Vestax VCI-300

So I’ve had my Vestax VCI-300 DJ controller for three months now. I’ve got used to it in my home, DJed with it in busy nightclubs next to vinyl and CD DJs, and launched a new beach bar residency using it. All that and a couple of messy parties too.
I’ve now got a great view of its potential, its weaknesses and its strengths. This isn’t a full review (there are plenty of those around) – rather some real life thoughts after the first period of my ownership of this mid-range DJ controller.

My previous kit
I moved to the Vestax VCI-300 / Serato Itch combination from being a real, real purist Virtual DJ user; purist in so far as I didn’t even have a DJ controller!
Now I think Virtual DJ is a great piece of software. Not perfect (I’ve used it for five years, so I know) but great nonetheless. I had custom-mapped my Windows XP laptop keyboard right down the middle to duplicate a DJ controller, with the cursor keys operating as nudge and pitch shift, and keys for left/right deck volume, bass, mid, treble, kills, “everything back to 12 o’clock” etc.

Virtual DJ 6 software

More than that, I had loops, sample triggers, shortcuts for accessing files etc. In short, every time I thought of something new I’d like throughout that five years, I just found an unused key combination and added it.
As I also had an Echo Indigo DJ PCI-slot soundcard, it means I could literally turn up anywhere with just my laptop and some headphones and DJ right on – nothing else needed.

New computer, new DJ controller
I decided to make the switch because my old Sony Vaio was on the way out and I fancied a MacBook Pro (never looked back, but that’s another story). In my heart of hearts I missed the immediacy of some kind of control surface (I am a vinyl DJ at heart, but an MP3 DJ in my head).
night residency for a long time with just the laptop in a purist dance club.
Plus, not wanting to have a controller and a soundcard (which would have felt like a step backwards) I decided on the VCI-300 knowing it had a built-in soundcard and on the strength of the reviews, all the while knowing it was going to take a bit of getting used to after the tried-and-tested Virtual DJ setup. (Hell, I DJed a Saturday night residency for a long time with just the laptop in a purist dance club. It has earned its stripes…)

Serato Itch software

Setting it up and first use
Unsurprisingly, the Serato Itch software was a cinch to set up and use. All my music is organised on iTunes, and just like Virtual DJ, the software found my playlists immediately – no problem there.
However, it crashed every single time I plugged the VCI-300 in. I had to quit the software and reload it to get it to work. No biggie, but annoying.
Serato couldn’t solve this on their (very helpful) support desk, but the recent software update did. So – don’t know what that was, but it’s fixed now. All’s well that ends well.

First time with the Vestax VCI-300 in a club
I played my first set on the thing in a busy mainstream club, with a big birthday party in. There was a pop DJ holding the floor well when I arrived, and I got the usual “shit, I have to follow this guy  and there’s no way I’m playing Tina Turner, they’re getting some dance music, so I’d better make it work!” feeling.
As I balanced the thing on the top of the existing kit and plugged it in to the ancient house mixer, I suddenly realised that the simplicity that had left me feeling a bit cheated at first was now working in my favour.

It performed flawlessly; I was playing an old school set (’88-’92 house, breaks, a bit of indie), and mixing it better than I had imagined, looping vocals, using the key lock to throw tunes like The Stone Roses “Fools Gold” and Young MC’s “Know How” together flawlessly despite the wide tempo difference. I had lots of compliments and went home very satisfied with the freedom the thing gave me musically to get a bit drunk, jump around and not worry about hitting reasonable mixes every time.