The cheapest jog wheeled midi controller out there...

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-- The cheapest jog wheeled midi controller out there...

Posted by miamitranceman on Sep-19-2007 21:42:

The cheapest jog wheeled midi controller out there...

Hey guys. I'm looking for something cheap to bring to house parties that I could just hook up to Torq on my laptop and spin. I don't want to have to bring all my expensive stuff. I'm looking for something with a jog wheel to make adjustments. I also want to be able to cue and monitor in the headphones, of course. I found this Hercules unit

http://www.djdeals.com/herculesDJCONTROL.htm

but it seems really limited. There's also the Behringer model (I know, Behringer, but I'm just looking for CHEAP).

As a separate question, with these types of all-in-one controllers, how do you actually map the jog wheels to the Torq interface? Is it the same as mapping a knob?

I'm gonna post this in the Torq forums too.

Thanks guys.

Posted by stan229 on Sep-19-2007 22:51:

i heard the behringer one was alrgiht and there were ways to get it to work with Traktor (jog wheel) not sure about Torq

Posted by Beatflux on Sep-20-2007 00:03:

DM2

Posted by whiskers on Sep-20-2007 00:03:

i've been researching midi controllers for a couple months now (although i'm traktor-oriented)

behringer bcd3000, numark total control, hercules dj control are all around $250, but numark doesn't have a built-in soundcard.

bcd3000 is reported to have crappy sound on its internal sound card and also a pain in the ass to setup (with traktor) and unreliable - fader/knob sudden movements may freeze the system

hercules is too simplistic for most people (as in they want more features soon after getting it) and feels too much like a toy (as well as bcd3000), although if all you want is a mixing console, i.e. no loops / effects, this one sounds like a good choice

total control does NOT have a built-in soundcard (a plus in my book) and has a lot of knobs, but is also reported to be slightly unreliable (and could be a pain in the ass to setup lights with traktor - don't know about torq)

personally, i've also looked at vestax vci 100, but it's 2x the price of these. and torq xponent is reported to be a toys-r-us piece of crap.

Posted by miamitranceman on Sep-20-2007 01:03:

Actually, I've used the Xponent and it's pretty damn functional, it's just very plasticy. It would be idea for me but it's too expensive.

But yeah, I'm not concerned with effects loops and all that, I just want the basic components of a mixer w/the Jog. I've gotta find out if that Hercules unit works with Torq. hmmm...

Posted by whiskers on Sep-20-2007 01:08:

AFAIK, hercules is a native midi device, and if torq has a learn function, you shouldn't have any problems. in fact, i bet someone has tried it before.

Posted by DiscoStew on Sep-20-2007 02:20:

Jog wheels really suck for serious mixing. It's a trainwreck waiting to happen. If you're looking to control tracks on a PC, it's worth it to blow the cash on Serato or something.

Posted by miamitranceman on Sep-20-2007 03:10:

quote:
Originally posted by DJChrisB
Jog wheels really suck for serious mixing. It's a trainwreck waiting to happen. If you're looking to control tracks on a PC, it's worth it to blow the cash on Serato or something.

I've got 2 CDJ 800 mk2s, a DJM 400 and Torq. I'm simply asking for a cheap mobile solution so I won't have to rely on a mouse.

Posted by i got big pants on Sep-20-2007 03:15:

i think on the torq forums, people were saying that there is an issue assigning the jog wheels to read properly and that the xponent might be the only one that will be able to work with torq

Posted by Drake44444 on Sep-20-2007 04:04:

edit: sorry i missed the point of the thread was worth a jog wheel.

Posted by Tarpex on Sep-20-2007 07:28:

If you can afford the vestax, go for it!
Hercules is shit, like a toy for a 5yrs old, everything flashes like a damn christmas tree, jogs are unreliable, fader response is way to slow to do serious mixing, and some funny placed buttons that arent ergonomic except if you mix with virtual dj :P
Kids will love it, but i doubt that's what you want.
Seriously, spend a bit more cash and get quality, if you plan to use this kind of solution for a while.

Posted by Ryan0751 on Sep-20-2007 17:49:

That stinks that for that price it's so cheaply made... grr.

How about the Mixlab thing and just map a couple buttons to pitch bend +/-. Not ideal, but you don't REALLY need pitch on the jogs.

quote:
Originally posted by miamitranceman
Actually, I've used the Xponent and it's pretty damn functional, it's just very plasticy. It would be idea for me but it's too expensive.

But yeah, I'm not concerned with effects loops and all that, I just want the basic components of a mixer w/the Jog. I've gotta find out if that Hercules unit works with Torq. hmmm...

Posted by miamitranceman on Sep-20-2007 19:21:

quote:
Originally posted by Ryan0751
That stinks that for that price it's so cheaply made... grr.

How about the Mixlab thing and just map a couple buttons to pitch bend +/-. Not ideal, but you don't REALLY need pitch on the jogs.

Yeah, I mean, it's the same feel as the X-Session Pro. For the price, it should definitely be better build quality.

Posted by stan229 on Sep-22-2007 05:33:

Blank & Jones use the Hercules thing

http://photo.rukes.com/clubvegas11/...gas11%20098.jpg

http://photo.rukes.com/clubvegas11/slides/clubvegas11%20115.jpg

Posted by whiskers on Sep-22-2007 15:07:

quote:
Originally posted by stan229
Blank & Jones use the Hercules thing

http://photo.rukes.com/clubvegas11/...gas11%20098.jpg

http://photo.rukes.com/clubvegas11/...gas11%20115.jpg

haha, that's great. BUT:

Posted by jacques on Sep-23-2007 10:04:

I bought the Hercules DJ Console a couple of years ago and still up to this day it hasnt let me down. It does resemble a christmas tree as someone else said, but if you only want it for the jog wheels, i dont see the problem....It also has a built in soundcard that many others dont.

Posted by whiskers on Sep-25-2007 01:46:

heh, there's been a lot of hate out there lately both towards vestax and numark and their customer support.

i am frustrated in my search. it sounds like the new vci 100 firmware fixes the scratch issue but not the pitch issue http://www.native-instruments.com/f...ead.php?t=54540

i am tempted to just get the total control, but still scared about the freeze reports

Posted by veezee on Sep-25-2007 06:46:

I searched for the perfect midi controller...I was fully prepared to buy a nice audio interface and a laptop if such existed but failed and bought cdj's. Everything seemed to have its own problem ie: the x-session pro.. It worked well with traktor , but was very limited and the up faders were too short.. returned it.

Bah.

Jay

Posted by miamitranceman on Sep-25-2007 20:48:

quote:
Originally posted by veezee
I searched for the perfect midi controller...I was fully prepared to buy a nice audio interface and a laptop if such existed but failed and bought cdj's. Everything seemed to have its own problem ie: the x-session pro.. It worked well with traktor , but was very limited and the up faders were too short.. returned it.

Bah.

Jay

I agree there's definitely still room out there for that "perfect" interface device.

Posted by we_R_DNA on Oct-01-2007 17:01:

Ok there are some super cheap ways to do this. You want a midi controller right?

Non-commercial DIY Projects for MIDI Hardware Geeks

That way if the midi controller breaks, you have the abilities to rebuild it on the fly.

If you can careless about creating midi devices.
Go with a DM2 from ebay.
Want to spend a little bit more?
Go with this X-Session PRo by M-Audio aka Midiman

Posted by miamitranceman on Oct-01-2007 21:08:

Haha, wow, that DM2 is even more bare bones than the Hercules.