vci 100 or 300 or mk2 ??? please help

[HerbStrike]

I rock a macbook and the VCI 100 without the firmware upgrade and i have literally had NO problems at all. the led's on the buttons go a bit funny but its an astetics thing i don't really care about. It's a decent sturdy bit of kit.

[WooDz]

I've just order the VCI-100 Mk2 today.
I ordered it on the following grounds.

My requirements.
Midi-controller that is mapped for 4 decks in Traktor Pro.
Jog wheels for cueing and capable of very basic scratching.
Must be from a brand renowned for it's quality.
Must not look tacky or look like a toy.
Get good reviews
Must be small and compact for quick setup in Clubs
need Balanced outputs
dedicated Mic with good EQ'ing


The choices
NI Kontrol S4
A&H Xone DX
VCI-100 Mk2
VCI-300 Mk2
ADJ VMS4


Kontrol S4:
comes across as the perfect controller however the Mic doesn't have a dedicated channel and the switch is at the back of the unit. the worse bit is there are many complaints about having to recalibrate the jog wheels and some units not functioning on arrival with broken parts. The overall perception is this would be a great controller if only it worked 100% or arrived in A1 condition.
For me the reliability needs to improve before I'd take it on the road.
I did order one back in October then cancelled my order 2 days later.

Xone DX : Again the Xone DX doesn't have a dedicated Mic and the switch is also not easily accessible. Reports on forums about units arriving DOA and nonfunctioning buttons was also a reason for concern. Then there is the Serato factor. Not that I don't like Serato but there's no way to upgrade ITCH for DVS control and the jog wheels definitely do not offer any scratch possibilities. The pitch control dials get a less than warm reception and although I use 'sync' to get a quick rough BPM match combined with some manual beat-matching I fear the 'pitch-potties' with probably have me relying on the 'sync' function more and more as time goes on.
So as with the Kontrol S4 there were too many quality control issues coupled with ITCH, scratch, sync complications that the price wasn't worth the compromises.

VCI-300:
This controller would tick the right boxes for the price but there's no 4 deck control without trying to add modifiers in Traktor and again the lack of mic EQ'ing still remained an issue.

VSM4:
I have a lot of praise for the VSM4 price wise it's the cheapest of the lot. It can also be used as a stand alone mixer and has a dedicated mic input with mild EQ'ing. It's has balanced XLR out and the jog wheels are capable of some basic scratches. So really the VMS4 should have been the one. However it wasn't the winner because I need to map every button to Traktor which will take a few days to get right and as far as I can search there is still no .tsi file on the net that doesn't have complications.

VCI-100 MK2
So how can a cheap looking midi box with no Mic input and no balanced outputs end up being the unit I ordered. Well it's €300 less than the Kontrol S4 and €200 more than the VMS4. I feel that €200 is worth the extra money to have a unit pre-mapped for me and get the famous 'Traktor Ready' sticker. The €300 saving means that I can patch the VCI-100 into my €265 A&H ZED-10 FX Mixer and have a dedicated mic channel with good EQ'ing. I think the aesthetics of the VCI-100 aren't too bad and although there's a fair amount of plastic, reviews still mention that the unit feels robust enough especially with the metal surfaces being where it counts. I've read no DOA reports, no reliability issues and no broken parts problems. The main criticisms are that the MK2 isn't all metal like its predecessor, which isn't a deal breaker when you consider how much more plastic can be found on the other controllers I looked at.

So I've got a small unit for getting in and out of clubs with minimal setup and pack-up. It's got 4 deck control. It has jog wheels that can do some basic scratching. It's mapped to Traktor Pro, it's built by a respected manufacturer. The aluminum surface will match my MacBook Pro and I've not read any bad reviews or reports so far.
It may not be right for many DJ's but the VCI-100 Mk2 has a nice balance of price vs. compromise and that's what I seem to find with all Midi-controllers at present.


Anyway I know it was long one but I hope my thoughts may help someone.

[DjWindzOne]

Off topic. . .

but with no way to do a arcade mod, kinda defeats the purpose. . .

[fullenglishpint]

Off topic. . .

but with no way to do a arcade mod, kinda defeats the purpose. . .

are you suggesting the only thing that's good about the VCI-100mkI is the possibility of doing an arcade mod?

I really hope not...

[tyfurious]

For a bit more you could get a vci 100se arcade instead of a mkii. The mapping for the VCI-100's from DJTT makes them amazing, and I would consider it over the mkii simply for the mappings.

[fullenglishpint]

For a bit more you could get a vci 100se arcade instead of a mkii. The mapping for the VCI-100's from DJTT makes them amazing, and I would consider it over the mkii simply for the mappings.

Agreed.

[DjWindzOne]

are you suggesting the only thing that's good about the VCI-100mkI is the possibility of doing an arcade mod?

I really hope not...

Not at all. . .I'm more concerned about supportability for DJTT firmware upgrades (if there's going to be any) . I don't have one, but me and a buddy maybe doing the arcade mod on an SE he found for cheap at a yard sale.

[fullenglishpint]

I think there's no doubt that the mkII is going to be far less popular than the mkI. Worse build quality, mediocre soundcard and lack of DJTT support don't bode well! for now I'm very happy with my sexy modded DIY SE.

[WooDz]

Have to add an update to this thread.

So I make a great big post on why I ordered the VCI-100 MK2, only to send it back a day later as it stopped working. I think it also frazzled my Audio 8 in the process.

I now have 2 Xone:1Ds to accompany the Xone:92.

Maybe I'm just a Hawtin Fanboy???

[DjWindzOne]

mediocre soundcard

That's what worries me about the mkII. . .Vestax has never been known for their sound cards. . but I do remember the TANK (VAI-80) and the VAI-40 were pretty decent sound-wise. Just unsure if it'll work with new OS's, and the whole Intel i3 / i5 / i7 chip issues. . .