Ableton Forum

Hello.

I'm curious to know if anyone here actually uses a Vestax VCM-600? http://www.vestax.com/v/products/detail ... arent_id=8

I'm really curious in this unit, over the Akai APC-40, to be honest. Can anyone give me any feedback on the unit's functionality, build quality, etc? I'm curious to know if it's a flawlessly working unit, one that could be trusted in a live situation?

Thanks dudes.

It is all metal, built like a german tank, and works exactly as advertised. I've redone all the mapping using bomes, but it's an awesome piece of kit. My only beef is that it doesn't send out 14 bit midi on the faders.

There are other threads with all the info you need.... Search for them

That said I love mine too. It suits my dj mixer/mixing background better.

Just wish it had detents for the EQ knobs centre position and endless encoders for the FX bank like the APC40, then for me it would be spot on. (I use a launch pad for triggering, as it's much faster and gives you the non screen feedback you need).

hopefully we will see a centred dj style eq from ableton soon

6 channels is a little odd - 4 is more my thing. i bit more support wouldnt hurt on the auto mapping front. if i was to be really picky i would have like to have replaceable faders - then i could buy the rotary kit.

hopefully vestax continue the line and this aint a one off.

oh and theres adjustable fader curves so almost no midi lag.

Cheers for the replies. I did have a search and read all the threads to do with it, but there was still questions unanswered really...

So with clip launching then, is it possible at all with this unit? I can see if has a scene selection knob, but does even basic clip launching exist?

Also, are you guys taking this thing out to actual gigs? How are you carrying this thing around? I've been looking for suitable bags, but can't really find one big enough!

Also, I read elsewhere that the Launchpad and the Vestax together doesn't quite work (mapping wise), they sort of overlap each other and don't exactly play nicely with eachother straight out the box - is this correct?

Thanks again for any questions answered, it is very appreciated!

yes, dedicated stop/play buttons per channel - see the pic

UDG is making a bag I hear. Duffel bag for me for now

Midi cc output is hardcoded, so yeah, could quite possibly conflict if the launchpad is hardcoded as well, however it would depend on your midi setup in Live I'd assume?

Ah I see, so you would use the scene knob to move up and down rows, and then use the play/stop buttons to play the individual clips on that track? ...also, from what I can see, you hit the scene knob to then play the whole scene as a row?

Sorry for the micro-questions here... It's just a lot of money and I'm trying to make the right choice. After trying out the APC40 a friend of mine had, I was just constantly annoyed I didn't have per-channel control over things. I currently own an Evolution UC33e - which is actually pretty cool in it's simplicity - but I've used up the knobs per channel on that thing pretty quickly.

Is it possible to 'cue' any of the channels up using this unit? I can't seem to see the buttons for that... Also, I've been trying to gauge size (and weight by the specifications) but really... in reality... how heavy/awkward is this thing to carry around with a laptop to a gig?

littlejim84 wrote:Ah I see, so you would use the scene knob to move up and down rows, and then use the play/stop buttons to play the individual clips on that track? ...also, from what I can see, you hit the scene knob to then play the whole scene as a row?

Sorry for the micro-questions here... It's just a lot of money and I'm trying to make the right choice. After trying out the APC40 a friend of mine had, I was just constantly annoyed I didn't have per-channel control over things. I currently own an Evolution UC33e - which is actually pretty cool in it's simplicity - but I've used up the knobs per channel on that thing pretty quickly.

Is it possible to 'cue' any of the channels up using this unit? I can't seem to see the buttons for that... Also, I've been trying to gauge size (and weight by the specifications) but really... in reality... how heavy/awkward is this thing to carry around with a laptop to a gig?

I love mine and also think it's better than the APC40 - I mean it depends on what you're after, and maybe it's just more like the layout I want, but like you said having to share the sends like that is a major drawback on the APC40 IMO - with the VCM I use buttons that I have no need for, like the crossfade assign for example to map to the device headers on racks so you can use the 8 knobs top right to control the macros

IMO the whole clip matrix thing seems a bit pointless to me without the actual clip names - you have to look at the monitor anyway. Although saying that I have been contemplating getting a launchpad for that

I also have the UC33e and now I use the VCM to control most of the set, and as it uses up to MIDI channel 13, I just assign the UC33 to one above that, like 16 and use it to control something else

I have to say I agree with Mrideas though about the EQs needing indents so you can feel when it's at 0dB - but I get around this by mapping them and setting the max to 0dB - I find with most modern tracks in the age of the loudness wars never need turning up - in fact I do the same with the main faders, and so far I've never had a problem doing this

oh yeah, you asked about CUE - in Ableton that is shared with the solo button, so once CUE mode is enabled the solo buttons enable it on each track

alex.the.forge wrote:

littlejim84 wrote:Ah I see, so you would use the scene knob to move up and down rows, and then use the play/stop buttons to play the individual clips on that track? ...also, from what I can see, you hit the scene knob to then play the whole scene as a row?

Sorry for the micro-questions here... It's just a lot of money and I'm trying to make the right choice. After trying out the APC40 a friend of mine had, I was just constantly annoyed I didn't have per-channel control over things. I currently own an Evolution UC33e - which is actually pretty cool in it's simplicity - but I've used up the knobs per channel on that thing pretty quickly.

Is it possible to 'cue' any of the channels up using this unit? I can't seem to see the buttons for that... Also, I've been trying to gauge size (and weight by the specifications) but really... in reality... how heavy/awkward is this thing to carry around with a laptop to a gig?

I love mine and also think it's better than the APC40 - I mean it depends on what you're after, and maybe it's just more like the layout I want, but like you said having to share the sends like that is a major drawback on the APC40 IMO - with the VCM I use buttons that I have no need for, like the crossfade assign for example to map to the device headers on racks so you can use the 8 knobs top right to control the macros

IMO the whole clip matrix thing seems a bit pointless to me without the actual clip names - you have to look at the monitor anyway. Although saying that I have been contemplating getting a launchpad for that

I also have the UC33e and now I use the VCM to control most of the set, and as it uses up to MIDI channel 13, I just assign the UC33 to one above that, like 16 and use it to control something else

I have to say I agree with Mrideas though about the EQs needing indents so you can feel when it's at 0dB - but I get around this by mapping them and setting the max to 0dB - I find with most modern tracks in the age of the loudness wars never need turning up - in fact I do the same with the main faders, and so far I've never had a problem doing this

oh yeah, you asked about CUE - in Ableton that is shared with the solo button, so once CUE mode is enabled the solo buttons enable it on each track

Thanks for the reply.

So the weight and bulk of this unit... Is it over the top to take around to gigs? (not that I have any lined up yet!!) I was looking around this morning and possibly found a carrying solution... http://www.nuloop.com/en/dj-equipment/i ... m_600.html ...that looks pretty nice. But I'm still concerned it's going to be massive (and heavy)!

So can I ask again, I'm not too sure I understand with the CUE. (I've never used the feature in Live) So you make a track solo and it'll then send it to the CUE (my headphone outputs)? Sorry dude, not sure I understand... I'm away from my music machine for the next few days, would love a further explanation if possible...

best thing grap your laptop and head to a dealer and plug in. they shouldnt have much of an issue. you can see how the thing works. it wouldn't take more than 5 mins to get a set up and running.

has anybody mentioned it bus powered yet?

nuperspective wrote: has anybody mentioned it bus powered yet?

I don't trust using it bus powered - but that applies for any controller IMO - I have seen controllers play up LOADS of times running bus powered, and pretty much every time a power supply solves it

no biggie though

as for CUE - if you set outputs for your cue out on the master track to different outputs than the master is using then you will be able to press the "solo" button underneath it and it will become a Cue button and all the solo buttons will be replaced with cue icons

bus powered is one of the most awesorme things aboot it

What audio interfaces are you guys using with this?

I was quite tempted by one of these: http://www.alesis.com/multimix4usb ...but then, I don't know if a) it'll be loud enough for systems and b) if the headphone output would be a separate output that i send my cues in Live to? ...I'm thinking a little mixer type thing as an audio interface as I'm interested in working with guitarist / vocalist whilst doing live stuff.

echo audiofire 2 here