Vestax VCI-300 user reviews

3.5 stars

"A pratical deck replacement that's powerful and mobile." on December 30, 2009 by shionuk

Pros: Serato Itch is everything NI Traktor should have been. Accurate, esay to use and generally bullet proof.
The Vestax built quality, solid, even if plastic.The looping features.The jog torq adjustment makes it feel like a deck. It's 100% mobile! 10/10

Cons: No FX's. It is expensive esp since it has no effects in it. Feels slightly too all in one at times. What happens if a fader goes?

Summary: These things will never be your Technics but between Serato Itch and the VCI-300 you have a great alternative. For an ex Technics 1210 owner with no where to put decks this was an obvious eye catcher. And with services like Beatport.com and Trackitdown.com as my new record store hangouts anyway it was a no brainer I felt. I owned Vestax mixers (two in fact ) and both were rock soid. Unlike those which were mainly metal this thing is mostly plastic to my disappointment but it still has that Vestax build quality. It's light, small and mobile so plastic has to be the main ingredients. It slips into your bag with your laptop easily, it is nuts actually how easily you become a walking disco! The software, Serato Itch is great. It is on point and easy to use unlike Traktor which while clever is just plain hard and not accurate. Itch is totally the opposite, less tricks and more accuracy and access to your tunes. You can use the VCI-300 without ever touching your mouse so it feels like a "mix" session not a "laptop" session. My biggest issue with the VCI-300 is the price point. And that is because of what it is. It is just a USB midi contoller at the end of the day yet Vestax charge as much as the cost of two new Technics turntables for one. But its what you get when its all set up and you have spent the money which makes it worth the spend. Essentially you are getting a digital set of decks. It's a very powerful setup once it's up and running. When you stiffen the jog torque up you get a real feel of a deck so you can push things into sync so beat matching gets done in the same way as on a deck (the software helps a lot too). The software lets you do three sets of looping per deck which is pretty cool esp if you are into Hip Hop or want to continue a track on for longer, again all operated from the VCO-300 itself. For an item this expensive I expected to see some basic DSP FX. The unit has none what so ever which is wack I think. Vestax cannot argue that the technology is not there it is all digital. A nice set of filters like you get on Allen and Heath mixers would have made this unit the dogs. For me I bought this as I wanted to get back into mixing my house music in my house without the need for vinyl and ancient old decks. I am happy with my purchase. Only thing I worry about is wear and tear. As its one block what happens when a fader goes, they are after all consumables on most mixers. On the VCI-300 you get the impression if the faders wear and you are out of warranty you would have to buy a new unit. That worries me, I may be wrong. I wouldn't recommend this unit for a scratch master looking to push this to new limits with scratching, it does a good job but you need to save up and get yourself a Numark NS7 or stick to vinyl. If you have sold your decks and want back in this is where you need to be and it won't eat much real estate in your home either.