n00b fan question, can all fans be controlled?

can pretty much all fans be hooked up to a fan controller and have their speed regulated by a fan controller without modding the fan or anything? ive only bought 2 fans, both from thermaltake(one was on a hs, the other was a smart fan2) and both can be regulated, but what about others? (i know this is a noob question, but im thinking of buying some better case fans and i dont want them going full blast all the time)

Normally the fanspeed is controlled by how much voltage you send it, so yes you can control the speed of any fan (in theory). For my case you just plug the fans in the 'fan speed control' and there's a knob in the front to regulate the speed/power.

It's pretty nice. I actually tend to run my case fans at near full speed, but my HSF is at 3000rpm (quiet). I can turn it up IF needed, but keep it low most of the time

Any fan can be controlled, you are only limited by your controller.

<-- is petrified of lettuce.... It's scary!!!!

In answer to your question... Yes, any fan's speed can be controlled w/ any of these.

I'll be picking up the Vantec Nexus 5.25 bay controller in black pretty soon.

Speed control can be accomplished in a variety of ways, and they all work for pretty much all fans. You can limit the current (resistors, potentiometers), lower the voltage (tougher to do), or use pulse width modulation. Pulse width modulation is generally not a good idea. It works similarly to a microwave's "medium" power setting; where the device gets full power for a short period of time, and then no power at all for a short period; sort of like attaching it to a simple switch and flicking it on and off really fast.

Fans with internal temperature controls can be hard to control. They might just react funny.