The Hercules RMX: A third of the price of the Vestax VCI-300, and well built to boot
Due to my usual Vestax VCI-300 being off to the service centre for some TLC, I find myself currently using a borrowed Hercules DJ Console RMX controller using Virtual DJ 6 rather than my preferred Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH setup. I thought I’d post a few thoughts after my first night using this equipment.
I turned up at the venue half an hour early to give myself time for a quick practise, booted up Virtual DJ (it’s my backup DJ software anyway, but I haven’t used it for months), downloaded and installed the Hercules RMX drivers, and plugged it in.
Having hit the config and set it up for the Hercules, it actually worked pretty much straight away. It isn’t anywhere near as intuitive as the Vestax VCI-300 / Serato ITCH combination, which isn’t surprising as that’s a custom pairing, but it was OK. The controls don’t send any Midi information until you use them though, so when I moved the master volume slightly, it jumped up in volume about ten-fold – a little scary but quickly corrected!
Hercules RMX vs Vestax VCI-300
Some thoughts on the Hercules RMX – It’s actually well made like the Vestax VCI-300, if clunky. It is heavy, aluminium, and the buttons are built to last.
The jog wheels are horrible to use against those on the Vestax, and the Hercules has one or two bad design faults – for instance, the kills (which, by the way, I miss terribly on the Vestax) aren’t lit, so there’s no visual way of knowing when they’re on – but after an hour it was perfectly usable and I played my best set in that particular venue for a while on the thing, so thumbs up there.
I’d recommend it to anyone thinking of dabbling in digital DJing but who doesn’t want to commit more funds.
There’s no spinning back or scratching on it (well, there is , but you won’t do it twice) as opposed to the Vestax which is great in this respect with its responsive, clever dual-purpose platters and high-resolution Midi. As befits a piece of hardware that you can get complete with bundled Virtual DJ for a third of the price, it just feels cheaper and less precise.
However, I have to say it does everything you need and it is great value for money. As, like the VCI-300, it has a built-in sound card (don’t expect pro quality but it’s OK), this means you can be up and DJing on a piece of kit that doesn’t make you look like you’re playing with a toy for a small outlay, and in that sense I’d recommend it to anyone thinking of dabbling in digital DJing but who doesn’t want to commit more funds.
(By the way, you can also plug decks or CD mixers into it too. Hercules 1, Serato 0…)
Virtual DJ 6 vs Serato ITCH
The Vestax VCI-300 is made to control Serato's Itch software
Virtual DJ was my preferred DJ software for years, but I have to say that against Serato ITCH, it loses out for me. I didn’t realise how much I’d come to love having Serato’s twin waveforms, big, chunky and in full colour to show the sound spectrum, to show me what’s coming in the next few seconds on my tracks. (With ITCH, the waveform – think the way tracks are shown on SoundCloud – has different colours for bass, mid and treble frequencies.)
Virtual DJ actually has very good waveforms, one for each track overlaid on each other in red and blue, and that was always one of the reasons I preferred it over Traktor, but Serato’s are better. The screen also locks every now and then, juddering a little, which makes it harder to use the waveforms for visual mixing. I am using a decent MacBook, so if it doesn’t run smoothly on that, it isn’t a processor thing.
And if you are DJing in the daytime, you’ll find Virtual DJ’s predominantly black interface harder to read than Serato’s.
It is harder to keep tunes in time with the Hercules RMX and Virtual DJ due to the lack of precision in the jogwheels and this lack of this superior visual confirmation. It’s not difficult, but just a little harder, which means a bit less time to do other things.
Also, the clear, clean, simple screen layout for Serato ITCH works better than Virtual DJ’s. And if you are DJing in the daytime, you’ll find Virtual DJ’s predominantly black interface harder to read than Serato’s.
Looks like I’ll be using this setup for a couple of weeks at least, so I’ll report back after having played a few more gigs on it if there’s more to add.
Have you got a Hercules RMX? Do you know a venue that uses one? How about the VCI-300? Or, are you trying to choose a DJ controller and weighing up your options? Hit us below with any queries or comments.
Now go to:
Vestax VCI-300 & Serato ITCH – Three Months In
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4-deck Traktor DJ Controller & Software On The Way…
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Tags: hercules RMX, Serato ITCH, vestax vci-300, Virtual DJ
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Great blog mate, I look forward to reading more over the next couple of weeks, a Hercules maybe a good solution for my VDJ set up, especially if I can plug my decks into it as well…..
[ link ]I got one but I dont know how to use it. What shall I do??
[ link ]Lol @ Javier, it’s his Hercules I was using
OK… If I were to buy a DJ controller at that price level now, I would be very tempted by the Vestax Typhoon instead. I haven’t seen one yet and I’m sure it’s not as well built (as the Hercules is strong in that area), but I would not want to DJ on the Hercules with those jogwheels and clunky buttons for longer than necessary, and the Vestax Typhoon has the same jogwheels as the wonderful VCI-100 & VCI-300.
However, if you think you’ll want to plug record decks or CDs in, or you want a workhorse that won’t let you down in harsh environments (read: a working bar, like Javier’s), the Hercules RMX is still top of the list.
[ link ]What’s going on everyone? First off I have to say this blog is great. I just stumbled on it today.
I have a used the Hercules Console RMX for about 2 yrs now when my GF got it for me as a present. I had been using CD decks prior to this and was never a huge fan of them so the jump to digital Dj’ing was kinda cool for me.
Up until I recently upgraded the software (Virtual Dj 6) I experienced alot of lagging using the software at my residency. It wasn’t like it would cut but the sound would sometimes sound like it was a CD skipping. MY last gig’s I used the new software and it was leaps and bounds better, as I didn’t experience any lagging in the sound and it worked like a charm.
I’m not into alot of beat juggling or scratching so the jog wheels work for me fine, although the lack of FX and ‘bells and whistles’ is a drawback.
I’m looking to upgrade my ‘kit’ soon, as the new Native Instrument’s Traktor setup has got me very interested, I’ve also looked at the Mixdeck from Numark but I’m not sold on that at all yet.
[ link ]Yeah you forgot to mention that ITCH doesnt do Video Mixing and VDJ does
[ link ]I’ve been working with the DJ-Console RMX and Virtual-DJ since one year and I love to do this. I’ve been playing and mixing all kind of music with this Controller and I’m looking forward to the new versions…
[ link ]I also use virtual DJ & have used many other digital DJ software as well as hardware over the past 15 yrs, serato itch combined with the vestax vci 300 is one hell of a combination very smooth works great & great eye candy but in my humble opinion virtual dj 6 combined with the Hercules rmx is just awesome for me anyway takes a little tweaking but once accomplished is brilliant especially if your a video DJ as i am it works flawlessly with both audio & video, you can manipulate the video in exactly the same way you can audio with an absolute multitude of effects for both, im a recording sound engineer by trade, getting a bit technical here but you can even use vst sound plugins too ! alot of young up & coming dj’s always ask me which is the best digital software going i’d say if mp3′s & the ability to scratch spinback for eternity is your game then certainly itch & the vci 300 is a fantastic set up but if you want that little bit extra in your performance like being in a 2000 strong club & having the ability to have the visual aspect of a killer floor filler going at the same time then its virtual DJ for me by all accounts most people haven’t even scratched the surface with that program, just check out how much a hardware solution for video dj’ing would cost like the almost $2000 or pound pioneer equivalent, thats my humble opinion anyway ….
[ link ]I love the hercules rmx, but I have to agree. I hate it that I can’t spin back, and the lag KILLS ME when I have to scratch. What controller can I use with virtual DJ that will allow me to spin back and scratch like a direct drive? Or is the best best is to use Pioneer CDJ1000s or turntables? I dont check this site often, so can u email me. Thanks… rambo_ent@yahoo.com
[ link ]CDJ1000s / turntables will do it, but so will the new Denon DN-MC6000, for instance – anything with hi-res jogs will do the trick.
[ link ]I noticed that hercules finally put pitch controls on a controller. My friend bought a hercules dj control mp3 and was truly shocked at the total lack of pitch control.
[ link ]The pitch control is actually a knob on the early Hercules model -DJs used to remap the pitch control to the volume and the volume to the pitch for each channel.
[ link ]I have been looking forward to upgrade my Numark D2 to something more modern that did not cost me an arm & a leg. I have had a play on the Virtual DJ 7.1 and must say that it works for me that was hooked up to a Hercules RMX controller and enjoyed the experience. So i decided to investigate more about it on the net and there are a lot of mixed reviews. So i decided to buy it for myself and think it is great piece of kit. I’m a DJ that is not into scratching. I do a lot of rhythm mixing and for which it does a brilliant job. I have not had any problems with regards to audio it is “Sweet As” like we say it in New Zealand (Middle earth). Enjoying my new TOY!!
[ link ]I’ve been using Vdj 5.2 pro and Hercules RMX for about 3years and I love it. It’s a workhorse and aluminum frame withstands the abuse of gig after gig. I read about the backspin and how you can’t do it but you can use the sampler for that and also the brake. It does the job for me. The sync button sames a lot of time and the jog wheel help quickly catch up with the beat matching. I haven’t had the need to try a different controller yet. The only thing I don’t like is that mic input, i get bad / low sound of out of it, but since I feed it though another mixer before the amp, I just plug my mic into the Numark mixer. I’m looking to upgrading and have my eye on the 4-Mx
[ link ]We’ve got a 4-Mx review coming up very soon…
[ link ]Hi Phil– great website. I’ve used the clunky buttoned hercules rmx with VDJ for 2 years. Just started trying traktor and itch– they have one thing that i love– the beatgrids and being able to ‘snap’ to the beat. Is there a secret way VDJ can do this that I am not aware of? Also, VDJ offers awesome ‘key detection’ for harminic mixing– and even a compatible files folder. Not a crutch, but it is neat to have. Do any other softwares offer key detection? I’d love to have a hybrid software that has the beatgrids and the key detection all in one– does it exist?
[ link ]Not DJ software, but Mixed in Key can tag your songs with the key so that it shows up in Serato ITCH, for instance.
[ link ]Thanks Phil. and what about beatgrids in VDJ (like the ones in traktor and itch)? non existant still? Nothing hidden i have not yet discovered?
[ link ]It has beatgridding… look at the dots underneath the waveforms. you can adjust these to beatgrid your tunes.
[ link ]Hello there, thanks Phil for the great review. One question for you and the community: can I use this controller with Traktor Pro 2.5? Is there some fiddling involved or is Traktor Pro able to link with it natively? I used until now a Traktor S2 which I’ve sent away for repair, and a friend loaned me this Hercules controller which I will have to use in the meanwhile for some upcoming gigs. Thanks for your answers!
[ link ]Sorry maybe I was not so clear: I am talking about connecting the Hercules RMX controller to Traktor Pro (not about the Vestax one)
[ link ]There is a Traktor mapping available from Hercules, we didn’t check it though.
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