see the Serato Audio Research’s website at http://www.serato.com. .
4 For more information on the version that improves compatibility when connected with the CDJ-2000/900, please see the Native Instrument’s website at http://www.native-instruments.com. .
5 For more information on the version that improves compatibility when connected with the CDJ-2000, please see the MixVibes website at http://www.mixvibes.com.

PIONEER is a registered trademark of Pioneer Corporation
REKORDBOX is a trademark of Pioneer Corporation.
MIXVIBES and CROSS are trademarks of MixVibes Companies in the United States and other countries.
PACEMAKER is a registered trademark of Tonium AB.
SERATO and SCRATCH LIVE are trademarks of Serato Audio Research.
TRAKTOR is a trademark of Native Instruments.
WOLFSON is a registered trademark of Wolfson Microelectronics.

Specifications CDJ-2000

Compatible Media
Music CD Yes
CD-R Yes
CD-RW Yes
DVD±R Yes
DVD±RW Yes
DVD±R-DL Yes
USB Devices Yes
SD Memory Card Yes

Compatible Files
MP3 Yes
AAC Yes
WAV Yes
AIFF Yes

File Systems Compatible with USB Storage
FAT12 Yes
FAT16 Yes
FAT32 Yes
HFS? Yes

Frequency Range 4Hz – 20kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio 115dB or higher (JEITA)
Total Harmonic Distortion 0.0018% (JEITA)

USB Ports USB-A 1 and USB-B 1
Link Port LAN / 100 base – tx Yes

Audio Output Terminals
AUDIO OUT 1 (RCA)
DIGITAL OUT 1 (COAXIAL)

Other Terminals
CONTROL 1(?3.5 Mini-plug)
Audio Output Voltage 2.0 Vrms
Power Supply to Use 120 V ac (60Hz)
Power Consumption 28 W

Maximum Dimensions
(WxDxH in mm) 320 × 405.7 × 106.4
(WxDxH in inches) 12.6” x 15.94” x 4.19”
Unit Weight (kg / lbs.) 4.6 kg / 10.14 lbs.

Specifications CDJ-900

Compatible Media:
Music CD Yes
CD-R Yes
CD-RW Yes
DVD±R No
DVD±RW No
DVD±R-DL No
USB Devices Yes
SD Memory Card No

Compatible Files:
MP3 Yes
AAC Yes
WAV Yes
AIFF Yes

File Systems Compatible with USB Storage
FAT12 Yes
FAT16 Yes
FAT32 Yes
HFS? Yes

Frequency Range 4Hz – 20kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio 115dBor higher (JEITA)
Total Harmonic Distortion 0.003% (JEITA)
USB Ports USB-A 1 and USB-B 1
Link Port LAN / 100 base – tx Yes

Audio Output Terminals
AUDIO OUT 1 (RCA)
DIGITAL OUT 1 (COAXIAL)

Other Terminals
CONTROL 1(?3.5 Mini-plug)
Audio Output Voltage 2.0 Vrms
Power Supply to Use 120 V ac (60 Hz)
Power Consumption 26 W

Maximum Dimensions
(WxDxH in mm) 305 x 385 x 115.6
(WxDxH in inches) 12.01” x 14.78” x 4.55”
Unit Weight (kg / lbs.) 3.9 kg / 8.6 lbs.

Music File Management Software rekordbox™
Compatible Operating Systems Mac OSX (10.4.6 or later)
Windows Vista® Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business
Windows® XP Home Edition, Professional (SP2 & Later)
Compatible Files: MP3/AAC/WAV/AIFF
System Requirements: Mac OS X: / Intel® Core. Duo (or equivalent processor)
1.83 GHz or faster
Windows Vista® or Windows® XP:
Intel® Pentium® 4 (or equivalent processor)
2 GHz or faster
Memory 512 MB or more
Free Hard Drive Space 250 MB or more (Not including the space needed for saving music and other files)
Disk Drives: CD-ROM Drive
Display XGA (1024×768)
or greater recommended

Her’s a nice little video to get newbies up and running with thier new Traktor Pro setup..

Introduction

Vestax are a company full of surprises. Having laid down the blueprint for scratch mixers and dared to take on Technics in the turntable market, the digital age seemed to take them by surprise a little. A handful of bizarre folly DJ products followed as well as a few attempts at CD technology, but there was a period of time where I (and the industry for that matter) felt that the once mighty Vestax corporation had lost its way and would soon shut up shop.

How wrong we were.

Out of nowhere, the industry defining VCI-100 MIDI controller appeared. Taking the established 2 turntables and a mixer format, Vestax effectively squished it down into something the size of a book. It succeeded where others failed in that it was built like a tank and actually felt like using a regular full sized DJ setup – just smaller. Vestax certainly didn’t invent the MIDI controller for DJs, but they did define it and establish the rulebook that others have rigidly stuck to like glue ever since.

The Vestax VCI-100 is supported in just about every piece of DJ software on God’s Earth. But MIDI support is a funny thing, in that developers have to fight with the arcane magic of mapping and trying to get things like platters to work properly within the 3 decade old confines of this ageing protocol. But Serato had other ideas, and set about making the software interface as simple as possible – as near to plug and play as is humanly possible. Thus Serato’s ITCH was born and many a manufacturer has been (and will be) won over by the superior architecture that is hidden from the user, but makes their MIDI DJ life so much better – invisible in fact. Vestax embraced ITCH entirely and have made a VCI variant that works primarily with ITCH, but doesn’t forget other MIDI software either.

Overview

The VCI-300 is a Serato ITCH based 2 deck controller aimed at giving you the very best performance from MIDI, and is essentially the ITCH version of their existing VCI-100 offering. It’s broadly the same format and size, with subtle differences in layout and build. Aside from being designed for ITCH, the biggest difference between the 2 is that the VCI-300 has a built in sound card which means simplified ins and outs handling. With the VCI-300, you only need your laptop and headphones, and then you can plug straight into the sound system.

ITCH runs in Windows and OS X, and is directly supported and developed by Serato themselves, so you can be sure that it just works and will continue to do so. Peace of mind has a high price however – the VCI-300 isn’t cheap but for a gigging DJ, having Serato in the driving seat helps you sleep at night.

First Impressions

Putting aside the obvious comparisons with the VCI-100, the 300 adopts a more rugged styling – rounded rubberised corners and rubber knobs are clearly aimed at tactility and toughness, and is just as heavy in your hand too. The VCI-100 certainly screamed quality, and the VCI-300 goes one step further in making it just that little bit harder to damage with the split but full face plastic faceplate. Sure it’s going to get scratched (especially in the fader area), but I’ve seen some 100s with big dents and scratches in the all metal face. At least the plastic can be replaced if necessary. And this also opens the door to full custom faceplates for those wanting to use other MIDI apps. And using these faceplates means that there are no visible screws either – a huge improvement over the 100.

GRIPE: Fine white lettering on a black shiny faceplate is hard to read in darker conditions.

The controls on such devices are often added as a second rate afterthought and wobble more than a jelly in the spin cycle. But the VCI-300′s controls are anything but that – everything is rigid, especially the knobs which if I’m honest are a little too stiff. But they certainly have NO side to side movement at all, but they will at least stay where you moved them to. This does however mean no accidental moving in what is a small working space. And the ultra low profile hard plastic buttons work with a reassuring click too.

Overall, the VCI-300 feels just as rock solid and superbly honed as the 100, but with all the added polish that an update affords. Quality wise, Vestax still sit atop the MIDI controller mountain.

How It Works

Without retreading old ground by going into the nitty gritty of ITCH (which you can do right here, the VCI-300 is driven by Serato’s ITCH software. Think of it like a DJ operating system that drives the hardware, that is specifically designed to run within the framework laid down by Serato. Via the medium of frighteningly high speed MIDI, Serato and Vestax are able to squeeze amazing performance out of the VCI-300, especially from the platters, which owners of VCI-100s will know that it could be better.

So instead of loading in config files or mapping controls within your favourite software, you install ITCH, plug in the VCI-300 and you’re set. The whole point of ITCH is to take away the complexities of MIDI and keep it very firmly under the hood so that you can plug and play. The KISS principle strikes again.

Layout

Having shown that ITCH’s functions are directly and irrevocably tied to the hardware, we’d better hope that it’s all laid out logically. Obviously, trying to cram maximum functionality into something smaller than an open magazine is no easy task, but thanks to good logistical design, colour coded buttons and some compromises, the VCI-300 is a joy to use. Let’s break this down.

Jog Wheels

Visually and mechanically these are very similar to the VCI-100 – touch sensitive 2 part wheels, that come apart via 3 screws to unveil the technology underneath, but just a tiny bit bigger than the 100. This is slightly different in that the metal part of the platter does directly touch the brass wheel underneath, but connects via a small spring. And just like the VCI-100, the outer plastic edge can be used for pitch bending while scratch mode is still engaged.

There are however 3 really big differences over the 100 that puts the VCI-300 in an all new league of controllerism:

Tension adjustment

The jog wheels sit on bearings that freewheeled unabated on the VCI-100. On the 300 however, this can be adjusted via wheels on the side faces, to spin between 1/2 and 5 spins with a good shove. For me, it’s a balance between free spin for juggling and something a little tighter for scratching.

Sensitivity
Being touch sensitive rather than pressure sensitive, this is all about how much actual flesh is touching the wheel before becoming active. At the back of the VCI-300, there are a pair of recessed pots that adjust each deck from the smallest tiny finger of a touch to something like 3 fingers before coming active.

Response

This is where the VCI-300 owns the 100 entirely. You may recall my VCI-100 vid on Youtube where I showed the “waawaa” phenomenon of releasing the Ahhhh sound but it having a double slur effect. The feel of MIDI controllers in general isn’t exactly vinyl like either. And while a pair of 5″ static jog wheels isn’t ever going to feel like 150g vinyl on a platter with sipmats, the actual response is amazing. Yes there is latency, but it’s such a tiny amount that chirps don’t really suffer once you allow for the ever-so slight delay. Releasing the wheel means instant drag free audio – no waawaa like the VCI-100. In fact, it’s a little too instant, and is very much stop or full start. And no amount of scribbletastic scratching could induce drift.

IDEA: Can we have a little software based vinyl pickup emulation please? It would be nice to have some control over how fast the audio is picked up again rather than instantly.

But having established that the VCI-300′s jog wheels are a step up from other MIDI controllers, you’re still going to have to make compromises if you expect the full compliment of scratch techniques. Vinyl intensive techniques that depend on the nuances of hand and wax movement aren’t really possible. That said, getting the best from the VCI-300 depends entirely on your own skills. Rather than post a half arsed set by yours truly, check out this set to see what can really be done on a VCI-300 scratchwise:

This probably goes without saying, but the jog wheels are multi-functional. You get the clearly obvious scratch mode, but when this isn’t engaged, the jog wheel becomes a pitch bender which that operates at very extremes ranges of bending. And provided the scroll button is engaged, you can scroll through your library as well for very quick track selection.

The wheels are complimented by the play and cue buttons. I know some people complain that they’re sat right under the wheels and could lead to accidental pressing, but where else would you put them? I found no issues with having them there, and it’s just a matter of getting used to them really. That said, I would have preferred the cue buttons under the platters, but there is only so much space to play with. Again, it’s a simple matter of technique adjustment.

Additional playback features include brake speed from instant to what feels like around 2 weeks. Feels like an exercise in showing off ITCH’s superior slowing down algorithm more than being anything useful. And for those doing shows to teens and kids, you can still play NWA tracks thanks to the censor button which gives a momentary reverse that re-engages back in the track when you release it. This feature, via the shift button, makes the audio properly play in reverse. And if you so wish, you can switch between 33 or 45 in the preferences.
Faders

The faders aren’t anything special and I suspect are just the same as those in the VCI-100. The crossfader is a 45mm one and has an easily accessible curve control that gives a pin sharp curve as well as a software reverse switch in the preferences. The 65mm line faders have also gained a curve control which gives an on/off sharp curve as well. The lag on all faders is 2mm – not too shabby for a controller.

The faders is surprisingly nice to use and is easily scratchable right up to crab level. I suspect that the VCI-300 will appeal to Hip Hop DJs because of this, which does have me worried that this pretty insubstantial fader set is likely to fail under the excessive hammer of a scratch DJ. 3rd party options to fit into the shallow VCI chassis are slim on the ground, but I have seen a Pro X fade shoehorned into a VCI-100 so there’s hope yet.

IDEA: Why stop just short of the full fader compliment? How about a software fader reverse setting for the line faders? And if possible a lag adjust as well?
Pitch and Key

I’m just going to come right out and say it – the VCI-300′s pitch implementation is plain odd. Across the 60mm pitch slider you get a whole ±6% range. Totally understandable from a control point of view so that you can still get the same level of sensitivity across this short travel. But that is the only pitch range you get. Instead, Vestax have opted for a pitch shift method – you get 2 buttons with move the 6% pitch range up or down in 6% blocks. When I say 6%, there is a variance of up to 1% on that figure in my experience, but seeing as you have to look at the screen anyway, it doesn’t really matter.

So at any one time, you get a 6% range anywhere between -50/+100%, and at 100% you can even stretch it to 112%. But if you find yourself needing a quick return to 0%, you press both buttons to reset the range, or engage the digital quartz lock for a temporary return to 0% while leaving the selected pitch shift intact.

So about this strange pitch arrangement – it flies in the face of any type of pitch control I’ve ever seen. On pressing the up/down buttons, I expected to find the range switching to say 10%, 16%, 25%, 50% and 100%. But no – instead I got this somewhat limited method that really doesn’t lend itself well to accurate wide pitch shifts at all. I’m sure that for regular mixing within an established BPM range, this method works well and gives you the control you need, but I still felt uncomfortable with it. Not because it’s new, but because I found it too limiting. You could have made it 8% given the huge number of potential Technics users out there who may feel the need to toe-dip the digital scene.

IDEA: Seeing as the pitch is controlled entirely by software anyway, how about making the pitch slider operate in relative (like it is now) and absolute (selectable ranges) modes? Have a software switch that allows you to use the up/down buttons either as pitch shifts or range selectors. I know I’d be happier with the choice, and it would be something that no other product would have (although I stand to be corrected on this).

So having established that the VCI-300′s pitch control is left field in its thinking, Serato have also thrown in key locking as well. Now Serato are very well know for their superior pitch n’ time solution, so would expect that the keylocking in ITCH would be of a high quality – and it is. When slowing down, I was happy with the quality up to about -25% – beyond that you’re into double beats territory. But all the way up to +50 is solid and useable, even if it is annoyingly difficult to do a smooth keylock beyond 6%. Above 50% ITCH seems to apply a proportional key lock, but I doubt anyone would use keylock outside of a small range anyway so it’s not a complaint as such.

Update: Like he good hack that I am , I posed my concerns directly to Serato about this unusual pitch method. Bill Mitsakos from Serato came back with the following explanation:
First of all, why 6% instead of 8. The slider part that Vestax provided is approx 3/4 the length of the technics 1200 slider, which is 8%. This way, moving the vci slider by let’s say 1 cm translates to the same percentage change in pitch as on the 1200.

So why the pitch shift buttons instead of a range selector? The thing that sucks about wide ranges is that they come at the cost of much lower precision. The shift buttons give you a huge range of +100% and -50%, without sacrificing any precision. You raise a good point, that there is no way to do drastic pitch changes quickly. This is something we should look to fix in software (like a shift-pitch function type thing).

An important detail is that the pitch range buttons do not shift by exactly 6%. They shift by exactly 1 semitone ( which is approx 5.9%). This value is compounded so the further away you are from 0%, the greater the percentage change (relative to zero). So while u can’t do drastic tempo changes with the yank of a slider, you can do some very cool harmonic tempo changes (especially if u are using autotempo so that one track follows the other).

I do totally understand the reason, but would be so much happier if Serato could make the more conventional pitch ranges available.
Cues and Loops

The VCI-300 gives you 3 saved cues points (the NS7 has 5). Each of these is colour coded and the relevant buttons light up on the VCI-300 if the cue points have been defined – which is a simple matter of hitting the right button at the right time. Deleting the cues is an equally simple matter of shift-cue and it’s gone.

Because of the lack of jog wheel cue points or vinyl stickers, the hot cues really come into their own if you don’t like watching the screen to spin back to the right point. Obviously, this will lead to accusations of cheating from luddites unwilling to drag themselves into this century, but for the type of DJ who is likely to buy a VCI, this is a real godsend. It’s not cheating, but is just a different way of doing things. The VCI-300 isn’t vinyl, so you have to come up with new ways of making music, and if that means getting creative with cue points then so be it. There’s a new world open to you if you want, and a lot of things that you just can’t do with vinyl.

IDEA: for the next versions of static platter controllers, perhaps an LED ring around the jog wheel that simulates platter spin would be really useful in reducing the reliance on the screen.

Things start to get clever with looping. Assuming that ITCH has accurately analysed the BPM on your music library, you get the VCI-300 to autoloop. One press of a button and you’re looping, and you can reduce or increase the length of the autoloop as well from 8ths right up 16 beats. The clever stuff here is with cues – you can automatically make autoloops from the cue points, and they work in just the same way as other loops. Deleting the loops is a simple shift-loop combo.

The latest v1.1 update also brought loop rolling i.e repeat beats or fractions of beats with a key press and picking up where it should be in the track when you release. It works perfectly, and while you can activeate it from the VCI with shift-autoplay, it still requires reaching across to interfere with the keyboard on your computer, as the roll is only what is defined by the keyboard in ITCH. For me starts to impinge on the key beauty of ITCH which is keyboard free DJing. I trust that future hardware accessories will return functionality to the DJ gear rather than the laptop.

Overall, the cues and loops work really well. The colour coding is extremely useful, as is the turning of cues into loops. I think I was spoiled with the NS7′s 4 cue points, but there has to be space saving compromises somewhere. Perhaps when the inevitable ITCH add-ons arrive, we’ll see access to more cue points.

Ins and Outs

As previously mentioned, the VCI-300 comes complete with a 4 channel 16 bit 44.1KHz sound card. So instead of having to buy, carry and configure a separate lump of hardware, the VCI-300 and ITCH has it all covered. Thus, the VCI-300 gets the usual compliment of inputs and outputs that means you simply plug your VCI-300 into the sound system and you’re spinning – or static jogwheeling as it where.

Looking at inputs first – the VCI-300 isn’t simply left to 2 decks. You do get extra inputs via a microphone and aux ports. Both of these are controlled via software, and clicking the MIC/AUX button bring up their own strips. Each has gain and 3 band EQ controls and importantly can be assigned to faders as well. The real gem is that in the event of a system crash, a THRU switch totally bypasses ITCH and pushes the aux and mic inputs through to the master out. This is ideal for those rare times when everything goes tits up and you quickly need to fire up a premade mix from your iPod.

As I keep saying in every review, sound quality is largely subjective, and in the digital domain is dependent more than ever on the quality of the source audio. The VCI-300 doesn’t disappoint at all, and gives you a very punchy sound via the kill to a software switchable +6 or +12dB EQ. No surprises here really. But being an all in one unit, you can only use the built in sound card for output.

Output wise you get 2 outputs – TRS jacks or RCAs depending on your needs (shame it’s not 2 separate outputs though) and of course has its own gain control. The VCI-300 has a single TRS jack headphone port with a full gain control, as well as a master/cue pan control. No split cue though – that would have been nice. And the master out and headphones get an overdrive control for that extra bit of oomph as well.

Metering the output is a 12 part LED strip that gives you post EQ output levels, but only for the channels – there’s no master out metering. Again, I suspect this is a casualty of the economies of scale. I don’t miss it, but others might.

One last software output is the record feature. This can capture your set to 16 or 24bit AIFF or WAV files. Be warned – to do all all this audio work and record to your HD requires unhindered grunt. Make sure you have a fast machine that is doing nothing but ITCH work.

TIP: Now while the VCI-300 is bus powered, if you use multiple USB devices, or worry that your laptop may need a reboot should something go wrong mid set, buying a power supply would be a very good idea to keep the VCI-300 running in THRU mode.

In Use

Bar a few setup options, all you see on screen is just enough to help you play your tunes, which for me is how it should be. The emphasis with ITCH is to give the focus of your DJ life over to the associated hardware rather than staring at the screen to do the simplest of tasks. The VCI-300 is designed to handle almost everything that you as a digital DJ would want to do without resorting to intrusive trackpad or extra MIDI controller sessions.

See that big round control surrounded by buttons? That’s how you browse and select tracks from crates. ITCH, like every other piece of DJ software worth a jot uses files and crates, and also has full integration with iTunes too. And for Scratch Live users, it shares your existing data and is completely interchangeable – make a change in one, it reflects when you fire up the other.

Initially, you’ll find yourself still in the habit of leaning across to your laptop, but in a matter of minutes, the VCI’s controls are second nature. And this extends to general usage too. While some of us have DJed with conventional setups for decades now, using the VCI-300 is a little bit of a culture shock. Rather than operating within a 4-5ft wide physical space, all of your movement is confined to around 12 inches of focussed DJ space. For mix DJs, this isn’t really an issue, but for the more action packed turntablist, it feel like trying to use your phone on a crowded train. You do however get used to it, and you must be aware that the stage presence when using a VCI is lessened, simply because when you’re concentrating, it’s all focussed on an area the size of a magazine.

The one thing I struggled with at first is having to work with the screen to emulate regular vinyl spinning. Static wheels means having no idea where your music is pulled back to. Spinbacks sound great, but you need to look at the screen to find out exactly where your wheel has stopped. For some, this will be a problem, but if you’re scaling down from full sized turntables to a VCI, then you must be willing to make compromises and sacrifices somewhere. And if you’re wanting real vinyl feel, why don’t you just use something more suited to that type of spinning anyway?

Auto Sync and Tempo

I thought I’d give this particular feature a section of its own, if only to stimulate some sort of debate post review. What we’re talking about here is what some (actually seemingly just hardcore Scratch Live users) think should never EVER appear in a Serato product. Indeed, Serato themselves proudly boast that Scratch Live “is the only digital DJ system that stays true to the art of DJing with no auto sync or effects by design”. Well it does kind of have effects via the Rane TTM57SL, but that’s another issue.

So what is auto sync and tempo? Via the calculated BPM, pressing the AUTO TEMPO button on a particular deck makes the BPMs match so that you can easily adjust the music to beatmatch. ITCH shows you the adjusted pitch on screen and is switched off by pressing auto tempo again. I found this incredibly useful for quick mixing breaks in succession in a kind of 10 classic breaks in a minute style. Numark’s NS7 had this as well.

But the VCI-300 goes a step further and offers the allegedly scene destroying auto sync, where pressing shift-auto tempo makes the beats properly align without the need to touch the jog wheel. Well it attempts to do that depending on when you engage it and just how well defined the audio is. It’s never going to be perfect unless you’re using sparse 4 to the floor dance beats, but it’s pretty good nonetheless. Just make absolutely sure that the BPMs are correct before entrusting your mixing to it. But trust me haters – this won’t kill the scene.

Beyond ITCH

While the VCI-300 is designed from the ground up to work flawlessly with ITCH, for some people the solid but comparatively limited feature set doesn’t match up to the lavish spec sheet of software like Traktor Pro. And it seems that you can use other software with the VCI-300 – Deckadance for example has native support, with all controls ready mapped to the respective function, but its the high speed MIDI features where support begins to fall over. The platters for example offer a challenge to any software, even those that claim to support high res MIDI. Some Traktor config files have turned up but nothing that offers the rock solid performance of the VCI paired with ITCH.

Added functionality offered in other DJ software packages usually means effects. And thankfully I can now report that Serato have got busy and via the soon to be released Vestax VFX-1, the VCI-300 (and other ITCH units) will be able to control effects within ITCH. It’s an optional extra that offers a heap of effects functionality to ITCH. This means a VCI-300 is now modular, offering effects if you want them, rather than having to pay for something you might not want. More on this in a future review sometime after September 2009.

Whitelabel.net

A new feature that has been available to Scratch Live users for a long time is access to Serato’s Whitelabel.net side project. In a nutshell, Serato have struck deals with labels to give owners of Scratch Live and ITCH hardware access to a heap of material. Anyone can download it and listen to low res versions, but when played through Serato based hardware, you get the high quality version. It’s extremely clever and expands your crates without even trying. I’m not saying you’re going to get the top 40 for free, but it’s certainly worth having a dig around to see if there is anything that takes your fancy.

The Inevitable (but wrong) Comparison

Living as I do on the world wide web, I travel around many forums, where a popular question is “NS7 or VCI-300?”. I can only assume that because these are the first ITCH based units on the market, people want to draw some sort of comparisons between them. But in my book, they’re entirely different units aimed at diverse DJing styles. I would liken “VCI vs NS7″ to “laptop vs desktop”. Both run the same operating system in much the same way, but it’s the hardware that is key and how you work with it that counts. It’s the kind of DJ that you are that dictates which one to buy.The graphic above should give you a hint as to why I feel they’re very different.

The VCI-300 is very much geared towards space saving portability, whereas the NS7 aims to reproduce a conventional DJ setup. The VCI can be thrown into a laptop bag, whereas the NS7 needs transporting in a coffin. The VCI is adequate as feeling like real vinyl whereas the NS7 is a scratch and juggle dream. The VCI-300 does miss one hot cue and features like fader start, so there are some features that fall off when you don’t go supersize.

There is however a better comparison to make, and that is the VCI-100 with other DJ software or VCI-300 with ITCH. If you want guaranteed plug and play hassle free rock solid performance with superior jog wheel response for scratching and juggling, but with a core feature set, then the VCI-300 is for you. If however you want something a little more hackable to your style where you can fully configure the controls to whatever you want (including all the extra goodies that DJ software offers) and have a choice of sound card, then get the VCI-100.

Summing Up

I’m not a fan of MIDI controllers as such. They do the job, but don’t entirely match my needs. The related messing with MIDI puts me off completely, as does the jog wheel performance on pretty much every unit on the market. But the Vestax VCI-300 with ITCH eliminates both of these stumbling blocks completely. Installation, analysing and crate making is simple. And when you start to mix, scratch and juggle, you soon realise that this is an incredibly easy but superior setup to use. And while it lacks effects yet (but they are just around the corner), the VCI-300 nails functionality and allows you to work a compact controller like never before.

I think the union of the hardware and software still has just a little way to go – both from what can be done with the current hardware, but also in the additional hardware that will come along. There’s a degree of refinement necessary that a few software fixes will address. But from the simple point of view of rocking a broad set of styles and techniques, the VCI-300 totally nails it.

Ratings

Build Quality
Much better than I expected. Ruggedised case and controls, but the plastic face may scratch, and I have doubts over the longevity of the crossfader in the regular hands of a more scratchy DJ.

Sound Quality
Sounds just fine to me. Can be pushed to distortion if you crank up every control. But if you have to do that, you’re doing it wrong.

Features and Implementation
On the whole, Vestax and Serato have almost perfected the small controller. But things like the 6% pitch method are failures. But these small letdowns can (and should) be fixed in ITCH.

Value For Money
In an arbitrary like for like comparison with similar units, the VCI-300 is overpriced. But what you’re actually paying for is the stellar performance, build and feel that ITCH brings to the VCI-300. This kind of feel and reliability has a price, but if you’re a pro DJ, it’s worth every penny.

Highs:
+ Compact size
+ Build quality
+ Plug and play ease of use
+ Jog wheel performance is second to none (in ITCH anyway)

Lows:
- Bizarre 6% pitch method
- Expensive for a controller

Bottom Line

Vestax and Serato have condensed down the pure basics of what it takes to be a DJ into a laptop bag. And it works perfectly. If portability or space are a key issue for you, get a VCI-300 and be very happy

Read more: http://www.skratchworx.com/reviews/vci300.php#ixzz0QTeokhQa