How the Vestax VCI-100 shaped DJ history

The year was 2006. DJing had come a long way since its inception in the early 70s as a way to keep the dancefloor alive. The founding pillars had been built. Select. Mix. Scratch. Tweak. But learning to DJ using Traktor wasn’t really a widespread thing yet, and DJing was still an artform that seemed reserved for the few. A technical skill that was inaccessible to the masses. But that was about to change

Enter Vestax

The Vestax VCI-100 controller arrived in 2006, and brought with it a new era. One which shifted the landscape of digital DJing into the mainstream. For the first time, the average laptop owner could easily use a CDJ-style controller to select, mix, scratch and tweak effects using only one unit. And it only cost $600.

Keeping it simple

There were predecessors, of course. Most notably, the Hercules DJConsole. But it had limitations. You couldn’t scratch with the jog dials. There were no effect controls. The layouts didn’t make sense. It was only with the VCI-100 that these limitations were replaced with an intuitive and familiar layout. The trick was to keep it simple, with a layout that resembled Pioneer’s benchmark setup of two-decks and a mixer.

The arms race

The release of the VCI-100 set off a type of manufacturing arms race in the controller market. Soon, Pioneer, Denon and Native Instruments all began work on releasing a competitively priced and simplified version of their flagship controllers. The end result was the release of controllers like the MC6000, the DDJ-SX, and Kontrol S4. Although the company has since folded, Vestax has left its mark on DJ history with the VCI-100.

And so, one more item was added to the list of products that shaped DJ history. It started with the Technics, SL-1200. The PMX 9000 pushed it into the mainstream. Pioneer’s CDJ-1000s helped DJing cross over into the digital space. And finally, the Vestax VCI-100 made bedroom DJing a thing. Keen to level up? Here’s the preview from the DJ Courses Online Traktor 101 Course by instructor (and former Native Instruments employee) Nick Trikakis.