Vestax Spin DJ Controller

Review: Vestax Spin DJ Controller

With a wealth of cheap but more-capable-than-ever DJ controllers
stoking demand at this end of the market over the past 12 months, Vestax
has struggled to get enough Spin controllers into Apple stores… and the
unit disappeared for a while in some territories. Now it’s back, it
seems like a good time to finally get around to looking at what the fuss
is all about. Let’s rewind a bit though. Apple stores? Yup, this is a
Mac-centric DJ controller, designed for the Apple Mac and for djay, the
DJ software system designed specially for the Mac. (Update: the Vestax Spin2 is now available…)

Tight integration with the Mac and iTunes

So it’s obvious from the off that this controller is going to appeal
to Mac fans. But further than that, the twist is that the Mac-only djay
software – made by Algoriddim – is closely aligned with iTunes (so much
so that you need iTunes open to run it). Thus you can access all your
iTunes paylists, folders etc just as if you were still in iTunes. One
point for convenience.


(We’ll cover djay properly in another post, but for now we’ll tell
you all you need to know about it to assess the Spin as we go on…)

Separated at birth: The Typhoon and the Spin

OK… for those of you who have already read our Vestax Typhoon review,
this is going to look mightily familiar. That’s because the Vestax Spin
is basically the same controller with a Mac-style finish to it.




Click on the picture for a close-up view of the controls.



It’s still cheap looking, which is not surprising considering its
price tag. And while some may not warm to the video game
controller-style central track-loading control and the three vertical
sliders for bass / mid / treble, the styling is deliberate, just as it
is on the Typhoon.


Keeping it simple
This controller seems to be aimed at people who want to try DJing with
computers, who seek convenience, and frankly who aren’t particularly
worried what the “pros” think of them. I for one applaud that.


We keep mentioning convenience. Here’s some more proof of that: Just like the Typhoon (and unlike the popular Numark Mixtrack),
it has a built in sound card. That basically means that you just plug
it into your Mac, your speakers and your headphones and you’re off – it
just works. It even comes with a microphone; a Shure SM-57 it ain’t, but
it does the job.







djay software: Is it up to the mark?

Just a quick further word on the djay software. With key lock, BPM
detection, quantize mode, effects, even a sampler (are you watching,
Traktor and Serato?) it’s certainly capable. However, there are no
waveforms – if you love parallel waveforms like Virtual DJ or Serato, or
even the (to me) inferior waveform system of Traktor, you are certainly
not going to like this.


Frankly, if your idea of DJing is “larging it” on the decks, maybe
djay isn’t your software. But if you are one of those people who’d
rather be DJing through a well-chosen playlist, watching the crowd (not
your computer screen), then maybe the idea of not having waveforms
doesn’t worry you.


If you’re not sure – my advice? Think twice. Waveforms are useful. djay not having them may turn out to be a deal-breaker.










Hardware and software: Hand in glove?



The djay software is simple, good-looking and integrated with iTunes.



It also has to be said that while the controller is made for djay, it is not as tight and intuitive an integration as Serato ITCH and the Vestax VCI-300
(for instance); if you adjust the controls on the screen (say, the
bass) then touch the fade on the Spin, it will “jump” to where the Spin
fader is set. It’s a product of having controls duplicated across both
hardware and software, something that ITCH avoids.


(The flipside of this is that you can map the Spin to other software,
even to a PC, more easily than you can the VCI-300, though why you’d
want to do so in either case is debatable.)


Vestax’s signature jogwheels
One thing the Spin is blessed with are Vestax’s signature
touch-sensitive jogwheels. Here’s how they work: If you touch the
capacitive metal part (ie the middle) of a jogwheel, you can scratch; if
you touch the plastic part (the edge) you can nudge the tune.


It’s intuitive in that it makes immediate sense to turntable users.
As djay sells itself as software aimed at least partly at the vinyl
purist, the Vestax Spin is well suited to the software in this respect.










Where does it fit in with the Vestax range?



The VCI-300 is in a different league – but it costs 4 times the amount.



This is basically a stripped-down VCI-300, or VCI-100 with a sound
card, but the differences are obvious: Only one cue point (the software
has three); the plasticky finish; the lack of tension controls on the
jogwheels; the cheaper faders and sliders; the inability to route in
external audio (no iPod-through if your Mac – gasp – crashes); and of
course, the tight integration with djay (which is not overall on a par
on with Serato ITCH or, ultimately, Traktor).













Conclusion

The bottom line is this: If you are you a Mac-loving party DJ who
want something competent yet no-nonsense at the same time, and if you
got no space for DJ kit and records, this baby is aimed at you. If
you’re a pro, you’ll already have written it off long before this
sentence.


Still reading though? Then give it some serious consideration.




















THPP: www.music-blvd.com