Crossfader: who really uses it? I am just curious about this. I've been DJ'ing for 2 years now and today I laughed when I looked at my crossfader, as I realized I never use it. And I mean, never, for anything!
I spin Tech House, Techno, Minimal, Tribal, etc.
Who in here feels that the crossfader is totally unnecessary in dance music?
And if you feel it is needed, how do you use it? |
Bryon Niccoli
31.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by johney
oh there's your problem.
i have a numark mixer and the fader and eq curves are pretty shit.
the third white line (from the top) on the fader - the bold one - is where the channel volume is at what i believe is 50%, above that line, every milimeter is a great change in volume, and below that, you can't really hear anything
Bloody Numarks, eh? And you have to switch clean the crossfader all the time even if you're NOT a scratch DJ |
Augustine Mitzen
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJ Millenium Falcon
I can't remember the model of the mixer but it's a Numark, cost the equivalent of 200 US dollars ten years ago. The Upfaders do work, but it's only when the upfader is 1.5cm above zero that you begin to audibly hear anything. If I moved the crossfader 1.5cm trust me you'd no about it. What I'm arguing is that Upfaders aren't great for use in the home- they are too gradual and unless you've got you're speakers turned up quite loud (enjoy your noise abatement order) they are more tricky to use than the crossfader as that 1.5cm is wasted space. But I understand fully that in a club or in a really loud set up they offer a lot more control.
oh there's your problem.
i have a numark mixer and the fader and eq curves are pretty shit.
the third white line (from the top) on the fader - the bold one - is where the channel volume is at what i believe is 50%, above that line, every milimeter is a great change in volume, and below that, you can't really hear anything |
Bryon Niccoli
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
Depends on how you set your gains
As I understand it you want each channel to peak at 0 decibels, your mixers master output has to peak at 0 decibels (so both working in tandem). That means the best possible sound quality is entering your amplifier. Then if you want to make things louder than that (like in old LPs where it's a struggle to boost the gain to 0 decibels) you turn up the amplifier. |
nayit ruiz jaramillo
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJ Millenium Falcon
What's your home set up like, as opposed to clubevening
s where the sheer noise means minute adjustments make a big difference? Do you have the same problem as me in that unless your amplifier is set so loud you'd be arrested, the upfaders just don't work well. It's a mystery to me, like those inflatable orange 'water wings' that were meant to make turntables more stable but good luck to the man who tries to cue up a record on a glorified bouncy castle.
I believe he means that he hears very little difference in volume when moving the channel faders up at low volume (in the bedroom) as opposed to in the club where a small change can mean much increased volume. Depends on how you set your gains. This also depends on the faders and if they have a curve on them.
It also depends on how sh*t your mixer is or rather, how good it is.
As for the "water wings" yeah I have seen them and in certain circumstances they work to dampen vibration but there are better methods. |
Hellen Mindrup
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJ Millenium Falcon
What's your home set up like, as opposed to clubevening
s where the sheer noise means minute adjustments make a big difference? Do you have the same problem as me in that unless your amplifier is set so loud you'd be arrested, the upfaders just don't work well. It's a mystery to me, like those inflatable orange 'water wings' that were meant to make turntables more stable but good luck to the man who tries to cue up a record on a glorified bouncy castle.
I tried, but got nothing. |
Lilliana Perris
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by johney
what?
Agreed...
Volume faders making no diff?
What you mixing on man? |
Leoma Larouche
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by romero717
Scratching, something almost ALL DJ's SHOULD know how to do, and since you're not "using" it, you obviously don't know how to scratch
That's not strictly true. I believe the hardest part of scratching is not actually spinning the decks, but rather operating the cross-fader. However, I've seen DMC dudes using the line-phono switch as a cross fader. In fact, most of the time the cross fader is used as a switch except when doing slow transitions between two decks. Plus I normally do my transitions using the level faders anyway, because this way I have better control over the overall level of the mix (with the cross fader centred the mix sounds louder than when fully left or fully right). So today I figured I could replace the x-fader with three buttons on my MIDI controller and bingo!! I was instantly able to do insane crabs. So I guess I can scratch now. |
Jamie Fajen
13.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJBife
I am just curious about this. I've been DJ'ing for 2 years now and today I laughed when I looked at my crossfader, as I realized I never use it. And I mean, never, for anything!
I spin Tech House, Techno, Minimal, Tribal, etc.
Who in here feels that the crossfader is totally unnecessary in dance music?
And if you feel it is needed, how do you use it?
Scratching, something almost ALL DJ's SHOULD know how to do, and since you're not "using" it, you obviously don't know how to scratch |
Lincoln Ehlen
12.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by dripstep
Scratching, yes. Mixing anything, and its all volume faders.
Im sorry if this is redundant. but why would you say use volume faders primarily for mixing? i was tought by my guru to use the crossfader. but he was also a scratch maniac. Im a edm dj so i wanna hear the side to what you have to say. maybe it will help improve my sets. |
Marjory Dessellier
12.11.2013 | I never use it haha i just use the volume faders |
Bryon Niccoli
31.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by johney
oh there's your problem.
i have a numark mixer and the fader and eq curves are pretty shit.
the third white line (from the top) on the fader - the bold one - is where the channel volume is at what i believe is 50%, above that line, every milimeter is a great change in volume, and below that, you can't really hear anything
Bloody Numarks, eh? And you have to switch clean the crossfader all the time even if you're NOT a scratch DJ |
Augustine Mitzen
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJ Millenium Falcon
I can't remember the model of the mixer but it's a Numark, cost the equivalent of 200 US dollars ten years ago. The Upfaders do work, but it's only when the upfader is 1.5cm above zero that you begin to audibly hear anything. If I moved the crossfader 1.5cm trust me you'd no about it. What I'm arguing is that Upfaders aren't great for use in the home- they are too gradual and unless you've got you're speakers turned up quite loud (enjoy your noise abatement order) they are more tricky to use than the crossfader as that 1.5cm is wasted space. But I understand fully that in a club or in a really loud set up they offer a lot more control.
oh there's your problem.
i have a numark mixer and the fader and eq curves are pretty shit.
the third white line (from the top) on the fader - the bold one - is where the channel volume is at what i believe is 50%, above that line, every milimeter is a great change in volume, and below that, you can't really hear anything |
Bryon Niccoli
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
Depends on how you set your gains
As I understand it you want each channel to peak at 0 decibels, your mixers master output has to peak at 0 decibels (so both working in tandem). That means the best possible sound quality is entering your amplifier. Then if you want to make things louder than that (like in old LPs where it's a struggle to boost the gain to 0 decibels) you turn up the amplifier. |
Bryon Niccoli
30.10.2013 | I can't remember the model of the mixer but it's a Numark, cost the equivalent of 200 US dollars ten years ago. The Upfaders do work, but it's only when the upfader is 1.5cm above zero that you begin to audibly hear anything. If I moved the crossfader 1.5cm trust me you'd no about it. What I'm arguing is that Upfaders aren't great for use in the home- they are too gradual and unless you've got you're speakers turned up quite loud (enjoy your noise abatement order) they are more tricky to use than the crossfader as that 1.5cm is wasted space. But I understand fully that in a club or in a really loud set up they offer a lot more control. |
nayit ruiz jaramillo
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJ Millenium Falcon
What's your home set up like, as opposed to clubevening
s where the sheer noise means minute adjustments make a big difference? Do you have the same problem as me in that unless your amplifier is set so loud you'd be arrested, the upfaders just don't work well. It's a mystery to me, like those inflatable orange 'water wings' that were meant to make turntables more stable but good luck to the man who tries to cue up a record on a glorified bouncy castle.
I believe he means that he hears very little difference in volume when moving the channel faders up at low volume (in the bedroom) as opposed to in the club where a small change can mean much increased volume. Depends on how you set your gains. This also depends on the faders and if they have a curve on them.
It also depends on how sh*t your mixer is or rather, how good it is.
As for the "water wings" yeah I have seen them and in certain circumstances they work to dampen vibration but there are better methods. |
Yong Aptekar
30.10.2013 | 2 turntables, 1 home stereo, and only volume faders for mixing. I can turn it up a lot, or a little with those little guys. Mr. Millennium, what are you on about? |
Hellen Mindrup
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJ Millenium Falcon
What's your home set up like, as opposed to clubevening
s where the sheer noise means minute adjustments make a big difference? Do you have the same problem as me in that unless your amplifier is set so loud you'd be arrested, the upfaders just don't work well. It's a mystery to me, like those inflatable orange 'water wings' that were meant to make turntables more stable but good luck to the man who tries to cue up a record on a glorified bouncy castle.
I tried, but got nothing. |
Lilliana Perris
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by johney
what?
Agreed...
Volume faders making no diff?
What you mixing on man? |
Augustine Mitzen
30.10.2013 | what? |
Bryon Niccoli
30.10.2013 | What's your home set up like, as opposed to clubevening
s where the sheer noise means minute adjustments make a big difference? Do you have the same problem as me in that unless your amplifier is set so loud you'd be arrested, the upfaders just don't work well. It's a mystery to me, like those inflatable orange 'water wings' that were meant to make turntables more stable but good luck to the man who tries to cue up a record on a glorified bouncy castle. |
Lawana Mileto
30.10.2013 | Never use the crossfader, I mix House/Techno.
Why? well, you don't have as much control over volume. There's a reason why channel faders are a lot longer, you have more control over the individual channels. For smooth mixes etc I don't see why you'd use the crossfader over the line faders. |
Bryon Niccoli
30.10.2013 | I don't know about you but I DJ vinyl. I have each records gain set at around 0 decibel at the track's highest point, so the loudest you can get it is the next light above 0 decibel, due to the fact that when you're playing two tunes together there's always going to be a slight rise in volume. I don't mind the odd crackle or pop sending it into the red now & again.
My Master gain for the mixer matches the Pre fader level (ie. the gain knobs) perfectly, so in theory everything should be hitting the amplifier at 0 decibel. But here's the problem with upfaders. Unless you live in a house in the country with the neighbours your amplifier is never going to be that loud. This means that you need to move the upfader very close to the top before you can hear anything. With a crossfader you can hear track 2 coming ever so slightly even after moving it just a few millimetres. To my mind Upfaders only work properly in a loud environment, ie. a club. |
Leoma Larouche
30.10.2013 |
Originally Posted by romero717
Scratching, something almost ALL DJ's SHOULD know how to do, and since you're not "using" it, you obviously don't know how to scratch
That's not strictly true. I believe the hardest part of scratching is not actually spinning the decks, but rather operating the cross-fader. However, I've seen DMC dudes using the line-phono switch as a cross fader. In fact, most of the time the cross fader is used as a switch except when doing slow transitions between two decks. Plus I normally do my transitions using the level faders anyway, because this way I have better control over the overall level of the mix (with the cross fader centred the mix sounds louder than when fully left or fully right). So today I figured I could replace the x-fader with three buttons on my MIDI controller and bingo!! I was instantly able to do insane crabs. So I guess I can scratch now. |
Jamie Fajen
13.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by DJBife
I am just curious about this. I've been DJ'ing for 2 years now and today I laughed when I looked at my crossfader, as I realized I never use it. And I mean, never, for anything!
I spin Tech House, Techno, Minimal, Tribal, etc.
Who in here feels that the crossfader is totally unnecessary in dance music?
And if you feel it is needed, how do you use it?
Scratching, something almost ALL DJ's SHOULD know how to do, and since you're not "using" it, you obviously don't know how to scratch |
Augustine Mitzen
13.08.2013 | Because you have control over individual channels rather then the ratio at which they're mixed together |
Lincoln Ehlen
12.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by dripstep
Scratching, yes. Mixing anything, and its all volume faders.
Im sorry if this is redundant. but why would you say use volume faders primarily for mixing? i was tought by my guru to use the crossfader. but he was also a scratch maniac. Im a edm dj so i wanna hear the side to what you have to say. maybe it will help improve my sets. |
Arnulfo Morten
12.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by Ryan Ruel
Almost never. I use a Rane rotary, so it really doesn't suit my mixing style. Once in a while I'll do a quick cut with it.
Rotary hell yea!!! Das Gangsta Is it the Empath? |
Breanne Penge
12.08.2013 | ^Indeed.
I Using it all the time myself. Essential for scratching and cutting. |
Lilliana Perris
12.08.2013 | Depends on what I want to do.
Usually, I use the line faders to bring the track in etc.
But if I wanna do a quick transform, X Fader is your man....innit? |
Caleb Demillo
12.08.2013 | Almost never. I use a Rane rotary, so it really doesn't suit my mixing style. Once in a while I'll do a quick cut with it. |
Ervin Calvery
12.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by vekked
on topic:
There are a lot of techniques and mixing styles based on using the crossfader (mostly from a hip-hop djing background of course). I'm not really sure why anyone wouldn't want to use the x-fader unless they just didn't want to be as creative and versatile as they could be. It's weird how different djing scenes seem to disregard the mixing techniques of other scenes, like why wouldn't you want to learn how to trick mix, scratch, do long blends, mix in key, etc if you wanted to be the best dj you could be? I guess the answer is that a lot of djs just don't want to be the best they can be...
truth |
Nelida Ghouse
12.08.2013 | On topic:
There are a LOT of techniques and mixing styles based on using the crossfader (mostly from a hip-hop DJing background of course). I'm not really sure why anyone wouldn't want to use the x-fader unless they just didn't want to be as creative and versatile as they could be. It's weird how different DJing scenes seem to disregard the mixing techniques of other scenes, like why wouldn't you want to learn how to trick mix, scratch, do long blends, mix in key, etc if you wanted to be the best DJ you could be? I guess the answer is that a lot of DJs just don't want to be the best they can be... |
Stephenie Liloia
12.08.2013 | i find myself using all of the above, faders, cross fader & gain. Depends what I am wanting to do & I am not the type to scratch.
been at it for nearly 5 years now. |
Nelida Ghouse
12.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by mdcdesign
This, basically. I can't scratch for shit because I can't do that crabbing thing...
I literally NEVER crab. Tbh it's kind of an over-rated scratch because it LOOKS cool, but when you believe about it, how often in music are you really going to need/want to play a bunch of 64th notes? It's not a very rhtyhmic/versatile scratch.
So with that being said, a spring loaded x-fader wouldn't be a great idea because it would help you to do 1 scratch of limited use, and make all of the other more significant scratches a lot harder, lol. |
Cassie Sangermano
12.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
I use the crossfader no matter what music I am spinning. It's a habit thing. I like the safety of knowing that the crossfader is to one side and that I wont accidentally air a track whilst cueing.
I'm with Karlos on this one. I use the crossfader for everything, for the exact reason stated above. I do also use the line faders for slight volume adjustments, but most of the time it's pure crossfader. |
Ming Devis
12.08.2013 | I hardly ever use mine and my scratching skills are non existent!
Pretty keen to get some good hip hop and have a go though. |
Reda Holdsworth
12.08.2013 |
Originally Posted by botstein
i use it all the time, but i'm a turntablist. For me, the fader makes or breaks the mixer.
qft |
Audrey Pinda
11.08.2013 | Honestly I used it at first. But then I played on some really beat to crap mixers, talked with some of the local DJ's about how they worked their mixing, and really focused on NOT using it. I much prefer it, even for fast cuts at this point.
When I end up using the crossfader, since I hardly ever use the damned thing, I will sometimes forget about it. That is absolutely the worst. So I just don't use it.
I have been working on practicing scratching, and for that, it is useful. But for my general mixing and where I am comfortable now? It's something I just don't bother with because it just gets me in trouble. |
Augustine Mitzen
11.08.2013 | no, i don't use it. 100% channel faders
though it |
Latoria Kavulich
11.08.2013 | shows how old i am then |
