• Music

  • DJ setups/Mixer porn/New toys thread...

Wasily …unique workflow with MPC’s and those that love ’em really love ’em. Not so much house/techno-types, always seem to have been more associated with hip hop/R&B. Famous for their ‘swing’ that is replicated in loads of DAW’s that have various MPC-based swing settings.

This is the latest one and I’ve no doubt will be brilliant… guess it really depends if you wanna go all-in on learning it properly. My issue with kit like this is, for me it would never fully replace my DAW, so I’d rather spend my time going much deeper on that than stopping to learn something new.

      • Amps

        • Post #2966

        Unbroken1 I never really thought of it for the studio, very much a ‘live’ thing imo, or for in the mix.

          • Wasily

            • Post #2967
            • Edited

            Unbroken1 Thanks Damo. That’s a really useful perspective 👍. I was also thinking of it being used more like @Amps has suggested given its size.

                Wasily Like Damo said, they’ve been a staple in hip hop production forever. I guess they make it really easy to chop and rearrange samples. J Dilla was a notable example if you’re looking for particular wizardry.

                  The problem with these things is you really need to dedicate time learning the workflow, which is often compromised by a limited amount of buttons resulting in features being hidden under sub menus/shift buttons.

                  Time is better spent just learning your chosen DAW which exposes the same stuff with a mouse and keyboard and more screen real estate.

                  First impressions of Engine DJ desktop have been less than positive. Traktor is far more intuitive to use in nearly every aspect. Even the waveforms are a step back from traktor imho. I’ll keep persevering as it’s learning a new software, but stuff like not being able to immediately change the genre/title of a track with a simple double click. Wtf? I want to try stems out too but the basics so far have put me off even trying. The sc live 4 controller is great though, shame about the software.

                  2 months later

                  Picked up some CDJ3000s and a DJM900 from a mate this morning for the gig on Saturday - fuck me, that’s a nice bit of kit. What a joy to play in they are.

                    • Mmjh

                      • Post #2972

                      Along_the_Wire

                      I’ve been looking at buying a XZ controller. Currently fighting the urge to max out a CC on these, instead.

                          mjh I wouldn’t - I like the kit, but look at the AZ - the sound is vastly different with the DJM900 versus the XZ would be my main issue. Assuming the soundcard in the AZ is solid

                              Along_the_Wire

                              There is a subtle difference (when mixing) but it didn’t seem vast to me.

                              They did improve it with firmware 1.22 though so it running old firmware there was a more pronounced difference. It was similar to 900nxs1 but it was 900nxs2 I noticed the difference and pioneer themselves said XZ most closely resembles 900nxs1 quality

                              I wouldn’t let it put anyone off especially for home use or small / room 2 gigs etc.

                                  The 3000s were lovely , but you are looking at £5k for a pair . We also used a NXS2 and to be fair the difference between a circa £7k system vs my £1500 RX3 was minimal from a workflow perspective . All effects and screens/look and feel were pretty identical . Suppose that’s the beauty of Pioneer products . Flipping between hardware isn’t a massive pain .

                                    IndustryStandard i second this. Having played on XDJ1000MK2, CDJ2000NSX2 and CDJ3000 in the last month Idon’t think the gap between them all is that massive enough to warrant the extra money unless you’ve got a money tree in your garden.

                                    In regards to the mixer, again as much as I’ve enjoyed playing on a DJM900 for the past couple of months, I much prefer the feel to my Xone:43

                                      …it’s all about feel with mixers IMO, good to know your way around Pioneers because of their ubiquitous presence in venues (assuming your ultimate aim here is to ‘play out’ of course!).

                                      Honestly think that on the kind of soundsystems most people have access to, sound quality is much less of a significant issue these days, 95% of users are fully digital and new generation Pioneers seem to have eradicated a lot of the issues that the older mixers had.

                                      For me there’s definitely a compromise in build quality though, even the Euphonia (AlphaTheta, I know!) feels a little shonky on that front, the main pots/ISO’s feel fairly solid, but the EQ’s/FX switches/knobs could literally be from any other Pio mixer/controller- not what I’d expect on a £3.5K bit of kit, and it’s actually a mixer that I quite like based on its features etc.

                                        Unbroken1 question for you. I know you have a penchant for boutique rotary mixers, but why do you think it is that pretty much every DJ (Tenaglia, S&D, Cox, Oakenfold, whoever) who has ever played on Urei/Bozak/other rotary on some of the (quoted) best soundsystems ever assembled (Twilo, Stereo, MoS, Home, Cream etc) never play on them by choice now?

                                        I keep hearing about how good these things sounded, but literally no one is using them now to my knowledge and they’ve just become expensive collectors items.

                                        Just wondering your thoughts as to why this could be!