Custom assignments mapping. Click to enlarge.

Volume/Level Sliders

I always use Traktor’s automatic beatmatching abilities, and never need to adjust the tempo manually. I moved the channel 1 & 2 volume/level controls on the VCM from the big knobs to the tempo sliders. This way the controls act the same as the GUI version in the application–both sliders. I like how it allows me to blast the volume on and off quickly without worrying about running out of degrees of movement in my wrists.

Effect Knobs

With the volume/level functions moved, I now had a couple of weighty knobs open. I decided to assign the main ‘wet/dry’ dial of the FX-1 and FX-2 in Traktor. It feels nice and the quick access means I use these functions a lot more often. Now my biggest complaint about the VCM-100, no effects controls, is partially satiated.

Effect On/Off Toggles

I assigned the 4 extraneous F-keys on the VCM to the on/off toggles for the effects. I like how the proximity to the newly assigned effect knobs is intuitively associated.

Filter Knob

Possibly the most seldom used function on any mixer is the pan function–I just never use it. Way above that on my list of priorities is having finer controls for the filter knob. Re-assigned!

One problem: since I left the gain function as is, it’s a little counter-intuitive to have the filter above the gain on the GUI but reversed on the VCM. I thought about moving the gain function, however, because the pan knob on the VCM locks in the neutral position, having that added physical reassurance (that the filter is not being used) is reason enough to leave it there.

Play/Stop Button

In the default settings Vestax dedicated three buttons to varieties of play and stop/pause. I found that quite extraneous and frankly didn’t fully appreciate the uses of cue and cup since I always set up my files with markers in advance of my performance. I remapped the ‘play/stop’ key so that it plays on the first press, then the next press toggles to stop/pause… on the cue point!

*Known bug: If you hit play on a track; the track finishes on it’s own (you didn’t hit stop); you load a new track… the next time you hit the play button it is on the stop side of the toggle. meaning, you have to hit the button twice to play. I haven’t figured out how to reset the toggle position on track load.

Beat-Jump Buttons

I love using the beat-jump function in traktor to shorten or lengthen a track on the fly! For example, it can pacify my short attention span during a long, repetitive track or I can make track’s bridges align better during a mix. Rather than have a few other ways to play and pause (I have that covered in the previous step), I want buttons dedicated to skipping around the track! I reassigned the ‘cue/play’ and ‘cue/pause’ buttons to become my new skip buttons.

Loop + Beat-Jump Size Increments

As I explained earlier, I don’t beatmatch manually anymore so these ‘fine’ tempo buttons are just as useless to me as the tempo slider. I reassigned these to set both the loop size and the beat-jump size.

Main / Mix Knobs

I reversed the ‘master level’ and the ‘monitor select’ knobs on the VCM so it was more intuitive with the application’s GUI positions. I guess the people at Vestax saw the three knobs as 1, 2, and 3 in importance. I saw them as left, right and middle. I never read the labels on the VCM and tend to look at the computer’s GUI so this made more sense to me.

Loop Button

I fixed one thing that really bothered me about the default settings. Vestax had the ‘loop’ button toggling the loop on and off, as expected, but it also set the loop increment to 4 beats. Every time, 4 beats loop, grrr… I removed that instruction so it uses whatever I set with my custom loop/beat-jump increment assignments.

Download

• Geometron’s Vestax VCM-100 TSI file for Traktor Pro v1.0
• Get the default TSI file from Vestax.

This mix, The Introduction To Sensuality, was planned as an opposite yet complementary edition to the last one, Greating the Fear Overlord. Where that one was rough and fearful, this one is smooth and lovely. A bit of Yin and Yang action for balance. Thus, I give you a pleasant alternative when selecting something to play… the choice is yours!

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The horror movie vibe in the first track was the catalyst for The Fear theme in this mix. It starts out creepy and evil and builds to a barrage of electro wah-wahs over punishing breaks. The last few tracks takes pity on the listener and offers some respite as well as some introspection.

I used the word “Greeting” in the title because I think it’s useful to face your fears and even welcome them into your being. Once you come to terms with the root cause and they become assimilated in your psyche, they no longer have a crippling effect on you. Fear is often an illusion that deliberate thought can dismantle.

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I’ve wanted to do a Dubstep vs Hip-Hop battle mix for a while now but it’s quite hard to find Hip-Hop tracks that can reach the super-slow (or super-fast) tempo of Dubstep. After doing some heavy research, I found some slow-beat gems and it all came together rather nicely. The Dubstep and Hip-Hop tracks work so well with each other that it borders on a mashup or remix of the old school vibes.

My method was to build a base Dubstep mix, composed of Headz style tracks, then started to throw in all sorts of classic Hip-Hop and Booty-Bass cuts over it. I used the 4-channel Traktor Pro layout, often playing 3 tracks at once. this is definitely my most complex and most heavily planned-out mix to date.

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The theme for this Deep House mix is infidelity, yearning, and relationship blues in general. It’s funny, listening to this reminds me of the 80′s when people made mix-tapes to express their broken hearts – but please don’t read too far into it – this merely an execution of a concept, not an autobiographical essay. these days, life is good*. I’ve got 99 problems but the [expletive for 'girlfriend'] ain’t one. Although, I have to say, I’m no stranger to the insecurities and trust issues that go hand in hand with coveting someone precious.

I tried to keep the tracklist limited to really bluesy tracks with soulful vocals whenever possible. The lyrics in a few of the tracks are quite indiscernible, yet they had just the right sentiment to them. This time around, it’s all about getting sentimental.

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Once in a while I come across a track that is so profound and so moving that it makes most of the stuff I listen to pale in comparison. These producers must be classically trained, or well-practiced, or just have an aptitude for it because their music has the richness of great orchestral compositions with the freshness of their popular electronic music counterparts. Despite my profound admiration for these tracks, finding an appropriate situation to play them in is actually quite rare so I’ve made an effort to provide them with this forum, totally dedicated to enhancing their power. Here they are in all of their deep, dreamy, and psychedelic splendor.

The title refers to The Agent that sets your dreams (and hallucinations) in motion. Sometimes wonderful, sometimes disturbing, but always bold and adventurous.

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I got an urge to make a techno mix that was fast and hectic (like the stuff I used to like when I first started dj’ing) but as I began to build the playlist I remembered how taxing a non-stop hard techno set can get. In my mind, I likened those hard tracks to certain recreational chemicals – they can get you moving, but it’s easy to burn out. To get the best effect, you need water and some organic materials to facilitate the breakdown and transportation to your brain. Otherwise your system dehydrates and locks up. In this way, I got the idea to space out the hard tracks with juicy/bubbly/groovy tracks. The result worked well, in my opinion.

So hit play and listen to the metaphorical enzymes crunching away at the chemical’s raw material. It’s the stuff of life.

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I made this mix out of a playlist of weird-and-wonderful minimal techno tracks I put on my iPod to listen to when i couldn’t sleep. As I started to organize the order, I realized that a bunch of these tracks were really long, slow-builders, so I went with a very meditative, long-attention-span approach to the mix.

I think it would be great to listen to this in an isolation tank. Barring that, I recommend you try listening with your eyes shut, or in the dark. It might also be good to play while you work or create as most of the tracks in it have a very enriching, cognitive quality to them.

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This mix is a collection of jazzy and soulful electronica and deep house, put together with the aim of creating a sense of comfort and warmth to help endure the cold of winter.

For the cover art I found this amazing Finnish landscape photographer, Päivi Valkonen, whose work wonderfully illustrates the tone i was trying to set with this mix. I recommend you take a moment to view more of her work on her website.

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I was thinking how dubstep gets it’s roots from three directions: dub/reggae -> drum’n'bass; hip-hop -> headz; and techno -> electronica. I decided to make a mix for each of those, trying to make them all quintessentially dubstep yet have very different vibes.

The third in the series, DS Humanity, starts out slow with dub-reggae cuts, and builds to a drum-n-bass intensity towards the end, all the while struggling with issues of rightousness and the pursuit of happiness.

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