Vestax
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
began in 1977 as a designer and manufacturer of electronic guitars
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. In the 1980s Vestax introduced a series of cassette based multitracks to challenge established products from Fostex, Yamaha and Tascam's portastudios. Today, as music making continues to evolve in this high-tech age, Vestax are more commonly known for innovative sound developments such as signal processors
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
, DJ Mixers
DJ mixer
A DJ mixer is a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys.The key features that differentiate a DJ mixer from other types of audio mixers are the ability to redirect a non-playing source to headphones and the presence of a crossfader, which allows for an easier transition between two sources...
, professional turntables
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
and Compact Disc player
Compact disc player
A Compact Disc player , or CD player, is an electronic device that plays audio Compact Discs. CD players are often a part of home stereo systems, car audio systems, and personal computers. They are also manufactured as portable devices...
s.
By concentrating their efforts into the needs of nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s and Disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s, their mixers have become favourites of international DJs such as Carl Cox
Carl Cox
Carl Cox is a British techno and house music DJ.-Biography:Cox grew up in Oldham, Lancashire, before attending Glastonbury High Boys secondary modern school on Glastonbury Road in Morden. Cox began his career as a hardcore and rave DJ in the mid 1980s...
, DJ QBert and Cut Chemist. Mixers such as the various iterations of the PMC-05pro have become staples of the Hip Hop DJ community, and they also have manufactured signature models for DJ's such as Carl Cox and DJ Qbert.
During the late 1990s Vestax launched a new flagship range of professional DJ turntables. The PDX models had higher specifications than the two market leading products from Technics
Technics (brand)
1960s:*SX-601 Electronic Organ — an origin of Technics SX keyboard series, the result of cooperative works of National Electronic Organ Company and Ace Tone...
and were priced in direct competition with the Technics SL1210/SL1200.
However the industry standard Technics SL1210/SL1200 models remained the favourite of DJs worldwide, mostly due to the almost 20 year head start
Head start (positioning)
In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...
they have had to become established. There have also been some build quality issues reported throughout 2008 and 2009.
This pattern of events has been replicated by other DJ equipment manufacturers such as Numark
Numark (DJ equipment)
Numark Industries is a global DJ equipment brand. It makes DJ mixers, turntables, and DJ CD players. Recently, it introduced DJ DVD mixing consoles. Numark has also started to build upon the world of computer DJing through its own mixing software called Cue...
, Gemini
Gemini Sound Products
Gemini Sound Products Corporation is a worldwide manufacturer of professional audio and mobile DJ equipment, including DJ CD players, DJ turntables, DJ mixers, professional amplifiers, loudspeakers, wireless microphones & DJ audio effects...
and Stanton
Stanton Magnetics
Stanton Magnetics, founded in 1946, is a manufacturer of professional and consumer audio equipment. Most of its products are aimed at DJs. It is a wholly owned subsidiary company of the privately owned Stanton Group who also own Cerwin-Vega and KRK Systems...
. It is worth noting though that while many of these turntables have either a higher specification or lower cost, in sheer numbers sold they are still dwarfed by the various versions of the SL-1200.
Today Vestax has reduced its range of turntables, the PDX-2000mk2/2300mk2 for mainstream DJ use, and the PDX-2000mk2pro/PDX-2300pro with a new tonearm suspension system for increased skip resistance. In conjunction with DJ Qbert they have also released the QFO and QFO LE models, which are turntables with built in mixers, and a portable turntable/mixer that is capable of battery power. It is also worth noting that Vestax is the first manufacturer to release a vinyl cutting machine.
One of Vestax's main innovations with their turntable was the introduction of the straight tone arm, which supposedly gave greater tracking force; useful for complex DJing maneuvers such as scratching or beat juggling. This has been adopted by virtually all other turntable manufacturers, with the exception of Technics. Some maintain however that the straight arm increases wear upon the record. This is based on the premise that the original 's' shaped tonearm is so designed as to naturally gravitate toward the center of the record. The straight arm will not do this, and so will theoretically drag more as the record rotates, wearing down the grooves. Vestax however have consistently denied this. Turntables have been made for many years with straight tone arms and other varying designs. The crucial aspect of the record player is cartridge and stylus alignment which relates to how records are made (cut) Baerwald ca. 1941 showed that the tracking error of a pivoted stylus could be minimized if the stylus is aligned such that it is parallel to the groove at two points along its curved path. As long as the stylus is set correctly there will be minimal undesired wear on a standard record for any style or shape of tonearm.