icefather
Ok folks, here is my dilemma. I have a Vestax VCI 400 that I have been using since 2012, yeah I know! The reason that I got it was because it was marketed as "future proof". Well, it has been true to form and there is nothing that it can not handle. Even to this day. My wondering is, are there any things that I am missing by having such a "dated" controller? Thanks in advance for your input.
Inviato Wed 14 Aug 24 @ 5:09 pm
icefather
By the way, the controller handles everything including STEMS, fx etc.
Inviato Wed 14 Aug 24 @ 5:15 pm
DJ VinylTouch
(Possibly) unpopular opinion...if your goal is playing enjoyable music to your audience, then all you need is a way to play/blend two different sources of music. Everything else is just icing on top.
Before the DJ software revolution, people were literally riding their gear till the wheels fell off (Technics SL1200s, CDJs, some good enough mixer im between) and focused on getting music/being good on their equipment to make their audience enjoy the show to the best of their abilities.
The current DJ industry has gravitated to the use of DJ software with controller hardware and along the way, also created this artificial need to keep upgrading hardware in a short space of time due to "additions/improvements". In reality, given you are using software, most if not all of these hardware "additions/improvements" are mostly convenient access points to features that the software has introduced/presented in updates (e.g. stems buttons). You can choose if those added access points would make your workflow better/simpler, but the vast majority of hardware innovations are just improvements of workflow, you aren't missing out in terms of the goal, if you don't have the extras.
You can probably achieve similar additions with a tablet and the VirtualDJ Remote for a fraction of the cost of upgrading to newer hardware. However, this doesn't work well for a company trying to make profit in the hardware realm...it only makes sense for them to pump out hardware frequently with planned obsolencence.
The VCI-400, given you can still get drivers for it, has pads, mixer control for 4 decks. Pretty much all the hype innovations (e.g. stems) are handled by the software. Can you get hardware that would better expose features to your directly? Yes.
Do you need that hardware? Only you can answer that. I think I and many others could get by just fine with the VCI 400.
There are ways to get the functionality available if you truly want it...even with the additions to the keyboard mapping. New hardware doesn't always have to be the solution (contrary to what you may see on social media).
Your biggest obstacle is planned obsolesence/dropping of support - that's the only thing that would eventually drag you along.
Before the DJ software revolution, people were literally riding their gear till the wheels fell off (Technics SL1200s, CDJs, some good enough mixer im between) and focused on getting music/being good on their equipment to make their audience enjoy the show to the best of their abilities.
The current DJ industry has gravitated to the use of DJ software with controller hardware and along the way, also created this artificial need to keep upgrading hardware in a short space of time due to "additions/improvements". In reality, given you are using software, most if not all of these hardware "additions/improvements" are mostly convenient access points to features that the software has introduced/presented in updates (e.g. stems buttons). You can choose if those added access points would make your workflow better/simpler, but the vast majority of hardware innovations are just improvements of workflow, you aren't missing out in terms of the goal, if you don't have the extras.
You can probably achieve similar additions with a tablet and the VirtualDJ Remote for a fraction of the cost of upgrading to newer hardware. However, this doesn't work well for a company trying to make profit in the hardware realm...it only makes sense for them to pump out hardware frequently with planned obsolencence.
The VCI-400, given you can still get drivers for it, has pads, mixer control for 4 decks. Pretty much all the hype innovations (e.g. stems) are handled by the software. Can you get hardware that would better expose features to your directly? Yes.
Do you need that hardware? Only you can answer that. I think I and many others could get by just fine with the VCI 400.
There are ways to get the functionality available if you truly want it...even with the additions to the keyboard mapping. New hardware doesn't always have to be the solution (contrary to what you may see on social media).
Your biggest obstacle is planned obsolesence/dropping of support - that's the only thing that would eventually drag you along.
Inviato Wed 14 Aug 24 @ 5:37 pm
icefather
Very well said!
Inviato Wed 14 Aug 24 @ 6:02 pm