New Vestax Controller in Apple Stores on Monday

My vestax won’t turn on i got the red light but nothing else works what can i do to fix it

I think being a dj is not only because he has the best and traditional equipments on the market.
The art of Deejaying is based also in selection and creativity, does’nt matter what you use to make it an art!
How many good musicians started with cheap guitars or other instruments, and that dint stop or made his life difficulty to be a music star !!!!
the important is have fun and make others happy with your choice or music.Make things with love have more success than expensive things.
For Mike!!!
[quote comment=”39733″] So I have nothing but positive things to say about the Spin/Djay software as it was the stepping stone into a hobby and culture that I absolutely love. Anyone wanna buy my old Spin? ;)[/quote]

I’m interested in buying your SPIN
if you still have!!!
contact me neosusa@hotmail.com
…
Now,

It would be great to see the EAN GOLDEN doing a test on this product : spin!
What do you think EAN ? 🙂

Best regards to everybody

[quote comment=”23421″]”Sounds like some of you guys are spitting the dummy because your “exclusive” gear doesn’t look so exclusive anymore.

++++++

You don’t seem to understand. Let me try and make it simply. If those brides don’t give the real Pros a chance (because she’s trying to save a buck), it won’t mater what kind of gear the pro use. The pro won’t be in business for long, because of all the dj wannabes will do your party for $50. Sure, those $50 dj’s may suck big time, but the bride won’t know that until after the wedding is ruined and the cheap dj has given the rest of us real Pros a bad rep.
Again, Vestex might of had good intentions, but I can see where this can go badly for them.[/quote]

Srsly you are just talking out ur ass here. Not even gonna bother explaining, cause quite frankly I recon you lack the IQ to understand.
Oh, but have a nice day.

If I downloaded traktor pro on my mac, would the vestax spin work with it or would I have to download another file?

Reading some of your posts wow!
Dudes worried about other people especially younger people being able to fade them with one of these. If you worried you must not be that good to start with. New tools are just that new tools to make your job more easy & creative.
Real dj’s mix & produce music anyway!
My 2 cent’s. No one can sound like you unless your easy to duplicate!

Has anyone seen the vestax typhoon controller?
It’s exactly the same as vestax spin but has a gift wrap paper /ribbon texture & colours, works on pc & mac & is setup for traktor.

I hope they reconsider the design as the function descriptions are hard to read & leds & indicator lights clash making it look a total mess.

I don’t know why vestax chose to launch 2 similar products but at least the european markets will finally get some goods.

[quote post=”3206″]I own Vestex and I can see it now. I’ll be a gig doing my thing and I’ll hear a young kid ask his dad “is that the controller you bought me? Yes son, it’s just like the one I bought you”.[/quote]

Then the dad said; “…and you even DJ better than him son!”

Because God forbid his ability to mix was equal or better than yours… despite his inferior hardware.

I think that this is a fantastic little product that doesn’t have any bearings on anyones career as a DJ. I started on 2 gemini turntables and a low end mixer and used to rock loads of parties with them. If anything playing on budget equipment meant i had to be way more creative and helped me to to be a lot better than the people using 1210’s and the like as they relied so much on spinning the middle of the plated they were no good at getting the pitch right in the first place and were constantly tweaking thereafter. Also it meant I had to be super careful when tweaking so I never knocked or touched anything to mess the music up as the gemini’s had no torque and weren’t too stable. I think this will raise the game as people have stated, just because you spend loads of money on fast car doesn’t make you a racing driver, spending money on a full art set does kind of make you an artist but not a grand master in the art-forms true sense of the word?
I think the spin looks great, obviously handles well from some of the comments on the thread, plus the software will never compete with the tricks available on Traktor/ Serato and therefore will get a lot more people interested which at the end of the day is all people who love the music want. If there was just a handful of DJ’s in the world where would all the new ideas and creativity come from? Would we be sat conversing on this thread if only Turntable DJ’s had carried on and and even take that back a step further if no one had ever beat matched 2 tracks for fear of p*ssing off the person who made the music or bringing DJing to wider market? I think that the majority of the people here will agree this is what we love and cherrish about the music, just because a few more people will be having a go and possibly not like it as much as they thought and there will be a load of dusty “Spins” sat on a shelf somewhere doesn’t worry me.

will the djay software (whatever the spin uses) work with rewire? Will i be able to sync my itunes stuff to ableton’s master clock?

Here’s official word from Vestax about PC compatibility with Spin:

——
Can I use SPIN with Windows?

A. SPIN is designed for Macintosh systems but can be used with Windows systems by using the MIDI mapping feature of ASIO4ALL and other DJ/DAW applications. Please note that Vestax does not support SPIN with Windows systems.
——–
In other words, it works!!!!

They don’t have custom midi maps for any windows apps, but it’s class-compliant midi. Nor do they do they have custom ASIO drivers for windows, so you have to use generic ASIO4ALL.

The VCM-100 used Maya hardware for the sound card so I’m sure someone will figure out a custom driver that works with Spin and user created maps for traktor, VDJ, etc. will surface.

SPIN is the best deal going on a DJ controller right now.

Looks like I’m getting myself one for Christmas now.

[quote comment=”24365″][quote comment=”23411″][quote comment=”23370″]Hello,
I am interested in this product. How can I get it? It is compatible with Windows XP or 7?[/quote]

If you read through the article, you’ll see that it is designed to run with DJay software, exclusive to Mac. But as a midi controller, you should be able to use it with midi software running on Windows.[/quote]

What midi softwares would be compatible with this machine? I want to get it for Christmas… but I have a Windows computer. Please help me out with this!! I love the design and the way that it performs. I’ve seeing the Numark stealth and to be honest… don’t like much about it.

Please help me out with this because I really want to get it.

[quote comment=”23370″]Hello,
I am interested in this product. How can I get it? It is compatible with Windows XP or 7?[/quote]

NO! GET THAT PC JUNK OUTTA HERE..

this will work for pc for sure right? cause i dun wanna use DJAY … anyone try it on pc yet?

If the VCI controllers only cost $100, would you people be whining like crazy about how much they suck and how they are letting everyone get a piece of the action?

No, you would be buying a second one.

As someone who make music on his laptop, I got a lot of hate from people who had to spends thousands of dollars on hardware to make the same music. I used to use hardware myself, but I got tired of carrying it around from place to place so I sold most of it.

Are “Speed” faders 14-bit?

Is the vestax spin only for MAC? If so are they planing on doing something for PC users. I just saw the video demo and Im really feeling this controller but im a PC user.

they’re also going to start having dj classes in the apple stores.

When oh when will this be available in the UK i have to have this!!

@dj blaze
I picked it up on Sunday, wrote quite a bit up above. Take a look.

And @Anonymous
[quote comment=”23629″]…this is strictly for bedroom deejays.[/quote]
I’m already using it in a professional radio environment – it offers much more control than the studio equipment, but not overloaded with features only useful to people doing live breakbeats, etc. Although this gadget is inexpensive, it’s not realistic to call it a toy only suitable for kids. It handles like the ‘real thing’.

you know what the 300’s aent to far from this ,its plastic too so what the fuss?

There’s nothing wrong with building cheap entry-level controllers guys. I got myself Behringer BCD3000 2 years ago just to see whether DJ-ing is gonna stick with me and my buddy has it now after it went to Burning Man with me twice and I got a pair of Denon CDJs and Pioneer mixer. So I really have to thank Behringer for helping me get into DJ-ing even though my BCD3000 felt so uncomfortable that even Playa dust didn’t make it much worse.

This, DJ Hero? Touch DJ on the iPhone? I think everyone will be a dj soon enough, we’ve already had a massive over-saturation in the past three years… Just means us professionals will need to step up the game, and innovate beyond the traditional ways of dj-ing.

I think some of you guys are being ridiculous, it’s like a bunch of American Fender Stratocaster owners getting angry about the existence of Squier Strats, get over yourselves. I’m personally interested in it, the price seems fair and it looks like a good introduction to to digital djing, I can’t justify $1000 for a VCI-300 but I can certainly spend $250 on this.

Uhhhh beat matching is a thing of the past people!!! it what u do from here on out that counts

Very interesting polarized thread here. Based on some (not all) of these comments, one might think controllerism is a synonym for elitism, which is a funny thing because controllerism is struggling to not appear to be trying to play grown-up with the turntablists. It’s like the mid-sized kid picking on the little kids for making up for getting picked on by the big kids. Anyway.

I’m a radio DJ (Remember those? Radio is where it all started!) who programs exclusively with the computer (CDs are so old-school). I’d been struggling to playlist on my Mac then get those tunes over to the Windows box in the radio studio which has minimal DJ software. Djay 3 came out and it was just what I was looking for – a lot more control than iTunes, and avoiding Windoze alltogether. Hey, it even looks nice and creates the space for some creative mixing!

I wanted a simple controller and there was no way I would spend $500 on a VCI-100 or lug around a 10 lb. piece of gear – it looked fun, but just impractical for my needs as a professional DJ with a regular gig. This thing comes out & it’s perfect! Low price point, small and light, from a reputable company, and out-of-the-box compatible with the software I’m already using. So I bought one at an Apple store on Sunday – the day it was released.

So, handling this thing is a dream: I can sit on the floor and rest it in my lap, DJ casually for friends, pass it around and everyone can basically figure it out. It really opens the doors to make this casual, fun, and ubiquitous. Getting it to sound good requires skill at selecting tunes and mixing them – same as DJing ever was. This doesn’t change the game for pros – just make it more fun. Calling it a toy like it’s just for kids isn’t really accurate. It’s not built like pro-level gear which is designed to withstand heavy use, but it’s still really nice for what it does.

It’s designed for Mac. If you’re not familiar with Apple, one could characterize their work by stating that it’s refined to the point of being simple, elegant, beautiful, integrated, and really works well. And that’s how I would describe Djay and the Spin – it doesn’t have every feature in the book (and maybe misses some that pros may find important) – but it’s straightforward, great to handle and use, and it does the job it claims to do very well.

And suggesting that DJ Hero has anything to do with controllerism is silly. It’s a video game, based on button mashing and staring at a cartoon on a screen. Like Guitar Hero which didn’t teach anyone to play a guitar, the people who waste time developing skill at the game at the end of the day won’t have any experience as a DJ.

the response time on this thing looks great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6c-BHWM0cI
I’ll get my son one for xmass and one for myself 😉

I cannot believe some of the people on this thread- this is a cheap entry level piece of DJ hardware and software, that may, just may get a whole load of youngsters into DJ’ing and controllerism…that is a good thing!!! I started DJ’ing with two belt driven citronics with inch long pitch controls wired together so needed two people to carry them….A DJ with Technics 1210’s could have said “oh they are cack” they were but they got me into DJ’ing and made a success of it….to you naysayers I say nay (Role Models movie)

ha, stolen product name..(there is a midi / timecode system already named spin)

i will be picking this up because i cannot afford a mixer and two cdj’s, i like what people are saying but coming from someone who loves mixing but cant do it in my own bedroom, this is what some of us need

Whoa this thread is hater-tastic…

More products = more competition = more satisfaction (for me anyways)

Now on the Apple website:
http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/product/TX742VC/A?fnode=MTY1NDA3MA&mco=MTM3ODEyNzA

Ean can u score some o them plates for the Tech Tools shop?

[quote comment=”23523″]
The difference is that the paint and brushes couln’t paint the picture by themselves. 😉

This thing can match beats and mix for you.[/quote]

It’s not the controller that will beatmix it’s the software. You can map those buttons to do whatever you want in other software.

Traktor does the same thing, the vci100 will do the same thing, and frankly almost all dvs systems will beat match, then you just have the ride the pitch to keep it in time.

Everyone needs to chill on hating this controller or it’s mainstream release. If I had a kid, this thing would be an awesome gift.

Someone is always out to take your spot. If your freekin out…..well then u might as well give your spot away. GET BETTER at what you do. Never stop learning! If this is what you love then you should be happy people keep coming up with all new stuff. The after math of this hype will be a 10,000,000 people who tried and 4 who made it. Feed of the good energy and learn from other people.

[quote]At one point in time painting materials became accessible to everyone, I can’t imagine how many artisan’s were shaken and disturbed with the possibility of competing with the working class.[/quote]

The difference is that the paint and brushes couln’t paint the picture by themselves. 😉

This thing can match beats and mix for you.

notice the program does not show waves how bout that.. isn’t that more original to the craft…. now seeing it in action kinda makes me think this would be a dope lil set up.. but of course after I get a mac lol..

Yay for fake scratching that come’s included to the 250$ instant “djs” that are going to buy this =)

I swear if this thing get’s in the way like “sorry bro, I’m going to dj my own house party with my surround sound,macbook and the spin controller” I’ll literally knock someone out -_-

whats up with that crosfader moving without touching.

Thank God, there won’t be anyone crazy to become a DJ in future.

BUT WE STILL CAN PRODUCE: Start creating your own music and reduce using others produce in your mixes

Imagine this: A controller like this in Walmart for 49$ in a year… remember the Chinese are watching… these controllers are too low on technology to clone

Software had advanced so much… so no doubt AUTOMIX will replace very soon the regular DJ… START PRODUCING and MIX your produce…

Bizarre that this controller is upsetting people so much. And “Pissed Off”…. I have never read so much drivel in all my life. If you are good at what you do, you will get work. Clearly, if crappy DJ’s are getting gigs you want, maybe you’re just not good enough.

So I’m just saying: Overreaction not required.

Here are some more thoughts.
-Apple has a 10% market share. how big d’ya think this thing is gonna be?
-If you have a Mac, try out Djay (I can tell some here have). It’s a nice little program.
-Hint: You don’t need to use the sync or automix, if you don’t want to. I for one don’t.
-Wanna feel better about the Spin? have a look at the ION Discover. (even then, who cares. Just tools, thats all)

What counts is: The Music and the Atmosphere. That’s all that matters.

Player Piano.

By the same logic of at least half the posters here, the art or piano playing should have died circa 1900.

I’m a graphic designer. Photoshop Elements came with $200 cameras almost a decade ago. Same with half-decent page layout progams and entry level computers. And I was not ONE BIT WORRIED.
[quote post=”3206″]that would also mean a whole bunch of wannabe dj’s flooding the market, and potentially stealing jobs from pros that do this “easy” dj thing for a living.[/quote]…that is the saddest comment on here. Complete lack of self respect. And I’m not just busting balls here, I’m genuinely upset by such a comment. If one has real confidence in what they do, as a pro, they would never say such a thing.
I’m sorry, but I feel in artistic professions, if/when you feel threatened and insecure, it’s time to quit.

Otherwise, stop worrying, show some pride, and believe in your craft.

hmmmm 250… not bad… plus a soundcard… and midi mapable on traktor… man or just the program it comes with.. your gonna start seeing lots a kids and young peers get into this… vestax is gonna bank of this…

eab is right
people shouldnt be debating about the dj image on here
what i wrote earlier wasnt because i hated this product or liked it. its because i began to read on and people would post redundant questions that were aleady answered in the features and facts about the spin… read first please! that just gets on my nerves (i guess its a pet peeve)
ANYWAYS this product isnt good or bad. it just makes the art more noticable to the more general public. theres nothing wrong with that. it obviously wont compete with the high quality built controllers and their massive sound cards, but it might be the first step for a one day amazing dj who any of us can admire.

i have my set up already and this def wont join… CANT WAIT FOR THE MIDIFIGHTER THOUGH!!!

Ion iCUE
Behringer BCD3000
Numark Total Control
Hercules Steel
Numark Stealth
Reloop Digital Jockey

All cheap controllers that do the same and have been around for a while.

It’s cos it looks like your precious vci that you’re upset..

If, as Pissed Off and a few others are saying, people get one of these and then go on to do awful gigs – they ain’t gonna get many more are they now?

However if this gives someone with real talent their break then it can only be a good thing.

Im gonna get my son one.. Good move Vestax

A 10 year old son of a friend of mine saw me playing at a party and said “I want turnrables”, he has got a super ear for music and harmony.That´s great, if he´s starting to mix and try things out…
I think this is some kind of tool as a party toy to try to mix some tunes and have fun, dancing, drunk people and so on..Don´t think it´s a real alternitive to “pro” stuff neither the sixth sense of mixing, building a set, collecting records or tunes and all this weird DJ stuff we´re practising.Hope we´re all doing this?Hmmm.
Gadget is the right term.A gadget to feel more professional.Anyhow, I was playing and a bloke asked me about my Faderfox.20Euro?No, 250 Euro.What, you ain´t got jogwheels, you could have bought a pacemaker…
Don´t take this serious.A trainwreck is easily made even with automix.I don´t give a s$%t about this thing.But maybe one guy or girl will get this gadget and will play like god.Maybe I will dance and have the night of my live.Who knows?Me likes it.

People are always scared of new technology. when cheaper digital drum machines came out, People were scared. When you could easily make music on your computer, same thing. When you could dj from your computer, same thing. It takes what you use to have to spend a whole lot and now its in the hands of the average man. Let these kids have there fun. I only like technics 1200 but to each there own. An experienced dj could rock this cheap plastic toy like you wouldnt believe. It doesnt matter what it is, Its all in how you use it. and thats the truth.

Everyone is talking about how this will “cheapen” DJing… what about Traktor with its push button Djing with track sync and its different features to make Djing easier. this just seems to be going along with the trend.

“I can see it now, before a person hires a dj they will ask for their DJ Hero score to see how good they are.”

This is definitely the one of the funniest comments here.

Great to read many responses and points about a simple controller that resembles Vestax’s iconic VCI. It seems like one of those situations that forces you to hone your craft and take it to the next level in order to set yourself apart from those who just purchased a brand new “toy.” Is that such a terrible thing?
Should Vestax be rebuked for being in the business of making money, especially at a time juncture when so many similar products and popular games/apps are being put out to market?
As far as hurting the DJ profession: many of us who gig professionally for money probably have had the experience of convincing a client why you charge a certain price compared to others with similar equipment, experience, or what not. And it will continue to be this way for some of us more than others, regardless of new technology; such is the meaning of competition.
Seriously, if someone who just purchased this gadget and wanted to DJ his/her own party instead of hiring me or another experienced DJ to do it, so be it. If they loved it and wanted to spend the rest of their life doing it, in an eternal hunger for music, mixing at home pissing off your significant other because she can’t sleep with the music at 4am during the weeknight, spending $$ upgrading gear, hearing a new song that you need NOW, and the other curses that come with being bit by a vampire, kudos. And if they want to undercut every working DJs prices to get gigs, kudos.
Sorry, but that’s life in about every job field. DJing is no longer exclusive to people with an extra 2K sitting in their account. It does not require a college degree, a state exam, a professional license, joining a union, etc.,. It is not the profession that garners serious public respect (with exceptions to successful music artists and lifers within the community), especially when anyone has the means to do it and see it only as means of glorified glamor partying.
I love DJing, but it is not my cash cow. I do agree that anytime someone labels themselves a DJ and acts out unprofessionally with extremely low-ball pricing, horrible mixing techniques, poor gig etiquette, it can create a negative outlook on it as a profession and hurt your chances of making money. But you can only be yourself, up the ante, market yourself better, use references whatever it takes if your lively hood really depends on that gig.
At one point in time painting materials became accessible to everyone, I can’t imagine how many artisan’s were shaken and disturbed with the possibility of competing with the working class. Don’t turn the introduction of a mass produced mass marketed entry level controller into a supportive argument for DJ elitism end exclusivity. Any additional blatant comments towards Ean are also unwarranted.

Who cares what everyone else thinks of your so called “profession” or if they think dj’ing is cool or they think they’re better than you. I’m going to continue to play the music that I love, because I love it. It makes me Happy, and if it makes other people happy as well then that’s even better.

Haha i wanna rob those jog wheel plates for my vci 100

[quote comment=”23436″]I remember the happiest days of my Dj life in 1992 when I got hold of a pair of belt drive citronic sm150s and an entry level numark and taught myself to play. Didn’t have a hope of affording 1210s. Having to work so hard on the basic kit to sound good enough to play out (and there was a lot more competition in those days believe me – every house party would have at least 8 – 10 pretty decent Djs just itching to play) taught me that it is never about what you use, it’s how you use it. Healthy competition makes us all sharpen our game. The more the merrier as far as I’m concerned. Let’s not discriminate against people who use different

and/or different kit to us – if they share our passion then that is all that is required.

Full marks to Vestax for bringing what we do to a new audience. Not only will more people recognise how much real skill is required to properly rock, we have a better chance of seeing the next Sasha/Grooverider/Giles Peterson/Andrew Weatherall/insert name of genre-defining DJ here in our lifetime.

Onwards the revolution![/quote]

Hehehe you sound exactly like me – around the same time of the 90’s I was scouring pawn shops and flea markets for old turntables that had “convertible quality” to them – meaning that they had potential for me to mod them so they’d be more DJ friendly. Like you, it was all I could afford a the time. But it worked!

These are the first 2 turntables I owned and modded:

http://www.radiotvmuseum.hu/radioanno/images/keszulek/lemezj/pioneer_pl200.jpg

http://www.zenn.com.sg/Kenwood_KD-3070_TT.JPG

neither had great torque but I sanded the platters and buffed them so they’d get the best slipmat performance. Installed start / stop buttons as well & removed the auto-return mechanics so they were as manual as possible. Man I can’t believe I went through all that, but they were the happiest days of my life as well!!

I’m retired now after 13 years of DJing and this MIDI controller would be perfect for me – I’ve digitalized my entire vinyl collection so to have a unit like this to “get back to it” every once in awhile would be stellar.

[quote comment=”23418″]DJtech tools is clearly endorsing any Vestax products, the integrity of the blog is gone, another way of submarine marketing , Congrats to Vestax to give enough ” care ” to EAN.[/quote]
That’s mean, dude.
This site has got madd integrity!
Anyone who likes anything can come here and scream about how great it is. This I know all too well.

I look around I see a good blog full of whiners. People saying things like “now people are going to these things & take the real dj’s jobs” ahhh, people have said that about us controllerists since we started coming out of the tech world…they still do.

I feel Vestax did it right for the poor guy on this one

[quote]Man, sounds like a lot of you are way more concerned about your image as a “serious dj” rather than your love of the art of dj’ing.[/quote]

In my opinion being a “pro” and having a “love of the art of dj’ing” goes hand in hand. How else do you think some of us have been able to stay in this “hobby” over the years? I was probably spinning in clubs before some of you guys were out of diapers.
Anywho, what I have a problem with, and what I run in from time to time (and it’s becoming much more frequent), are the folks that have no clue about what we actually do, the hard work it takes, and the time and money we have invested over the years to help raise this “art” to the next level. Kids are always looking for the next “fad”, and if it’s easy and cheap all the better. What they should remember and what they should take time to learn, is this stuff comes with hard work and practice.
As I said before, will this get new blood into the dj industry? Yes it will and I’m glad about that, but for all those people willing and wanting to really better themselves, will also be a whole wack of wannabe dj’s that are only in it for the quick buck and could care less if the gig they do train wrecks. Those are the people that can and will do damage to all the hard work the “pros” have tried to maintain. Yes some people could care less what a dj uses to rock a gig, but at the same time cheap equipment that sounds bad has just as big of an impact on the overall professional image we are trying raise.

Guys, calm down. It costs $250 dollars. You get what you pay for in this profession.

My guess… mediocre soundcard that’s noisy and drops out randomly, and a sync that only sometimes works. Hell even if you’re using ableton live (the “ultimate” in “cheating”) it’s still very possible for the program to mess up and your autoblend turns into a autotrainwreck. A bad dj crossfades between two records, a good dj keeps people dancing during the transition.

If any pros wanted to stay on top of the food chain, they should leverage their skills by being a producer, and always be aware of marketing themselves.

Man, sounds like a lot of you are way more concerned about your image as a “serious dj” rather than your love of the art of dj’ing.

First off, the market already has lots of low cost, low quality, all-in-one dj packages out there, whether it be vinyl/cd based, or computer based. This is nothing new. Sounds like some of you are more upset that your beloved Vestax has joined the fray, taking away some of your much desired credibility, because you thought that by buying Vestax you were somehow showing that you were more serious than all those other hacks.

Secondly, as many have mentioned, at this point, no software can truly make a person a good dj. Understanding the music, the key, the phrasing, eq’ing, etc, are still all extremely necessary to make the music flow together as it should. Those who try to shortcut there way into dj’ing, and spend no time working on their knowledge of these skills will go nowhere fast, and most likely give up before long because they wonder why their mixes don’t sound like “insert your favorite dj name here”.

On top of that, those of you who got into dj’ing because you thought it would be a good career move…. man, I don’t know what to say. I’d say it’s much more important to do it because you love it, and hope that your hard work and dedication pay off. As mentioned, cheap gear has been readily available for a long while, so anyone can give it a shot. And we all know that there are way more people out there who don’t know a good dj from a bad one, and honestly don’t care. Does that make it harder for a good dj to get a gig, sure, but that’s pretty much same as it ever was. In every business there will always be some competitor there to undercut you with an inferior product. It’s up to you to work harder, educate your clientele, and dedicate your time and efforts to making your business venture a success. If you wanted life on easy street, choosing dj’ing as a career path was not a wise decision.

Now, off to go find some good cheese to go w/ all this w(h)ine.

[quote comment=”23448″] In my opinion that is a big slap to the face of every single hard working DJ out there that does this stuff for a living.
I don’t understand how some people here can be so gun-ho about this thing. It seems obvious (to me at least) that the people bitching about the haters of this toy are not doing this for a living, and they fail to see the downside of these “cool toys”. Yes, it may not be up to par with better controllers out there, but once the “average joe” see it in action, they will probably start to think that they too could end up doing gigs and sound good doing it just because it has automix & BPM match capabilities. In reality they have NO clue whatsoever of how much HARD WORK a REAL pro actually does to make sure a gig they do turns out to be successful. And that in my opinion is what will eventual hurt and severely damage the dj industry’s image.[/quote]

dude you’re a wedding dj, get real. most wedding djs don’t even mix music and still get work… I think you’re completely overreacting.

FYI I can guarantee you that most kids who start djing will not be going for wedding gigs because like you said they still live with their parents and aren’t djing to pay the bills, not to mention most those kids are going to focus on doing raves and club events because being a wedding dj isn’t exactly a dream kids aspire to be. So you really don’t have anything to worry about.

Did you have this big of a hissy fit when apple released the Ipod? Because believe it or not that’s basically what the general population thinks DJs are, human ipods…and before the release of the ipod, people thought we were human jukeboxes. Sorry to burst your bubble guy but it’s true!

Some of the comments people have left here are just insane, for some of you guys it seems like being a dj in America come’s with a lot of psychological baggage. What’s cool and whats not and what people think about you, who cares! Dj’ing is meant to be fun and meant bring good time’s to those at the party. As long as your having fun and the dance floor is rocking nothing else matters, end of story.
++++
New’s flash, dj’n is easy any one can learn how to beatmatch, but to stand out with true class, originality and style take’s years to master, any right minded dj knows that?! So when you over hear fools mocking how easy dj’ing is ,A they do have a point and B does it really matter what the uneducated idiots think, unless of course you want every one around you to firmly believe you are the coolest kid in town, which really isn’t point of dj’ing. Plus if you was doing anything different to stand out you’ll always get respect from the uneducated regardless of there views on how easy dj’ing is.

By the way, do you guys know how many people I have overheard lately that have said stuff like “I guess I will be able to do a party and sound good because I can let the program mix two songs together for me”?
After the tidal wave of water passes and this “dj fad” goes away, they will have done irrevocable damage to the DJ image and profession.
It’s already bad enough that lots of people out there already think that being a dj is pretty easy….all this toy does it help push that belief to the masses. Think of it like an urban myth, it may not be true, but if enough people start to beleive in it, it will eventually take on a life of it’s own. Sad really.

“whats wrong with some of these people???
dont they read before they write?
the controller is cheaper
but that means you get less quality
no this isnt competition for the 100 or 300”
++++
But for the outsider looking in, they don’t know that. 😉
All they see is an affordable device that will auto mix music for them and help them sound good, thus cheapening the overall impression they already have for the DJ profession. In my opinion that is a big slap to the face of every single hard working DJ out there that does this stuff for a living.
I don’t understand how some people here can be so gun-ho about this thing. It seems obvious (to me at least) that the people bitching about the haters of this toy are not doing this for a living, and they fail to see the downside of these “cool toys”. Yes, it may not be up to par with better controllers out there, but once the “average joe” see it in action, they will probably start to think that they too could end up doing gigs and sound good doing it just because it has automix & BPM match capabilities. In reality they have NO clue whatsoever of how much HARD WORK a REAL pro actually does to make sure a gig they do turns out to be successful. And that in my opinion is what will eventual hurt and severely damage the dj industry’s image.

whats wrong with some of these people???
dont they read before they write?
the controller is cheaper
but that means you get less quality
no this isnt competition for the 100 or 300
its not a lot of controller for your money
read the entire post before you post please!!!!

This is clearly an experiment from Vestax for making more money I mean, cheap controller, Dj Hero, Apple, all the booming DJ scene… damn… the Dj Scene got pwned and Vestax will make a LOT of $! Oh and no waveforms? Dont worry an update or a PRO version will take care of that!

Wow. Amazing response. I pretty much agree with both sides of this discussion, in some way or another. I think maybe for me the downside really boils down to 1) Apple Store, 2) Djay software and 3) The thing’s resemblance to my beloved VCI-100. Otherwise, rock on. A killer mix is a killer mix.

Well yes this thing will help a lot of kids having ‘DJ’ in front of their name and probably help them getting laid because they are a ‘DJ’ and yes this will get any real or PRO controllerist marked down as ‘one of those guys’ and yes this will steal a lot of work from the guy who DJ’s at a wedding for a living. And definetly good luck trying to explain the difference of your ‘PRO’ equipment to the ‘entry level’ equipment when they happen to play the same music AND the entry level look cooler for a lot of reasons including the fact that is for Mac. Also just like syncing BPM got auto so can many other of the more “difficult stuff” that “pros” do. So if you tought Dj Hero was a threat of watering down your effort, hello Spin!

i can’t wait to get this thing. i already asked my dad and he said he would buy it for me yeah!!! i download music from limewire and already have over 10000 songs and now I will be able to do parties like the big pro tiesto and sond good. if I got 50 bucks for a party that would be really cool to. and when I get better i will be able to make more money. 🙂

In the eyes of the unejumucated (aka, joe public), anyone can be a dj now if they got this toy.
==========
“this is a good thing, i can’t wait until some little punk who started djing on one of these things is creating work that you’d never be able to do in a hundred years because now he/she can finally afford to take the first step to pursue their interest in the craft.
===========
From records to CD’s, then on to WAV and MP3’s ripped from my vinyl collection and also bought from legitimate record pools. I am more than well bversed in the technology that has pushed this profession forward, and I have seen the good and bad sides to this technology. Soundforge and Fruty Loops have allowed me to make my own music compostions/remixes, and have opened the door to endless possibilities, but that stuff takes time to learn and perfect. This toy helps people sidestep all that hard work and makes people think they are better than they really are. Look up the story of Icarus and you’ll understand what I’m getting at. But am I glad there are young people interested in this hobby/profession? Of course I am, but I and many others out there not happy at the way or speed at which this technology it’s progressing. As kilbot mentioned earlier “it does seem like djing is the new fad, and is approaching oversaturation ever too quickly!”
I have recently heard some people call our profession the next “Walmart”… in other words “cheap and disposable”. If that description of our profession doesn’t bother you, then I guess you’re the same kind of person that would buy something from China instead of your own country, just because it’s cheaper and probably just as good. Shakes head.

If you really are a “pro” then be professional and work hard at your craft so that wannabes won’t be able to compete for your job. If you’re not bringing anything new to the table and creating an audience for your work that’s nobody’s fault but your own.”

+++

Maybe you live in a state or city that doesn’t have a whole lot of competition and doesn’t have brides looking for the best deal in town. But for the rest of us in the real world it’s not like that. This is especially true since the economy went belly up last year. A quick look on Craig’s List for almost any states or city will my prove my point. There are 1000’s upon 1000’s of wannabe dj’s out there all trying to get their slice of the American pie.

It doesn’t matter if they are not in it for the long hall and just having fun. What is a bride going to say after her most important day is ruined? I should have spent more money on a pro? By that time the damage is done it can’t be reversed, and the wannabe dj is on to his next disaster.

The real pro’s out there will see this for what it really is, a tool that will do more harm that good for the DJ industry as a whole. I can see it now, before a person hires a dj they will ask for their DJ Hero score to see how good they are. That would be a slap in the face of the pro that takes this profession seriously.

vinyl does have waveforms… i don’t know if you could see it in a club though 😛

wow this post and all the comments are very interesting to read. there are definitely two sides to this.

personally, i see the only difference here, is that it will be marketed and sold within apple stores. there are already cheap midi controllers. it’s just that in the past, you had to be somewhat serious to locate them and do some research to see what you wanted/needed to get started.
being sold in an apple store as opposed to a music store is what i imagine really gets people’s blood boiling.

i have to agree with the previous comment about cheapening what some of consider a life long passion. however growing up with little to no money, i could never warrant purchasing two real decks and a mixer.
so now we’ve got this; opening up possibilities to some who not otherwise have them, versus impulse buys from kids at the apple store.

it does seem like djing is the new fad, and is approaching oversaturation ever too quickly! but at the end of the day, only those who are serious will progress and more forward in their craft, while the others will just fade away.

[quote comment=”23421″]
Vestex might of had good intentions, but I can see where this can go badly for them. [/quote]

The only people who have anything to worry about are wannabes who put in the bare minimum effort just so that they can coast by without the dedication it takes to set themselves apart from the new generation of wannabes.

If you really are a “pro” then be professional and work hard at your craft so that wannabes won’t be able to compete for your job. If you’re not bringing anything new to the table and creating an audience for your work that’s nobody’s fault but your own.

saying vestax wont be taken serious is like saying m-audio isnt serious. This will give the younger/newer dj a chance the get something other than a totalcontrol to get their chops up.

Blimey! who’d a thought such a small thing could cause such an over reaction, I really don’t get why people have bad points to make about what looks like a decent entry level cheap little controller. We’ve all got a friend that always liked the idea of having a mess around but there not really interested in taking dj’n as a hobby to seriously. When turntables or cd players were the only option I’d find my self putting off, the not 100% committed. Simply because any cheap 1210 or cdj imitation were very hard to mix with in comparison to real versions. Like all the other vci’s this is midi, so all the controls will have similar if not the same resolution/performance as there more expensive siblings and to be fair, nearly all dj controllers look like toys especially a vci (would love to know a serious reason as to why that’s a bad thing), this is just a smaller looking toy. I’d certainly be pointing any body who’s half interested in just having a mess around in the spin direction, it’s a really good yet very simple bit of software which will give a cheap simple route in to dj’ing.

I use timecode and this little gem would give me great access to all 4 fx units. vci 100 isn’t really for me but I’ve always loved Ean’s Fader Fx mode. As an fx controller I’d mirror Ean’s Fader Fx mode for 2 fx units and use the 2 EQ areas for the remaining 2 fx units, there’s even 3 buttons next to 3 eq faders for fx slot on/off. Plus via a modifier, it could serve for controls over deck c and d. Shamefully tempted, wish a non sound card version was released, a cheaper price tag would make me cave in.

@Johnny b

Really??!! maybe you should contact the internet police and make an official complaint about a controller based site announcing a release of a new controller with an insightful post about what this could mean to the controller culture. Then maybe you should start your own site and write three new posts week in week out about creative ways to dj. Which would be nice as Techtools seems to be the only dj site on the planet that actually has three brand spanking new article’s every week.

Oh yea… the EQ faders look exactly like Stanton’s battle mixers. Neat but i find them hard to use and too small travel.

DJtech tools is clearly endorsing any Vestax products, the integrity of the blog is gone, another way of submarine marketing , Congrats to Vestax to give enough ” care ” to EAN.

Yo, I remember first getting into the idea of digital DJing when i downloaded a cracked copy of virtual DJ.

I got the hang of creating a set and feeling the flow of the composition over an hour of my set long before i learned to beatmatch. I now own TSP on my MBP, a top end Pioneer setup and play regularly throughout Scotland. Point is I wouldn’t be where I am now without VDJ and the excitement I felt when I got into mixing.

I have loads of mates who have bought “£100 deck and mixer packages” or played around with VDJ and very few have stuck with it… How many of your friends DJ (a few?)? And how many of their friends DJ (even less)? we’re talking a really small market.

So lets say only one in 20 kids who try out DJing actually sticks with it thats 5%.Whether it’s eJay or tradtional decks. Do you really think a new product will allow more people to reach the top? No. The ones with the skill and passion will move up onto better kit, playing bigger bars and clubs clubs and the “DJ Heroes” will move onto the next fad… I want to see Saxophone Hero and a Jazz comeback. That would be sweet and imagine the Jazzophiles faces!

Lets say I use this with Traktor pro on windows, Will I still be able to scratch with the jog wheels? Im assuming I will have to program all the midi also?

[quote comment=”23410″]It took me long enough already to prove myself not a bandwagon dj with a vci-100… now everyone will have this. Its frustrating to see such a respectable company sink this low and profit off a fad (but great marketing on their part). [/quote]

That’s a good point. It does sort of cheapen the whole controllerism scene, somewhat, when these are marketed to the population in the same way as DJ Hero. It makes these midi controllers look like toys–already a criticism we face from die hard Vinyl users.

It took me long enough already to prove myself not a bandwagon dj with a vci-100… now everyone will have this. Its frustrating to see such a respectable company sink this low and profit off a fad (but great marketing on their part). I will still use my 100, but I just want to let Vestax know that although they will get massive numbers of new “mash-up” customers, they will also be losing the respect and business of the ever shrinking minority of artists who dj out of true love for music. I don’t dj to try to be like Girltalk, Milkman, AM (RIP), or Ean, I do it because my entire life I wanted to DJ, and right after I start getting pretty good at beat-matching and controllerism, Vestax is making me look like “one of those guys.” I understand that equipment doesn’t make a difference, but i cant help but imagine the apple store on Monday with all the new “DJ’s” who found their passion while waiting on repairs of their ipod (newly stocked with “Fix Your Face” after watching the sad news about DJ AM). Im sure im not the only one who feels this way, but it’s frustrating to see something which I put so much time and money into (keyboard controller, beatpad, soundcard, vci-100, speakers, etc..) being sold to the masses with a sliver of previous quality. The main reason I bought vestax was the superb metal quality, but I guess they no longer pride themselves on this. I just needed to say that….(im pumped to battle the new dj’s though!!

spin vs vci-100= no question

[quote comment=”23398″]If you ask me it’s tougher to mix with this bad boy then a vci-100.[/quote]

yeah dude, AUTOMIX and BPM-SYNC sounds SO hard to mix with.

[quote comment=”23382″][quote comment=”23379″]That’s it, who wants to buy my VCI? I quit..have fun playing the 200th remix of Paper Planes losers. What the fuck is next? DJing really has turned into a fucking joke.[/quote]

all we do is mix other people’s music in front of drunk people, it’s not rocket science.[/quote]

truth. i know a lot of “microwave” djs, but the ones that aren’t serious will get bored after a while and the ones that are really doing it because they love it will progress.

[quote comment=”23392″]Seriously?
I understandt techtools for representing vestax, however that piece of midi controller rather seems to be an addon rathaer than being a serious way of expressing crreativty by mixing music….
AND thats what this blog is all about mixing music in a another way!

Surely a disapointing article. However understandable…

btw…same with the key software “smackdown”…[/quote]

But if you think about it, it is serious. What makes it not serious. People use to mix with tape decks, It’s not the gear, it’s what you do with it. This gear has everything you need, eq’s volume faders, and pitch faders. If you ask me it’s tougher to mix with this bad boy then a vci-100.

Just my thoughts. No offense to your comment

I was at the apple store today and saw this thing, it is pretty small the box at least.

well, this really confuses me. i have a lot of desire to play with one, and at the same time the desire to break one. it makes me wish i were a lot younger and just getting into djing and then seeing this. i like toys, and it seems like a toy, and all at once, it makes me feel like all i’m doing is playing with toys… oh wait, i am 😉

digital djing, even djing with records/cds is all about playing. its having fun, and if there is all of a sudden an entry into it, great, go for it next generation. keep in mind that when any dj started out it wasn’t on a couple techniqs with a xone mixer. (unless they were lucky)

we all started somewhere, and now, there is a new starting point.

of course people are threatened by this product… it makes all you pros feel like us kids are having one more thing handed to us. Thats just the way it is. Think about how vinyl dj’s felt when digital dj equipment was first introduced. Just enjoy the music and view this as what it truly is: a product that will increase interest dj’ing and most certainly advance the trade. just my thoughts

I actually really like this and would probably dump my scs3’s depending on how responsive the jog wheels are.

I don’t know why dudes are freaking out, if this thing sells a ton that means more $$$ for Vestax to make better pro goodies.

@duerr.

Is that what Djing has become? Playing the “lowest common denominator” just to keep a bunch of drunk retards dancing? To me it’s a little more than that. If disagreeing with that means I’m taking myself too seriously, I guess that’s as risk I’m willing to take.

oh my gosh. i just got my daily techtools and it kind of scares me. whats next ?
but i like the eq-faders 😀
the whole thing is a joke ,isnt it ?

Great. As if I don’t have “prove” myself to people unfamiliar with the VCI often enough, now there’s this thing, that every frat boy and wannabe jock under the sun is gonna own, and of course it looks exactly like the controller that I take very seriously. Nice. The conversation will change from “what the hell is that you’re using” to “No, I don’t use Djay. Yes, I can beatmatch.”
I AM for creative tools for the masses, it’s just the unrelenting momentum of the market can be a thorn in my side sometimes. Ha! Here I am sounding like an old vinyl purist… funny times.

This really makes the VCI-300 seem like less bang for the buck.

So is this any kind of indicator of a VCI-100 follow-up product? Because $250 for a controller with an audio interface is pretty unprecedented. Team this thing up with an Akai LPD8 and that’s a lot of controller for the money.