Vestax Spin Review : Part 2

[robgaven]

how much does the software for this controller cost seperatly?

[loveMcJinc]

can this one use vitural dj software?

[FreakyBill98]

@loveMcJinc

no, because its made for djay but maybe u can map it to vdj...

[MrAtrkcmo1977]

Dude it work with IPAD?

[juandixx]

does the sound can came out of the mac?



[ich961]

do it works on Windows ?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@ich961 The software that comes with this package is mac only. However there is a controller called the Vestax Typhoon that is exactly the same except for colour, and comes with Traktor which works on Windows

[flux302]

I so don't need this at all but it's so cheap that I keep thinking about getting it and mapping it to traktor for scratching while in bed.. lol smh what is wrong with me and my gear lust

[MrPhatjoe38]

I couldn't find an answered question of this sort and sorry if you're repeating yourself but can you remap Spin to where you can change the Audio FX via a dial or knob? (i.e. changing the intensity of a Reverb, pitch, or how many beats are echoed?) thanks so much! GREAT REVIEW!!

[keyofgreydotcom]

@MrPhatjoe38 As far as I know, the FX can only be triggered in steps (ie. echo x2, x4) which allows you to map buttons to FX. This is the way that the stock Djay FX seem to work, however if you have external AU FX plugins that allow you to adjust smoothly, I'm still not sure that you can map it properly. I've tried (not too hard mind you) and I wasn't able to figure out how to map either faders or knobs to control these effects, the best I got was only using buttons. Hope that helps

[Hernandez694]

how much was the vestax spin because I am an up and coming dj looking to purchase this product

[keyofgreydotcom]

@Hernandez694 The Apple store here sells i for $280 Canadian and this specific configuration is Mac-only. However if you have a PC, Vestax sells the exactly the same device in a different colour, but it's called the Typhoon.

[choichoisoy]

how do you get the white bar on the disk?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@choichoisoy Under the appearance options you can apply the tape marker

[ahMEmon]

I feel like I'm watching a Dragon Ball Z cartoon: Twenty episodes before the actual fight.

How about talking while USING the device, instead of having it sit mostly silent while you point out each and every single feature. I wanna SEE the thing in action, not just hear about it!

[keyofgreydotcom]

@ahMEmon /watch?v=rPMGynRc8nA This is part two of the same review...split because Youtube, at the time I made the video, had a 10 minute video limit. So you can "SEE the thing in action, not just hear about it". Nothing too impressive because, as I stated, I'm not a DJ.

[ifone77]

does it come with headphones?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@ifone77 nope

[ifone77]

@delmot0910 wat u wrote is exactly what id like to do too, not a club dj but like parties with friends, is it worth getting? They sell this on the apple store??

[managerman13]

@ifone77 ya its the cheapest on the apple store dont go to ebay. and yes i just got mine and its amazing

[ifone77]

@delmot0910 wat u wrote is exactly what id like to do too, not a club dj but like parties with friends, is it worth getting?

[xTurnipTimex]

Im thinking of getting this, is it good for a TOTAL newb, I have touched a piece of dj equipment once haha and it looks lie a ton of fun and I want to get into it with this.

I do play drums and piano for quite a long time now so I do have some music experience :P

[keyofgreydotcom]

@xTurnipTimex it will be good to learn on for sure

[MikeTalksMac]

where do u get them sweet tracks from?

[MikeTalksMac]

When you have the Spin plugged in can you change the settings with your mouse. For example instead of physically moving the fader on the Spin can you just click with your mouse, or will that not work?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@MikeTalksMac yup that works

[keyofgreydotcom]

@delmot0910 It's definitely a good price for an all in one device and It's perfect for getting your feet wet in DJing

[tranjohn]

What program u using? 2 vinyls display never seen it b4!

[keyofgreydotcom]

@tranjohn the software is called Djay and it comes with the Spin

[joscompy]

not sure if anyone has posted this yet, but there IS a very good purpose for the optional ac adapter. so ill try and describe as clearly as possible.

for people like me, that use a lot of external devices for dj-ing and whatnot, and have 2 slots, you need a usb hub. not everyone has an ac powered usb hub, so if you have a lot of slots being used, then your devices won't have enough power to function properly. so the ac adapter helps improve performance, with or without an ac powered usb hub.

[keyofgreydotcom]

@joscompy Good point...thanks for the info!

[ascorbett]

Thanks for the vid. Best intro for a beginner looking to buy entry level equipment I've seen yet.

[keyofgreydotcom]

@ascorbett Thanks!

[tranjohn]

@keyofgreydotcom Does the spin only work with MACS?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@tranjohn The Spin is a standard MIDI controller so it can work with PCs as well but the bundled software (djay) is Mac-only. That being said, there's a specifically PC version of the Spin called Typhoon that comes with a light PC version of Traktor.

[tiffuhny]

great review, thank you! so what do you plan to use your vestax for? i'm not a DJ but it seems like a great controller for a hobby

[keyofgreydotcom]

@tiffuhny Yup, it's definitely a lot of fun to play with. I use it for DJ gigs that don't have good gear set up, and for playing around at home.

[1CBRDUDE]

Does this unit have a built in limiter like the vci 300 Thanks and is the volume output very loud.

[keyofgreydotcom]

@1CBRDUDE You can apply a limiter within Djay, however I have found that you can still clip the output and get distortion. I have found the volume sufficiently loud so far, and the headphone volume is decent as well.

[tkantone]

what does that long white line mean on your DJay software (on table A) and how do you get it ?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@tkantone The line is a marker so that you can keep track of how fast the record is rotating (for scratching for example). If you go to the Appearance menu, it's the option is called "Attach Tape Marker to Vinyl".

[eamondo16]

what version of djay is that? my version doesnt have that bar on the virtual vinal that can help u scratch. :(

[keyofgreydotcom]

@eamondo16 If you have version 3 or above, the option is under the Appearance menu and it's called "Attach Tape Marker to Vinyl"

[eamondo16]

@keyofgreydotcom your a legend cheers! :D

[DjSwizo]

how has it lasted.. now that its 6months after u bought it?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@DjSwizo It's handled itself pretty well actually. Mostly I use it in my home studio, but occasionally I will take it out for a gig. If you're doing heavy gigging, I might suggest upgrading to something like the VCI-300 or VCI-100 with a good soundcard.

[PrankyG]

Nice demo bro.

How do you rate the SPIN compared to the VCI-300?

Pretty similar?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@PrankyG They are both similar in that both are MIDI controllers with built-in soundcards, however they are pretty different quality-wise. The VCI-300 is much more rugged and the sound card is undoubtedly better. Of course, this is to be expected since the VCI-300 costs more than twice what the Spin does.

[Djasor]

Ey man can you use virtual Dj for this item Thank you

[Djasor]

Ey man I got a question does it only work for apple computers or it doesnt matter thank you plase reply

[keyofgreydotcom]

@Djasor The Spin comes with software called "djay" that works only on the Mac. However, it's a MIDI controller so should be able to work with any other software that accepts MIDI input. There is a PC version of the same controller that runs with Traktor as well, so you might want to check that out.

[soul499]

can i connect 2 cdj to this controller?

[keyofgreydotcom]

@soul499 The Spin is only a MIDI controller so you cannot connect CDJ directly too it. If you wanted to use CDJ's you'd need a regular mixer to mix between the output of the CDJ and the Spin.

[SwiftCloud]

Very helpful!!! Well don video. Thank you.

[keyofgreydotcom]

Thanks!

[Yadigg54]

how did you get yourself in the video. Like the box of yourself recording also?

[keyofgreydotcom]

oops...I think accidentally removed SwiftCloud's reply...but he's right, I'm using Screen Flow

[BHSTunes1]

where can i get albums from kreva? im german

[stevenmcnair1897]

hey man, Im also In japan

[ltghhs]

awesome, thanks for the insight.

[Zarfod]

Does this come with a port which i can hook in my XLR Microphone?

[keyofgreydotcom]

The connection for microphones into the Spin is quarter inch. You will need an XLR to quarter inch adapter to use your mic.

[Zarfod]

alright i just got one of those.

Thanks

[nmv0000]

On Djay 2.0 it has a function where u can save your cue point.

Did algoriddim remove that function on the 3.0??

[keyofgreydotcom]

You can save them under the options for that specific table.

[hydro2300]

who was the lyricist that you were playing, sounds good. looks interesting, i have 2 1200's, right now with the way it looks with so many devices its crazy how good it sounds,

[keyofgreydotcom]

Hi there...the lyricist is Funky DL. It's definitely crazy how fast DJ technology is progressing! I still like vinyl, but these controllers are a lot of fun too. Cheers!

[palosatanas]

It's only for MAC PC???

[keyofgreydotcom]

The software is only for Mac, but the hardware is MIDI compliant which means you can use it on PC if you want, but you'll have to custom map it to your own DJ software.

[wpql]

Trying to decide Torq Exponent, Vestax Spin or Hercules rmx?

any suggestions are welcome!

[keyofgreydotcom]

If you have a Mac, the djay software that comes with the Spin is quite good. Of course, if you don't have a Mac, then you'll have to map the Spin to other software. Both the Torq and RMX offer software out of the box that support Windows and Mac. Out of the three, I prefer the Spin because it has bigger platters which are easier for me to play with. All are good choices though.

[tony609]

question !! why when i hit effect it only does the cho effect ? is there any way to change it ? i wanna use the key song effect but everytime i have to touch the keyboard on my laptop is kind of difficult because only time i wanna touch my laptop is for bring song ! i think you got what im trying to say !?

[keyofgreydotcom]

To change the effect for that button, first plug in your Spin controller. A new menu item will appear at the top named "MIDI". Select "Configure Spin Controller". You will see a list that allows you change what every single button triggers. Scroll down until you see "Note F#4". You will notice that it is currently assigned to "Echo On/Off". Click it and you can change it to whatever you want.

[DJbillyE]

I have a Question? How are you routing the music through the computer speakers? i havnt used mine yet and heard that you can only use it with external speakers?

[keyofgreydotcom]

I assume you are running Spin and djay on a Mac and not using the Spin controller by itself on a PC. If you are using it on a PC, then you cannot use your internal speakers. If you are using it on a Mac, you need to access the preferences menu in the djay software.

In djay's preferences menu, there is a device tab. You can set the main output to "Built-In Output". It will play through your speakers unless you have external speakers attached through your headphone/speaker output plug.

[islandboypopo]

is there a delay on the controller?

[keyofgreydotcom]

If you mean does the controller have latency, the answer is none that I've found so far. If you're asking if there is a delay effect available, the answer is yes.

[nufax]

dont worry about the track bro ,,,,i like ur track,,kreva,,i think that a good song.,...

[keyofgreydotcom]

Yeah the song got better, but at first I didn't know which song it was, and it had a weird beginning. It all worked out though

[thesox]

sick review... what track is that at 3:54?

[keyofgreydotcom]

The track is : 中盤戦 Feat. Mummy-D by Kreva. Sorry, I don't read Japanese so I don't now how to translate that into English. It's off his newest CD of that helps.

[airbaloonfaileer]

its means medium board game

[keyofgreydotcom]

good to know..thanks!

[pinkfrankenstein]

Thanks for this review!

Snow Leopard compatible I assume? How big of an iTunes library do you have? Does it choke on larger libraries?

This is one of the best product reviews I have ever seen.

[keyofgreydotcom]

Thanks very much! If you haven't visited my website already (link in the description), there's also a pretty lengthy post that also goes along with this video review you might be interested in.

Now on to your questions. I'm running Djay on Leopard, but the Djay website says it will run on 10.4 and up, so Snow Leopard should be fine. My iTunes library is only at about 60-70 gigs and I'm running off of a Firewire800 drive. So far, I haven't had any problems. Hope that helps!

[CLOWNY595]

Does the Vestax Spin work with Traktor also?

[keyofgreydotcom]

It is fully MIDI compliant. There is no default mapping for it in Traktor though, so if you want to use it you'll have to make your own mapping, or get one off another person that's created one.

[joshinvents]

is it possible to set the Mic Pitch knob to change the pitch of the song instead of the mic?

[keyofgreydotcom]

Djay allows you to change the mappings of the controller. However, the pitch effect cannot be applied by a rotary fader, only on/off buttons. By default, the Echo effect is applied to the "FX" button. However, you could easily map that button to "Pitch" effect instead. Then you would have to control the pitch changes by clicking the arrows in the software. You can also change the pitch by pressing the +/- keys under the linear fader. These do not keep the BPM constant though.

[joshinvents]

Oh... thanks anyway!

[du2xmedia]

thanks for the overview! ... was there any significant latency with the unit/software?

[keyofgreydotcom]

Nope, but then again, I'm not really scratching up a storm. The only time I've had a problem is today when I was playing an hour and a half set and when I loaded one platter, it froze for a second. Depending on when that happened in your set, it might be a bad thing. I'm also playing off of a Firewire hard drive, which may have been the problem.