November 25th, 2009 – First off, sorry about the delay in getting this post up. I actually had the videos ready to go Monday night, but the company I host my websites on, suffered a massive crash. Alright, now that’s out of the way…let’s get to the review!
Ok, let’s dive right into this review (if you missed the unboxing, you can read it here). See that picture up above? That’s the Vestax Spin, and it’s sitting in a custom steel case that I made for it. Well not exactly made, more like re-purposed and customized. Yup, it’s good enough that I want to protect it.
The Vestax Spin is an absolute blast to use. It definitely feels like less of a toy than most DJ controllers out there but, of course, it’s not a competitor to Vestax’s bread and butter, the VCI-100 and VCI-300. When viewed on its own, the Spin looks great; clean lines, a pleasant and ergonomic design, thoughtful layout, smooth and heavy platters, and good quality plastics. When compared to the VCI-100 and VCI-300 though, it looks like a plucky kid brother.
Of course, Vestax knows that the VCI-100 and VCI-300 faithful aren’t going to be looking at the Spin, but I’m sure users of the Spin will look up to the VCI-100 and VCI-300 when they want an upgrade. That being said, the Spin is just what a beginner laptop DJ like me needs.
For those starting out, the value in an included soundcard cannot be denied; plug in a set of headphones, connect the USB cable to your computer, and RCA outs to your speakers, and you’re good to go. There’s no fussing with external soundcards and having to route separate headphone and speaker outs. There’s a big headphone button next to each platter and you press it to hear what’s coming out. It’s that simple.
All the buttons and faders are intuitively placed, and the spacing feels good. All the main features that you’d want to control are available with clearly labeled and nicely lit buttons. The platters feel great, although it would be nice if the touch surface was a little wider for better control. Contrary to my initial reactions in the un-boxing, the linear faders are not too light. In fact, they feel pretty nice. Either I’m going crazy, or the faders got tighter and smoother with use. Is that even possible?!
One weird thing about the design, is that there’s a plug for a power adapter, but the Spin is bus-powered and doesn’t need one. Even odder, is a switch in the back that allows you to switch between external power, off, and USB powered. It doesn’t even say anything about a power adapter in the manual. If anyone from Vestax reads this, perhaps they could enlighten us.
I know you all are hungry for all the info you can get on the Vestax Spin, but the real hero of this combination is Algoriddim’s djay software. Lest we forget, the Vestax Spin is designed with djay in mind. I’ve tried out a lot of different DJ software in my quest to find something that feels right including Traktor and Mixxx (both software titles that I’ve talked about previously). I liked the simplicity of Mixxx and the flexibility of Traktor and I feel that djay slots somewhere in between.
Feature-wise, it has everything that you need to get the job done. EQ, speed control, headphone cueing, etc…all of that is present and where you’d expect it to be. What’s nice are the extras. User definable cuepoints are a huge plus for djay. You can set 3 cuepoints for each song and djay will save them in its own database where BPMs that djay has determined are also saved.
I checked iTunes to see if that information was stored in a common database, but unfortunately it looks like djay keeps that information to itself. This means that if you use your music library with other DJ software, that information will not be available to it. One thing to keep in mind is that although you can set 3 cuepoints in the software, you can only access one on the Spin. That means you’ll have to press the laptop keyboard to do any cool cuepoint juggling. Not really a big deal and, although adding more buttons would have been nice, it would have made the Spin bigger (or the buttons smaller).
Another great feature in djay is the sampler, which not many DJ software titles have. You can play up to 3 samples at once. You can record from the microphone or the turntables live, or you can load up your own samples. Regardless, the sampler is a great tool to get your creative juices flowing.
One thing I noticed was that the integration between iTunes and djay is closer than I first thought. iTunes has to be open for djay to be able to load the tracks. I’m not sure what the reason for that is, but I have a feeling that djay may be piggy backing on iTunes’ playback engine. At the very least, it needs the iTunes database to access songs. I’m not a developer, so I’m not sure if iTunes needs to be open to access that or not. Anyways, if you’re running an older version of iTunes that leaks memory all over the place, then you’ll want to get the latest version. While djay itself doesn’t use that much RAM, an iTunes leak could significantly impact performance.
Another one of djay’s nice features is its keylock abilities. Basically, you can click the keylock button in djay, and when you make speed changes, the pitch won’t change. It’s a nice feature for DJ’s who mix harmonically and it works pretty well. I wish the Spin had a button for it though. That would definitely have been useful.
Small BPM changes sound pretty good, although you wouldn’t want to slow it down too much; you can definitely hear distortion with extreme BPM changes. You can also set the processing power devoted to keylock in the preferences. There’s also an effect that allows you to pitch the track without changing the BPM. However, since you can’t dynamically change the pitching with the Spin itself, it’s not much more than a gimmick.
At this point, I’d like to point out that djay was around before the Vestax Spin and, as such, is able to use a variety of different controllers. Quite a few controllers are already mapped (including quite a few Vestax models), but if your controller is not listed, djay has a self-learning feature. As well, if you do have a controller that’s listed (even the Spin), you can go in and change parameters as you’d like.
Of course, the offshoot of this is that the Vestax Spin is a fully MIDI compliant controller. That means, you could map it to other software if you so wished and, in fact, I’m sure many people out there have already created Traktor mappings for it.
I’m going to say on the record that djay matches me the best out of all the DJ software I’ve used for both Mac and PC platforms. Some are too simple, and some, like Traktor, can be overwhelming to a newcomer like me. Maybe I’ll grow into Traktor, but right now djay strikes that ideal balance of simplicity and feature set. That being said, there are a couple things I’d like to see in future versions.
For one, it would be nice if there were scrolling waveforms. True, not being able to see the waveform makes you rely on your ears just like traditional mixing, but I’m a studio engineer damnit; I like having the option! I’d also like to have more FX (like filter sweep) and control over those effects. I want to be able to map the effects to rotary knobs if I want. Even if I can only choose between a few steps, I want to be able to turn my knob and control it on the fly. Right now, I have to open the FX module and use my mouse to click right or left to change it. If I want to map the effect to the controller, I can only choose note on/note off commands, not dynamically changing values like from a fader.
I am not a DJ. As a non-DJ, the Vestax Spin and Djay make an ideal pair to introduce me gently into the world. But no, they will not make you into a DJ hero even with BPM detection and syncing. No matter what people say, matching BPMs between two tracks is not the hardest thing about being a DJ. Every professional DJ can match BPM’s, it’s par for the course. The hardest thing is playing music as an instrument itself. In my opinion, that’s what makes a real DJ.
I hope hardware and software like the Vestax Spin and Djay will help introduce DJing to a whole new generation. Skill is skill, no matter what the tools. Some kid is not going to come up and destroy the achievements of Q-Bert or Grandmaster Flash. She’s going to succeed by doing something different. If you’re worried that a kid on a $250 DJ controller is going to steal your thunder, then you have bigger fish to fry like upping your own game. Recognize your history, but evolve.
Oh and on a slight tangent: DJ’s(analog and laptop), turntablists, and controllerists are all different. Each shares a similar skillset, but the end result is markedly different. They do not compete, but rather compliment each other. All can be appreciated for their abilities; why is there so much tension out there?
The Vestax Spin is a fantastic controller. Feature-wise it has just enough to get you started. Even if you’ve never DJ’d before, you’ll feel right at home. Time will tell if the Spin will survive the thrashing it’ll get while DJing; I’ll keep you updated. As for djay, if you’re a Mac user (sorry PC platformers) and you’re looking for some DJ software, it’s awesome. It even has a “set and forget” automix mode that destroys the iTunes genius for auto-djing your next wine and cheese party.
If it sounds like I’m gushing with effusive praise, it’s because I’m just that excited. That’s something that not many products can do. Not only is djay fun to use, but it had some surprises up its sleeve that far exceeded my expectations given its low price ($50). Now bundle both the Vestax Spin and djay for $250…killer value.
Here is an embedded video review with the Spin in use. Warning, it’s pretty long. For people who prefer Youtube (why?!), I split it into two videos(Part 1, Part 2). Please excuse my horrible DJing.
Update 12-29-09: For those of you who are interested, I interviewed the developers of djay and asked many of the questions that I have been asked. That post is here.
64 Comments, Comment or Ping
Sebastien Orban
Nice review ! Too bad it’s mac only for now.
Yesterday was the first day I’ve try Djing too – a couple cdj400, a mixer, Traktor and a BCR2000. It was fun, but, well, I measure now better the hard work behind the scene to do a nice mix.
But for now I think I will dig in Ableton Live to do it
Seem more logical to me !
Nov 26th, 2009
Sean
@Sebastien : While djay is only available for the Mac, you could still use the Vestax Spin with whatever software you’d like in Windows or Linux
Nov 27th, 2009
chrishimself
nice video review I’m interested in this since I want to get into a little bit of hobby dj-ing, it seems to perform really wondering when apple will have this availible in germany too..
Nov 28th, 2009
chrishimself
+seems to perform really well… (missed one word lol)
Nov 28th, 2009
Sean
@Chrishimself : The Vestax Spin is perfect for hobby djing because it’s affordable and includes everything you need for basic sets. I’m not sure when Germany and the rest of Europe will be able to buy one but if you don’t mind the shipping costs, I’m sure people will have them on Ebay.
Nov 28th, 2009
KIZONE
do this have a crossfade reverse.
I’m a hampster style dj, and i need for TT2=TT1 and TT1=TT2
Is that possible?
Nov 30th, 2009
Matt
Is it possible to use the same track on both platters simultaneously from just the one file from your itunes library.
Nov 30th, 2009
Sean
@Kizone : Yup, you can run hampster style. In the MIDI menu, you can choose to invert a control. I tried inverting the crossfader and it works.
@Matt : Yup. If you want to rock doubles, djay will do it.
Nov 30th, 2009
Allen
Great review, thanks to you I decided to try it out! I always wanted to try out DJing, so this looks great for a beginner like myself. I wanted to know, where did you get that case for it and how big are the dimensions? I want one myself, but not sure where to look. Thanks Sean!
Dec 1st, 2009
KIZONE
@Sean
Thanks i’m thinking thqat this might be a xmas present to myself. this will come in good for my radio gig, i don’t have to take the turntables to the show. This will add another 5 years to my back.
Another question is there a learning steep learning cruve as far as mixing.
I have only seen the videos that were of the scratching, but how is the mixing, i don’t remember seeing a pitch control, just an audio sync. and since the platters are touch sensetive is there a lag when mixing?
sorry about the questions, just want to make an informed buy.
Dec 1st, 2009
thegrozz
What would be a good program to use if you are running windows? i want the spin but i don’t have a mac.
Dec 1st, 2009
Sean
@ Allen : According to the Apple site, the Spin dimensions are 35.6 x 24.1 x 3.8 cm. I actually retrofitted an old case I already had for an M-Audio Sputnik microphone so it’s a custom thing. The Spin is too new for retailers to have cases for it, but I’ve seen some universal type cases on Ebay that might fit.
@KIZONE : The pitch control fader is actually located directly above the sync button on each platter. I haven’t noticed any lag from the platters, but I don’t know how to scratch so I’m just doing basic mixing. As for the curve for mixing, although the BPM auto-detect is very helpful, it’ll take just as long to learn how to mix as with regular vinyl. The skill is more listening than the device, so the learning curve is similar. I’ve played around with vinyl a bit, so I know enough to get used to the Spin, and if you’ve had any experience with either analog or digital djing, you’ll feel right at home. Hope that helps!
@TheGrozz : The Spin is fully MIDI compliant so any DJ software that supports MIDI will work. Both Mixxx and Traktor are good choices. Mixxx is free and open source, but Traktor has more options for mixing. Also, apparently there are some people on the DJ forums that have already mapped the Spin to Traktor, so you could try getting the mappings off of them. Cheers!
Dec 1st, 2009
thegrozz
First of all, thanks for all of the help, I am new to this and am looking for a relatively cheap controller for a beginner. Is the vestax spin a good choice? Also, how hard would it be to find those mappings?
Dec 1st, 2009
Allen
Ah thanks Sean! I’ll look for a case for my new Vestax when it comes in! Cheers!
Dec 1st, 2009
Sean
@THEGROZZ : Ok, so I took a look in the DJ TechTools forums (the foremost DJ controller community), and some people have tried. While I didn’t see a Traktor TSI mapping, I saw that people used the VCI-100 mapping. The problem with that mapping is that it’s only mapping the left platter. So all you need to do is then modify the right platter by mirroring what’s on the left.
One thing that you won’t be able to do in Traktor (at least not yet) is control the master output knob and headphone gain knob on the Spin. This is because those knobs act directly on the onboard soundcard and are not controllable by the software.
In my opinion, the Spin is a fantastic controller for someone new to DJing (while I’ve produced music that uses DJ techniques for many years, I’m actually new to DJing itself). If you had a Mac, I would recommend it 100%. However, since I’m not sure how familiar you are with mapping MIDI, I would say perhaps hold off a little longer until there are more people that have mapped it. Then you can just snag the TSI files off of them. Visit DJ TechTools if you have some time, they are very knowledgeable about MIDI controllers and DJing in general.
@ Allen : Let me know how you like it when you get it!
Dec 1st, 2009
thegrozz
Okay, thanks that was really helpful. I’ll check out that site and keep an eye out for the mapping.
Dec 1st, 2009
The Sheriff
Extremely thorough review! I have been debating on whether to start off with the Spin or the VCI-100SE from djtechtools…after reading your review and a lot of researching I think the Spin will be the best bet for someone like me just getting into the digital DJ scene – it’s hard to beat the price tag and I’m sure Ean Golden and the djtechtools crew are going to come out with some awesome mappings for it in the near future (maybe even some nice mods for the buttons and case!)
I see that you are new to digital DJ-ing as well but have you had much experience with the VCI-100 and\or 300? Just wondering how “cut down” this controller is from it’s older brothers!
Dec 17th, 2009
Sean
@The Sheriff: I have had a little seat time with the VCI100 and VCI300 but not enough to really talk about how they are to play sets with. However I can tell you that both are much heavier, much more rugged, and would last much longer if you are thinking of gigging with the controller.
Button wise, the Spin is closely related to the VCI-300 although smaller. It’s definitely the cheapest of the bunch, and if you add another controller, like what I’m doing with the NanoPad right now, you have a lot of creative possibilities.
I couldn’t really audition the difference in sound quality between the onboard soundcard of the Spin and the VCI-300 but I’d imagine that the VCI-300 has better converters. Also, the VCI-300 has higher resolution platters if you’re scratching. The Spin is standard MIDI like the VCI 100. Hope that helps!
Dec 17th, 2009
Sean
@The Sheriff: I forgot to add that I was in the exact same boat you were trying to decide between the DJTT (although I wanted to do the arcade mod) VCI-100 and the Spin. I decided to get the Spin because it was easier to swallow that amount of money in case I actually ended up sucking at mixing.
However, now that I’ve tried the Spin and am creating pretty decent sets, I actually want to move up to a VCI-100. If I’m going to be hauling my set up around, I’d rather have a more robust controller. I could trust a VCI-100, I’m still not sure about the Spin.
Dec 17th, 2009
jon
Hey, I like your review of the vestax spin. Very informative. I have the Torq Exponent but I’m thinking of getting this one because of your review. By the way….what was that song you were playing when you deejaying in part three. It was hard to read on youtube, it looked like martiangang? that song was nice!! I want that!
DJ Soul on Ice
Cleveland
Nervedjs.com
Dec 21st, 2009
Sean
@Jon : Thanks for stopping by! The tracks are by Shin-ski of Martiangang, and the first one is called “Not the 1 4 me” and the second one is “ShinSight Trio / Heart (Shin-Ski’s Cold Hearted Remix)”. Both are off the album, Re-shinstruction. It’s difficult to find since it’s Japanese and fairly underground, but I’m pretty sure you can find it on Rapidshare or Megaupload. Cheers!
Dec 22nd, 2009
Jshriner
Hey man, that was an awesome video. I got familiar with it very fast. I’m no where near perfect, but with a few buttons, you can sound like you know what you’re doing. I do want to learn as much as possible, because I know nothing. Is there a good tutorial out for this or site I can go to? Thanks for the start, it made it a lot easier.
Dec 24th, 2009
Sean
@JShriner : Thanks for stopping by! I’m pretty new to digital DJing myself but when I have questions, I usually head over to http://www.djtechtools.com They’re pretty much the foremost community for DJ’s who use MIDI controllers. For basic DJing concepts, usually I just watch a lot of Youtube videos. Sorry I couldn’t be more specific!
Dec 24th, 2009
Andrew
Sean,
Thanks so much for this review, I’ve been contemplating picking one of these up for at least a month. My debate was that the quality of the controller wasn’t great, seemed a little flimsy. I figured spending more money for something a bit more durable might be the better route and would last me a few years.
However, I’m new to this and don’t think I’ll be gigging in the not so distant future. For the price and what you showed in the demo, I’m thinking this is the best route for now. The podcast option seems pretty cool and I’ll probably just stick to putting my mixes in that format for my friends to listen to.
This is what I was also considering: http://www.moogaudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=3171&osCsid=88b1166d4df2b5000eba19947a210625
Anyways, thanks for the post!
Dec 30th, 2009
Sean
@Andrew : thanks for stopping by! The controller you linked looks pretty cool, and the Audio 2 interface it comes with is most likely much higher quality than the built in one that comes with the Spin. However, having used the Spin, I can say that you’ll much prefer the bigger platters it has over the Numark’s jog wheels. In fact, I would have preferred even bigger platters on the Spin. Let us know what you decide to get!
Dec 31st, 2009
Bob
Please get to the heart of the matter. Details about the Vestax Product.
Learned nothing here about the board. Cueing? Was it loud enough? Mixing with faders etc. How about a picture of the back of the product to see outputs. Nice writing style but this was not a review of the 100.
But thank you for trying.
Feb 25th, 2010
Sean
@Bob: How to use the board with the supplied software is in the video portion of the review. The text portion supplements the video, it is not a transcription of what’s in the video.
Feb 25th, 2010
DJ Soul on Ice
I represent NerveDJS here in cleveland, ohio. We represent over 600 DJ’s worldwide. I was wondering did you purchase that unit or did Vestax loan it out for you to demo? Our organization wants to preview the Spin as well.
Feb 26th, 2010
Sean
@DJ Soul on Ice: Unfortunately I’m not big enough for manufacturers to send me review units so I bought it.
Feb 26th, 2010
S
I think the main reason for including the external power jack is to enable you to use passive usb hubs for connecting the device to the laptop. Or simply cuz some usb ports are not providing enough voltage (as some older ibooks).
I hope this explains. And I’m not from vestax.
May 3rd, 2010
Sean
@S: I figured as much. I just wonder why they didn’t put anything about it in the manual, or include a power adapter to use with it.
May 3rd, 2010
Dmadix
Even though I’m a professional DJ, I actually had a reason to demo the Spin, as the Pioneer industry standard CDJ units are very expensive. I may be pro, but I’m not pulling in THAT kind of money!
The reason is simple: to easily/cheaply demo new tracks right out of my hard drive in the comfort of my own home, rather than finding out the slow and tedious way while playing out live.
@BOB: Cueing seemed loud enough, surely for home use (for which Spin is intended), but may not be loud enough for club use. The volume knob for the headphones is a little hard to access quickly because it’s tucked underneath the little ledge next to the headphone jack. I also found that using the master output of Spin was more accurate than my sound card, because of a few milliseconds of latency. Obviously this varies from computer to computer, but there is a difference.
Regarding the pitch sliders, the resolution seems very “stepped”, even when I set them to the minimum 8% range. I tend to make long mixes, so things need to be lined up perfecly and “babysat” constantly (I come from the vinyl world, where “babysitting” is common). I love the loop features built into modern digi controllers/players, although the buttons on the Spin seem to be less sensitive/accurate as the ones found on better units. We get what we pay for, right?
Another thing I noticed, and maybe someone can verify this, is the EQ sliders seemed to be non-linear. For example, when pulling bass out of a track, a minimal amount of slider movement from zero downward resulted in a huge loss of db gain, but then it seemed to slowly creep down in db as I pulled the slider down to infinity.
I also wasn’t too thrilled about the cheesy mic that was included, but that’s not my thing anyway (talking over my mixes). Probably good enough for podcasting I guess…
All in all this thing is exactly what I needed: a cheap way to preview my mixes/tracks right out of my computer so I don’t have to plunk down $1500-$2000+ for a set of CDJs. If I do get a digi controller for recording mixes (I usually record mixes at the clubs “live”), I would definitely step up to something of higher quality and of course, more $$!
May 11th, 2010
Sean
@Dmadix: Thanks for your thoughts on the Spin!
May 11th, 2010
Dean
Is there a monitor (booth) out? I didn’t see one.
If not, how do you hear your mix?
Thanks,
Dean
Jun 1st, 2010
Sean
@Dean: While the software interface doesn’t show a monitor out, it’s set up in the preferences. You can define separate cueing and main outputs. With the Spin hardware, you can both monitor through headphones and still send out a separate main out. I’ve been checking the main mix by pressing both cue buttons for each platter.
Jun 3rd, 2010
Gio
Hey sean,
Thank you for the review, I was just wondering, I am just starting to dj and i like the spin but it doesn’t look like it has many features, in the long term vci-100 looks like it would be more efficient. Should I buy the vci-100 or would it be to overwhelming. Also if I want to buy the spin should I buy the Typhoon, What are the differences? Thank you.
Aug 15th, 2010
DJ Soul on Ice
@Gio I’m with NERVE DJS here in Cleveland. We just reviewed the Spin. @ Sean I would like your opinion our demo of the Spin when we get it on You Tube. But anyway, the SPin and Typhoon are the same unit. I spoke directly with Vestax about it. The Typhoon uses Traktor LE Software and Spin uses Djay. Typhoon is probably more for PC users because of the software, although you could use it for Mac, but it costs $50 more so why would you? The VCI-100 is a nice unit but if your starting out, I would buy the Spin and then work your way up to more expensive equipment. I don’t know what feature you want but the few feature it has,(looping, FX, Sync) are suffcient. Most people just want to hear music when you are DJing not alot of extras. If you want to battle someone or make alot of mixes then maybe but if you are starting out you don’t need it. Hope this helps.
Aug 15th, 2010
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