What controller should I buy?

ED E · 27-02-2010 5:43pm

electrogrimey wrote: »

Well you'd definitely need a backup laptop if you were using a Dell :pac: But, buying a second Macbook (there's no point having a PC as a backup for a Mac, because the PC would be more likely to crash) and a second copy of Traktor is a lot more expensive than just burning a few CDs.

Actually, are all the packages out there single PC licences?

He was using Vitual DJ so thats 300 a time :0

Maserati23 · 27-02-2010 8:54pm

Thanks Electrogrimey;)

Sorry for being back in the dark ages, but a midi controller with soundcard is a mixer connected to my pc via the usb enabling me to mix each mp3! is that correct?

If so, thats what I want.

So can you just reccomend 1 or 2 and point me in the direction to buy one. Thanks.

Honestly I am not as stupid as you think.:mad:

I was joint Dj of the year in 1981 with Gareth o Callaghan, at that time I used "carts" working for Nova Sunshine Dublin Etc. Etc.

My only saving grace is my Mouth:cool:

Reminds me of a song by Napoleon the 14th...............

electrogrimey · 27-02-2010 9:06pm

Maserati23 wrote: »

Sorry for being back in the dark ages, but a midi controller with soundcard is a mixer connected to my pc via the usb enabling me to mix each mp3! is that correct? If so, thats what I want.

It will function as a mixer yes, but a mixer is an analog controller, same as it ever was, and midi controllers are basically DJ specific mouse & keyboard. A MIDI controller will use the program's internal mixer, so when you move the faders & EQs, you'll see them move on the screen. It sounds the exact same either way.

Maserati23 wrote: »

So can you just reccomend 1 or 2 and point me in the direction to buy one. Thanks.

All the controllers in the second chart above would be perfect for you. The Hercules MK2, Behringer BCD3000 and Vestax Spin all have built-in soundcards, in that order of quality, I'd say the Vestax Spin would be best.

If you wanted to use Traktor, which is the industry standard software, and had the budget for it, maybe try the Vestax-VCI300, but it's a fair bit more expensive.

electrogrimey · 01-03-2010 10:44pm

Ok. I think I've just about scraped the money together to upgrade from my Audio 2 DJ to an audio 4 DJ, but I won't be able to afford a proper controller for a while, I'm going to get either a 1D or an X1 whenever I can afford it, but I need something cheap in the meantime.

I'm looking at something like a NanoKontrol, but I used one of them before at a gig, and didn't like it at all. It was too flimsy, and it was impossible to remember what was mapped where. Are there any other controllers around that price range that'd be more suitable? I'm half thinking of getting a MIDI keyboard...Dunno if I'd like that though.

Scubadevils · 03-03-2010 12:02am

Well it was nice while it lasted.... got paid, did the sums and can't afford it. Back to the vinyl for now!

electrogrimey · 03-03-2010 12:11am

Felixdhc wrote: »

Well it was nice while it lasted.... got paid, did the sums and can't afford it. Back to the vinyl for now!

Go sell your soul and do a few awful wedding gigs from an Ipod and you'll have it in no time :pac:

Scubadevils · 03-03-2010 12:18am

electrogrimey wrote: »

Go sell your soul and do a few awful wedding gigs from an Ipod and you'll have it in no time :pac:

Ha, don't think I could lower myself!

I might be able to stretch to the Audio8dj this month, at least then I could connect the decks/mixer into the computer plus record etc.

electrogrimey · 03-03-2010 12:22am

Felixdhc wrote: »

Ha, don't think I could lower myself!

I might be able to stretch to the Audio8dj this month, at least then I could connect the decks/mixer into the computer plus record etc.

That's gonna be my next purchase too, I've the Audio 2 at the moment and I want to be able to use the other 2 decks. Last time I check Amazon it was there in England for €250, but it seems to be gone, and €399 from NI is a lot more than €250...

What's the deal, taxwise, with ordering gear from America? It's there on ebay for €250, but I'd be worried about getting hit with a €100 import bill.

Scubadevils · 03-03-2010 12:28am

electrogrimey wrote: »

That's gonna be my next purchase too, I've the Audio 2 at the moment and I want to be able to use the other 2 decks. Last time I check Amazon it was there in England for €250, but it seems to be gone, and €399 from NI is a lot more than €250...

What's the deal, taxwise, with ordering gear from America? It's there on ebay for €250, but I'd be worried about getting hit with a €100 import bill.

From what I've heard it can be the luck of the draw in terms of whether they get past customs or not - technically though you would have to pay duty if it is seen by customs.

You could ask the seller to send it in bubble-wrap and mark it as 'sample - no commercial value' :pac: Oh and same on the invoice...

ED E · 03-03-2010 12:40am

Felixdhc wrote: »

From what I've heard it can be the luck of the draw in terms of whether they get past customs or not - technically though you would have to pay duty if it is seen by customs.

You could ask the seller to send it in bubble-wrap and mark it as 'sample - no commercial value' :pac: Oh and same on the invoice...

Dude, mods cant say that kinda stuff, completely against TOS:eek:

Scubadevils · 03-03-2010 12:53am

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

Dude, mods cant say that kinda stuff, completely against TOS:eek:

True, maybe I'll be in trouble so... :pac:

copeyhagen · 03-03-2010 12:55am

marked as gift you could be ok.

electrogrimey · 03-03-2010 12:59am

If you do get stung, what kind of tax would you pay on something that's €250?

Scubadevils · 03-03-2010 12:59am

It would be the 21% VAT rate I'd imagine.

electrogrimey · 03-03-2010 1:03am

Felixdhc wrote: »

It would be the 21% VAT rate I'd imagine.

€50 :eek:

Scubadevils · 03-03-2010 1:05am

electrogrimey wrote: »

€50 :eek:

Yeah don't see how it could be anymore. Might be an option alright!

ED E · 03-03-2010 2:42pm

Felixdhc wrote: »

It would be the 21% VAT rate I'd imagine.

21% VAT + ~4% Duty on most items; all on the total cost inc shipping. AND, if its UPS they add a €13 VAT handling fee and then charge the vat on that bringing it to around €15:|

Zascar · 03-03-2010 2:47pm

I bought my vci from the US - it cost about €450 in postage but they marked it down on the box to $250. I got charged about €50 when it landed here - cash on delivery

cian1500ww · 05-03-2010 9:15pm

Would the Numark Omni be a good controller for someone looking to start out ??

ED E · 05-03-2010 9:22pm

cian1500ww wrote: »

Would the Numark Omni be a good controller for someone looking to start out ??

The stealth and the omni are practically the same, except one has a soundcard, get the one with the soundcard, I dont remember which that is though

cian1500ww · 05-03-2010 9:53pm

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

The stealth and the omni are practically the same, except one has a soundcard, get the one with the soundcard, I dont remember which that is though

Cool, the omni has the soundcard which is what has me interested in it, is it a decent controller though ?? Don't want something crappy that'll break in no time. I'll be using mainly Mixmeiser Fusion but I'd like to switch to Traxtor.

ED E · 05-03-2010 10:11pm

cian1500ww wrote: »

Cool, the omni has the soundcard which is what has me interested in it, is it a decent controller though ?? Don't want something crappy that'll break in no time. I'll be using mainly Mixmeiser Fusion but I'd like to switch to Traxtor.

I used a mixmaster trial and it didnt seem to be geared to controllers like other apps are. You could use EQs but so can a E40 2 channel mixer. It runs a single stream so to speak instead of the usual 2/4 deck setup. Its really suited for prerecording gigs.

There is this, but it doesnt look great:

For traktor on the other hand the Omni should work fine[http://co.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=traktorready] and it comes with Traktor LE with which to reel you in. I have the very childish TC and the DJ IO which is great, but in terms of Numark as a manufacturer the stuff is really robust and does exactly what it should. The faders are a little light on the touch compared to a hard mixer but the buttons and knobs are great.

I'd recommend looking up youtube videos to see how the layout works and if it would suit you.

electrogrimey · 05-03-2010 10:17pm

cian1500ww wrote: »

Cool, the omni has the soundcard which is what has me interested in it, is it a decent controller though ?? Don't want something crappy that'll break in no time. I'll be using mainly Mixmeiser Fusion but I'd like to switch to Traxtor.

There's a guy on here that uses a Stealth Control to DJ regularly around town, he'll be able to tell you more. It's not that it'll break, but you'll grow out of it soon enough I'd say. For digital DJing, the two best possible types of set-ups are either a Scratch based set-up, with Traktor Scratch, 2 decks and and an optional controller, or a Xone:4D type set up. Both can be copied quite cheaply, but moreso the Xone:4D type. Just get a cheap mixer and a controller like a Xone:1D/Kontrol X1 or Uc33e etc. Traktor Scratch is about €500 for the whole package, which makes it pretty expensive even without the decks...

cian1500ww · 05-03-2010 10:44pm

TBH, I know a scratch setup would be best but I'm only really starting out and probably won't be doing any proper djing for quite a while as I've a lot to learn !! I think I'll look into the Omni unless there's some obvious problems with it ?? I don't think there's any point in getting good equipment and software when I'm only learning.

milltown · 06-03-2010 1:03am

For around the same money keep an eye out for the Hercules RMX. It's a solid bit of kit too with a decent soundcard and there's a few members at DJtechtools.com putting up some good Traktor maps for it lately.

I'm kind of pimping my own route here but for an absolute beginner on a limited budget you could do worse than the Hercules DJ console MkII too. If the budget allows, though, I'd definitely be looking towards Traktor and an Omni or RMX.

eeloe · 06-03-2010 2:09am

I'm thinking about moving to the omni control, and traktor, instead of my current xponent and torq!

I'm just trying to diversify a bit more, and I think traktor has a lot more to offer than torq, and the xponent controller pisses me off the way it's not bus powered!

It's a cracking controler alrite, the xponent, it just doesn't fit my needs at the moment!

cian1500ww · 07-03-2010 11:33am

milltown wrote: »

For around the same money keep an eye out for the Hercules RMX. It's a solid bit of kit too with a decent soundcard and there's a few members at DJtechtools.com putting up some good Traktor maps for it lately.

I'm kind of pimping my own route here but for an absolute beginner on a limited budget you could do worse than the Hercules DJ console MkII too. If the budget allows, though, I'd definitely be looking towards Traktor and an Omni or RMX.

The RMX is around the same price but what makes it better than the Omni ??

eeloe · 07-03-2010 6:04pm

Okay, now that I have traktor mapped to my xponent, I'm in love again!!!!

Is it possible for me to hook up another midi controller to my xponent and thus have two controlers making use of 4 decks in trakor?

electrogrimey · 07-03-2010 6:17pm

eeloe wrote: »

Okay, now that I have traktor mapped to my xponent, I'm in love again!!!!

Is it possible for me to hook up another midi controller to my xponent and thus have two controlers making use of 4 decks in trakor?

Yep, you can use as many controllers as you have USB ports to control Traktor. You just to to preferences in Traktor and go add MIDI controller.

Zascar · 07-03-2010 7:01pm

Yeah you could get a uc33 and map loads of stuff to it, or one of the cheaper little keyboard things which would do grand, would be handy...

What controller should I buy?

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