Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: I'm going back.. back to THE DARK SIDE!

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Durham, Co Durham
    Posts
    3,157

    Default I'm going back.. back to THE DARK SIDE!

    After so long a time very happy with my little Denon MC2000, Linux on an SSD with Mixxx, I've upgraded to an MC6000 MK1. Yeah yeah yeah I'd have loved to have splurged on a shiny new controller but .. profit & all that. Sadly the version of Mixxx I run doesn't support the 6000 & would need a lot of work. And really, in this day & age is a flanger enough to keep a creative DJ like me inspired? Nope.

    Now, with 28 days left of a VDJ 8.0 trial I'm intending to play out a whole NYE set in Windows, using VDJ & a new controller. What could possibly go wrong? Loads, so I'll be running my backup laptop with the old mc2000 & mixxx just incase.

    I've had a good old play with VDJ & the MC6000 over the last few nights & it seems pretty solid so far, and oh, so featureful.

    In the new year I'll be installing Linux on my backup laptop along with the new version of Mixxx which supports the MC6000 natively & who knows maybe the effects & improved timebending playback will be enough to sway me... if it's as stable as the older one has been anyway.

    I guess the £130 question is... do I enjoy using VDJ enough to justify BUYING playout software? For some this is an easy decision - of course - just buy the darn thing & put it through the books. But HNNNNNGGGG..... .me? PAY for software that isn't included with the machine I buy? Note: I did buy Ableton 9 once for Djing with - on a whim - and it was immense fun (sadly the club night didn't take off).

  2. #2
    Imagine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Ely, Cambridgeshire
    Age
    53
    Posts
    2,450

    Default

    I know where you're coming from, and VDJ isn't cheap....I know....I purchased the PRO license last year after realising that several years on the Infinity pay as you go scheme was a waste of money and I could have purchased outright several times over.

    Is it worth it? For me yes. It's down to personal preference of course, but I've played with Mixxxxxxx and Serato and to be honest, VDJ does what I need it to do (and a lot more), so that's where I'm staying. It's also the small matter of VDJ Implying professional programmers to do the job rather than hobbyists, free updates for life, support for just about every controller out there.....

    Of course, I now have the additional overhead now that I'm on a Mac of shelling out for an annual license for my lighting software (LightKey) but we won't go there

  3. #3
    DJColsie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Portsmouth
    Posts
    452

    Default

    I have used VDJ8 for about a year now with no problems. Over the years the one off fee seems good value.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Durham, Co Durham
    Posts
    3,157

    Default

    So far about the only thing I don't like about VDJ is the location of the prelisten feature for the track browser.

    Well that & the plethora of things it does by default - but oh what a beauty you can configure just about everything!

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Durham, Co Durham
    Posts
    3,157

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    ... It's also the small matter of VDJ Implying professional programmers to do the job rather than hobbyists, free updates for life, support for just about every controller out there.....
    Hey, no slight on the mixxx project contributors or any open source project come to think of it. The developers work in their own free time, scratching their own particular itches. That program X lacks feature Y is really down to who is willing to code it. It's no mean feat to make stable, reliable software let alone something that deals with multichannel audio, tempo & key recognition etc across a variety of platforms. It may very well be that Mixxx 2.0 will fit my needs, but I've not taken it for a spin yet. I definitely will before I splurge on a VDJ licence though. I do know one thing - if I have to revert to my backup tonight I certainly won't even entertain the idea of buying VDJ. Bells & whistles are nice to have but above all I need my playout to be bomb-proof. Yes I always have backup with me, even just doing walkins, but I prefer not to have any of those pulse racing moments...

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hull, East Yorkshire
    Age
    47
    Posts
    761

    Default

    I still prefer my old faithful BPM studio to any other software I've tried. Might try and map a controller to it.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Durham, Co Durham
    Posts
    3,157

    Default

    All went pretty well, except I couldn't cheat & use my usual memory jogging methods without my backup laptop because a) I've not analysed all my music yet & b) I've not set up any crates either.

    There were a couple of hiccups when my laptop charger mains lead came detached & was subsequently plugged back in but other than that nothing to write home about. Seems I might be sticking with it.

    I'm not sure if it was just the newer denon or vdj but my God the sound was amazing last night. I've never heard so much detail out of my PA. Improved stereo seperation too. My mixxx & mc2000 combo sounded good I thought, but this was in a different league entirely

  8. #8
    Shakermaker Promotions's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk
    Age
    56
    Posts
    7,018

    Default

    When I purchased the VDJ8, (having used 7 for a while), I noticed the improvement in sound quality.

  9. #9
    Imagine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Ely, Cambridgeshire
    Age
    53
    Posts
    2,450

    Default

    TBH - VDJ8 just works for me. I've got it on a MacBook Pro AND a PC (was previously all PC). They actually appear to work slightly differently (I prefer the Mac version although for some reason it doesn't always load first time).

    BUT - it suits my needs in other ways as well (I haven't tried this on any of the other software by the way).

    I got fed up with synching everything between laptops so a couple of months ago dived in head first and purchased an iTunes Match subscription. It just works, and works very well indeed with VDJ. I can sit on the office machine, plug in playlists (or generic set ideas), turn on the playout machines to synch them and it's all there....result and a third of the work

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •