Yeah, I know you're all tired of complaint posts but it's not my job to troubleshoot this product that never should have been put on the market. It would be a GREAT product... if only it did what it is supposed to do, have decent sound quality, and work in a manner consistent with the cue, channel, and mic standards I've come to expect over 20 years of DJing. Standards set by brand names like Pioneer, Numark, Rane, Denon, and even Gemini (and Hercules for controller/sound cards). I've DJed on all those products and while they each had their nuances on every one of their products I could hear my cue, play my music and speak in a mic without distortion (I won't even get into the bizarre frequency levels your EQs are set on).
What it all boils down to is I expect to use most any mixer and have it generally respond the way I expect it to based on 20 years of DJing. When judged by that simple standard, every mixer I've ever used passes the test but the VMS4 is a total failure. On that fact alone this thing should not be for sale.
I bought the VMS4 at the DJ Expo in Atlantic City. I'll give the ADJ rep some credit: he told me straight up there was an issue with the mic. But I had no idea how bad it would be; and he never told me about the low cue volume, and the distortion in the sound.
You guys started to lose me when I got home from the expo. I was very excited to set it up but I ran into some issues and emailed ADJ support. It's over three weeks now and I STILL have not received a response. So I figured it out for myself and DJed a couple very busy Washington DC clubs... I've never been so embarrassed. When I went to make announcements the crowd could not understand me through the distortion. As the night went on the music distortion became more & more noticeable. My amplified booth monitor that I've used for years with multiple mixers sounded like I was sending the signal through a chipmunk sound effect.
So I visited the forums and here's what I learned:
1) I'm not supposed to tell you I'm unhappy... I'm only supposed to help you troubleshoot this thing. Then that results in posts from technicians that are essentially saying the way I've DJed for 20 years is wrong, I need to change it.
So here's what I did: I followed the instructions in YOUR manual for setting the gains and the main level. My mic distortion was worse than ever. I tried two mics and three cables. So I tried holding the mic further away - but I can't hold the mic further away because the ambient music enters and starts making feedback (don't you have any DJs on staff that talk while music is playing?). So I tried turning up my amps and turning down the channel gains... but then I can't hear the cue signal coming through my Sony MDR-V700 headphones which I've used without issue with all other major mixers. Since my sets are more about music than talking I have no choice but to keep the gains where I would normally and avoid using the mic as much as possible (and I thought my Hercules RMX had bad mic performance!!).
I'm a computer technician for a major computer company. I understand that things go wrong and that bugs can be found in new hardware. But what I don't accept is having NO ONE respond to my email to support. What I don't expect is to be told on one post to turn the gains up to fix the cue problem, then on another post turn the gains down to fix the mic problem. Ridiculous.
Seriously, did you ever once test this thing in a club environment?
So unless I can expect a firmware update that improves these issue before I'm able to return or sell this thing, I'm done with the VMS4. In the meantime I'm getting my little Hercules back out and I'm boxing up the VMS4 and asking the good people at Chuck Levin's to please give me credit toward another product (fortunately I live near the retailer that sold it to me at the expo).
If I can't return it I invite any forum members who think they might want this thing to contact me for a sale price. I even have a flight case I bought & modified just for the VMS4 that I'll sell you cheap. No matter what, I'm sure to lose money on this and that really makes me mad.
Let me make one thing clear: if ADJ was to provide some real tech support & treat their customer's with respect (instead of allowing techs to post on here like they're Jimmy Fallon's tech support nerd from Saturday Night Live - talking to us like we're idiots who can't use this thing) I'd keep it. As a controller I love it. As a sound card / mixer it is horrible.
When I told one of my oldest DJ buddies I bought this, he sucked in his breath & said, "oooooo... I've have bad experiences with American Audio..." So are you going to let him say, "I told you so" or fix this thing (BTW, a recall counts as a fix in my book so recall away!).
And PLEASE don't ask me to provide you with the brand of mics and brand of cables and how hot the gain was and how hot the master was... THAT'S YOUR JOB! In 20 years of DJing I've never had a company ask me to troubleshoot a product I paid hundreds of dollars for ($50 off retail at the expo isn't enough for this headache). If you want me to beta test this thing then give me all my money back and I'll suffer through it. Otherwise give me my money back and let me get a product that meets my needs.
Whew. That feels better.
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