I'm after some advice on the quality of audio and suitability of using a pro Digital DJ mixer for studio production. I watched a video showing Four Tet talking about his live setup and it got me thinking about using a dj mixer however at £800-900 for a decent 4 channel mixer I can't afford much else in my upgrade but I really would like to improve the audio standard of my studio work.
Here's a bit of background for context. I am more interested in live performance than I am in producing polished tracks. That said its good to keep my options open. I use a mix of Ableton Live and hardwear electronics; kaoss kp3, homemade mono synth and effect pedals. I only use a mic to record percussion and oddball sounds so I really only need one pre. I have an AT2020 mic so nothing fancy. I probably need 6 line ins, 1 pre with phantom power, 6 out with separate headphone channel. Separate mixes and cue on headphone would be ideal. FireWire is ok with me due to age of my MacBook and bus powered would be useful.
My aims would be to have a setup that works in the studio as well as being a dynamic live performance setup. Hands on is important so I want to avoid a mouse and keyboard. Also I don't really want to have my outboard sending audio into the MacBook, eq'd and basic dynamics processing then back out again as I worry I won't like the latency. So an outboard mixer or DSP powered audio card was what I've considered. More on the specifics below.
I currently have a basic NI Audio Kontrol interface but I have a £1000 budget to upgrade. I've considered three options -
1/ a semi-pro audio interface with a DSP mixer controlling mix, eq, effects via a midi controller. Only the MOTU ultralite mk3 fitted all the bill here as alternatives in my price range didn't have any DSP or didn't have any midi control capability. Even the motu requires a bit of max for live and OSC trickery. The RME Fireface UC is in the budget but it doesn't have the DSP. Am I really going to miss that on my outboard audio? In the studio I can eq and sort dynamics in Ableton post recording I guess so it's just missing when in a live situation. The UCX does have all the DSP but it's pushing the budget quite a bit. However if this setup would be ideal then maybe I can stretch to it. I would certainly be future proofed for a long while and gaining an excellent interface.
2/ a non DSP audio card with direct routing avoiding a round trip to the MacBook plus a basic analogue mixer like the mackie 802 for eq, no dynamics processing there though. Again would I really miss that in a live situation? Plenty of cards but something from Focusrite seemed attractive.
3/ a digital dj mixer with built in audio interface. The Pioneer DJM750 or A&H DB2 look good. My only reservation is how good is the audio, both the single pre and converters compared to something like the focusrite or motu gear. Both mixers have 24/96 but clearly they are made for performance and not production.
Although this is specifically a question about the last option on quality for studio work I would appreciate views on the other options or alternatives I hadn't considered.
Thanks very much.
WR.
Here's a bit of background for context. I am more interested in live performance than I am in producing polished tracks. That said its good to keep my options open. I use a mix of Ableton Live and hardwear electronics; kaoss kp3, homemade mono synth and effect pedals. I only use a mic to record percussion and oddball sounds so I really only need one pre. I have an AT2020 mic so nothing fancy. I probably need 6 line ins, 1 pre with phantom power, 6 out with separate headphone channel. Separate mixes and cue on headphone would be ideal. FireWire is ok with me due to age of my MacBook and bus powered would be useful.
My aims would be to have a setup that works in the studio as well as being a dynamic live performance setup. Hands on is important so I want to avoid a mouse and keyboard. Also I don't really want to have my outboard sending audio into the MacBook, eq'd and basic dynamics processing then back out again as I worry I won't like the latency. So an outboard mixer or DSP powered audio card was what I've considered. More on the specifics below.
I currently have a basic NI Audio Kontrol interface but I have a £1000 budget to upgrade. I've considered three options -
1/ a semi-pro audio interface with a DSP mixer controlling mix, eq, effects via a midi controller. Only the MOTU ultralite mk3 fitted all the bill here as alternatives in my price range didn't have any DSP or didn't have any midi control capability. Even the motu requires a bit of max for live and OSC trickery. The RME Fireface UC is in the budget but it doesn't have the DSP. Am I really going to miss that on my outboard audio? In the studio I can eq and sort dynamics in Ableton post recording I guess so it's just missing when in a live situation. The UCX does have all the DSP but it's pushing the budget quite a bit. However if this setup would be ideal then maybe I can stretch to it. I would certainly be future proofed for a long while and gaining an excellent interface.
2/ a non DSP audio card with direct routing avoiding a round trip to the MacBook plus a basic analogue mixer like the mackie 802 for eq, no dynamics processing there though. Again would I really miss that in a live situation? Plenty of cards but something from Focusrite seemed attractive.
3/ a digital dj mixer with built in audio interface. The Pioneer DJM750 or A&H DB2 look good. My only reservation is how good is the audio, both the single pre and converters compared to something like the focusrite or motu gear. Both mixers have 24/96 but clearly they are made for performance and not production.
Although this is specifically a question about the last option on quality for studio work I would appreciate views on the other options or alternatives I hadn't considered.
Thanks very much.
WR.
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