Midi Controller

Right...

So I'm planning to treat myself to a midi controller in the coming weeks...

Requirements:

1. Preferably metal (alu) construction, plastic ones always feel like they're going to break...

2. Preferably with internal sound card, don't really want to have to spend any extra on a soundcard...

That's it basically... otherwise I'm not too fussy...

I'm going to be using it with Virtual DJ and I would like something that'll be upto a bit of use for clubs etc. should it go that way... for now though it'll be parties and just mucking about...

I've been looking at these two, my mate has the Hercules and it's a nice bit of gear, handy to get used to and does all you'd want from it...

The Vestax looks like a decent bit of gear too but I've not tried one...

Any recommendations or suggestions??

Hercules RMX

Vestax VCI 100 DJ Midi Controller

Vestax mixers are the shit, so I doubt the midi controller will be anything less than great quality, whereas i have never heard of Hercules.....maybe get your ass down to your nearest Digital Village and see if you can have a play?

Yeah there's not really a great selection of places to buy from in Dublin, not that I've come across... I'll probably buy from Thomann so I'm hoping I can get some good advice...

The Hercules is a quality bit of gear but the Vestax does look to be a better bit og kit and reads better... doesn't have a soundcard though so it's substantially more expensive than the Hercules by the time you factor that in...

surely you only need a seperate soundcard if your going to hook it up with midi cables? cant you just send using the USB, like most midi keyboards/controllers?

or am i just having a monday afternoon music tech brainfart? (it was an extremely long weekend...)

I'm actually not positive... I didn't really think about it but one of my mates was just like... "oh yeah... no soundcard"

I assume you'd need a soundcard to connect it to an amp perhaps... Actually I have no idea... I must investigate this...

neither have a soundcard as they're controllers only, and for djing having a seperate audio interface is the only way to go. I've got the vestax and its the bollocks. All depends on which program you're looking at using.

Ah right... so realistically if I'm wanting to hook either of these up to a proper soundsystem (club/ party) I'll be needing a soundcard/ interface of some sort... but for goofing around at home you can still just plug and play right??

How is the Vestax?? Any chance of a little user review?

I've got the vestax vci 100 with a separate stanton sound card.

Separate sound cards are always better as you can use external mixers (in clubs) and just use the midi for effects and transport.

Ah right... so realistically if I'm wanting to hook either of these up to a proper soundsystem (club/ party) I'll be needing a soundcard/ interface of some sort... but for goofing around at home you can still just plug and play right??

How is the Vestax?? Any chance of a little user review?

you also use the separate sound card for cueing the next song

The vestax is the best i've ever used.

Right so the Vestax seems to be the way to go then... I reckon that's settled...

What do you mean by using the soundcard for cueing songs?? I always thought a sound card was sort of similar to a boost pedal in theory and was in effect just an active adaptor kind of... no?? (Guitarists for you eh!)

You need a soundcard that has at least 2 output channels - one for the master output the other for cueing tracks. The more outputs the better.

Also make sure it's at least 24bit for the best sound

Hmm... right-o... recommendation for a decent one without spending shitloads?

I have one of these
http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=731&ParentId=114
and one of these
http://www.stantondj.com/v2/fs/prod_fs2.asp

If you are gonna spend all that money on a vestax vci 100 you should get a decent sound card

Cool cool, from a start off point though I'll still be able to run some speakers straight off the Vestax just to fuck around at home and then buy a soundcard later right?

Vestax ftw! I absolutely love the VCI-100 but have never bought myself one as I always seem to spend the money on bikes and skis instead...but Traktor Pro is my software of choice, the new effects abilities are pretty sick.

In case you're interested, I've got an M-Audio Fast Track Pro to sell, mint condition, basically unused and really very good indeed. Retails at £135 but you can have it for £85 or thereabouts, been meaning to shift it for ages! Here's a link: http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/7475-m-audio-fast-track-pro.html

Save your money until you can afford the Vestax VCI 300. IMO

Cool cool, from a start off point though I'll still be able to run some speakers straight off the Vestax just to fuck around at home and then buy a soundcard later right?

No.....

but you will be able to run speakers off of you laptop/desktop output but you will not be able to cue up tracks.

Do not go for the vestax vci 300 as the soundcard is crap.

BTW....the reason you need the soundcard is because otherwise you can't cue through your headphones between virtual decks.

damn...beaten to it.

The VCI 300 has less lag than the 100 though...soundcard probs or not.

Yeah yeah I get you now, I misread the earlier post about using it to cue...

Battle of the Vestax?

300 Vs 100

Serious decision up ahead folks...

Try them both out to feel the difference in pick up speed between the two and get the shop assistant to demonstrate their capabilities.

The VCI 300 has less lag than the 100 though...soundcard probs or not.

The lag is to do with how powerfull your laptop is, not the midi and also how good the sound card is.

It is always best to keep the midi and sound card separate.

Hmm... So essentially the 100 and the 300 ought to be the same if you used a seperate soundcard in both?

It also depends what program you are using - Traktor and VCI 100 are a marriage made in heaven. Ableton is an awesome program for djing, dropping loops on and live performance, but would render the vci 100 pretty useless...