We are proud to announce the anticipated mini.Translator program and its first patch which allows the VCI-300 to work with programs other than Serato Itch. Even after converting to midi we were able to keep the jog wheels and pitch faders high resolution so they will still be very precise. The best part though is that its free for you to try.
Enter your email bellow and you will receive links to mac and windows versions as well as updates on when the newest patches are available. This is the first beta release and there may be minor bugs, so please report them or post questions here. We are working on a full preset for the VCI-300 and Traktor that includes effects mapping and a matching TKS file.
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Installation Guide
After installing the mini.Translator you will need to install the preset. This can be done by dragging the preset into the program.
The pre-set should automatically recognize if your VCI-300 is connected. If you move a control and the blue light illuminates then mini.T is receiving midi from your controller. If nothing lights up then you may need to re-define which midi controller the pre-set should look for. This can be done by right clicking anywhere on the interface and selecting “midi settings”. Make sure the “MIDI IN port” input is set to what the computer has named your VCI-300. This should only need to be done once.
Next your Dj Software should recognize that there is a midi controller called “mini translator virtual output 1″ available. This is what you should select as your midi input, NOT the vci-300. The midi ouput however should be set to the vci-300 as shown in the photo bellow.
About mini.Translator
Even though its small and simple to use, mini.Translator packs a big punch. You are essentially getting the entire midi processing engine of Midi Translator Pro, the markets most robust midi engine created by Bomes Software. Those that use Bomes know its a very powerful program but not so easy for the average dj to figure out. So Dj TT and Bomes have teamed up to create mini.T which runs all the same conversions behind the scenes. Just load the preset of your choice, plug in a midi controller and start playing like a pro because we have done all the programing for you.
Nice Ean, only if I could get my hands on VCI-300 I would be telling you how much this kicks ass!
YEEEEEEAAHH! Great work Ean. I was getting a little pissed of itch.
By the way, can you post or send me some temporal .tks for trying it ( just something to try, not the full compatibility one).
Thanks!
I still disapprove degrading resolution to MIDI. Good work though.
But I don’t have the need to make translator.
Ean, program doesnt starts:
After installing it in MAC OS Leopard, I open it and says “This beta version has expired on 1970-02-15″ (a long time ago hehe). I click Ok and program crashes on exit.
Trying restalling and same.
Whenever the full preset for the VCI-300 to work with Traktor is ready, a video of the custom layout being used would be helpful.
Nice one, I would like to see you make a VCI300 firmware that could possibly make the 300 have “layers” so giving it extra control for programs like Traktor. I hope that Itch will expand a little more rather than a simple hip hop style dj program.
Oops, thats not good - I will forward this to the developers.
The post would not be complete without a disapproval from Dj Tos, our resident devils advocate :)
we agree, its not an ideal fix but until dj programs build in support for these types of controllers there is no other solution.
I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the difference between high resolution 14-bit and normal 7-bit MIDI controller values.
When you’re scratching using a rotary controller, the actual messages sent by the MIDI device are just the difference between the last position and the current one, biased by 64 (zero = 64, negative numbers are less than 64, positive numbers are greater than 64). The values sent when you move the platter are pretty much all small values: +1, +3, -7. Adding additional resolution to these values will not affect the feel of the platter as it’s not the values that matter, the perky feel comes from the *frequency* at which these updates are sent. A 14-bit NRPN message takes two MIDI messages to send (high and low, 6 bytes) whereas an single ordinary CC message only takes 3 bytes. Clearly, the low res messages can be sent faster.
In the case of the pitch slider, more resolution is a fantastic upgrade, as you have more direct control over the pitch of the record - there are more thousands more positions you can set the pitch slider than just the low res 127 values.
So, be careful what you ask for. I can imagine the designers at Vestax scratching their heads about why anyone would want slow NRPN messages off the scratch plate but, hey, Marketing wants it so we give it to them. MIDI-2 will give us both higher res and faster updates, but that’s a way off.
Anonymous is right and brings up a very good point. Dont expect the VCi-300 jog wheel to be amazingly better than the VCI-100 when using it with software other than Itch. The reason Itch works so well is because they are not using relative data but gobs of absolute data. we have taken that absolute info and converted it into relative. Th amount of relative data is more than the VCI-100 because its being sent more often but the difference is not as great as you might imagine. Fatlimey might be able to expand on this more than I.
I would just insert here that this is not the ONLY way a rotary controller works, just the ones you’re working with right now. Rotaries are perfectly capable of sending absolute, relative, or indeed BOTH types of data at once. In fact, I can’t think of a better way for a platter to have both accurate scratching and absolute positioning than to send both types of data at once (this is kind of how timecode works FYI).
But sadly, right now the SOFTWARE is the weak point. Itch scratching will feel MUCH more accurate than Traktor’s right now because Itch was specifically designed to work with partner products like the 300. If everyone making MIDI controllers decided to make things proprietary by forcing the use of a specific software package (like most DVS products), then performance would be better, but at the expense of limiting what the user can do with their hardware. But there needs to be a couple things like Itch out there to prove to other software companies that the performance is possible, and the only thing keeping it from happening is the software.
Maybe I could beg for someone to make a VCI-100 to Torq patch. Someone with: the authoring version/ skills and knowledge/ VCI-100 /Torq care to step up? I love my VCI-100 W/ Traktor but I own Torq as well and would like the two to play together well.
I have had a problem with getting the mini. controller to work… everytime i try load the preset into it it comes up with an error message
“1:Error: MIDI device ‘mini.Translator 1 Virtual Out” cannot be used:
Error opening virtual MIDI OUT device ‘mini.translator 1 virtual out’: invalid parameter”
You might want to try re-installing the latest download we sent via email today and make sure you check the “uninstall virtual driver” option when installing.
how much is the vestax vci 300 in PHP
… i really type this kind of midi controller! plis advice wer i can find…. tnxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
how much is the vestax vci 300 in PHP
its the same price in PHP as it is in ajax, html or flash as far as we know. :) bad server joke. bad.
no really, they are apparently back ordered every where
Did not receive the email?? Tried what u said and it said this:
1:File “\VCI-300_1.bmte” is incompatible with the edition of MT
the programs crashes soon after that
If its easier and u have msn FNTA5Y@hotmail.com
The 300 keeps crashing for some reason… we are not sure if its the computer, error with the decks or something to do with Serato…
If we can get it to work in another program and the decks dont crash they wont need to be sent back..
1: Error loading project file:
C:\Documents and Settings\aa\Documenti\mini.Translator\VCI-300_1.bmte
so iv got the same problam on my mac:
1: Error loading project file:
C:\Documents and Settings\aa\Documenti\mini.Translator\VCI-300_1.bmte
dose some one knows how to solve this one…..cant wait to go on traktor with it…..
^^^ Have also had that error come up
yea man, cant stand itch…
Can you tell me which version of mini t you are using?
i have downloaded the files inthe download-link; there is only three file. mac, win and preset; wich vesion?
We are sending out an email in a few days with a new version that fixes the problems in .9
there was a problem with how it reads the pre-set.
Hi,
New preset is working with mini.translator,but when im in Traktor it doesn’t respond to “Midi learn” for setting the controls :( have i missed something?…followed the install step by step…
Thanks
Hey Ean. I think evrything works fine now although I don´t know exactly which parameters of traktor goes with jog wheel and pictch faders, so it would be useful if u can tell me. Anyway, gotta wait for the .tks you are building, because I think it will be very nice.
Is there a way of assigning the config in a way that looks like ITCH?:
- SCRATCH mode off: Cd. SCRACTH mode on:Vynil. Pushing jog wheel or sliding it from the surrounding.
- Using pitch shift buttons to change the +-6 scale.
I think that system works quite nice in ITCH and it would be great for traktor.
Thanks!
sooo, anyone has a .tks for the 300?
also for me, many thanks
Yes, we will be posting one soon!
Hi Ean,
Where do I get the preset file: VCI-300_1.bmte? thanks just got my VCI-300 but really want to still use traktor.
Thanks!
digikid;)
please sign up for the beta above and you will receive the pre-set.
Thanks!
I can install everything without any problem, but mini.translator doesnt regocnize my VCI-300, while it works fine with itch?
Im using mini.Translator0.0.9_Beta and vci-300_2.
Got it running now, was looking for vci-300 but my pc called it usb-audioapparaat..
Got traktor 3.4 up and running pretty good now, but got some sound issues.
Got my monitors speakers connected to my vci-300, also my headphone, but only one speaker is working and the headphone only plays the master sound?
With itch everything works fine…
How can i scratch in Traktor with the VCI 300???
Hi,
I can’t run the mini transalator 0.0.9 beta with my vci 300, there is this error message: 1: Error: MIDI device ‘mini.Translator 1 Virtual Out’ does not exist
Please plug it in or assign a new device to this alias.
Someone can help please? I’ve tryed one week to get the right patch! but it’s not working!
thanks
It sounds like you did not install the virtual drivers on windows. When you install mini T it asks you to install virtual drivers and you need to install all of them. (takes a little while)
Thanks for the fast answer but where can i found the virtual drivers?
Great job man!
Have you seen that? ‘ so lame man, mine its one of those
All Vestax VCI-300 users,
It has been discovered that the controls of some VCI-300 units may possibly freeze(disable) during operation with ITCH under several circumstances.
If you are a owner of a Vestax VCI-300 and have experienced this error, please contact your local Vestax distributor for assistance.(The errror can be checked by rotating the right (Bch) jog wheel when in use with ITCH)
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Vestax Corporation
-Object product / Serial number-
DJ Controller VCI-300
- 85 F (K) 01 ****
- 86 F (K) 02 ****
- 87 F (K) 03 ****
- G87 01 ****
- G87 02 ****
- G88 03 ****
-Error content-
The controls of the VCI-300 freezes(is disabled) during operation with ITCH when the right JOG wheel is operated.
Solved this problem to, with asio4all it works fine, selecting the vci soundcard in traktor wont work here..
Anyone using VCI-300 with Traktor PRO?
I have a VCI-300 and want to use it with Traktor….but shooting for Traktor Pro. I don’t understand if I can just use it or not….guess I might as well plug it in and see what happens….but is there like a driver or something or was that part of the Itch software?
I’m definitely a noob when it comes to this stuff….
When using mini translator the vci-300 will work with ALL software that supports midi.
WAIT - I have it up and working with Traktor Pro. Cool - only thing now is I have to learn how to program the darn thing since it uses some sort of new file/modifiers and a .tks file no longer works.
I guess it’s as good as a time as any to learn how to make this work…but the Beta says it is only good until 11/22/08…..
No need for mini.translator with pro..
why is that? We didn’t test it yet but I didn’t see support for 14 bit midi in pro
Does mini.translator only work when you start up the program or does it also do something on the background?
In traktor pro i dont select mini.translator but the vci-300 as midi device for the in- and output..
In traktor 3.4 i needed to adjust the midi settings of mini.translator and i needed to select mini.translator as input device.
so how come u dont need mini traslator for pro???
did anyone chack it out????
r there any tks files for it or suporrt????
if there is im geting it now…..
I am a bit confused here ..so does the VCI-300 work or not with Traktor Pro or with Mini Translator and all..seems nothing positive here about it working well..
Yes, I am confused too..Does this VCI-300 work with Traktor Pro without this patch?
To make sure i uninstalled mini.translator and traktor pro works fine with the vci-300 without mini.translator.
If you use traktor 3.XX you will need to use the mini.translator.
Altough got one bug so far without the mini.translator, pitchfader doesnt work well, if i run traktor pro with mini.translator the pitchfader works fine…
Hi Martijn,
Did you get the platters to work?? Like pitch up and down (nudge) and cueing like in Itch?
i tried to get it working on pro and on 3.4 wasnt realy hapening…..dose anyone got tks file????
whould be great….
With platters you mean the jogs? When i map the pitch/tempo to the jog it works but any function i map to the pitchfader of the vci doesnt work well..
I am using my VCI and Itch and actually like it, simple and easy to use.
We did some testing with the VCi-300 and confirmed that the following controls will NOT work with Traktor Pro WITHOUT mini translator:
Pitch sliders
Jog Wheel Surfaces
this is the same as in Traktor 3, the vci-300 will show up without mini Translator but those 2 controls will NOT work but because they are high resolution midi.
Do we have to understand that the Pitch sliders and Jog Wheel Surfaces doesn’t work without mini translator or doesn’t work at all with Traktor pro?
I brought back my VCI 300 to the dealer today du to the problem “freeze(disable)” the serial N° was one of them.
Someone know what’s they gone do? they fix it? change it?
Thank you
sorry, my statement above was not very clear- I have edited it for clarity.
I am not sure what they will do with your VCI-300- most likely replace it.
Anyone have the patch working with Virtual DJ, I can get simple buttons to work but not the Jogs or the pitch faders, can anyone help?
is it possible to run the VCI 300 with the software of TORQ ?
friendly greetings!
is it possible to run the VCI 300 with the software of TORQ ?
friendly greetings!
I have VCI 300 and I’ve checked this software and I have to say that it is a very long way to achive decent results. It is not working like it should with Traktor…and I do not know why I have problems with sound. When the Traktor is working on a VCI Soundcard is sound like shit when it is workin on my comp internal soundcard sound is normal..any ideas?
I have big hopes for this patch but for now it is not enough.
Never mind I got it working!! WHoa Whoa!