Vestax Vci 100 Mk1 Sound Card Software Emulating Analog
Vestax Vci 100 Mk1 Sound Card Driver Wielding Hack

Thanks to the joys of USB, the VCI can be us powered from your computer, or if your machine isnt up to it, you can also run it from a (hopefully - this one wasnt) supplied PSU.

Vestax Vci 100 Mk1 Sound Card Software Emulating Analog

Weve had CDs emulating analog decks, software emulating analog decks and now its the turn of controllers trying to the same thing.

Its logical really - when many peoples music collections exist on their computers hard drives, it seems sort of silly to still have a full blown analog setup when for the most part, a full DJ set can be rocked in software like Traktor without a hitch.

Sure its not the same experience but it can be done quite easily (and lets not hear the haters say it cant because it can).

But despite this, we still want the tactile experience of DJing and thats what the plethora of controllers offer.

Theyre nothing new of course, but its only in the last 18 months that theyve started to gain popularity and it seems from the NAMM feedback that everyones must have controller right now is the Vestax VCI-100.

Its taken the Japanese giants some time to get into the digital market but they seem to have landed right at the top of the heap with this one.

About this article: due to the VCI-100 being delivered 4 days late, Ive only got a limited amount of time to pour over the features of it so THIS IS NOT A FULL REVIEW - more of a first look at a pre-production model, hence Ive tried to answer the most popular questions along with giving you my own impressions of it.

Its certainly not large, measuring 360mm x 250mm x 60mm to the top of the knobs - a little larger than a 15laptop - but it weighs a ton, coming in at a seriously heavy 3.8Kg.

Im led to believe that this wont be the final weight but it gives an indication of the robustness of the unit.

And on the whole it oozes quality, with tactile low profile buttons and very solid knobs, although slightly let down by the quite sloppy pitch sliders (could be the pre-production thing).

There also some very small pots for balance and volume levels that could have been bigger.

Vestax Vci 100 Mk1 Sound Card Driver Wielding Hack

On the top are 2 plates, and being the irresponsible screwdriver wielding hack that I am, I took a peek underneath and found.

So it struck me that perhaps a much heavier wheel made from thick Perspex or even glass could be used, and thats exactly what you have on the VCI-100.

The wheel is 115mm across 5mm thick and made from 2 parts - a heavy plastic disk and an inner metal plate.

Removing the jog wheel revealed a brass platter that makes contact with the screws to make the wheel touch sensitive, rather than adopting a push downclick motion that many jog wheels have.

At rest, the jog wheel glows blue but when being touched, they go red.

The touch sensitivity of the jog wheels is adjustable for each wheel around the back, via a couple of recessed pots, from stop all the way round to free running.

In a dimly lit room, the effectiveness of the VCI-100 is impaired.

The words become really hard to read and the illuminated buttons are pretty dim.

In a dark club, this might not be the easiest piece of kit to use.

Bring a torch. Disclaimer - you only wish the VCI looked like this in the dark.

Theres no headphone sockets for monitoring either so a dedicated soundcard is essential.

While were round the back as well, its worth mentioning the powering of the VCI-100.