Many, many years ago i had a decent set up (2x Technics 1210's, Gemini 626) and 1500 odd records. I had a passion for music! i was always listening to sets, trainspotting, searching, buying. I could usually name title, artist, sydoname, remixer, label and year. Times and places change. The dawn of the cd mixer menat things started to go digital. I moved to a different country and unfortunately due to weight, cost and space restrictions my passion is gathering dust in various rooms of my parents house back in the uk.

The thought has passed my mind many a time to ship the stuff over, but the complications of living in an apartment block, time and the misses have always meant that things have been left as they are.

I feel that i have lost the pulse of the music and have noted that i am listening less and less to edm and have no idea what tune is what and what i really like anymore.

Anyway, to cut to the chase. I wouldn't mind getting back into it. I havent got space for a cdj setup, but i was wondering about using a computer.

I know there things like albeton, etc. but i have no idea how they really work or what equipment i need. I like the idea of being able to use a proper mixer (or do i need midi) and assigning tracks to channels. i figure i'll need a external soundcard and some sort of software. At least that way i can hopefully recover some of the oldies i've got at home.

any info/suggestions appreciated!

thanks

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b321/mikemarshall88/laptoppussys.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[QUOTE=Dhar_2;787795]I feel that i have lost the pulse of the music and have noted that i am listening less and less to edm and have no idea what tune is what and what i really like anymore. [/QUOTE]

^ that's exactly how i feel Dhar

If you feel that way how about having a go at knocking some sounds together yourself rather than trying to make yourself get back into it, djing wise

what sort of music is mrs dhar into?

Re: Computer Dj-ing

she's italian!

dont ask! :Who:

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so decks in the house may be a problem ?

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no space for decks unfortunately!

need something compact without the need for space to put cds or vinyl!

unfortunately digital is the only way to go.

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an Audio 2 or 4 DJ by NI audio card plus Vestax VCI-100 as a MIDI controller, together with Traktor could be a nice start

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[QUOTE=Dhar_2;787837]no space for decks unfortunately!

need something compact without the need for space to put cds or vinyl!

unfortunately digital is the only way to go.[/QUOTE]

If you are forced to do so, then a laptop + a VCI-100 with a good soundcard + Traktor (As already mentioned above), would be a good start.

However I would not choose an Audio DJ soundcard, there are more serious soundcards on the market that are of more quality design, construction and sound, rather than the Audio DJ series.

If you don't want to mess with an external Soundcard, then VCI-300 is your solution. But be aware that the sound quality is not that premium... (well depends on what you really need)

Rane Serato is Traktor's most serious rival. You may also like it too.

Another solution may be the M-Audio Torque Xponent, although I was never a fan of M-Audio products.

Anyway, go somewhere, see them, feel them, try them, hear them, and make your choice :)

All the best, Panos.

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I would say , start off with something simple like

-serato -a pc laptop -m-audio mixer -interphase

If you want to move to a higher level go ahead with Traktor thats only for the champs .

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I was offering the Audio 4 DJ mainly because if the wife gives him a bit more space, he can always dust off the old 1200's, slap 2 timecodes on 'em and get right back on ;)

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thinking about getting this!

[IMG]http://www.djdeals.com/images/equipment/vestaxVCI100BLACK.jpg[/IMG]

any opinions? reviews?

Re: Computer Dj-ing

I used to have one for my mobile gigs from April '09 to September '09.

Very good, very stable (with firmware v1.2 and v1.3 Ean Golden Edition) and very reliable.

I used to have it as a controller and play with an external mixer, so I didn't use the EQ knobs and volume faders and crossfader of the VCI. One main reason for that, was that I wanted something better in quality, so I prefered to use the knobs and faders of my mixer.

Overall this is a very good machine and I believe that the design and construction quality deserve the money it asks for.

If you need any further assistance, just drop me a line :)

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right so after some faffing!

the misses has decide to treat me for my birthday and buy me the midi controller! :D

was still thinking the vestax VCi 100.

seen these aswell:- [URL]http://www.vestax.com/v/products/detail.php?cate_id=80&parent_id=8[/URL]

[IMG]http://www.hypebeast.com/image/2009/11/vestax-spin-dj-controller-4.jpg[/IMG]

or

[URL]http://www.vestax.com/v/products/detail.php?cate_id=115&parent_id=8[/URL]

[IMG]http://www.dv247.com/assets/products/71385_l.jpg[/IMG]

they seem to be less advanced than the VCi100 less buttons to play with.

anyone got any info?

also which external sound card.

i was looking at the NI audio 2 or 4. i understand that the 2 is limiting. but the cost of the 4 is more than double.

someone was saying with the 4 i can eventually add my decks to the setup, so i can use the midi controller with them as a mixer?

sorry to be a pain. been out of the loop for far too long. :|

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LOL WTF is this? :D It reminds me of the Hercules controllers :D

"Vestax for the people" ???? Looks like I'm missing something over there...

Honestly never heard of it and at a quick glance and without working with it, I would agree with you for the VCI-100 which is a trusted/tested solution. :D

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the spin is mac only! the typhoon is basically the same, but fugly for the pc. only upside is that its dirt cheap with inbuilt soundcard. so for starting out again. it could do! but then it doesnt make sense to compromise too much.

speaking of soundcards! what do you recommend?

I was thinking of the audio 2 or 4, but you can't connect headphones directly to the VCI. are there similar midi controllers out there that are setup more like mixers?

or are we looking at a setup like this:-

[IMG]http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4994/setup1copia.jpg[/IMG]

which means no in headphone mixing directly from the midi controller!

also in the future i hoping to go and get my decks from the uk. can i add them into the setup? how?

would it be like this?

[IMG]http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/5343/setup2copia.jpg[/IMG]

or would i need a mixer in the middle, like this?

[IMG]http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/559/setup3copia.jpg[/IMG]

To be honest with you looking at the setups, i dont know if the VCI is the right piece of equipment to do what i'll want. the headphone problem is annoying and i want to have the option of adding in my decks later. Will i always need a mixer or is there a midi controller that can do both?

as for the external soundcard, i havent got a clue as to where to start. If i get the VCi i'll need something with a separate headphone channel and volume control, and i'll need at least 2 sets of RCA inputs, 2 sets of RCA outputs and USB.

these dont have rca inputs [URL]http://www.junodownload.com/products/378004-01.htm[/URL] [URL]http://www.junodownload.com/products/363742-01.htm[/URL]

and the audio series doesnt have volume control or a separate headphone channel.

all advice / opinions welcome.

Re: Computer Dj-ing

been looking at sound cards!

fucking nightmare!!!

M audio have got this:-

[IMG]http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/media_hqpics/FastTrackPro_front.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/media_hqpics/FastTrackPro_back.jpg[/IMG]

which offers a separate headphone control, 2 RCA outs, but no RCA ins :(

the NI Audio 4:-

[IMG]http://www.native-instruments.com/typo3temp/pics/A_cb6d4538ba.png[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.native-instruments.com/typo3temp/pics/A_7a9d76d9d2.png[/IMG]

perfect as it has 2 RCA ins and outs. but no separate headphone controll!

???????????????

and another question. how the hell do you connect all this together?

midi controller -> to -> external soundcard -> to -> laptop?

but theres only one usb port on the soundcard!!!

or is it:- midi controller -> to -> laptop and external soundcard -> to -> laptop?

which means in the VCi's case one fuck off big loop just to attach the headphones????

Re: Computer Dj-ing

Hello mate,

In reply to your pm and your postings, below are my thoughts:

You confused me too :D :lol:

In a briefing, how much money are you going to spend on that?

If I understood correctly, you want a solution that can be upgradeable, reliable, stable and also compatible with your Turntables. Plus that the whole package will not use much space in your office. Correct?

If the above statement is correct, instead of getting the Vestax controller, the Audio DJ 4/8 cards, and a separate mixer that you would need for your turntables and Audio card, consider getting one of these:

[URL="http://co.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=tscratchcertified&L=1"][/URL][URL]http://co.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=tscratchcertified&L=1[/URL]

I had the VCI-100 and an external soundcard along with my decks, but I sold them long time ago. Now I use the Ecler Evo 5 (as primary mixer) and the Mackie d.4 Pro (as backup mixer) with an expanded setup consisting of 2x CDJ-1000MK3, 2x Stanton STR8-150 and Traktor Scratch Pro.

These mixers have Professional Firewire Soundcards with TimeCoding capabilities, plus they also use midi functions through firewire, so that you can have everything in your fingertips and up to your creativity and expandability imagination...

since you are not familiar with the digital world so much, I would recommend you the Allen & Heath Xone:4D, although I am not a fan of Allen & Heath anymore (as according to my modes opinion and former experience, they dropped the design and manufacturing quality a lot). I highly recommend the Ecler Evo 5, but you may find it too difficult to use it, as it has a whole operating system to control it's functions and effectors, midi functions and so on, plus it is significantly more expensive than the Xone:4D.

The choice is yours and up to your pocket and willing. In your case, I would be happy with an Xone:4D, that has everything you want to, plus many more functions and features that will help you in the future e.t.c.

If you want any further explanation, please post here or pm me again.

All the best, Panoulix.

Re: Computer Dj-ing

if you want to achieve everything you've written you have two choices...

one is you get a midi-controller with a built-in soundcard, just like the smaller ones you posted (vestax spin and the typhoon one). those are usually equipped with one rca output and a separate headphone output. with that, you can mix independently of mixer and decks. in order to upgrade to turntable mixing, you will have to get Traktor Scratch Duo at least (which includes the audio 4 dj). as an alternate, you could also get another dvs like serato or the likes, but you should check their midi capabilities. the vci-100 however does not have a built-in soundcard, so i'd recommend this specific controller as an upgrade to...:

option two: get traktor scratch pro, which includes the audio 8 dj. this gives you the ability to connect your decks AND your headphones (the audio 4 does not). combined with the vci-100 this will give you all the possibilities: midi-mixing with no mixer and turntables, turntable mixing without midi controller, or you could even combine turntable and midi mixing (my personal choice).

the last option however is (you guessed it) the most expensive one, and i only focussed on traktor scratch since i'm not sure how capable those are when you remove the turntables.

i hope this helps a little... just keep on asking if it doesn't :)

Re: Computer Dj-ing

i've never heard good latency (low latency or no latency) with USB soundcards. They are good for dj'ing where you don't have anything coming in. But when you wanna record a guitar or vocals, you'll most likely come across latency issues. I'll never go back to it after getting my Firestudio.

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[QUOTE=jeffrey collins;849384]i've never heard good latency (low latency or no latency) with USB soundcards. They are good for dj'ing where you don't have anything coming in. But when you wanna record a guitar or vocals, you'll most likely come across latency issues. I'll never go back to it after getting my Firestudio.[/QUOTE]

The firestudio rocks. I have the 2626 and it's compatibility, stability and compliance with win x64 is amazing. Plus I love it's converters.

We will see how the USB3 cards will perform, as they will use a far better bandwidth than the FW400/800 or USB2...

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Heck USB2 was supposed to be faster than firewire. But it wasn't. And I've been waiting YEARS now for this supposed USB3.

Re: Computer Dj-ing

sorry i havent replied!

been away for a wedding!

i havent got a huge budget and tbh i wouldnt want to spend a small fortune on what is essential going to be a hobby with maybe a gig here or there.

I havent got my decks here in Italy and one day (its already been 5years) i will go and get them. Primarily i want something to mess about with and give me and analogue use to digital files. Hence why i was looking at the VCI 100. I dont know much about digital djing as i have been out of the loop for a while, so that might explain why i'm looking for a set up closer to that of 2 decks and a mixer.

So firstly the thing i'd need to decide is what midi controller. I presonally liked the VCI 100 for its layout and the fact that it doesnt seem a toy. i have to admit the typhoon just looks a bit crap!

if we say that the VCI 100 is the one. What sound card would you recommend as the VCI doesnt have an headphone output?

Re: Computer Dj-ing

basically, you could use any soundcard that offers you two separate stereo channels, preferrably the ones that come with one rca-out channel and one with a 6.3mm headphone jack. you could even fiddle around with a single-channel soundcard and use the laptops audio out to cue up your songs (i wouldn't recommend that, however). just choose the quality you need, and don't go for no-names...

i was only jumping onto the idea of upgrading to scratch someday since the choice of soundcards becomes much thinner then.

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Thanks for the advice!

but i'm afraid i still dont get how you can cue up on the VCI 100 with the headphones coming directly from the external soundcard? it just seems strange to me.

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it's in the software ;) the cue buttons just trigger what comes out of the headphone jacks, whereas the line faders (etc) will influence what comes out of the rca jacks.

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i'm about to purchase a soundcard myself, because previously i had a hercules controller that i used as a soundcard after i bought my decks and a proper mixer...however i have since sold said controller...

i also have no clue where to begin, and i want something simple (basically just to record my mixes to my laptop) but i also don't want to get something cheap and of poor quality...i have audacity on my computer and would probably be using that to record (although i've only used it to convert .mp3's to .wav or vice versa)

can u blokes recommend a couple good and simple soundcards and or software that i can purchase to do what i need??? i would like to keep it under $200 US...my set up is 2 cdj 800's and an A&H Xone 42, HP laptop with usb and firewire ports, 2 rockit 8's monitors....

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[QUOTE=dj_macgyver;850600]it's in the software ;) the cue buttons just trigger what comes out of the headphone jacks, whereas the line faders (etc) will influence what comes out of the rca jacks.[/QUOTE]

VCI has no headphone jack!?

only USB

[IMG]http://ci.vestax.com/en/products/img/vci100_top_2.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[LEFT][COLOR=#000000][URL]http://www.skratchworx.com/reviews/vci100.php[/URL][/COLOR][/LEFT]

[LEFT][COLOR=white]Usually, when you spin anything from Vestax around, you can find a serious number of RCAs but the back of the VCI is empty bar a USB port, meaning that this isn't a soundcard - simply a USB MIDI controller so you'll still need a soundcard for proper audio management from your computer. [B][U][I]There's no headphone sockets for monitoring either so a dedicated soundcard is essential.[/I][/U][/B][/COLOR][/LEFT]

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Already seen that article.

problem is that it doesnt give any pointers for the external sound card.

thats where i dont know what i need or infact how to set it up (see above)

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at this point for an all in unit. would the VCi 300 be something to consider?

by the time you've bought the VCI 100 and added the soundcard, it costs the same.

VCI 100 (387 Euros) + NI Audio 4 (229 Euros) = 616 Euros VCI 300 = 621 Euros

[IMG]http://image.rakuten.co.jp/mcshowa/cabinet/00242863/img55638268.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://ci.vestax.com/en/products/img/vci300_f&r_L.jpg[/IMG]

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i don't know the vci-300... all i can tell is that it does have the connections you do need for controller-only djing. it will probably work with most of the software, too.

one advantage of the audio 4 dj would be: you can upgrade to traktor scratch duo later on, at least as far as i know. to put this straight: i suppose the vci-300 will work with traktor too, but you won't get the scratch features, i.e. timecode control.

Re: Computer Dj-ing

Sooner or later you will find out that the VCI-300 will be limiting you.

I would agree with the above (VCI-100 + soundcard with timecoding capabilities), so that you can use everything, spending the lowest budget.

Since you cannot afford an Xone:4D (and I can totally understand you on that as the cost is 3x times more than the VCI+soundcard combo), then I think it's the best and most wise solution. However I would suggest to get the Audio DJ8 instead of the Audio DJ4, as you may be in need of these extra I/Os it offers.

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one more thing on the pro side for a separate controller / soundcard solution: you can upgrade either one separately :)

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True. Once you find that something sucks, you can get rid of it more easily this way ;)

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[QUOTE=Dhar_2;850698]at this point for an all in unit. would the VCi 300 be something to consider?

by the time you've bought the VCI 100 and added the soundcard, it costs the same.

VCI 100 (387 Euros) + NI Audio 4 (229 Euros) = 616 Euros VCI 300 = 621 Euros

[IMG]http://image.rakuten.co.jp/mcshowa/cabinet/00242863/img55638268.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://ci.vestax.com/en/products/img/vci300_f&r_L.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]

having the sound card would be nice though. you could also use it for music production in addition. or upgrade/swap your interface.

Re: Computer Dj-ing

its just seems a bit messy with the headphones attached to the sound card.

at the end of the day i wont be getting timecodes. if and when i go and get my decks the plan is so i can use my old vinyl. i'll probably put it all in digital format anyway.

has anyone got a a vci 100?

what kind of setup are you using?

Re: Computer Dj-ing

otherwise how about something a little less sophisticated?

at the end of the day its to get back into things.

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[QUOTE=Dhar_2;852343]its just seems a bit messy with the headphones attached to the sound card.

at the end of the day i wont be getting timecodes. [B]if and when i go and get my decks the plan is so i can use my old vinyl. i'll probably put it all in digital format anyway[/B].

has anyone got a a vci 100?

what kind of setup are you using?[/QUOTE]

lol, no you won't.. I've been saying that for years as well as every other dj I know personally.. it sounds like a great idea, but time consuming and monotonous.. then you've got make sure it's a clean recording or else it's useless :(

Re: Computer Dj-ing

[QUOTE=Dhar_2;852343]its just seems a bit messy with the headphones attached to the sound card.

at the end of the day i wont be getting timecodes. if and when i go and get my decks the plan is so i can use my old vinyl. i'll probably put it all in digital format anyway.

has anyone got a a vci 100?

what kind of setup are you using?[/QUOTE]

Do you pay attention to my replies or not? I have the feeling that everything is explained in every detail. As already replied to your initial thread start since September, I was the owner of a VCI-100 and I was using it combined with a soundcard and a mixer (apart from my decks and for specific mobile setups only).

You claim that the headphone out from the soundcard is messy to use, you don't want to spend lots of money (well I can understand that) and you still are in search of it since September (7 months ago). I cannot really understand if you try to find a solution, or just to talk about it for no reason :lol: :lol: :lol: you still confuse me on that.

Anyway. If you still find the soundcard headphone out messy, the last solution to this could be to get a cheap mixer with a built in soundcard, so that you can use the 2 (or 4) decks from the VCI with Traktor and by also getting the headphone out from the mixer.

Honestly I cannot help you anymore, I really cannot understand your purpose after all... :)

Good luck on your rest research. :)

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^^ I admire your patience :)