This will be a big one folks. If you can pull yourself away from Diablo 3, I would recommend showing up.
This will be a big one folks. If you can pull yourself away from Diablo 3, I would recommend showing up.
This month, the first Wednesday falls on the 9th. I thought it’d be fun to drop back into my 90s Night playlist. If you’re too young to dance to 80s music, and you hate what’s on the radio right now — roll over in the No Limit tank to Gloves on wednesday. FREE | $1 drinks.
Yo! I’m kicking off a brand new monthly called “Choplift” on the rooftop of the home of the handsdown BEST chili dog in Denton, Cool Beans Bar & Grill. This is going to be a rooftop party unlike Denton has ever seen, with an excellent roster of headlining guest djs from across Texas. Get ready to pack out the roof starting Cinco De Mayo while myself and inaugural guest LDFD lace the upper deck with feel-good beach tunes and warm weather wub.
The response I’ve gotten has been awesome, it seems like everyone wants to chill on top of roofs these days. Mark it down on your calendar! Cinco De Mayo (May 5th), Cool Beans, Dope Tunes, Chili Dogs, Cold Adult Beverages. FREE
Here’s a picture of the first piece of Vestax gear I ever owned next to my latest acquisition. Needless to say, things have changed. In a market where more and more intricate controllers are entering the arena each year, Vestax might hold the #1 spot in sheer number-of-slidey-buttony-spinny-things per square meter. That’s a far cry from the PMC PRO 06 there on the left, a relic from an era where simplicity and stability ruled the retail shelves. But is all this extra knobbery really going to help you dj more creatively? yes and no. Let’s delve into Vestax’s latest and greatest – specifically the DJ Techtools Ean Golden special edition.
Construction
I haven’t seen another USB controller built to the amazing specs as the vci400. It’s a serious tank. I really appreciate how they have each control element attached not only into the PCB, but also onto the metal chassis as well. This style of construction really gives a rock solid performance base. I feel like I could gig with this week after week for several years and never have a single problem with it’s physical functionality. It’s heavy, but not cumbersome – which is exactly what you want in a portable dj controller. DJ Techtools went against the grain and changed Vestax’s iconic red to a sleek blue style, and dimmed the entire appearance of the controller as well. It looks slick, but I’m not sure it’s the right decision to design a low-contrast controller that’s sure to spend a lot of time in dark booths.
Mapping
DJ Techtools’ staff are verified traktor mapping experts, as shown with the control capability of their simplistic midi fighter line. I can’t help but think they over-extended themselves with the vci400 mapping though. I may be old fashioned, but I think it’s far too ‘busy’ for my personal dj workflow. Some things in the mapping simply don’t work as advertised, and I feel they should have placed more of an emphasis in track preparation and gridding and less focus on flashy effects that (let’s be honest for a moment) wont get used.
1. Slicer mode does not function properly while key lock is enabled. If you try to jump with the slicer function to another one of the 7 temporary cue points after the first cue from which slicer was enabled, you will hear a snippet of the sound of the first cue in all the subsequent temporary cues upon triggering. This makes chopping a 1-kick / 2-snare / 3-vocal sample / 4-stab relatively dull, because you’ll get a kick at the beginning of each of those chops. For someone who djs with key lock enabled all the time, I found this really frustrating. I was looking forward to that feature. Not to mention the key lock algorithm inside traktor is the best sounding of any dj program on the market! I feel like that let down in itself was a major blow to the mapping provided by djtt.
2. Don’t expect the scratch performance you had on the vci 300 unit with Serato Itch. It’s not there. This is not the vci 300 successor. The mapping ships with 15% scratch sensitivity, but I chose to dial that up a bit to 19%. It felt a little tighter, but it still doesn’t give you a good feeling cut. Scratch djs should steer clear of using this unit with Traktor.
3. I grid my tracks on the fly. I would have liked to see some gridding tools inside the djtt mapping in lieu of the GRID FX panel. That effect is somewhat lame and I don’t see it being used by anyone but spastic newbs. It’s rare you get an occasion to dial up that glitchy 1/64 beat repeat effect in a dj set. I wouldn’t have given it such a prominent placement in the mapping.
I shouldn’t get too harsh on the mapping though. Most of it is brilliant and inspired work. The Jog FX and Gratify elements in particular sound great and I can see having a lot of fun with those. They did some fantastic work integrating the sample decks in a way that just ‘makes sense’, and I think users that normally don’t use the sample decks would gravitate toward applying them to their sets. I just feel that they wanted to pack it full of too much wow-factor and that mentality took precedent over a rational dj workflow as a result.
I/O
Wow! I can’t believe they packed so much stuff into this beastly controller. XLR and 1/4″ masters, dual line / dual mic inputs, robust monitoring, sensitivity adjustments and jog torque controls, this thing has it all! Wait… What’s missing? BOOTH OUTPUT! Controller manufacturer’s: INCLUDE BOOTH OUTPUT. Aside from this omission – I love all the options they managed to squeeze into this design.
If you can stomach the price ( I believe it to be fair ) then this is a great controller from Vestax. I see a few drawbacks in the DJTT mapping, but if you’re not going to scratch and don’t mind getting under the hood to tweak a few parameters to your liking, this might be a perfect fit for you. It sounds fantastic and for someone who likes mixing 4 decks in traktor, I think this controller is the new reigning champ. I for one will be returning this in anticipation of the vci 380, which should give me back that impeccable jog performance in Serato along with a Slicer that works with key lock. I’m going to miss some of those beautiful Traktor effects, but I’m more of a 2-deck guy anyhow ^___^
My dude TREG just released a lazery dubstep EP called ‘Southern Comfort’. I’m not even sure he’s old enough to legally imbibe the SoCo, but I am comforted in the thought that local dudes are getting out there and making some quality productions. Another local dude I like is Ahab. They both have pretty awesome production styles and are quite prolific. check em out.
I got invited to dj this show at Arnetic in Dallas next Tuesday. I was Arnetic for the first time last month and was really impressed with their sound system and venue. cant wait to get back there. I think it’s awesome that k104 wants to get involved with local emcees at a show like this. much thanks to jp for throwing it together.
Like beats? Juicy the Emissary has been holding it down with the best instrumentals in the area for longer than your parents have been sexting each other. His new release is so jam packed full of dopeness, that I had to invite him out to my weekly to unveil the science. He fits in a good lane where the Stones Throw heads can get down, but also crosses over to the post-chillwave beat scene. You don’t want to miss this one. btw did i mention it’s FREE???
I love interviews, freestyling, and humbleness. No surprise this video made my day. The point dallas is at right now for hip hop is so different than just a few years ago. There is so much talent in the city. it’s insane. My d00d JP sat down with upcoming Dallas rapper LOS. take a view and then click on that subscribe button and get all the upcoming swag junc vidz direct to the oculars.
