What Controller.... Vci 300 Or Traktor S4?

[sound-fest 0]

So, been a while since ive been on and boy have i been busy, irtly i secured a full time dj job at a local club which went down a storm (well until some lame ass dj undercut me, dog eat dog though i suppose) and now secured another due to my demand :)

 

for the best part of 2 years ive been dj-ing with cdj 800's and cdj-1000 mk3's which were awsome, but then after learning on these, i got interested in the digital art of dj-ing.

 

I love the limit less mixing idea's and the fact you can download any track for 99p or less and use straight away whilst gigging rather then having to burn to cd's, which over time and 1000's of cd's later is pricey.

 

So anyway cut a long story short i purchased a vestax typhoon and a cheap macbook.

 

Other then the lastic feel it turned out to be quite some kit, although i had to connect to my djm 600 mixer due to the built in sound card being not up to much.

 

Anyway i am now selling my cdj 1000's, mixer and some vinyl decks to purchase a new laptop and a controller and to try crack some bigger clubs.

 

ive looked into the vestax vci 300 mk2 which looks a ace bit of kit but then i have seen the traktor kontrol s4

which looks, well amazing.

 

Im now unsure of which to go for between the two, bearing in mind im still a novice wanting to progress and upon getting better dont really want to need to upgrade again.

 

i am mainly into dance, house etc but also love r n b and hip hop.

 

I will want to scratch as well as mix and use samples etc

 

what is the main difference between the two since the s4 is a good £200 more expensive?

 

Im tempted by the s4 with the new traktor pro but i like the vestax with serato itch???

 

any advise would be appriciated :)

[gadget 0]

I'd make sure you demo both before committing to buying. They are both very much considered purchases, and you'd be annoyed if you bought it, tried it and found it wasn't up to your expectations or just didn't like it !

 

Its worth ringing some local stores up who might have them in stock - if not, might be worth finding a store thats a bit further afield for you to go and try - make a day of it?

 

See if you can take some tracks with you on a memory stick or something and that you can use them in the store too, to see how both types of software and controller work.

 

Cheers,

 

David

[DJTREV 0]

Have you considered the Hercules RMX.That comes with VDJ and I have heard good reports about it.

[wizard 0]

If you are used to pioneer cd decks try to demo the pioneer media players, CDJ 350' 900 or 2000 you then wouldn't need a laptop all of the tracks could be on hard drive.......and no learning curve as they are as easy to use as the pioneer CD players......they also have CD players built in as backup.

 

Just a thought.....you could also keep the DJM600

[sound-fest 0]

If you are used to pioneer cd decks try to demo the pioneer media players, CDJ 350' 900 or 2000 you then wouldn't need a laptop all of the tracks could be on hard drive.......and no learning curve as they are as easy to use as the pioneer CD players......they also have CD players built in as backup.

 

Just a thought.....you could also keep the DJM600

 

Hmm , well ive now sold my decks and the mixer for £1000 little cheap but one of the players has a few faults so not too bothered.

 

Im tempted by the s4 as it looks an ace bit of kit for club use but i am going to have to try em out before commiting as suggested. I am not spending all the £1000 on a bit of kit i dont like only to sell a few months down the line.

 

Also the RMX is not a top of the range unit, it is entry level and i tested it and i chose the typhoon over it as it was much more like using cdj's when scratching and mixing then the rmx is (just not my cup of tea)

 

very tempted by a second hand pair of cdj 400's but would i need the djm 400 to match or could i get a cheap mixer and still be able to use my laptop?

 

I ask as i can get a pair of the decks for £700 ish and a set with mixer is over £1200!! and it is only 2 channel.

 

Well ive concidered my options and i seriously cannot afford the cdj 850's or 2000's which is a shame but i have manged to get a used pair of cdj 400's for £690 , went for these as they are more reliable and im used to cdj's and i can add my laptop and use them as a controller if i wanted or use thumb drive or cd's so happy days.

now with the left over £310 i can find my self a cheap mixer to match as the djm 400 is way way over priced cheers for the comments ill let you know how i go

[mjmac 0]

The S4 is what i'd go for... as it has specific features linked for traktor where as the vci-300 doesnt... having said that you could midi map some features if you fancy tinkering with things?

 

I'd prefer to have something that works out of the box from the get go.. and this is what you'll get with the s4 & traktor software - which is specifically made for the s4 controller!

 

i love the loop bank and fx... it doesnt get any better than this currently!

really good for production!

 

I own a vci100 (doesnt have a soundcard built in) and while its been good - its been like a vintage car... im always tinkering with the midi controls to make things better for my work flow!

 

However, having said all of that there is no way i'd use software out live these days and prefer to use my cdj2000s - i know its much more to carry around but ive never missed a beat with this kit, while traktor hasnt been as solid as i would like... and i use a macbook pro!

 

[coolpartydj 0]

The S4 is what i'd go for... as it has specific features linked for traktor where as the vci-300 doesnt... having said that you could midi map some features if you fancy tinkering with things?

 

I'd prefer to have something that works out of the box from the get go.. and this is what you'll get with the s4 & traktor software - which is specifically made for the s4 controller!

 

i love the loop bank and fx... it doesnt get any better than this currently!

really good for production!

 

I own a vci100 (doesnt have a soundcard built in) and while its been good - its been like a vintage car... im always tinkering with the midi controls to make things better for my work flow!

 

However, having said all of that there is no way i'd use software out live these days and prefer to use my cdj2000s - i know its much more to carry around but ive never missed a beat with this kit, while traktor hasnt been as solid as i would like... and i use a macbook pro!

 

I sold my CDjs to go down the traktor route... i have actually gone back to using Technics Turntables with time coded vinyl and Traktor Pro. Also using the X1 controller, AMAZING kit works fantastic, problem is, its not a case of IF, but a case of WHEN the laptop crashes. Even with a MAC you can still crash. I am going back to using CDjs and saving for 900s at the moment. I will still use traktor mainly for the FX units, but ultimately i have done both and you cant beat that hands on reliability of CDjs. You can still use Time coded CDs as well dont forget....

[gadget 0]

Traktor Pro is pretty stable I've found.... Ok, gets a bit upset if you suspend the laptop, then remove the external sound card and then wake up the laptop again (although current version doesnt seem to lock up any more).

 

Its worked for about 6.5hours continuously during an evening - some of it on automix (at buffet time)..

 

Cheers,

 

David

[1878blues 0]

S4...its an absolute no brainer

[mjmac 0]

Traktor Pro is pretty stable I've found.... Ok, gets a bit upset if you suspend the laptop, then remove the external sound card and then wake up the laptop again (although current version doesnt seem to lock up any more).

 

Its worked for about 6.5hours continuously during an evening - some of it on automix (at buffet time)..

 

Cheers,

 

David

I hear ya david... but pretty stable maens it will only be a matter of time until the next crash!

hence the reason i will never use traktor out live if i can possibly help it... ive had many good hours using traktor keeping the floors alive... but 10 seconds of no music and the floor becomes very empty - most venues i play at dont appreciate that!

 

ok we all carry back up cd players... just in case... but that may as well be your main play out source if your gonna take em!

 

When i used traktor out live very rarely did i also take my cd players, as it was all about travelling light... my djing was geared up all around the mp3... no more burning cd's, printing cd covers with track listings... etc... just turn up and plug in!

 

Now that i have the cdj2000s i think ive found the best mixture of form & functionallity... i can use mp3's all day long with the reliability of the cdj, have a few back up dvd's or cd's if anything was to happen to my hard drive and play all night with much less stress... will it crash... wont it crash!!!!

[gadget 0]

I hear ya david... but pretty stable maens it will only be a matter of time until the next crash!

hence the reason i will never use traktor out live if i can possibly help it... ive had many good hours using traktor keeping the floors alive... but 10 seconds of no music and the floor becomes very empty - most venues i play at dont appreciate that!

 

ok we all carry back up cd players... just in case... but that may as well be your main play out source if your gonna take em!

 

When i used traktor out live very rarely did i also take my cd players, as it was all about travelling light... my djing was geared up all around the mp3... no more burning cd's, printing cd covers with track listings... etc... just turn up and plug in!

 

Now that i have the cdj2000s i think ive found the best mixture of form & functionallity... i can use mp3's all day long with the reliability of the cdj, have a few back up dvd's or cd's if anything was to happen to my hard drive and play all night with much less stress... will it crash... wont it crash!!!!

 

After sufferning a power failure a week or so ago rendering my CD players useless (when I needed them!), I guess anything can crash regardless - there aint a lot you can do - CDs can potentially skip, HDD's can crash, power supplies can fail leaving you with 160volts and nothing working... !

 

Anything can go wrong - it happens. Power amplifiers can go bang (one has on me), so you'll lose sound whatever - but the main thing is you do have some form of backup for the essential items...

 

I don't get this "if you've got cd players for backup you might as well play them" line... Equipment fails. I've seen it fail in big clubs too (DJM800 at Godskitchen in Air, Birmingham on the main floor!)

 

Cheers,

 

David