American Audio VMS4 Anyone?

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J

jfactor1

New DJ
Aug 8, 2006
2,496
0
51
Central Michigan
I'm looking at buying a controller, but not sure which one to get. I run VDJ Pro and bought the Numark Total Control as soon as it came out. I liked it other than the plastic construction. Never had any issues, but it always seemed kinda chinsey.

I wasn't DJing anymore and hadn't used it in a few years so I sold it on ebay last year.

Now I'm getting back into it and just started looking at contollers. The one that's really got my attention right now is the AA VMS4.

Has anyone used one of these?
 
I've been looking at that one, and the new Denon as well, as to whether to get them, and map them to my software...


Problem I see, is that they're both too "busy" for your average wedding/party jock.

I could see using them at a club, or at home mixing -- but I think to your basic, working mobile jock, they would be overkill, and 90% of the functionality would not be used (or useful).

Just my humble opinion... :)
 
I agree with Rick. I have a Hercules RMX and plan to get the new 4-Mx. Ny rmx has been a great workhorse and i do not see why the new controller will not be the same.
 
SoftJock Rick said:
Problem I see, is that they're both too "busy" for your average wedding/party jock.

I could see using them at a club, or at home mixing -- but I think to your basic, working mobile jock, they would be overkill, and 90% of the functionality would not be used (or useful).

Just my humble opinion... :)
Click to expand...

I don't know, even at weddings I like to mix it up (during the right songs/sets). It's pretty nice to be able to have all that at your fingertips.
 
jfactor1 said:
I don't know, even at weddings I like to mix it up (during the right songs/sets). It's pretty nice to be able to have all that at your fingertips.
Click to expand...

Have you tried getting your fingers around on them controls -- they don't leave much room for mistakes... ;)


That leaves little room for crowd interaction, if yer spending all yer time playing bedroom DJ...
 
jfactor1 said:
Not scratching, etc. I don't have "mad skillz".:tribiggrin:
Just looping, beatmatching, maybe some effects.
Click to expand...

Ok, fair enough, if yer into that sorta stuff.

So why not get a $39 backlit keyboard, and map yer shortcuts to do the same as the controller?


I've found that most people who buy these, have lots of fun playing at home -- but they don't use them at gigs, except to press play -- expensive play button... ;)
 
As a controller for Virtual DJ, it's pretty kick-ass. As a standalone mixer, it's not the greatest. I use my VMS4 pretty frequently at gigs where I'm mixing videos, because the VMS4 crossfader can control just the video fades without affecting the audio. The layout on it is absolutely perfect - not too compact like the Numark Total Control, not too big like the Numark NS7. If you have another mixer to patch the VMS4 into (for greater control of volume and EQ), you'll love it.

Things I especially love about the VMS4: Heavy, free-spinning platters, incredible control of effects and parameters on the fly, and out-of-the-box VirtualDJ compatibility. No tweaks required.

What I'd change: Headphone output isn't as loud as I'd prefer, EQ doesn't really boost the bass and treble the way my Rane mixer does (but given the price difference, that' okay), and the unit is just a touch too wide to be mounted in a standard rack.
 
As you investigate, if you have questions about Hercules controllers, I'm a Product Specialist for them and would be happy to answer them for you.
 
Steve Sharp said:
As you investigate, if you have questions about Hercules controllers, I'm a Product Specialist for them and would be happy to answer them for you.
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Steve how soon will I will be able to get my hands on one...
 
Currently I run a Hercules RMX into a main powered mixer. I've been running Hercules since the original console, no not the MK2, there was one before that that had a short lived life!
I went to the DJ Expo with the intent to most likely purchase the VMS4, but I played with it, and just felt like something was off, that there was too much room for improvement to justify the purchase. Almost felt like it would be a step backwards from my RMX.
What I did see is the Denon DN-MC6000, I plan to purchase this controller. It has all the inputs and outputs I want so I can run it stand-alone without another mixer, sorry Hercules, you're lacking in inputs.
I still love my hercules, but just as a controller, it is just not up to par to use as the main mixer, imho. I will be keeping my RMX and plan to use it for ceremonies and other times that may come up.
 
The press release for the VMS4 came out literally a few days after I dropped money on my RMX, which I took a long time researching.

So far, though I haven't tried them all by any means, the VMS4 would be my next controller purchase if some major shortcomings were to present themselves in my RMX - which I don't anticipate happening any time soon.
 
Don't mind me, just want to play Devil's Advocate here... :)


My software supports controllers, but as most know, I am not a fan of using one myself (although I admit they look cool). I have a stack of brand new ones laying around the office, but only use them for testing purposes. That's why I don't sell them BTW.

So here's my thing...

When I see a DJ perform that has a controller, I seldom see them using it for the purpose it is designed for. I'm talking mobile DJs here -- the wedding/party jocks -- not club DJs. Most that I see, are far too engaged in the various aspects of entertaining, reading the crowd, schmoozing, and finding the next floor filler, to bother with tweaking all the tiny controls like on the YouTube demo videos.


Anybody got any videos of themselves DJ'ing a wedding with a controller, and showing their mad skillz that warrant one...?
 
Im too busy wowing the crowd entertaining and creating fun to operate or monitor a video cam, text live or offer a photo montage and booth. LOL Rick (the other one)
 
SoftJock Rick said:
Don't mind me, just want to play Devil's Advocate here... :)


My software supports controllers, but as most know, I am not a fan of using one myself (although I admit they look cool). I have a stack of brand new ones laying around the office, but only use them for testing purposes. That's why I don't sell them BTW.

So here's my thing...

When I see a DJ perform that has a controller, I seldom see them using it for the purpose it is designed for. I'm talking mobile DJs here -- the wedding/party jocks -- not club DJs. Most that I see, are far too engaged in the various aspects of entertaining, reading the crowd, schmoozing, and finding the next floor filler, to bother with tweaking all the tiny controls like on the YouTube demo videos.


Anybody got any videos of themselves DJ'ing a wedding with a controller, and showing their mad skillz that warrant one...?
Click to expand...

For me, the choice to use a controller, and the one I ended up with in particular didn't stem from a desire or need to create long, intricate, on-the fly mixes - it was purely and simply a desire to make the digital transition while still maintaining the tactile feel and intuitiveness of an actual mixing console.

This is mostly because switching to digital in itself is a huge change for programming music as well, as the hands-on process I had with cd's often helped me browse selections and surprise myself by finding off-the all or unexpected inspiration during sets. I have duplicated that browsing process as close as I can for now by using file structure, but if I had to feel my way through that part of the process and throw in the learning curve of keyboard shortcuts or what-not, it would have been too much to juggle at once.

Also, I feel that in combination with my other hardware, racked gear, etc, it gives me more options for setup and keeps things very modular in nature. Flexibility is a good thing. Who knows how long it will be before I ditch the lappy & controller all together, but for now its working for me...
 
As a Wedding Jock, these new controllers are too busy for me as Rick says. I have the RMX I use for ceremonies and back up and have no problem using it as a main rig if need be. I do use it for those different intros of many songs for Weddings and some simple hot cues when needed. If it had another dedicated mic input and two more channels for a mixer, I'd change out to it in my main rig.

But all in all, I just need a very simple controller with no display, a few hot cue buttons and instead of a jog wheel, maybe fast forward/reverse buttons or a jog toggle of sorts.
 
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