I had a chance to stop by Sam Ash today. They actually had all three of these controllers where I could play with them, not the software... just the hardware. Since I'm in the market for one of these three, I was ecstatic. Here's what I decided:

Xponent: Cheap plastic, you could just feel it. I hated the idea of the jog dials being above all of my controls too. The main plus was the sound card that's built in. Beyond that, the clerk said they've had several dropped and returned immediately. Seriously poor quality. Sorry Rod & Co. It's not for me.

Total Control: Jog dials are small, but NICELY weighted. I wasn't expecting that. It feels like it's built like a tank despite being plastic. The kill switches for each eq band was very nice. The layout was just perfect. This is what I'll be getting when I break down and get it.

VCI-100: Nice large jog dials, but despite being able to adjust them, I didn't like the way they handled as opposed to Total Control's. It also lacked the EQ kills, but it sort of made up for that with a 4 band eq. The balance knobs, master volume, headphone mix knob were extremely small, and even if there is a "mod" to fix this, I shouldn't have to mod my gear to get it to work like I'd like it to. It was solidly built and the channel volume sliders did have a better feel to them. The bottom line is that it's twice the price of the Total Control, but yet I don't see the additional $250 in value in this controller.

So, I've made my decision today. It's the Total Control.

Interestingly, despite what a few of us have said, people are hitting sam ash and asking when they can get hold of their new S7 controller system. Why someone would want to carry something that big to a gig is beyond me. I can see it as a club install, but seriously... mobile work??? Come on.

I hate Mexican food.

Nice.

im still with vci 100 the pads are too small on the total controll and im yet to see anyone scratch properly with the it! had a go on it at plaza the year before last.

I dont think the xponent is as cheep as it looks! did you have good play on it?

Why dont u buy online?

Of course it's not for scratching. It's not that type of tool. For progressive house though, it's perfect.


I do. I just like to try before I buy

After 4 hours of use with the Xponent in one session, There were no glitches, and surprisingly enough, It doesn't get as hot as it did before when I first tried it out....I guess its something that has to be wore in like a new pair of pants.... 
If you lower the latency, its very easy to scratch with, and I will be getting a hold of Traktor 3 soon from a friend, so I'll be able to see what it can do with that.
Personally, I like to have everything usable at my fingertips, especially with big buttons, and extra knobs, that are midi assignable.

dave is making the switch from ableton live to traktor. im coming straight from vinyl (ive never used cd decks)
after about 2 weeks of playing with the demo for traktor, i was hooked and dont miss vinyl at all. my problem is for some reason i cant get the swing of beatmatching. i can get it pretty darn close, but never perfect. so i spent so much time concentrating on beatmatching that i couldnt do things like really think about what to play next and such. my mixing was always rushed. i love the controller. its great.

Yeah for sure. Cool to hear your thoughts.