Pros - It's a very solid metal body. Having buttons for all the cueing /looping and basically all the functions of the program is great. Software runs as you would expect from Serato - flawless. The pitch range setting is a bit odd - as it takes you out of the zero range of your beat and jumps you into a whole other bpm range. At first I didn't like this but as I mess with it I think I'm in love. Kind of wish the all the knobs were a little chunkier, but on a positive note they do feel solid and have a good tightness to the twist.

Cons - the faders feel light and airy not like a mixer but more like a midi controller - in contrast the pitch faders feel pretty solid. I'm not used to Vestax mixers so this may be the norm. The more I use them the more I get used to them. The tension controller is a good thing but it's going to take to time to get it adjusted to where it feels just right for you - there's a wide range of how far that thing will tighten or loosen - I most often use CDJ 800 which I don't really care to scratch on, the VCI-300 feels scratch worthy. Scratching is good but there is sticker slip, try doing a scribble and watch yourself readjust all the way around the platter as you try and keep centered on the sound. After using Scratch Live for so long in the regular configuration of vertical waveforms it's hard to get used to the new layout. Having a vertical option is great but I would like to be able to have the song info on top as well as the overall song layout running vertical as well.

Other things - The bpm of the song changes in the main display as you change pitch - I was very curious about if this was the case. Auto sync seems to work but I don't think it's something I would use or ever be used to using. The finish is piano black glossy much like most HD TVs these days. I'm more of a matte finish kind of guy and I think this unit would have felt more pro if it had one - like a Rane faceplate. I have a weekly gig that I'm in and out of playing between bands. It's short and sweet and I'm hoping this unit is just the right thing for it.