FX on Itch!!! Vestax VFX-1
Posted by Shailpik in Announcements, DJ MIDI Controllers, General MIDI Controllers Info, serato, softwares on May 11, 2009
Via djtechtools.com
Now this is a real Stop the presses moment!!! So far, Itch from Serato has really been leading the pack in terms of DVS and now with their latest Itch software and Vestax VCI-300 and Numark NS7 controllers (Dedicated Control Midi post in the pipeline), Itch has really taken the Digital DJ world by storm.
Itch has inherited the simplicity and Dj friendly features of Serato Scratch Live but so far, the one place where it lost out to Traktor Pro was the FX section. This was despite of the superb dedicated Hi-res MIDI controllers from Numark Vestax, the ones mentioned before.But now, the rumour mill has it that Itch is going to get a new FX section! Yep! And the best part is that this was released at the djtechtools.com forums by deducing it from a picture of a brand new controller from Vestax. So in effect, this is two pieces in one! That is just superb!
So as this unfolds, we take a closer look at the sections and try to understand what Serato is really trying to do!
From the looks of it, there seems to be a separate channel FX and with options for tap tempo input. That last one definitely for beat synced effects (awesome!) and it even has 3 user preset banks. And there is also a master assignable feature. And I also see the aux/mic in. I am already thinking of the possibilites with a mic and the fx set to vocoder... mmm....
Anyway, the leak even managed to produce a PDF document. Here's what it looks like: -
So this new controller is being called VFX- 1 and I can hardly wait to get my hands on this. But since I more of a Traktor person, I will wait and see how it unfolds. 
BIG UPDATE - The VP of Vestax Corporation just showed up at DJ Techtools blog and confirmed that it exists! This is big!
So anyway, till the VFX goes up for pre-order or sale you can get ready for it by getting the main piece for yourself -
The Vestax VCI-300 DJ Controller with Serato ITCH Black
Go ahead, knock yourselves out!
# by mr_minimal - May 22, 2009 at 3:53 AM
ohh boy.. my prayers have been heard.. does god exist :O ?
# by Shailpik - May 22, 2009 at 3:34 PM
Hey mr_minimal, welcome to Control MIDI :)
Yeah, I had a similar reaction! :P I wonder what will happen to the Traktor Vs Itch battle now?
# by DJ Slater - May 31, 2009 at 11:44 PM
I'm just curious if this is going to work with the NS7. I hope it does because it uses Itch as the platform, and supposedly it plugs into the computer...right???
# by Shailpik - June 1, 2009 at 12:06 AM
If the VFX-1 is hardwired to the VCI-100 then I think it is a no-go, if it is a normal USB connected midi controller, then you can connect it together with the NS7. But you have to ensure that they are mapped to different MIDI channels to avoid conflicts.
However, keeping in mind that Serato ITCH is coming up with an FX section, Numark is sure to come up with something.
That said, welcome to C|M Slater! :) Do you own an NS7?
# by FutureMedia - August 12, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Just got my Vestax 300 yesterday. This is great news. Itch 2.0 + Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard for Intel Macs is sure to be the killer software solution for the VFX1 to work extra well.
# by Shailpik - August 12, 2009 at 2:37 PM
That's what I tell people! You wanna go digital and live - you better use a Mac!
# by FutureMedia - August 12, 2009 at 3:04 PM
October 19 appears to be the shipping date for the VFX-1 according to the MixExperience sales site I just found. Another site said 198 British pounds for a price or about $327.00 US. I hope it's closer to $199 once the dust settles.
# by Shailpik - August 12, 2009 at 5:54 PM
That's good to hear. A lot of Djs out there are just waiting to get their hands on this, so there will be a lot of sales even with that price.
However, in my opinion the price should come down closer to $100. After all, it is a very small midi controller and nothing else besides. What do you think?
# by Anonymous - August 14, 2009 at 5:25 AM
$300 is definitely outragious. I just bought my vci-300 for $725. They want nearly half that for just and effects module? Come on! A hundred... Maybe $150 and we are in business. This is a simple little piece of hardware here.
# by Anonymous - August 14, 2009 at 5:27 AM
$300 is absurd. I just bought my VCI-300 for $725 and that was worth it. But for a little FX module, there is no way it should be more than $150. It's not like it's bringing anything amazingly new to the table. Probably the first month Vestax will milk it for as much as they can. But there is no way I am going to touch it without it being around $150. It is only fair.
# by Shailpik - August 14, 2009 at 5:49 AM
@anon(s) - I do agree! Paying that much for a simple piece of MIDI Controller (no sound card nothing) is simply not worth it. So what if it is hi-res MIDI, that surely does not justify paying half the price of a full blown MIDI Controller.
Heck, you can get full blown MIDI Controllers for under $200. Although they aren't the best... ;-)
One question though – why anonymous?
# by ChillTech - October 29, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Just because I haven't felt like registering here... And I had no idea I could just use my Google account.... ;)
# by SikkRose - November 28, 2009 at 3:28 AM
If youre looking for a FX controller for the NS7, the vfx-1 wont work for it but they have recently designed one just for the NS7 its called the "NSFX" and its works great too.