Vestax, Ecler, Pioneer ??

G

gdreijer

Guest
Hi,

I'm buying my first DJ setup :D ... 2 x CDJ-100s and a mixer...

Any advice on which mixer to choose? I've been looking at these (no scracthing)...

Pioneer DJM-300
Ecler SMAC PRO 30
Vestax PVC-275
Behringer VMX-300 (Was my first choice, but can't get it yet)
Gemini UMX-9

Originally I wanted a three channel mixer, to add a sampler to later, but by the time I'm ready for that, I'll probably be looking for a new mixer anyway ;-) So, the DJM-300 is still an option...

Is the +/- 16 and 12 dB on the Vestax enough?

BTW. Is the Roland DJ-1000 discontinued?

Any advice would be great
Thanks
Greg
 
I'd go for the Ecler mixer there, its sound quality surpasses all those mixers, is extremely versatile and is very flexible.

I have the Vestax and the EQ is pretty good, so while it doesn't cut fully out, it still works very musical. And if you want to kill a frequency completely, the kill switches work more than well there.

Yup, the DJ1000 is discontinued.
 
Hmmm... the Ecler is very tempting... the only thing missing is Split Cue... cause I'd like to be able to mix with headphones only (late at night)

The PVC275 and the UMX-9 do have split cue...

Maybe the Vestax then? Or the UMX-9? Or the DJM-300? What do you think?

Damn... just when I thought I had a winner (the Ecler)

Cheers
Greg
 
as if you couldn't have guessed i'm gonna go with...

the ECLER...of course. i have an smac 20....no, it doesnt have split cue but you can still mix with just the phones...beyond that, the eq's are great...i like the pio too, but somethin feels like its missin when i use a djm3..dont know why..get the ecler :)
 
I have the 270, same as the 275 minus the PCV...

overall, this is a good mixer. Solid, feels nice, lots of ins/outs and options with the three channels and fx loop. The cue system is good. The sound is decent, nothing spectacular, but good. It's nice looking, too.

However, the db on the eq is a problem for me. I wish the range was bigger. The kills get the job done, but I think kills should be used as an effect, not to supplement how much the rotary does NOT kill. This mixer was great as a second mixer for me, but I'd upgrade tomorrow if I had the money.

Would I buy the Vestax again? Yes. I would have looked around a little more, but it's definitely a solid mixer. I didn't try the others, because frankly I don't like the look of the Ecler at all, but I would have looked more. The SMAC has an XLR out, which is nice.

Stay away from Gemini.
 
Well, actually, for late night mixing with just phones, I could build up a cable that puts the headphone output of the mixer (CUE) on one channel (say left), and the main output from the amp (MAIN) on the other channel (say right)... Or I might actually build up a circut with a switch for Split CUE, stereo main or stereo CUE ;-)

So split cue isn't too serious. Sorry if this is a realyl stupid question, but... Why don't these mixers have a rotary to fade for the headphones between main and cue? Is it possible to hear both the main and the cue, mixed? If you cue more than one channel, do you hear them both? (Sorry for my ignorance) And does the channel fader adjust the headphones volume of that channel too?

Any help would realyl be appreciated :D
Cause I'd like to go for the Ecler PRO30 or 40 if I can afford it... I just need to be sure its what I need (the info on the web site isn't that great)

I wish they'd make the Ecler in silver, to match the CDJ100s :D

Thanks Again
Cheers
Greg
 
Split cue on the vestax means you hear the cued channel on one side of the phones (left I think) and the program channel on the right side. So when your phones are on your head, you head both channels together, but in different ears. Honestly though, I don't use this much at all. When split cue is off, whatever channel you put in cue goes to the phones, and you can cue multiple channels at once. When cued, you're hearing each channel at its gain level, not its program level.

I too like when you can fade rotary style between cue and program, and that's a feature that should be standard on all mixers. It's the best of all possible worlds, but it aint there on the Vestax
 
With the Ecler, you just flick the PFL switch for whatever track you want to come out of the headphones.

So if you wanted to split cue 1 & 3, when 2 is playing, flick 1 & 3 PFL switches, and they will be played thru the right channel on hp's, and chan 2 will be played thru left channel on hp's.

because frankly I don't like the look of the Ecler at all
Click to expand...
haas: how can you not like the look of the Ecler ? Are you more into aestetics than ability ? It is a black box... what's wrong with that ? Are you there to impress the punters with your kit or with your skill ? Or are you thinking of a totally different Ecler mixer ? SMAC Pro's can be found here http://www.eclerdjdivision.com/instruments/smac/index.htm

I have the SMAC Pro 40, Rhythum Addict has the SMAC Pro 20. I am sure there is someone else on this forum that uses the SMAC Pro 30 :]
 
Thanks Haas...

What I'd like to know is... Does the Ecler PRO behave in the same way as the Vestax? Recrudesce? :D Rhythm Addict? :D (see my previous post)

You can multiple cue, right? And are the cued channels heard at gain or program level in the headphones?

Just would like to know is there is a way that you could do the fade between cue and main somehow...

Thanks soooo much :D
Greg
 
As I said in previous post, that is how it works.

The tracks are heard at gain level (I presume, cos you can make em louder in the HP's using the gain control). There is a seperate VU for the PFL channel on the 40.
 
Yep.that sums it up...split cue is defined as one channel coming through one "side" of the headphones (and the other channel coming through the other side, of course) - as someone stated before....my smac doesn't technically have split cue, in that when you flick both PFL's on...you hear both channels at the same time through both "sides" (right and left)

with that said...
if you want to hear both channels...flick both PFL's to the "on" position...
if you want to hear whatever is live, put both PFL's off...thats it :)

-caresses his ecler-
 
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Mine is different.
I got Split and PFL
If I use Split with no PFL on, i just get the mix out the left hp channel
If I then stay in split, and flick a PFL switch, I get whatever is on that particular channel in the right hp channel.
If I flick another PFL switch, I get both channels in the right hp channel.

If I then flick Split to PFL, it puts whatever PFL channels are assigned thru to both channels in hp's.

Mix will always come out of left hp channel when Split is selected, that is where I leave it. I do cueing via Split in the headphones, and then mix the tracks while only listening to right hp channel with right ear :]

Make sense ? Probably not.
 
Interesting, for some reason I was under the impression the cueing systems on the smac's would be the same, if not simliar...
oh well :)

great mixer regardless
 
I'm about to get an Ecler SMAC 40 (just waiting for it to be delivered). I've used a freinds SMAC First for a while and really really liked it. Ended up buying the 40 'cause I got a really really good deal on price.

SMAC 20 - 2+1 channels, 1 VU meter, perfect size
SMAC 30 - 3 channels, 1 VU meter, balanced output, larger range on EQs, FX loops,VCF X-fader
SMAC 40 - 4 channels, 2 VU meters (pfl and master), balanced output, smaller range on EQs, FX loops, VCF X-fader, split que
 
not to go too OT, but has anyone tried any UREI products?

Is it still possible to find them?

Where online?

Where in U.S.?
 
haas: how can you not like the look of the Ecler ? Are you more into aestetics than ability ? It is a black box... what's wrong with that ? Are you there to impress the punters with your kit or with your skill ?
Click to expand...

of course, it's all about looks! And getting chicks!:cool:

Performance is number one, bottom line. But if I were comparing two mixers that were almost exactly the same, looks would be a tiebreaker. Now, I honestly don't know how the Vestax stacks up to the Ecler. Here in the states, or at least in California, you don't see many Eclers, so when I was looking, it wasn't a consideration. The Ecler might perform better than the Vestax, and if that's the case, I would advise to buy the Ecler, regardless about how one might feel about the look. I just don't happen to like the slanted crossfaders with the white markings. To me, it looks like it was designed with a scratch dj in mind, and it just doesn't appeal to me aesthetically. Just personal preferrence, though, and I'm a schmuck, so what do I know?
 
I think that the Vestax mixers look a lot better too. Nice and shiny with metal knobs and stuff (ooh err..) but once you get your hands on them I feel they are a little flimsy. I really don't like the tiny kill switches on the 175. Horrible. Can't really comment on the upper range ones as I've never used them...
 
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