Vestax VCI-300 User manual

2Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
All content © Serato Audio Research. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

IMPORTANT SAFTEY INSTRUCTIONS
3
Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
1. Read these instructions.
2. Keep these instructions.
3. Heed all warnings.
4. Follow all instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Clean only with a dry cloth.
7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
9. Only use attachments and accessories specified by the manufacturer.
10. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use cau-
tion when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.
11. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.
12. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as liquid has
been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been
dropped.
13. If rack-mounting, provide adequate ventilation. Equipment may be located above or below this apparatus, but some equipment (like large power
amplifiers) may cause an unacceptable amount of hum or may generate too much heat and degrade the performance of this apparatus.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this apparatus to rain or moisture. Apparatus shall not be exposed to drip-
ping or splashing and no objects filled with liquids, such as vases, shall be placed on the apparatus

TABLE OF CONTENTS
4Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
IMPORTANT SAFTEY INSTRUCTIONS 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
SETTING UP 5
Unpacking 5
System Requirements 5
Software Installation 5
Installation Mac 5
Installation PC 6
CONNECTIONS 7
USB 7
Speakers 7
Headphones 7
SOFTWARE OVERVIEW 8
TOP PANEL OVERVIEW 9
FRONT AND REAR PANEL OVERVIEW 10
GETTING STARTED 11
Starting the Software 11
Importing Music 11
Building Overviews 11
Making Crates and Subcrates 11
PLAYING YOUR FIRST TRACK 12
Resetting the Mixer 12
Navigating the Library 12
Load a track to the Deck 12
Starting Playback 12
Adjusting Gain 12
Equalizing 12
MIXING IN THE NEXT TRACK 13
Finding the Next Song 13
Loading it to the Deck 13
Previewing in the Headphones 13
Finding the Right Part of the Song 13
Temporary Cue 13
Getting the Tracks in Time 13
Dropping it in 13
Beat Sync 14
ADVANCED FEATURES 15
Mic and Aux Mixing 15
Pitch Shift 15
Key and Quartz Lock 15
Cue Points 15
Loops 15
Autolooping 15
Auto Tempo 15
Censor/Reverse 15
Recording 15
USING THE LIBRARY 16
Main Library View 16
Crates 16
Subcrates 16
Searching 16
Browsing 16
Library Icons 16
Setting up Columns 17
Tagging 17
Album Art 17
Prepare 17
Import 17
Review 17
Scratch LIVE Compatibility 17
Using External Drives 17
SOFTWARE SETUP 18
Playback Options 18
Library Options 18
Display Options 19
Software Version 19
SUPPORT 20
Software Updates and Online Support 20
Official Support Channel 20
TROUBLE SHOOTING 20

SETTING UP
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Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
UNPACKING
Your package should include:
 •ThisPrintedManual.
 •VCI-300Controller.
 •USBCable.
 •SeratoITCHInstallCD.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
The minimum system requirements are:
MAC
 •G41.5GHzprocessororbetter.
 •1GBRAM.
 •OSX10.4.11orhigher.
 •AvailableUSBPort
 •Harddiskspaceformusic
WINDOWS XP
 •Pentium4mobile2GHzprocessororbetter.
 •1GBRAM.
 •ServicePack2orhigher
 •AvailableUSBPort
 •Harddiskspaceformusic
WINDOWS VISTA
 •CoreDuo1.6GHzprocessororbetter.
 •1GBRAM.
 •ServicePack1orhigher
 •AvailableUSBPort
 •Harddiskspaceformusic
PLEASE NOTE: The above is the minimum requirement to run ITCH. For
best performance and for use in professional situations we recommend
you buy a higher spec computer.
64 bit Windows is not supported, if you are purchasing a Windows
machine for ITCH please ensure it has a 32 bit Windows installation.
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
Free updates to the ITCH software are available from
http://www.serato.com/itch
We suggest you check the website for the latest version
before installing.
INSTALLATION MAC
 •Either
  •InserttheSeratoITCHinstallCDintoyour
computers CD drive and browse to it using Finder.
 •Or
  •BrowseusingFindertothelocationwherethe
ITCH download installer was saved, double click
the ITCH .dmg file to mount the image on your
system, and browse to that volume.
 •Then:
  •Doubleclickthelecalled“ITCHinstaller.mpkg”.
1. The following screen will appear. Click Continue.
2. Accept the License Agreement and then click Continue.
3. Choose the hard disk you want to install to and click Continue.
4. Confirm the install location and click Install.
5. ITCH will now be installed.

6Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
6. A confirmation screen will appear when the install is complete.
INSTALLATION PC
The installer should start automatically, if not;
 •Either
  •InserttheSeratoITCHinstallCDintoyour
computer’s CD drive and browse to it using
Windows Explorer.
 •Or
  •BrowseusingWindowsExplorertothe 
location where the ITCH download installer was
saved, unpack the ITCH .zip file and browse to the
extracted contents.
•Then:
  •Doubleclickthelecalled“ITCH_installer.exe”.
1. The following screen will appear. Click Next.
2. Accept the License Agreement and then click Next.
3. Choose the location you want to install to and click Next.
4. Complete will perform a standard installation.
Click Next to continue.
5. Confirm the installation options and click Install.
6. ITCH will now be installed.
7. An confirmation screen will appear when the install is complete.

CONNECTIONS
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Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
USB
The VCI-300 is a bus powered device. Power is drawn from the computer
and under normal operation the VCI-300 does not require its own power
supply. The single USB supplied cable is all that’s required to connect
the VCI-300 to your computer.
If you are using a USB hub, or have a lot of other USB devices you may
need to use the optional power supply (available separately) there is a
limit to how much power your computer can supply over USB.
The VCI-300 does not require driver installation on MAC or PC. To install,
connect the VCI-300 to your computer and move the power switch
on the rear of the VCI-300 to the on position. Once the computer has
recognized the device it will appear as a 4 channel sound device and a
separate midi device.
SPEAKERS
The VCI-300 features both 6.5mm TS Jack and RCA main outputs
for connection to your sound system. It can be connected directly to
powered speakers, a traditional stereo system and PA or another DJ
mixer. Ensure the Master volume is down on both the VCI-300 and your
sound system before plugging it in and turning it on.
HEADPHONES
A 6.5mm Jack is provided for headphones on the front right of the
VCI-300. The volume of the headphone is controlled by the “Monitor
Level” knob at the top of the VCI-300. It is best to turn this volume down
before plugging in your headphones.

SOFTWARE OVERVIEW
8Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
NO. KEY FUNCTION
01 ALBUM ART Shows / Hides Album Art.
02 IMPORT Shows / Hides the Import panel which enables you to search for tracks on your hard drive.
03 BROWSE Shows / Hides the Browse panel which enables you to browse for tracks by genre, bpm, etc.
04 PREPARE Shows / Hides the Prepare crate which is a special crate for preparing your set.
05 REVIEW Shows / Hides the Review crate which shows you what tracks have been played already.
06 TOOLTIPS Enables / Disables tool tip display.
07 SETUP Shows the Setup Screen.
08 SEARCH Searches your library for the terms entered.
09 MIC/AUX Shows/HidestheMIC/AUXchannelstripsformonitoringandmixingtheMIC/AUXinputs.
10 LIBRARY The main library area shows you all the tracks in your current selection.
11 SAVE BUTTON Saves the current recording to disk.
12 RECORDING FILENAME FIELD Field for entering filename to save current recording.
13 RECORDING TIMER Timer for current recording.
14 RECORDING METER Peak Program meter for recording input.
15 RECORD SOURCE SELECTOR Drop down menu to select your recording source.
16 RECORD BUTTON Starts / Stops recording.
17 BEAT MATCH DISPLAY Shows transients (usually the drums) to aid beat matching.
18 TEMPO MATCH DISPLAY Displays tempos of both tracks to aid mixing.
19 STATUS BAR Status of current selected item.
20 VIRTUAL DECK Rotates with playback.
21 BPM FIELD / TAP BUTTON Displays current BPM, or can be clicked to tap and save a tracks tempo.
22 TRACK TIME DISPLAY Current position of playhead in track.
23 AUTOLOOP VALUE Shows the current autoloop setting in beats.
24 REPEAT Clicking toggles repeat mode on and off for the track.
25 PLAYBACK MODE Clicking toggles between single and continuous playback modes. Single mode just plays one track. In continuous
mode at the end of the track ITCH will automatically play the next track in the current selection.
26 WAVEFORM Waveform of currently loaded track.
27 PITCH Current percentage pitch difference from 0.
28 ARTIST NAME Artist tag for current track.
29 TRACK NAME Shows the name tag of the current track.
30 TRACK OVERVIEW Overall view of the currently loaded track.
31 CRATE LIST Lists and controls crates for organizing library.

TOP PANEL OVERVIEW
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Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
NO. KEY FUNCTION
01 PITCH SLIDER Adjusts playback speed ± 6%.
02 AUTOTEMPO Turns on auto tempo, this automatically matches the speed of the track to the other playing track.
SHIFT FUNCTION: BEATSYNC Automatically aligns the last transient in the track with the closest one in the other playing track.
03 KEYLOCK Engages Keylock. This keeps the key of a track the same even when you change the tempo.
SHIFT FUNCTION: QUARTZ LOCK Resets the pitch of the track to zero regardless of the slider setting.
04 PITCH SHIFT BUTTONS Offsets the pitch range by 12%, for example when pitch shifted one step up your available speeds become 6% to 18%.
Pressing both buttons at once return you to normal pitch range of ± 6%.
05 CUE/IN Pressing these buttons will set cue points 1-3, pressing them again will begin playback from the relevant cue point.
SHIFT FUNCTION: DELETE CUE Deletes the current cue point setting.
06 SCRATCH Puts the platter into “Scratch” mode which allows vinyl style playback control.
07 OUT/LOOP When you have a cue point set this will create a loop out point. Playback will loop between the cue point and the
outpoint until you press the out button a second time.
SHIFT FUNCTION: DELETE OUT POINT Deletes the current out point setting.
08 SHIFT Holding shift engages shift functions of many of the buttons, secondary functions are printed inside a grey box.
09 TRIM This controls the volume of the track before it goes to the EQ and fader.
10 CENSOR Pressing censor reverses playback temporarily, when released playback resumes from where the playhead would have
been if censor was not pressed. It is used to “censor” out portions of a song.
SHIFT FUNCTION: REVERSE Toggles playback direction.
11 AUTOLOOP Autoloop works for tracks that have BPM calculated and when pressed will create an autoloop of the current autoloop
value.
12 EQ There are 3 EQ knobs, low mid and high. The available range is -∞dB (off) to 0 dB to +6 dB.
13 HALF/DOUBLE These buttons set the auto loop length before you turn it on. Once autoloop is on they allow you to half or double the
length of the loop.
SHIFT FUNCTION: NEXT/PREV Skip to the next or previous track in the current selection.
14 MASTER This knob controls the overall output of the VCI-300, ensure this is right down before running ITCH.
15 MONITOR SELECT Controls the balance in the headphones between the mix output and the PFL headphone cue.

FRONT AND REAR PANEL OVERVIEW
10 Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH Manual 1.0
NO. KEY FUNCTION
01 MIC IN Microphone input socket.
02 MIC LEVEL Hardware microphone input gain control before sending to software.
03 CROSSFADER CURVE Adjusts slope of Crossfader. Rotate clockwise to shorten fade time with sharper cut off at either end, and
50/50 mix across width of fader. Rotate anti-clockwise to lengthen fade to gradually mix across fader and
50/50 mix in centre only.
04 CHANNEL FADER CURVE Adjusts slope of Channel Faders. Rotate clockwise to shorten fade time with sharper cut off at bottom and
full level most majority of fade length. Rotate anti-clockwise to lengthen fade to gradually increase level
up fader and 100% level at top only.
05 HEADPHONE OUT 6.5 mm TRS Jack for headphone connection.
06 AUX IN RCA connections for auxiliary sound source.
07 AUX GAIN HardwareAUXinputgaincontrolbeforesendingtosoftware.
08 GROUND POST ConnectAUXinputdevicesrequiringgroundingtopreventinterference.
09 THRU SWITCH SendstheAUXandmicsignalsdirectlytothemasteroutanddisconnectsthecomputeroutput.
10 MASTER OUT JACK 6.5mm TS Jack Master outputs.
11 MASTER OUT RCA RCA Master outputs
12 PLATTER SENSITIVITY CONTROLS Adjust level of touch sensitivity for the platters, adjust if ITCH is not detecting your touches correctly.
13 DC POWER INPUT To power hardware with optional DC adapter: 9V DC 500mA.
14 POWER SOURCE SELECTION Select between Adapter, Off, and USB power for unit.
15 USB SOCKET For connecting the VCI-300 to your computer.
NO. KEY FUNCTION
16 MONITOR VOLUME Controls the volume of the headphones.
17 CUE When playback is paused this sets a temp cue point, once the temp cue is set pressing it while playing will jump to the
temp cue point.
18 PLAY/PAUSE Starts and stops playback.
19 CROSSFADER Fades between the left and right channels.
20 INPUT FADERS Control the volume of their respective tracks.
21 PFL A Sends the left deck to the headphone mix, pressing with SCROLL loads the current selection to the left deck.
22 SCROLL Turns on platter scrolling, this allows you to browse the library using the platters.
23 PFL B Sends the right deck to the headphone mix, pressing with SCROLL loads the current selection to the right deck.
24 NAVIGATION This control works like cursor keys for navigating the library.
25 PLATTER On startup the platters temporarily NUDGE the playback speed slower or faster.
SHIFT FUNCTION: FFWD/REWIND Skips through the track at high speed.
26 CRATES Switches cursor focus to the crate area.
27 FILES Opens the Import panel where you can browse your filesystem for tracks to load.
28 BROWSE Opens the Browse panel where you can filter your selection by Genre, BPM, Artist and Album.
29 JOG TORQUE ADJUST KNOB Adjusts the Torque of the Jog Wheel.