Recommend a good mixer for deep house!

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Soulful Steve

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I'm about to invest in a couple of CD Decks (either Denon DN-S1000's or Pioneer CDJ800's) and am pretty stuck trying to choose the right mixer for me.

There are so many scratch mixers on the market; I'm looking for something with long channel faders for smooth mixing of deep and soulful US house.

I am pretty happy to spend up to £400, however, I have been offered a discontinued Vestax PMC 170a 3-channel mixer (full manual with spec here: http://djsound.ru/dj/filebox/802/pmc170a_man.pdf

...and I must say it looks amazing - and it's mine for £100.

I was keen on the Allen & Heath Xone 32 but it's gain controls are on the back of the mixer, which is a bit of a pain as they are right out of the way.

I'd love some feedback, recommendations and advice from people here - I'm pretty new to mixing but want some professional stuff so I won't want to upgrade.

Cheers!
 
PS - Do you think the discontinued Vestax PMC170a I've been offered is better or worse than the Vestax PCV275 Mixer that's on the market at the moment?

I have a feeling that the PMC170a is a better unit.
 
Well, firstly, the 170 isn't that much different to the 275, it's really an older version. It does however have individual kills on each channel which is ace, and the 275 doesn't. Pretty nice mixer.

So what i'd do is buy that for £100 and take the other £300 and add it onto your CD player budget.

A set of CDJ800s will set you back about £900, but they are horrible, for somewhere in the region of £1350, you'll get CDJ1000 MK2s, and they really are still the best CD decks on the market.

I'd buy that mixer the now, and save up a wee bit more cash so you can get the 1000s.

Buying the 800s is a waste of money, honestly i can't stress enough how crap they are!

But the 1000s, oh yeah, they are amazing. The platter is better, the loop is better, the cue is better, the pitch lock is better, they have hot cues!
 
do NOT buy the vestax pmc-170a. 100 quid is still too much for that mixer - it was discontinued several years ago and uses a type of fader that has a tendency to degrade fairly quickly, so i doubt it's up to par, and even if it is, it won't last.

The best choices under 400 quid are:

vestax pcv-275 or pcv-180 or pcv-250

Stanton SMX-501

Ecler Smac-30

one of the new small-sized Denon mixers.

my number one recommendation (in your price range) would be the Vestax PCV-275. it is made exactly for mixing house & techno, and can be converted to rotary faders as well.
 
pioneer 1000s are the "best" cd decks on the market?

what about the cdx?

what about denon?

it's not that i necessarily disagree, but there are others out there.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I know someone who has a PCV275 and he reckons the line faders bring in the sound too suddenly and aren't that great for blending house - is he talking rubbish??

I must admit my favourite at the moment is the Stanton SMX501. If anyone can give me any first hand reports on this mixer that'd be great.

To Troutfish: I went to test out the CDJ800 & CDJ1000 mk2's a couple of days ago - with them being the industry standard and the way everyone goers on about them all the time, I was expecting something really special... They were great and everything, and I did see the differences between the 800 and the 1000, but they didn't knock my socks off. Probably because I'm not a professional.

I'm really looking forward to testing the Denon DN-S1000's this weekend - I think they look quality! Well made, plus lot's of good features - and not a bad review yet.
 
catnap said:

The best choices under 400 quid are:

vestax pcv-275 or pcv-180 or pcv-250

Stanton SMX-501

Ecler Smac-30
Click to expand...


You can actually get a Ecler Smac 40 under £400 if you look hard enough, I managed to get it for 300 but I was freakin lucky as hell.

The SMX 501 will do exactly what you described about the 275, again its a very sudden fade, the 275 is your best bet because as Catnap said you can buy the rotary faders for it which you cant for any of the others. This will help you personally control that 'sudden sound'.

And the Pioneer CDJ800's aren't crap at all, there a fantastic option for those who dont need to go all the way and get a 1000.
 
if you're using a mixer that doesn't have curve control on the upfaders, just use the gain knob to make sure you don't get that sudden cut-in. it's no big deal...
 
Maybe it's because i'm looking at these players from a professional point of view, dunno. In a club environment, the 800s just don't cut it, they feel cheap, the loop function is a bit crap, they don't have hot cues and the most annoying feature is that autocue doesn't seem to work on vinyl simulation mode, or with master tempo on, i've had to work in a few clubs with these, and it really is a pain.

I've never had a 1000 go down or fail on me, i have had 800s do that.

As for saying they are the best CD decks out there, my reason are just that, the technics are bit loose and some of the features are annoyingly placed or don't work the way i want them to, the instant cue just doesn't respond as fast as i'd like.
The CDXs are really nice, and i ain't ever played to an audience on them, so i can't really judge them on that. I just don't feel the same build quality and realiabilty the pioneers give me.
And i simply hate the denons, the platter is a pretty horrible texture, the rotation is heavy and clunky, the CD in slot is got an annoying lip over it which gets in the way if you are trying to change CDs fast, and the buttons seem to be in silly places, and there are far too many of them!

Plus the Pioneers are perfectly happy to be mounted at an angle, which the other don't like too much. And to try and have 4 CDXs and 2 1210s in a line would take up for space than most DJ booths have!

It's all personal of course, but from much use, i honestly believe they are by far the best spend you could make. But hey, this thread was about mixers so i should probably shut up!

But yeah, don't buy a cheaper Allan & Heath....Yuk!!
What previous people have said is probably your best bet.
 
Just checked - it's got curve control. If anyone has any experience with this mixer, let me know.

Cheers
 
i'd say get the Ecler SMAC Pro40 without a doubt, it can be had from digital village or turnkey for £389.99 and is well worth it. Nice to mix with due to the ergonomically positioned faders and excellent sound/build quality. the only thing that makes it not as good as a DJM600 is the fact that it has no effects, but as it excels in every other area for over £200 less than the pioneer, you can always add an FX unit at a later stage if you wanted.
I saw the light and am getting one very soon!
 
i use a numark dm1002x=== i bought for 60 bucks years ago(still trying to get funds together for an empath)

but it sounds alright---check out my mix in signature and judge for your self---(People say i play deep house but i tend to disagree)

stay away from pioneers----

look into rane--allen and heath and eclar.for smooth sound quality---

its crucial in deep house.

but like i said i have a sh@t mixer and it gets me by---- just have to adjust to them is all ---im a big fan of using my gain nobs--allot--easier to make small adjustments with them and blend the volumes----just sucks when ya play out on a mixer that doesn't have them

NickB
 
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