Questions for the DB4 owners or users. Hopefully this is not the wrong section to post this question.
I am taking a serious look at this mixer and had a few questions for anyone that has spent a good amount of time with the mixer and it's features.
I am hoping to use it for DJing as well as integrating it into my home studio so here we go...
1. How is the quality of the soundcard? I have read a few reviews on the mixer and although the overall sound quality of the mixer is ranked high not much is stated about the soundcard. Right now I am using an RME Multiface I and am hoping I can sell it to offset the cost of the DB4.
2. When recording in a DAW program, can the mixer be routed so you can play back your recorded material in one channel, play the signal you want to record in another channel but record without getting the previously recorded material. Maybe route the original recording material to output to the booth section and have the new material set to the master. I then could route both outputs to my Mackie Big Knob to hear them combined.
3. I have a lot of vinyl I want to start archiving to replace digital copies I have been using. Would the DB4 be a high quality converter into my DAW?
4. Has anyone tried it with Scratchlive? Is there a quality drop incorporating one of their boxes like the SL-3 or SL-4?
5. Taking the effects out of the equation, how would the mixer compare to the DJM-900 as far as sound quality? A friend of mine said the sound quality is equal but he is a diehard Pio fan.
6. Taking the effects out of the equation, , how would the mixer compare to the Rane Sixty Eight as far as sound quality?
7. Will the mixer fit in a standard 12inch mixer roadcase? Most of them accomodate up to 12.5inchesI have a bunch of cases already and really don't want to have to spring for another one.
8. Thoughts on the durability of the mixer and components? Skratchworx spoke highly of the mixer but was iffy on the line faders. How do the effects buttons feel? The chrome look screams cheap to me but again it is just a design choice they made.
9. Is the crossfader user replaceable? Can you install an aftermarket crossfader in it?
Thanks for the help and sorry if any of this has been asked before. |
Cliff Lohman
18.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
No, it detects perfectly every time pretty much; I just don't really understand what the range setting is doing.
Ya.. Noticed the same.. I dunno.. Im just happy it actually works |
Danae Dumler
17.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
I believe that in the db4s case - it does detect outside the ranges.. I believe i have it set to 90 to 150 and it will detect 80 bpm for slow songs. That said, i havent really touched it because i havent noticed ANY bad bpm readouts yet so i cant say if it performs any different if u change it.
U got any track titles that u could give an example with that u believe db4 might not be handling well? It really is the best bpm detection ive personally seen on a mixer..
No, it detects perfectly every time pretty much; I just don't really understand what the range setting is doing. |
Cliff Lohman
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
He was saying he wanted to route the output out of the db4, into ableton, then back to the db4 creating a send/return loop. Not sure if you can do this.
If you just want a 5th channel you can hook up a soundcard and run it to the mic in, this is how Dubfire routes Maschine with Traktor (not sure if he uses two laptops or aggregates). This will be real easy when the K2 comes out since you will have your extra sound card right there, and if you own a DB4 you would be crazy not to buy a K2 if you use a laptop.
Got ya.. The source being turntable or cdj input? If so, I believe u can but ull lose a channel..
Couldnt u set it up so that:
- DB4 channel 4 is the link to Ableton
- then using the input matrix, u could basically dictate whether the music source from channels 1, 2 or 3 are being fed into ableton.
- then ableton kicks the output to channel 4
I dunno.. probly better ways to do it but im pretty sure u can get creative with the input matrix of the db4 to somehow leverage ableton without sacrificing more than 1 channel. |
Romelia Stankard
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
Is this what u were looking to do? I have no Ableton experience so Im not sure what people do with it to be honest. I mostly hear about 1) creating loops (which should just be routed to a db4 channel 2) applying FX (which u can do but not in the D/W sense - u just would use Ableton to apply the FX and then kick the output to a DB4 channel. Of course, the midi shift on DB4 would easily let u control Ableton parameters I would imagine if u map the buttons/knobs properly - so i suppose u could use ableton to control the D/W aspect as opposed to the db4 channel, right?).
He was saying he wanted to route the output out of the db4, into ableton, then back to the db4 creating a send/return loop. Not sure if you can do this.
If you just want a 5th channel you can hook up a soundcard and run it to the mic in, this is how Dubfire routes Maschine with Traktor (not sure if he uses two laptops or aggregates). This will be real easy when the K2 comes out since you will have your extra sound card right there, and if you own a DB4 you would be crazy not to buy a K2 if you use a laptop. |
Romelia Stankard
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
you might try aggregating with Jack or something; maybe eventually I'll figure out how to do this myself. It actually is kind of a drawback to me that there are only 8 channels on the soundcard; it's nice to have some extra channels to do stuff like this. And no send/return is another complaint I have, but of course why would you need to send/return with such amazing effects on board. Still, with VSTs you could add a lot of effects that aren't covered on the hardware. I find myself still wanting to use the beatmasher and gater from Traktor for example; it would be amazing to have access to those effects with vinyl (it's possible using audio through in traktor but I havent even turned my computer on most of the time I've used the mixer so far). It would be great if they add similar effects in future firmware (is there a feature requests page?) but I don't know if those things fit easily into the six categories they've committed to.
Beatmasher would go under dmg I presume, loop roll on the db4 is pretty much a beatmasher in chained mode completely wet which is how I used to use the beatmasher in traktor.
S/R would be nice but like you said isn't much you need it for. |
Cliff Lohman
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
im not an expert on this topic but i believe ud have to basically just give up a channel to route abletons output into a db4 channel pretty much the same as ud setup traktor output channels..
Use 3 for traktor and 1 for ableton.. not quite the send/receive method tho..
There might be a slick workaround like using the mic channel or something - mixarchitekt would probably be able to confirm or shoot down any workarounds..
Looked into this a bit more this morning and I believe the options are really as simple as I stated.. u can route ableton output to any of the channels that u choose.. ur limited by the # of available channels of course..
No workarounds that I can see to get more channels out of it or anything like that..
Is this what u were looking to do? I have no Ableton experience so Im not sure what people do with it to be honest. I mostly hear about 1) creating loops (which should just be routed to a db4 channel 2) applying FX (which u can do but not in the D/W sense - u just would use Ableton to apply the FX and then kick the output to a DB4 channel. Of course, the midi shift on DB4 would easily let u control Ableton parameters I would imagine if u map the buttons/knobs properly - so i suppose u could use ableton to control the D/W aspect as opposed to the db4 channel, right?).
So setup could be:
- Traktor deck A, B + C output direct to DB4 channels 1, 2 + 3
- Traktor deck D output fed to Ableton
- Ableton output direct to DB4 channel 4 (so im imagining u could either create a loop from scratch or use the fx-applied traktor track)
- Midi control of Traktor + Ableton via DB4 midi shift buttons/knobs (Mixarchitekt has the only good tsi mapping for Traktor so u could start with that and then remove some functions u dont need and use those spare button/knobs for Ableton).
Sounds workable.. but you may find that the db4 has more efx than u could hope to use (I know I do - though theres 3 efx that I love in traktor - bmasher + gater + one of the echo/delays).
There are some vids on this but they are in french I believe.. google 'xone db4 ableton' and look at video hits.. |
Cliff Lohman
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
Maybe I'm not exactly getting my head around it but it seems that only works if you have one of the numbers in the range. But if you detect 90-150 and the song is 83 (166) it's out of range on both ends. What you're saying is a good reason to go 90-179 if you want the song to show up as 166, and 70-139 if you'd rather it show up as 83. But with 90-150 neither of those numbers shows up.
I believe that in the db4s case - it does detect outside the ranges.. I believe i have it set to 90 to 150 and it will detect 80 bpm for slow songs. That said, i havent really touched it because i havent noticed ANY bad bpm readouts yet so i cant say if it performs any different if u change it.
U got any track titles that u could give an example with that u believe db4 might not be handling well? It really is the best bpm detection ive personally seen on a mixer.. |
Danae Dumler
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by rebelguy
I did have another question that hopefully someone can answer. Can you route the output of the DB4 to a program (Ableton for example) to use a VST and then have it routed back in. There doesn't seem to be a dedicated send and return in the hardware but is it possible to do through USB?
you might try aggregating with Jack or something; maybe eventually I'll figure out how to do this myself. It actually is kind of a drawback to me that there are only 8 channels on the soundcard; it's nice to have some extra channels to do stuff like this. And no send/return is another complaint I have, but of course why would you need to send/return with such amazing effects on board. Still, with VSTs you could add a lot of effects that aren't covered on the hardware. I find myself still wanting to use the beatmasher and gater from Traktor for example; it would be amazing to have access to those effects with vinyl (it's possible using audio through in traktor but I havent even turned my computer on most of the time I've used the mixer so far). It would be great if they add similar effects in future firmware (is there a feature requests page?) but I don't know if those things fit easily into the six categories they've committed to. |
Danae Dumler
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by rebelguy
This is very similar to the beat detection in Scratchlive. I believe it may the way to deal with songs in higher or lower BPMs. Say you are doing a set where songs are in the 180BPM range (there is a lot of rock music in this area), you wouldn't want it detecting at 90BPM. Also say you have a song in the 65 BPM range. You may not want it to show as 130BPM.
Maybe I'm not exactly getting my head around it but it seems that only works if you have one of the numbers in the range. But if you detect 90-150 and the song is 83 (166) it's out of range on both ends. What you're saying is a good reason to go 90-179 if you want the song to show up as 166, and 70-139 if you'd rather it show up as 83. But with 90-150 neither of those numbers shows up. |
Cliff Lohman
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by rebelguy
I did have another question that hopefully someone can answer. Can you route the output of the DB4 to a program (Ableton for example) to use a VST and then have it routed back in. There doesn't seem to be a dedicated send and return in the hardware but is it possible to do through USB?
im not an expert on this topic but i believe ud have to basically just give up a channel to route abletons output into a db4 channel pretty much the same as ud setup traktor output channels..
Use 3 for traktor and 1 for ableton.. not quite the send/receive method tho..
There might be a slick workaround like using the mic channel or something - mixarchitekt would probably be able to confirm or shoot down any workarounds.. |
Evonne Vik
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
I have a question ... does anyone understand why the BPM ranges are not inclusive? Shouldn't 90-150 be 90-180 for example? What if something is 83 or 175? The range doesn't seem to have any effect on how well the mixer detects BPM but still, that's kind of strange.
This is very similar to the beat detection in Scratchlive. I believe it may the way to deal with songs in higher or lower BPMs. Say you are doing a set where songs are in the 180BPM range (there is a lot of rock music in this area), you wouldn't want it detecting at 90BPM. Also say you have a song in the 65 BPM range. You may not want it to show as 130BPM. |
Danae Dumler
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
Can u clarify? In ur example of setting it to 90-150, r u finding it doesnt detect outside that range?
No, it detects fine; I'm just not sure what's the point of setting the range is at all under the circumstances since it doesn't seem to change how it detects. |
Cliff Lohman
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
hopefully. i'll be playing with it and mixx on my work pc during my lunch break if all goes well
do u work in a standard office? it'd be an interesting site to see one of my office co-workers mixing on db4 at his desk lol |
Romelia Stankard
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
Shweet.. At least ups cant screw things up with office deliveries
hopefully. i'll be playing with it and mixx on my work pc during my lunch break if all goes well |
Cliff Lohman
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
Mine replacement db4 is coming today
Shweet.. At least ups cant screw things up with office deliveries |
Romelia Stankard
18.11.2011 | posting this here from the other thread- I just sent off this request to A&H for a firmware update that would make the DB4 a rotary mixer using the D/W knobs:
I just got my DB4 and love it and sitting here I realize there is potential to easily turn the DB4 into a rotary mixer with a firmware update. All you would have to do is swap the D/W knob and the volume fader on each channel so the linear fader becomes D/W and the big chunky knob becomes volume. This is absolutely perfect since it is the same knob as the 92R and S2 and is in the correct location, everything would stay the same except D/W would now be on the linear fader and volume would be on the rotary knob.
Seems pretty simple and it is laid out perfectly so that you could actually have a rotary mixer with a firmware update, that is absolutely huge and looking at it now seems like you almost planned it that way. You could switch between rotary mixer and linear mixer with a press of a button! The DB4 is revolutionary as it is, it would take it to the next level if you made it the only mixer ever to be able to toggle between rotary mixer and linear mixer mode.
|
Cliff Lohman
18.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
No, it detects perfectly every time pretty much; I just don't really understand what the range setting is doing.
Ya.. Noticed the same.. I dunno.. Im just happy it actually works |
Danae Dumler
17.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
I believe that in the db4s case - it does detect outside the ranges.. I believe i have it set to 90 to 150 and it will detect 80 bpm for slow songs. That said, i havent really touched it because i havent noticed ANY bad bpm readouts yet so i cant say if it performs any different if u change it.
U got any track titles that u could give an example with that u believe db4 might not be handling well? It really is the best bpm detection ive personally seen on a mixer..
No, it detects perfectly every time pretty much; I just don't really understand what the range setting is doing. |
Romelia Stankard
16.11.2011 | Maybe, I haven't really messed with the soundcard inputs yet or have any idea how they work but that sounds possible. Maybe something with the record out, this is a little beyond me. |
Cliff Lohman
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
He was saying he wanted to route the output out of the db4, into ableton, then back to the db4 creating a send/return loop. Not sure if you can do this.
If you just want a 5th channel you can hook up a soundcard and run it to the mic in, this is how Dubfire routes Maschine with Traktor (not sure if he uses two laptops or aggregates). This will be real easy when the K2 comes out since you will have your extra sound card right there, and if you own a DB4 you would be crazy not to buy a K2 if you use a laptop.
Got ya.. The source being turntable or cdj input? If so, I believe u can but ull lose a channel..
Couldnt u set it up so that:
- DB4 channel 4 is the link to Ableton
- then using the input matrix, u could basically dictate whether the music source from channels 1, 2 or 3 are being fed into ableton.
- then ableton kicks the output to channel 4
I dunno.. probly better ways to do it but im pretty sure u can get creative with the input matrix of the db4 to somehow leverage ableton without sacrificing more than 1 channel. |
Romelia Stankard
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
Is this what u were looking to do? I have no Ableton experience so Im not sure what people do with it to be honest. I mostly hear about 1) creating loops (which should just be routed to a db4 channel 2) applying FX (which u can do but not in the D/W sense - u just would use Ableton to apply the FX and then kick the output to a DB4 channel. Of course, the midi shift on DB4 would easily let u control Ableton parameters I would imagine if u map the buttons/knobs properly - so i suppose u could use ableton to control the D/W aspect as opposed to the db4 channel, right?).
He was saying he wanted to route the output out of the db4, into ableton, then back to the db4 creating a send/return loop. Not sure if you can do this.
If you just want a 5th channel you can hook up a soundcard and run it to the mic in, this is how Dubfire routes Maschine with Traktor (not sure if he uses two laptops or aggregates). This will be real easy when the K2 comes out since you will have your extra sound card right there, and if you own a DB4 you would be crazy not to buy a K2 if you use a laptop. |
Romelia Stankard
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
you might try aggregating with Jack or something; maybe eventually I'll figure out how to do this myself. It actually is kind of a drawback to me that there are only 8 channels on the soundcard; it's nice to have some extra channels to do stuff like this. And no send/return is another complaint I have, but of course why would you need to send/return with such amazing effects on board. Still, with VSTs you could add a lot of effects that aren't covered on the hardware. I find myself still wanting to use the beatmasher and gater from Traktor for example; it would be amazing to have access to those effects with vinyl (it's possible using audio through in traktor but I havent even turned my computer on most of the time I've used the mixer so far). It would be great if they add similar effects in future firmware (is there a feature requests page?) but I don't know if those things fit easily into the six categories they've committed to.
Beatmasher would go under dmg I presume, loop roll on the db4 is pretty much a beatmasher in chained mode completely wet which is how I used to use the beatmasher in traktor.
S/R would be nice but like you said isn't much you need it for. |
Cliff Lohman
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
im not an expert on this topic but i believe ud have to basically just give up a channel to route abletons output into a db4 channel pretty much the same as ud setup traktor output channels..
Use 3 for traktor and 1 for ableton.. not quite the send/receive method tho..
There might be a slick workaround like using the mic channel or something - mixarchitekt would probably be able to confirm or shoot down any workarounds..
Looked into this a bit more this morning and I believe the options are really as simple as I stated.. u can route ableton output to any of the channels that u choose.. ur limited by the # of available channels of course..
No workarounds that I can see to get more channels out of it or anything like that..
Is this what u were looking to do? I have no Ableton experience so Im not sure what people do with it to be honest. I mostly hear about 1) creating loops (which should just be routed to a db4 channel 2) applying FX (which u can do but not in the D/W sense - u just would use Ableton to apply the FX and then kick the output to a DB4 channel. Of course, the midi shift on DB4 would easily let u control Ableton parameters I would imagine if u map the buttons/knobs properly - so i suppose u could use ableton to control the D/W aspect as opposed to the db4 channel, right?).
So setup could be:
- Traktor deck A, B + C output direct to DB4 channels 1, 2 + 3
- Traktor deck D output fed to Ableton
- Ableton output direct to DB4 channel 4 (so im imagining u could either create a loop from scratch or use the fx-applied traktor track)
- Midi control of Traktor + Ableton via DB4 midi shift buttons/knobs (Mixarchitekt has the only good tsi mapping for Traktor so u could start with that and then remove some functions u dont need and use those spare button/knobs for Ableton).
Sounds workable.. but you may find that the db4 has more efx than u could hope to use (I know I do - though theres 3 efx that I love in traktor - bmasher + gater + one of the echo/delays).
There are some vids on this but they are in french I believe.. google 'xone db4 ableton' and look at video hits.. |
Cliff Lohman
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
Maybe I'm not exactly getting my head around it but it seems that only works if you have one of the numbers in the range. But if you detect 90-150 and the song is 83 (166) it's out of range on both ends. What you're saying is a good reason to go 90-179 if you want the song to show up as 166, and 70-139 if you'd rather it show up as 83. But with 90-150 neither of those numbers shows up.
I believe that in the db4s case - it does detect outside the ranges.. I believe i have it set to 90 to 150 and it will detect 80 bpm for slow songs. That said, i havent really touched it because i havent noticed ANY bad bpm readouts yet so i cant say if it performs any different if u change it.
U got any track titles that u could give an example with that u believe db4 might not be handling well? It really is the best bpm detection ive personally seen on a mixer.. |
Danae Dumler
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by rebelguy
I did have another question that hopefully someone can answer. Can you route the output of the DB4 to a program (Ableton for example) to use a VST and then have it routed back in. There doesn't seem to be a dedicated send and return in the hardware but is it possible to do through USB?
you might try aggregating with Jack or something; maybe eventually I'll figure out how to do this myself. It actually is kind of a drawback to me that there are only 8 channels on the soundcard; it's nice to have some extra channels to do stuff like this. And no send/return is another complaint I have, but of course why would you need to send/return with such amazing effects on board. Still, with VSTs you could add a lot of effects that aren't covered on the hardware. I find myself still wanting to use the beatmasher and gater from Traktor for example; it would be amazing to have access to those effects with vinyl (it's possible using audio through in traktor but I havent even turned my computer on most of the time I've used the mixer so far). It would be great if they add similar effects in future firmware (is there a feature requests page?) but I don't know if those things fit easily into the six categories they've committed to. |
Danae Dumler
16.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by rebelguy
This is very similar to the beat detection in Scratchlive. I believe it may the way to deal with songs in higher or lower BPMs. Say you are doing a set where songs are in the 180BPM range (there is a lot of rock music in this area), you wouldn't want it detecting at 90BPM. Also say you have a song in the 65 BPM range. You may not want it to show as 130BPM.
Maybe I'm not exactly getting my head around it but it seems that only works if you have one of the numbers in the range. But if you detect 90-150 and the song is 83 (166) it's out of range on both ends. What you're saying is a good reason to go 90-179 if you want the song to show up as 166, and 70-139 if you'd rather it show up as 83. But with 90-150 neither of those numbers shows up. |
Cliff Lohman
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by rebelguy
I did have another question that hopefully someone can answer. Can you route the output of the DB4 to a program (Ableton for example) to use a VST and then have it routed back in. There doesn't seem to be a dedicated send and return in the hardware but is it possible to do through USB?
im not an expert on this topic but i believe ud have to basically just give up a channel to route abletons output into a db4 channel pretty much the same as ud setup traktor output channels..
Use 3 for traktor and 1 for ableton.. not quite the send/receive method tho..
There might be a slick workaround like using the mic channel or something - mixarchitekt would probably be able to confirm or shoot down any workarounds.. |
Evonne Vik
15.11.2011 | I did have another question that hopefully someone can answer. Can you route the output of the DB4 to a program (Ableton for example) to use a VST and then have it routed back in. There doesn't seem to be a dedicated send and return in the hardware but is it possible to do through USB? |
Evonne Vik
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
I have a question ... does anyone understand why the BPM ranges are not inclusive? Shouldn't 90-150 be 90-180 for example? What if something is 83 or 175? The range doesn't seem to have any effect on how well the mixer detects BPM but still, that's kind of strange.
This is very similar to the beat detection in Scratchlive. I believe it may the way to deal with songs in higher or lower BPMs. Say you are doing a set where songs are in the 180BPM range (there is a lot of rock music in this area), you wouldn't want it detecting at 90BPM. Also say you have a song in the 65 BPM range. You may not want it to show as 130BPM. |
Danae Dumler
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
Can u clarify? In ur example of setting it to 90-150, r u finding it doesnt detect outside that range?
No, it detects fine; I'm just not sure what's the point of setting the range is at all under the circumstances since it doesn't seem to change how it detects. |
Danae Dumler
15.11.2011 | I'm considering getting one of those portable turntables for my office so I can play vinyl while I'm here. |
Leeanna Ayla
15.11.2011 | I've thought about recording shows in my office as it's basically a studio with various backdrops. |
Cliff Lohman
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
hopefully. i'll be playing with it and mixx on my work pc during my lunch break if all goes well
do u work in a standard office? it'd be an interesting site to see one of my office co-workers mixing on db4 at his desk lol |
Romelia Stankard
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by kevz718
Shweet.. At least ups cant screw things up with office deliveries
hopefully. i'll be playing with it and mixx on my work pc during my lunch break if all goes well |
Cliff Lohman
15.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by Xonetacular
Mine replacement db4 is coming today
Shweet.. At least ups cant screw things up with office deliveries |
Romelia Stankard
15.11.2011 | Mine replacement db4 is coming today |
Cliff Lohman
15.11.2011 | Can u clarify? In ur example of setting it to 90-150, r u finding it doesnt detect outside that range? |
Danae Dumler
15.11.2011 | I have a question ... does anyone understand why the BPM ranges are not inclusive? Shouldn't 90-150 be 90-180 for example? What if something is 83 or 175? The range doesn't seem to have any effect on how well the mixer detects BPM but still, that's kind of strange. |
Cliff Lohman
14.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by rebelguy
kevz718,
Thank you so much for taking time to respond to my questions.
No prob.. If ur believeing about the djm900 vs db4, let me know if u have any more comparison questions. I still have both mixers for another few weeks (i need to make sure a certain bpm problem on the djm900 is not a defect before i sell the 900 to my buddy).
Its def a tough choice between the 2 mixers and its going to come down to personal preference. That said, the xone db4 does everything it says it should do perfectly. Cant say the same about the 900 - ive had issues with it and pio tech support is horrible which contributed to my switch.
They re both 2 different beasts in their own rights tho. |
Cliff Lohman
14.11.2011 |
Originally Posted by djproben
The faders are very nice -- I believe what kev is referring to is the fact that they are smooth and light; they do not feel heavy at all, which may feel less durable, but I believe these are high quality faders. They don't lend themselves to scratching type tricks because the cut in is not extremely sharp at all, and you can't adjust the length of the cut-in. But they will withstand rigorous use just fine.
But even scratch DJs shouldn't be "slamming the faders" so hard they break off anyway; the goal is quick, precise cuts, not whacking it as hard as you can. But if you want precise cuts for scratching you'll want an innofader (which A+H says the replacement is "plug and play") or a pro-x fade. I don't know about replacing the channel faders though.
Also I believe this will sound a little better than the Rane but the Rane sounds amazing too so it's probably only marginal difference. I noticed the difference from an Ecler (the "Rane of Spain") but not such a huge difference that I dirtied my pants or anything.
Exactly.. Dont get me wrong, the faders are not cheap and i believe theyll last.. I believe its the fader caps that just make them feel a lil too flimsy imo.
For example, i threw a spare fader cap onto the channel fader which was a thicker, pioneer style fader cap and i no longer get the flimsy feeling i was trying to describe. i tried the djtt rubber fader cap which also made it feel sturdier but i took it off cuz i realized i dont like rubber xfaders.
I actually believe the sharp curve on the xfader is fine for BASIC scratching.. But its def not meant for turntablists. |
