Mixer Reviews

[Chef Napalm]

In the market for new gear? Looking for the most bang for your buck/punch for your pound/explosion for your euro? Me too. So, let's hear some opinions.

Personally, I'm leaning towards an Allen & Heath Xone 62, Ecler Nuo5, or possibly the new Mackie d.4 PRO.

Any thoughts?

 

[redcrescent]

That's some pretty high-end stuff you're looking at, Chef! Is this for home use or for playing out? Don't know if I would take anything but my knackered Gemini battle mixer to the places I play. Never mind the spilled drinks, I don't want to get knifed for a piece of gear.

For maximum pow! for my peso I always thought the Behringer range to be very good value. Sadly the DX1000 seems to have been discontinued, a good workhorse that one. The 'kill' switches are more like 'stun' if you get what I mean, but mercifully most club rigs will let you get away with it.

 

[Alfons]

my flatmate just got a new mixer which we're using at home. Pioneer DJM800, I quite like it, beter sound quality than the 600 imo and the some of the effects are cool (echo, delay, rev del, roll = yay filter, robot, chorus = nay). Some downsides; eq's don't kill, small knob for master volume, no send return per channel... But it's a nice mixer, fun to play around with.

If I was buying a mixer for myself I'd probably go with a Xone.

 

[Canada J Soup]

I've been wanting to buy a fancy mixer for years, but the Vestax PMC-06 I picked up years ago for a song has yet to do me wrong and since I hardly DJ at all any more these days it's not really something I can currently justify. That said, I've heard a fair few people sing the praises of the Xone 62 and I used to love, love, love the Ecler MAC50 and would really like to try out what they're making these days.

Isn't there a version of the Xone that has MIDI controls so you can integrate control of VSTs and the like when laptop mixing? Would love to check that out with a Final Scratch or Serrato and Abelton Live setup. Imagine there could be some really fun stuff to be done...

 

[Alfons]

Isn't there a version of the Xone that has MIDI controls so you can integrate control of VSTs and the like when laptop mixing? Would love to check that out with a Final Scratch or Serrato and Abelton Live setup. Imagine there could be some really fun stuff to be done...

Xone 3d it's not cheap though!

http://www.intermusic-pro.com/upload/productos/xone3d2.jpg

If I had one of these I'd rig my entire house with midi Control everything from the mixer!

 

[Gabba Flamenco Crossover]

I find that the Kenwood Kitchenmaster gets my meringues deliciously light and fluffy, and it's also good for soups.

 

[Chef Napalm]

That's some pretty high-end stuff you're looking at, Chef! Is this for home use or for playing out? Don't know if I would take anything but my knackered Gemini battle mixer to the places I play. Never mind the spilled drinks, I don't want to get knifed for a piece of gear.

Right now I'm running a Numark DM1885X. It had everything I wanted at the time: 5 channels & kill switches. It's well laid out and, unlike the Pioneers, my fingers don't hit the adjascent knobs when I'm fiddling the EQ. I wish it had an effects section instead of the 16bit sampler, but you know what they say about beggars and choosers. I want to upgrade from that which means quality rather than features, although as I say an effects section would be nice.

Isn't there a version of the Xone that has MIDI controls so you can integrate control of VSTs and the like when laptop mixing? Would love to check that out with a Final Scratch or Serrato and Abelton Live setup. Imagine there could be some really fun stuff to be done...

That Mackie mixer had Firewire!

I find that the Kenwood Kitchenmaster gets my meringues deliciously light and fluffy, and it's also good for soups.

MY threads will NOT be derailed by dumbassery!

 

[Chef Napalm]

What about Rotary vs. Linear faders? I was playing around with a Rane Empath Rotary yesterday afternoon and it seemed so much smoother than conventional linear faders. Is it worth the extra cost?

 

[ripley]

rotary v. linear depends also on the style of mixing you do. I find it much easier to gauge distance on a linear fader than on a rotary. So if I'm doing a lot of cutting or something where I'm not looking at my hands I prefer linear faders.

my impression is that hip-hop style gravitates towards linear and techno djs who endlessly tweak tiny levels this way and that lean towards the rotary.

 

[Chef Napalm]

Another feature I'm looking for is VUs for every channel. The A&H and Mackie d pros have this feature. What other mixers do?

 

[Chef Napalm]

*bump*

 

[Gabba Flamenco Crossover]

I'm planning on getting a Ecler Nuo2 in a few months once I've got some spare cash. I was gonna get one before xmas but ended splurging it on studio gear instead.

I played on the Nuo4 recently and it is a lush mixer. But I don't need all those channels. I like the way the Nuo2 looks like a 2 channel battle mixer, but it has an extra channel hidden in the top down the middle. Cool.

 

[Chef Napalm]

The whole Ecler Nuo line is really nice. They've obviously put a lot of thought into the layout.

Lovely big knobs for twiddling.

 

[hint]

The Rane Empath combined with the Pioneer EFX500 is my ultimate set-up.

The Pioneer DJM series is nice, but the earlier models don't hold up so well in regular use. The 800 seems to be an improvement in this respect. The Ecler Nuos come highly recommended as a good alternative - I haven't had a chance to try them yet though.


On a rotary tip, a lot of big names are jumping on the DJR400 bandwagon:

http://www.electronique-spectacle.com/djr400.htm

Small enough to take it to every gig and the sound is supposed to be incredible. Optional wood side panels!

Only really suitable if you're doing long blends though, or want to be the new Larry Levan.

 

[tryptych]

Some years ago, when I had some disposable income and dreams of being a turntablist (hah!) I splashed out on a Rane 56:

http://www.rane.com/ttm56.html

Rugged as fuck, lovely clean layout and all non contact faders. Good sound, and the LOUDEST headphone output I had ever heard. I never got it above 3 out of 10 on the dial.

It is however, very specialised for it's job, and frankly my skills just aren't up to taking full advantage of its features, and am selling it onto a hip hop DJ mate.

What I really want is to be able to use laptop w/ableton in combination with vinyl - so do I buy a separate mixer and controller for my laptop (such as the Faderfox LC2) or just get a mixer with firewire/usb so the faders etc can control laptop elements as well?

Such as the previously mentioned Mackie d.4 or the Ecler Evo 5 which looks pretty awesome, and unlike the Mackie all the faders ans switches transmit MIDI. Downsides are price (around £1000) and I don't think it has a non-contact crossfader.

EDIT:

God, that looks awesome actually - much better than the Allen & Heath one..

 

[turtles]

What I really want is to be able to use laptop w/ableton in combination with vinyl - so do I buy a separate mixer and controller for my laptop (such as the Faderfox LC2) or just get a mixer with firewire/usb so the faders etc can control laptop elements as well?

Me too! Having recently exited the student world and entered the working world, I now have the free time and disposable income to try and learn how to mix I have a bunch of records but also a whole wack of mp3s and I would like to be able to mix using both (using ableton or tractor I s'pose). Is it really worth getting a physical controller for the laptop, or can I just use the software controls, and feed the straight audio out into the mixer?

(also: woohoo, first dissensus post from new job...hehehe)

 

[tryptych]

I think I'm going to go with the faderfox + separate mixer combination, as having everything built into your mixer necessitates taking it wherever you play...