Thanks to our vibrant and on the ball community (thanks Stvei Foader), word has reached my inbox about what the new STPVESTAX mixer looks like. Previously, we had only seen a mere morsel of what promised to be a DJ wet dream. But now the STPVESTAX site now contains more images (mainly renders), and a new statement from Hidestato Shiino regarding the Vestax legacy.
First, the statement because it contains some important info for existing Vestax owners:
VESTAX REBORN – stpVx
Previously retired VESTAX Founder – Hidesato Shiino – to rebrand and release a new series of sound products under the name “stpVx” from March 2016.
JAN 11, 2016 – Tokyo, JAPAN: VESTAX Corporation, originally founded by Hidesato Shiino in November 1977 (and from which he retired in April 2002), went into bankruptcy proceedings in December 2014. Greatly disappointed on hearing the news of the demise of a company he had worked so hard to develop, and a company that he had left in great financial and operational shape, Hidesato Shiino spent 2015 developing a plan to regenerate the same great vibe and reputation that he had built up to 2002. To achieve this, he called upon his original production talent to research, design and manufacture a new MIXER, as the first in a series of products expected to be released from End-March 2016.
The Shiino ‘mantra’ behind this return …
“Manufacturing requires boundless passion. And a person must be driven, and aggressively and progressively create and produce – through inspiration and perspiration – while learning by trial and error.”
While it is not yet possible to reach commercial-level production or high-volume output, Hidesato Shiino hopes the Mixer rebranded as stpVx will be well received by the legion of global VESTAX fans. The highest standards of sound production have been the priority behind its development. It will also be matched with a distinct yet subtle design. In 2016 he will sequentially announce a range of new products such as a power amplifier, signal devices, turntable, SP system, and pre-amplifiers. Prices, release dates, ordering procedure etc will be provided in the coming months.
Again from the Founder …
“No one knew the truth as to how on earth VESTAX had folded. But as its Founder, I felt I had the duty to research why, and an obligation to report it to all. For some years the new management’s position was ‘We can’t make something from scratch’ as ‘new products can’t be sold’. As a result, creative people disappeared from Vestax. Upon the company closing, a check was made on product-quality, and it was found to be quite inferior when compared with the 2002 output standards.”
★ Important Message for VESTAX Fans and Users: It should be noted that there are no current plans to provide support, software/firmware updates or repairs for existing or past VESTAX products, nor to recommence manufacture or sales of them. The stpVx range is a new line with no business nor production ties to the now closed VESTAX Corporation.
And finally …
“I sincerely apologize to the many DJ’s who have endorsed and still love VESTAX, as well as to those who gave great efforts to develop and sell our products in the DJ world, for the disappointing ending to VESTAX. Away from the company for 13 years, I entrusted its growth and vision to the new management. But they did not perform for you as I had hoped. Previously, everyone had regarded VESTAX as a company with a strong sense of direction, and that as a Japanese company it would not fall prey to novelty. I think it lost sight of its core manufacturing purpose, as well its direction, imagination, and governance.”
“Hoping for your understanding and future support.”
Hidesato Shiino ~ Founder: VESTAX Corporation
For Further Information: @: info@stpvestax.com W: www.stpvestax.com
VESTAX IS DEAD — OFFICIAL
Looking past the new exciting stuff coming from STPVESTAX, let’s take a moment to dwell on the specifics regarding existing Vestax customers. Pulling out the Vestax bit once again:
★ Important Message for VESTAX Fans and Users: It should be noted that there are no current plans to provide support, software/firmware updates or repairs for existing or past VESTAX products, nor to recommence manufacture or sales of them. The stpVx range is a new line with no business nor production ties to the now closed VESTAX Corporation.
I know many of you have been hoping for at least updates to Vestax controllers, in particular the VCI-380 and making it Serato DVS ready. But it’s quite clear that the Vestax that we know and love is completely over. I’m sure some will be upset, but that’s the way things go when businesses go bust, and no amount online moaning and calling for Kickstarter campaigns to release firmware into the open source community is going to change that. You really have to accept that this statement draws a line under Vestax.
All that is left is one last moment of silence for another fallen hero of the DJ scene. RIP Vestax.
LONG LIVE STPVX!
While we will absolutely mourn the upsetting news of Vestax being no more, we can at least spend a little time pouring over the new mixer. The construction is a refreshing change, and adopts a very modular feel with a heap of individual circuit boards and a chassis reminiscent of Urei mixers. It’s four channels (strangely only three of them are phono-switchable — I hope that’s fixed before launch) with three band (no kill) EQ and balance controls. It also looks like you can assign aux inputs into each channel, and select where they appear in the audio chain too via the pre/off/post switches. Each channel also has cross fader assign controls, as well as line and channel and curves. But no filters?
About the faders — given that they’re all removable, I’m hoping that the line faders will get a rotary unit. This also makes me happy because a fully rotary mixer with a crossfader is something that people have asked for since rotary mixers started to gain popularity again.
Getting into the pro territory is the isolator EQ section. There’s some interesting freq control switches that look to control the crossover, but it’s hard to tell anything concrete from a render. And what exactly does an “enhancer” do? At this point, it also misses booth output.
MISSING IN ACTION
At this point, there are some notable omissions that you would reasonably expect on a premium DJ mixer, namely a missing phono channel, fader reverses, EQ kills, filters, headphone minijack, and booth output. And given the mockup shot that has been posted and the projected date of March, I’m guessing that they’ll remain missing too. On a mixer such as this, I can live without some of them, but filters are pretty much essential tools for DJs. I know I would miss them.
That said, the inclusion of the flexible aux send and returns, as well as the pre/post switches does leave the door open to external effects units, so you will be able to add an external box into your chain to make up for the lack of onboard filters.
One last thing — I’ve been praying for a new mixer with real VU meters for ever. I’m just hoping that there’s a way for me to add wood trims to the sides, something that would make this mixer so much better for me. Keep it classy stpVx.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I’m sure many are reading through teary eyes at the clear end of old Vestax. But what do you think of the new pro audio aimed mixer? Happy with the clear nod towards the aesthetics of old Vestax? Does this get your mixing juices flowing like the first time you saw the Rane MP2015?