This forum has shown a lot of problems with freezing and controls with the VCI 300 and i'm wondering if there really are a lot of good units actually out there not experiencing problems.

Any success stories out there of using the unit for events/clubs without any issue on a repetitive basis?

I would like to supply all my mobile DJ's with this unit but I'm concerned with reliability.

Thanks,

Pro DJ

I bought itch to use at smaller mobile gigs( I've been using SSL for over a year now)
In 2 weeks I've had it out 4 times with no problems (other than user error).

gig 1 - School Dance (just wanted to try it out) - Set up no problem and loaded up SSL and itunes playlists. played for 5 hours. I did get usb drops at the beginning but the buffer was set to 64 - changed to 512 half way through and no more drops

Gig 2 wedding - used for dinner music (big wedding dinner was in a differnt room than dancing so I had SSL set up for dancing and ITCH set up for dinner) Worked great.

After 2 gigs I'm now getting used to the unit. It's more like a dual CD player with a nice scratch emulator rather than a turntable emuator. don't get me wrong the scratching is really good - buy from someone who's played vinyl for 16 years the platters are small, but they do work. for house music the VCI can hold mixes for a long time.

Next 2 gigs were school dances. I didn't have any any mic delays until I upgraded to 1.0.4 then I noticed a delay (just thinking - is the delay relevant to the usb buffer? because I had the buffer at 64 when I had the mic without delay than changed it and noticed the delay)
To solve the mic delay I just plugged my mic into line 3 on my bose L1's.

So overall I am VERY happy with this unit. for a portable device that has this many features and for me is really stable it works really good for smaller gigs of places where minimal setup is required.

Lofty thanks for the reply. It's good to know there are solid units out there.

and my unit begins whit one of the questionable serial numbers.

Hi lofty,
yes the mic delay is greater on higher buffer settings... we're working to try to reduce this problem :)

Just an Update. Had a gig today and had NO ERRORS. smooth as silk. Thing started at 7 in the morning and didnt end til 2. Me and my wallet was a happy crew today. I even think i have a unit with a bad serial number and not an issue yet.

DJ FReSh

That's FRRRESSHHH! Dude, props to you and your unit AND your wallet haha. What version of Itch did you play with? 1.0.3 or 1.0.4 betas?

used my vci-300 and 3 gigs now, with no problems,

1st gig, was a lil house party, literally bought the vci, then went to the party, and said screw it, i'll try it. rocked for a whole night with no problems out of the box.

2nd gig was for a comedy show, didn't really do much mixing at this gig, but it didnt freeze or nothing,

3rd gig, friend's bday party, used it for 6 hours, no problem.

overall, so far so good. i'm real happy with the unit, and i do have one of the questionable serial numbers. only took a while to get used to playing on the tiny platters..haha, i feel like a giant using this thing, otherwise, its dope.

I've used mines for about 10 times so far with no problem during gigs. The only problem I have is when I turn on the vci 300 it doesn't get detected in itch, but after a few on and off switching, boo ya! Is it just me or is anyone else experiencing this too?

Cool to hear guys, my VCI has worked sweet as well, even at a couple of steamy long sessions. Not a single issue so far, and I've tested it to death (since it's my job anyway)
Loving the "one hand holding the VCI, the other one scratching" trick. I've only seen it done, never attempted myself. Might try it on the next gig :)

Proud to say that I have had ZERO issues (knock on wood) since I first plugged in the unit. I am running ITCH version 1.0.3 on an HP notebook w/ Vista, and haven't had any freezes or glitches. I have played a few mobile gigs, and have logged nearly 200 hours of home use. However, earlier this week I loaded the beta version 1.0.4 and had issues immediately. Luckily I had saved my previous version.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with the VCI-300 and ITCH. It makes my life alot easier, and allows me to be more creative with my sets. I do wish the VCI-300 had on-board effects... currently I use a Boss Dr. Sample 303 for effects and sampling... works great with my setup. The built-in recording in ITCH is a great tool for practicing and reviewing sets.

I am also very pleased with Itch and The VCI-300. It is the most accuate of all these midi controller platter devices. I am a big SSL fan and this is the perfect brother for it.
I hope for some FX and better eq's, etc.., but sure it will be sorted soon.
Other great thing about Serato, is they actualy listen and they have excellent support..
They actually write back to emails, unlike NI.
Keep up the great work!

Hi brockstar, really great to hear how well the VCI-300 and ITCH 1.0.3 are working for you!

If you have had problems with the 1.0.4 beta, we'd really like to hear about them - we're keen to fix any issues you or anyone else has seen, as we want 1.0.4 to be a really solid release when it comes out.

Cheers,
Edouard.

I've now been a few days messin' around with the VCI 300, and the more I practice with it, the more I realize that this is the piece of gear i've been waiting for.
I'm quite convinced that Serato is doing all within their best efforts to make rock solid software... Well, I can only appreciate the quote of Edouard above. Making rocksolid software is the only correct spirit if you really want to be a top brand for the professional DJ's out there.

I have used my VCI every weekend and every Tuesday on Club Megamix Radio with no issues at all along side Ableton for drops paired with a Trigger Finger and now the Korg nanoKontrol - All Have Worked Flawless!!

I have been using it for the Baby Loves Disco event in Tokyo. I was worried about something going wrong at the 1st gig, but it was flawless! Next one coming up next weekend and I am looking forward to using it then!

Nice job Serato!

I used all the public beta 2 during the whole mix. Had a couple irregular screen flashes but it didn't do anything to mess me up. Overall a good day for me.

DJ FReSh

update, i rocked it all day for an in-store event at a workmen's balance, it ran fine for the first 6 hours, then it froze for the first time..just switched the unit off, and on, and it worked fine again... then i brought it with me for a party i threw that night and rocked it as part of a 3x6. no problems during that.

I have been using my VCI 300 for more than 2 months now and its just amazing. Not only the quality of sound is excellent, but the fact that I can setup in minutes is just great. I was using 2 CDJs & mixer on a case with wheels (pretty heavy!) and changed that for the VCI+laptop & cables.

Thank you!

I have had the VCI-300 for 2 weeks and have not had 1 problem with it. Of course I am steering clear of the 1.04 beta, as many people seem to have issues with it. My ONLY complaint with Itch is no effects, but it seems to me there is enough interest in it as a feature it may just happen. Past that it works perfect, and the VCI-300's platters are SOLID, the feel is great and they are super accurate. A great product, it has reduced my setup from a coffin to a backpack.

been using Itch for many gigs lately and love it...Very reliable and sound is very good.
..just wish for FX..

www.youtube.com

I think it would help to know the platform you're running on. This may help to figure out where some issues may be. I'm using a macbook pro. I'm new to itch and I haven't seen any issues with it yet. The reason I went with itch was that I wanted full use of my CD players for mp3 / cd audio playback but wanted a self contained platform at the same time. Itch was the recommended solution. Happy with it so far.

I got my VCI-300 on Monday and since then life has been good. Installed Itch on my 17" MacBook Pro, updated to the latest beta version, set up my crates, loaded music files into Itch, did overviews for all songs (that took about two hours). I only played with it for few days before taking it live at a club, and only set cue points for a few track prior to, but the setup worked out great. No delays, no hitches, good sound quality, all I need to do now is get better at using it. Great job Serato team!!

Also since I'm a long-time user of Virtual DJ I can compare from experience with other systems. I think the VCI-300 + Serato Itch combo is excellent.