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Originally posted by Teezdalien If you have dough, the VCM600 is a nice choice. I'm very happy with mine.

I've always thought if I was doing sets with Ableton, I'd get one of these. It's just got exactly the controls I'd want, where I'd want them.

The only reason I didn't get one to use with Traktor myself is because it's a bit too big to carry around to gigs with you and some smaller clubs haven't got a lot of room in the booth!


At the lower end of the scale, I quite like the look of the Novation Zero SL for Ableton, but can't say I've used one.

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Stu Cox |

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Originally posted by Stu Cox I've always thought if I was doing sets with Ableton, I'd get one of these. It's just got exactly the controls I'd want, where I'd want them. The only reason I didn't get one to use with Traktor myself is because it's a bit too big to carry around to gigs with you and some smaller clubs haven't got a lot of room in the booth! At the lower end of the scale, I quite like the look of the Novation Zero SL for Ableton, but can't say I've used one.

The layout of the VCM600 was specifacally designed for use with ableton although it can be used with other apps. Honestly they're not cheap though but there are good alternatives for those on a budget (UC-33). The build quality is excellent and it feels like a proper dj mixer, not just a plastic toy like so many other controllers on the market.

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Originally posted by Teezdalien The layout of the VCM600 was specifacally designed for use with ableton although it can be used with other apps. Honestly they're not cheap though but there are good alternatives for those on a budget (UC-33). The build quality is excellent and it feels like a proper dj mixer, not just a plastic toy like so many other controllers on the market.

Vestax are good at that Although bear in mind, if Allen & Heath brought out something like that it'd be twice the price, I actually think the VCM600's a bit of a bargain!

I've just bought myself a Xone:2D to have a play around with as it looked like the best thing for what I wanted to do. There are cheaper alternatives, but I always think there's no substitute for getting the bit of kit which does EXACTLY what you want - and getting rid of the feeling of "if only I'd paid the extra for that..." However everyone has some limit on budget of course.


Actually, as an exercise for working out what bit of kit to get, I always think it's a good idea to work out what your ideal would be, regardless of price. That gets you thinking purely about functionality:
- How many sliders/knobs/buttons/jog wheels do I need?
- What kind of layout would work for what I want to do?
- Do I want some kind of display?
- Does it have to be portable?
- Does it have to be quick and easy to connect?

Then find the bits of kit which match those requirements. If they're all out of your price range, at least you've then got a "model" you can work down from by sacrificing the least important requirements, until you find something you can afford which does most of what you want. And even say to people "I want a ... but can't afford it. Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative with a similar layout/functionality?"

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Stu Cox |

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Originally posted by Stu Cox Vestax are good at that Although bear in mind, if Allen & Heath brought out something like that it'd be twice the price, I actually think the VCM600's a bit of a bargain! I've just bought myself a Xone:2D to have a play around with as it looked like the best thing for what I wanted to do. There are cheaper alternatives, but I always think there's no substitute for getting the bit of kit which does EXACTLY what you want - and getting rid of the feeling of "if only I'd paid the extra for that..." However everyone has some limit on budget of course. Actually, as an exercise for working out what bit of kit to get, I always think it's a good idea to work out what your ideal would be, regardless of price. That gets you thinking purely about functionality: - How many sliders/knobs/buttons/jog wheels do I need? - What kind of layout would work for what I want to do? - Do I want some kind of display? - Does it have to be portable? - Does it have to be quick and easy to connect? Then find the bits of kit which match those requirements. If they're all out of your price range, at least you've then got a "model" you can work down from by sacrificing the least important requirements, until you find something you can afford which does most of what you want. And even say to people "I want a ... but can't afford it. Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative with a similar layout/functionality?"

I fully agree with this post although I still think $1500AU is a bit pricey for a midi controller. I'm not sure how much the 2D retail for here, but I wouldn't have thought any midi controllers to be worth as much as proper solid state mixers.

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Originally posted by Teezdalien I fully agree with this post although I still think $1500AU is a bit pricey for a midi controller. I'm not sure how much the 2D retail for here, but I wouldn't have thought any midi controllers to be worth as much as proper solid state mixers.

The 2D's £480 here, while the VCM600 is about £560, if that gives some kind of scale. But the 2D does a hell of a lot less than the VCM, the only thing it's really got over the VCM is it's got a built-in soundcard. I bought it for portability really.

I think generally MIDI controllers are cheaper than mixers, although you've got to compare like for like: your laptop + midi controller are replacing 2 or more decks/CD decks and a mixer. In terms of what it actually does, yeah a MIDI controller is basically a digital mixer which doesn't actually do any processing (i.e. a bunch of digital controls) so from that respect I agree it should be cheaper. But I think you'd be hard pushed to find a 6 channel mixer with the same build quality as the VCM600 for the same price!


Actually in my case I'm still using a mixer and just using the MIDI controller for transport / looping, so MIDI controller + laptop are just replacing 3 or 4 CDJs. I'm not doing it for cost saving, but written like that it sounds pretty good!

it seems that it came down to the novation remote zero sl vs the m-audio uc33e and the m-audio won simply because it's smaller and cheaper! in any case, i noticed they carry it at b&h photo so i will check it out this week to get the feel of it.

thanks again guys!