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DJ Tools: Vestax DJ Effectors

Author: Gregg Harper

To be perfectly honest, this is the first time I've dabbled into the world of specifically designed DJ effects units. They are generally marketed towards the more electronic oriented (house, techno, trance) wax spinners, but due to a rise in the popularity of turntable-ism in recent years, the makers of these products now incorporate effects suitable for all styles of DJing.

The basic idea behind effects units is that they give you more options over manipulating and controlling your output sound. Instead of just mixing records, they give you the chance to create new sounds using your existing sound sources i.e. vinyl, CD, MP3, etc., which lets you recreate a studio situation while you're live in the mix.

If you're only beginning your DJ career, effects units are certainly not a necessity for your initial set up. I can see how they would be useful to the experienced DJ for recording mix tapes or playing live in a club. The options are nearly endless as to what you can do with add-ons such as these.

Korg's Kaos Pad, which has been integrated into other bigger products, is probably the best known effects unit but other brands also offer quite distinct alternatives. In this case Vestax have produced a small range of very slim, robust units which are designed as mini rack mount units, which sit best between your mixer and turntable.

DPH-X1 ULTRA PHASER

First up is the Vestax DPH-X1 which has an rrp of $695. The unit works in a similar way to most guitar phaser effect pedals. It has a phase shift select switch that controls the depth of the phase sound over six steps. There are three EQs to adjust your phase and an auto start on/off switch, which allows you to cut in and out from your desired EQ preset to the raw phaser. Instead of using the EQ preset there is also a manual control knob for live manipulation of the raw phaser. This unit also comes equipped with a small cross fader, so you can mix the phaser effect in and out.

I found some of the example settings on this unit really entertaining. My favourite had to be the 'dynamic phase' setting, which was suggested for hip hop/R'n'B.

Unfortunately, the unit lacks subtlety, mainly because the knobs are too sensitive, which means that the effect is in effect either on or off. Also I found the volume would dramatically jump up or down when adjusting either the EQ knobs or the phaser mode switch. This is something that you'd need to be very careful about when playing over a large PA!

However, this product would be a great little tool for adding some crazy sounds to your mix tapes and scratches when recording at home, or in the studio.

DWG-X1 DYNAMIC FILTER

The DWG-X1 has the same rrp of $695 and looks very similar to the DPH-X1, but instead of placing a phaser effect over your music, it acts as a fully functional filter.

There are five different filter effects to choose from and each of them can be modified with the 5-band filter EQ (low, mid-low, mid, mid-hi, hi). Like all filter effects units it also has a gate setting for determining how much threshold gets in and out, and a speed control for changing the pace of the applied filter.

This unit has the same crossfader and raw filter manual control as with the DPH-X1 and unfortunately, to my mind, also shares the same glitches as the DPH-X1. The sounds are affected rather too sharply when turning the knobs, and the volume changes when adjusting the settings.

Overall, both of these units demonstrated a lot of potential, and once mastered were loads of fun to use. While I would be cautious about using them live I can definitely see a use for them in the recording creation process. Many thanks to the Vestax distributors for giving me the opportunity to put these two effect units under the microscope.

Catch Gregg (Dform) playing every Saturday at 4:20 in Auckland and the first Wednesday of every month on bFM's 'Freak the Sheep' show, where he plays the latest NZ hip hop cuts.