MK5 Golf GTI
General => Random Chat => Topic started by: rdfcpete on October 11, 2010, 08:50:36 pm
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Guys - Can anyone spec me or point me towards a USB mixer please?
I'm a rookie DJ that's played around with Native Instruments Traktor DJ Studio for years (currently on v3.1), but I've never taken the plunge with an external mixer and would like to try one now.
I don't want it to be more than £80 ideally and must have the following:
- At least 2 channels
- A headphone 3.5mm Jack
- A cross fader/fader switch
That's it really I think? I've looked at the cheap Hercules one but online forums said it's not great as it doesn't have a sound card built in and therefore doesn't support queuing via headphones, although I may have misinterpreted that? :chicken:
Thanks,
Pete.
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no idea if these are any good or match what you said but.....
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=usb+mixer
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Was looking at these the other week (for our AV system at work). Ended up buying something bigger (6 channels with XLR inputs) but you might want to have a look
http://www.studiospares.com/dj-mixers/citronic-pro-1-usb-mixer/invt/282040/
Really depends on your budget, easy to spend £200-£300 or more.
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^ That looks nice and sturdy Mark, thumbs up. I might gamble on that tomorrow.
What's the advantage of 6 channels over 2 Mark? I simply just need headphone queuing and that's it, not even a Mic channel at this stage. Will the one you linked suffice? Ta :smiley:
no idea if these are any good or match what you said but.....
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=usb+mixer
Well this is it mate, I'm buying blind really so any pointers are useful. They're all very similar but need to know what will do a basic job well and what's flashy junk :happy2:
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Think of the number of channels as the number of inputs over which you have simultanenous control. So this mixer has 7 inputs but you can only use two of them at the same time so it's two channel.
Specs say it supports both mix and split cueing, so you're fully covered. But looking at Citronics website it looks like it's been discontinued :sad1:
This one looks similar in terms of features: http://www.studiospares.com/dj-mixers/numark-m1usb-dj-mixer/invt/276960/#
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Cheers Mark, makes sense :happy2:
If it's discontinued, as long as I can still buy it with the right drivers, that doesn't matter too much to me.
I'm very much at the beginners stage and only have light experience of vinyl and CD decks, so I'm quite new to the digital audio production stage. £80odd quid is more than enough for an entry level mixer for me :smiley:
£300 is loads really. I wouldn't get the return or value out of something like that :happy2:
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This one looks similar in terms of features: http://www.studiospares.com/dj-mixers/numark-m1usb-dj-mixer/invt/276960/#
... and it's actually a bit cheaper than the Citronics one as well :happy2:
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Behringer BCD 3000 is a decent value USB mixer, has a built in soundcard as well so you can take audio straight out of it. Also pre mapped for traktor etc.
I also use an M-audio oxygen 25 midi keyboard as a midi trigger for cue points etc.
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forgot to say a USB midi mixer will give you control over traktor whereas the mixers posted above will only receive the sound from the computer!
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Thanks Alex ^^ :happy2:
I've kind of hung around on this now as I realised I can't find a mixer with the sufficient number of channels that also has digital decks too, i.e. for scratching and advanced queuing.
It looks like these do the job, is anyone able to confirm they'll give me the queuing playback ability through the headphones?
http://www.firebox.com/product/2003/iCue-USB-Music-Mixing-Kit
- I'll check out the Behringer now :popcornsoda: Cheers!
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Behringer BCD 3000 is a decent value USB mixer, has a built in soundcard as well..
Thanks Alex. After reading about that one, it looks like it does everything I'll need and it's not badly priced either :smiley:
Have you any first hand experience of one?
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Behringer BCD 3000 is a decent value USB mixer, has a built in soundcard as well..
Thanks Alex. After reading about that one, it looks like it does everything I'll need and it's not badly priced either :smiley:
Have you any first hand experience of one?
Yep use one with traktor 3 running on a macbook. Also have lots of other midi gadgets and I'm looking at an M-audio Torq Xponent which looks good but is a little bit more than what you want to spend at £350ish.
Have you decided what to get yet?
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I bought a Vestax Typhoon a couple of weeks back, which came with Traktor LE. Up till now, all my stuff has been played on vinyl, but getting a real pain carting that about (all 60s\70s soul, bit of 70s reggae, bit of ska and 2tone).
Only played with it a bit, but its a nice unit. However, I had to buy a new laptop to make it work and having trouble getting it to pick up tracks in my iTunes that i coped from my old computer. And seems to struggle to play one track whilst i'm cueing the next - could be a memory thing but my new laptop is well above the minimum spec.
In hindsight, I wish I had taken advice of a DJ friend of mine and bought a couple of CD decks and used my old mixer - then just burnt the tracks i wanted from iTunes onto CD.
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Behringer BCD 3000 is a decent value USB mixer, has a built in soundcard as well..
Thanks Alex. After reading about that one, it looks like it does everything I'll need and it's not badly priced either :smiley:
Have you any first hand experience of one?
Yep use one with traktor 3 running on a macbook. Also have lots of other midi gadgets and I'm looking at an M-audio Torq Xponent which looks good but is a little bit more than what you want to spend at £350ish.
Have you decided what to get yet?
Proper old one I know, apologies to resurrect. I have a question about exactly this believe it or not :happy2: :laugh:
I got a 3000 in the end Alex, thanks again for your guidance.
Have you got any experience with this and NI Traktor Pro 2?
Basically got an issue where I have to double tap the play button on the Behringer to play the track that's loaded in deck - I desperately need it to be a single press :confused:
Any ideas where this config sits?
Ta.
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Yep use one with traktor 3 running on a macbook. Also have lots of other midi gadgets and I'm looking at an M-audio Torq Xponent which looks good but is a little bit more than what you want to spend at £350ish.
Have you decided what to get yet?
Apologies to dig up an old one :happy2:
I completely took your advice though Alexander, being a Saints man and all :grin: :drinking:
I'd used the 3000' with my older Windows laptop for the last couple of years but my Samsung Ultrabook (plenty of spec) is Windows 7 and 64bit. The Behringer BCD3000 is 32bit and Vista < backwards only, so I'm not gonna' get any joy from it going forwards in terms of drivers.
My Traktor Pro Software subsequently can't pick it up.
Short of making a Windows XP Virtual machine to run it from, which mixers of a similar function are a little more future proof and will be Windows 7 happy?
It's maybe time to invest in something a little more mature.
Thanks again :happy2:
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Go futuristic and get one of these......they look awww-som :surprised:
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Tbh Pete, I would not scrimp on the mixer pioneer or Allen & Heath ftw
I need to do my final mix of the year now just about scrambling off my death bed
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Tbh Pete, I would not scrimp on the mixer pioneer or Allen & Heath ftw
I need to do my final mix of the year now just about scrambling off my death bed
Fair enough, I'm pretty rookie atm in truth though Andy. Any particular model of either brand towards the cheaper end of the market?
:happy2:
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DJM 350 mate get a second hand one off the bay.
What sort of music do you play?
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Since using Ableton Live for mixing my ripped records, I have never looked back.
'Producing' a mix is so much better than just 'mixing' one.
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Does it have to be USB?
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-zXPUKbPW8P0%2FT2ZyesZKstI%2FAAAAAAAAASA%2FA8jB5c4B5kg%2Fs1600%2FMixer%2BKue.jpeg&hash=47742e73410f2ef9362aa9bea0d89019c33eb3a9)
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Cooking love it!!!! :laugh:
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LMAO!
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You fellas in the know (sorry to drag an oldish' one up, but it's bang on topic), can you recommend a new mixer and software?
I'm as good as amateur level and will be on a budget, so the lower end of the market will be ideal for now.
The main issue with my Behringer and Traktor software is that it's 32 bit only which means outdated OS.
Can you point me to something that's 64bit and Win7 friendly?
Thanks :happy2:
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Might be worth checking out some DJ forums. I don't have any experience of using windows for DJing, most professionals use mac but I have seen a few mobile DJ types using windows machines with seemingly little problems.
Hardware wise there's been a lot come out since the BCD3000. Traktor make their own stuff now which a few mates use and say its pretty tasty but if you want to move away from Traktor that isn't much help! I haven't looked in much detail but some of the Numark stuff looks pretty good and it used to run with its own software.
Hope that helps!
Alex
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...but if you want to move away from Traktor that isn't much help!...
Not necessarily Alex, it can be any brand/model as long as it's 64 bit compatible (which most modern stuff will be of course).
What do they use out of interest?
Are you going to Twickers on Saturday? :happy2:
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@Alexander (http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=267) Probably need your help here, still not really resolved this situation.
I can't be arsed buying or building a 32bit XP VM or laptop/machine just to run my Behringer BCD3000 which is old kit now anyway in real terms, along with the NI Traktor Studio that I've got which is also fairly dated. I also can't really give the machine any grunt as 32bit OS's will only read and use 3.4GB give or take of memory, so it won't be stable enough for mixing sessions all night.
Which Windows 7 compatible budget mixer is worth buying and which NI software (again 64bit/Win 7 & 8 compatible) would I be wise to buy?
There are no real recommendations on the net that hit these requirements as everyone talks as though they're experienced producers/DJ's...
Thank you :happy2: