Vestax Spin DJ controller gets reviewed, much approved (video)
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted December 29th 2009 10:33AM
posted December 29th 2009 10:33AM
Bedroom DJs and wannabe Sven Vaths, take note. Key of Grey has got its hands on the Vestax Spin DJ controller and they give it some pretty good marks. Of course, no one is going to confuse this bad boy for a pro rig, but the reviewer found the hardware solid enough for home use, and the bundled Algoriddim djay software is more than up to the task. In fact, both the software and hardware are full featured enough to make it worth a second or third look: multiple cue points and sampler controls (commonplace on DJ mixers yet pretty rare on software-based rigs) get kudos, while the lack of a waveform view can be a huge turn-off for some folks. Want to get a closer look? We got it for you: move on past the read link for the award-winning video.
Not for me personally, but it'll sell more than a few. Looks fairly solid, especially for a beginner.
@Level 5
I'd certianly be a customer! If it was available in england.. I'd even get it shipped from the us/canada, but it's out of stock there too it seems. hell, I'd even get one that's being resold on ebay, but they're about 3 times the price, which makes no sense as one of the main pulling points is the low cost... anyone know about uk ship dates/ availability in america?
That is very small
WTF demonstration.
I can basically do the same thing with iTunes by loading up two tracks on the playlist, cuffing my hands over the speaker cones and occasionally start/stop/start/stop and while sometimes pulling the mini jack plug halfway out.
So? Don't get me wrong, It looks good, seems to perform well, and is very cheap, but why the fuss?
There are at least 40 different usb DJ controllers on the market, so why is this featured in Engadget?
@rak500
very simple. this is an apple only product. they couldnt help but post it.
lol im just kidding
but in all seriousness, if you looking at controllers this one is seriously feature crippled. It is far too expensive considering it lack of functionality.
The best controller for the best value, Herculese RMX DJ control. Runs bout 500$ Canadian (available online at long and maquade, and steeves music, use google, my spelling my be wrong on those.) and about 300$ online on the American DJ sites (theres tons of them, none ship to Canada ive tried...)
@davesousa The big difference between this and other cheap controllers is the touch-sensitive jog wheels: most of the other ones in this price range don’t have them, including the Hercules Rmx. This means no real scratching and (more important to me) no precise cueing of downbeats etc.
Also, this one has a sound card built-in for headphones, which again most of the cheaper controllers don’t.
But you’re right: if you’re just looking for the most sliders and knobs per $$ you might want something else. It all depends on your needs.
The software behind this is actually pretty nice, first Mac-style DJ software I’ve seen: http://www.djay-software.com
Here's your answer, from the news story: "Your USB-based DJ-ing options aren't exactly all that limited these days, but there's few rigs out there quite as eye-catching as this new Spin controller developed by Vestax and Algoriddim."
@ubercool
There are some nice looking alternatives, more expensive, but check these: Numark NS7, VCI300 black, EKS Otus...
Awesome! This is exactly what I need since I can't afford an SL-1200 setup with mixer and all so I'll just stick to this kind of controller for now until I finish University.
What's the big deal? I've never understood all this DJ baloney to begin with--all the way back to the days when they actually had "Ds" that had to be "J'ed." I just put my 20K MP3s on "random" in media player and walk away. Sure, there's no scratching using that method, but I ruined enough White Albums forcing them to play backwards (Revolution 9) that when the young kids started doing it in the '80s I was like "been there, done that...at least make AN ATTEMPT to be original!"
What's the big deal? I've never understood all this DJ baloney to begin with--all the way back to the days when they actually had "Ds" that had to be "J'ed." I just put my 20K MP3s on "random" in media player and walk away. Sure, there's no scratching using that method, but I ruined enough White Albums forcing them to play backwards (Revolution 9) that when the young kids started doing it in the '80s I was like "been there, done that...at least make AN ATTEMPT to be original!"
DJ'ing is cool on all levels and some people like to make their own mixes. At least this thing is not DJ Hero which I played and almost flipped the damn thing over at Best Buy when I played it. What a POS. Anyhow, this setup looks awesome, problem is it's MAC ONLY
"SPIN is designed for Macintosh systems but can be used with Windows systems by using the MIDI mapping feature of ASIO4ALL and other DJ/DAW applications. Please note that Vestax does not support SPIN with Windows systems"
I thought the days of living with "exclusives" on each end of the OS was done and over with. How can you make a piece of software/hardware compatible with only one operating system? Especially for DJ'ing or even music production. Sure you can make the device work with windows somehow but there is no way the functionality will be as smooth... I gotta do more research on this. I hope they release one for Windows and heck, even for Linux.
@EMaster considering the fact ASIO4ALL has absolutely nothing to do with MIDI control i question this product.
@SirNoDroin yeah thats so wrong. Im sure they mean just to be using some kind of asio interface though.
@PBR:
It's something that has to be tried to be understood. I think it's anachronistic to say that using samples from songs is not original; no one faults a guitarist or a pianist for using familiar themes music, but DJ's are vilified for doing the same thing. I thought this debate was settled in the late 90's.
It is myopic to infer unoriginality based on the medium that an artist chooses to use.
@gobenho
Nah PBR makes a point.
as little as 3 years ago, I was semi-pro DJing (I was doing clubs on the weekends, but I have a real job), mixing tunes, spending countless hours putting together a perfect set. I Didn't do it for the money, I did it for the feeling it was fun to PREFORM, on a nice loud sound system, and to have people dancing.
Now that the equipment is only half a paycheck, everyone is picking it up and "learning" how to DJ.
Now, (here in nyc) as long as you can bring people, no one gives a
damn what you play, the art is lost, its nothing but another myspace/hot or not/whatever popularity contest.
Sure you can find niches of DJs and parties that still do it for the mix, but your talking a party with 50-100 people, nothing like it use to be, that being intertwined. Good DJs would preform for both people who didn't care, and those who did. It was promoters jobs to bring people, not the DJ. The DJ's job would be to be good at DJing, play an awesome set, and get people moving. If the DJ was good, the promoter would get people to see the good DJ...and it would work. Now the clubs have gotten to cheap to hire promoters, and DJs are the promoters (or rather the old promoters have turned into DJs), and its nothing more than, as I said before, a popularity contest. Most new parties I go to all play the same songs, do track to track mixing, and have totally lost the energy.
Once the fad is over, maybe things will pick up agian. But for now, I'm just fine having my equipment in my bedroom and making Mixtapes for my friends, spending 30+ hours promoting and DJing a party for 500-1000 isn't worth it when you have a real job.
sorry the rant is off topic,
@ PBR I think it's a bit out of touch to say that DJ'ing is not important. DJ'ing brought the sounds of funk, jazz etc to the pioneers of Rocksteady and Reggae in Jamaica to the pioneers of Hip Hop in the US. The DJ get's the crowd going and it's that interaction which music lovers pay money to go see. The top40 crowd will always not care who is behind the turntables, but it will be the music lovers who spread the word about new music and dj's.
It's cultural impact is huge, to say they have done nothing would be ignorant to music's history.
But for everyone else's argument, about the changing of analog dj'ing to digital is a debatable one. Sure it's cheaper and anyone can DJ and maybe the artform has been diluted by people who make edits and just play sampled loops in traktor or something. I think this will just make DJ's and live performers have to work harder and do new things to impress the crowd as new scenes die from oversatuation
The whole push to do something different was the reason why dj's like Z-trip and DJ P promoted the mash-up sound of mixing classic rock, funk, hip hop and electronic. Other dj's like Mike Relm incorporated an elaborate video scratching show with his DJ mash-ups which were quite inventive in themselves. Sure you end up with more cookie cutter, push a button dj's, such as GirlTalk. But that is because DJ'ing is in the process of trying new things as their fans get tired of the same electroclash mash-up BS you hear on the radio all day. People have finally caught up to music technology and so everyone wants to do the cool DJ tricks that were so mysterious for decades. Give it another 10 and we'll have something vastly different.
I want one of these Vestax MIDI controllers so bad, but there's always something in the way of that. Whether it be Mac only, forced integration with Serato (and thus a ridiculous price), or no integration with Virtual DJ, I just cant get my hands on one. =/
I'm not giving up my vinyl, and setups like this just remind me why.
As much of a pain as it is to haul crates around, watching someone try to 'digital dj' is just boring to watch.
Not to mention that it takes more skill to spin wax.... :)
@Nathan V
+10
i wish i still had my college food money to buy my weekly stack of 10 dollar singles.
@Nathan V
Amen thank god im not the only one still using vinyl... its IMHO the best way to Dj...
@Nathan V
Most digital DJing is indeed boring to watch, and an excuse for wannabe-DJs to not put in the time and effort. That said, there are some DJs who can work their electronics to great effect, and I have the utmost respect for those.
Still: vinyl only for me. I tried CDs and MIDI-controlled, but the feel just isn't there.
On-topic: No waveform preview on this machine? Ridiculous. Being able to actually visualise the track was invented -- oh, i don't know -- about 100 years ago when the first records were pressed! This is a ridiculous devolution, so not worth a penny.
Looks cool but I wouldn't use it and plus this guy sucks he can't even mix!
I got the Vestax Spin for Christmas. I've never DJed before in my life so I figured it is cheap enough to ask for and learn. So far I really enjoy it.
I'm looking to get into bedroom djing, and have been searching around for something like this for a good while now, but nothing really comes up to it in terms of price vs functionality, in contradiction to what someone up there said. If you've got a mac, this really does seem to offer the best deal, the cheapest you can go whilst remaining entirely useful. the quality of the mix depends on the quality of the dj far, far more than on the equipment. integrated soundcard, entry level but not bad construction, touch sensitive jog wheels, and built with software in mind (which i've been trialling, and seems to do the job perfectly well without being overwhelming to an amateur)
would love to see someone scratching on one of these.. crossfader review/etc.. I've toyed with the demo in the past, the scratch effect sound at the time didn't sound great, but that's with a mouse and little enthusiasm for it..
@vdrumpro Here’s a video of scratching on the Spin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6c-BHWM0cI
I know what you mean about scratching quality in earlier versions – sounds a lot better to me now.