For those that know me and my therapist, I am best known for my passion or more accurately described – my addiction to DJ equipment and most notably DJ mixers.
I would say that this affliction has brought me pain and pleasure in equal amounts. The intention of this post is to try and take a step back and frank look at my behaviour and associated financial endeavours in this field.
I’ve always liked to try the latest gadgets and namely DJ mixers but it could have never been described as an addition, more-so a healthy curiosity. That was until to aide my journey in a more efficient way I designed (what I thought to be) the ultimate DJ desk which would change and evolve along with my ever-changing dj equipment.
I approached a friend who worked at a notable Joinery Company in order to prototype this vision I had. Idokodo DJ Desks was born and the desk came to life. What made my design different was the interchangeable sections and modular nature of the design.
It was the start of this business that really jump started the cogs of my addition. I went on a mission to buy as many different mixers as I could in order to show off the flexible nature of the desk design. As you can imagine this cycle of need and want ended up causing me a fair amount of financial stress and actually stunted my growth as a DJ (more on that in a bit).
A Voice In The Industry
Without any initial intention I started to become (dare I say it) a useful resource for DJs across internetland for DJs who were struggling to decide upon the best mixer for them and had no intention of parting with the sort of money I had in their quest for the perfect setup. Now, with everything I have done in this space I had failed to monetise any of my endeavours and instead looked upon sharing my knowledge as a noble service.
Now I must stress I am not your man if you want to discuss discrete circuits and the inner workings of these audio mixing devices because I (and 99% of DJs) are buying these bits of kit to mix music and be a “disk jockey”. This may be different if I were an audiophile, who religiously sound-treated their listening room with a faultless and perfect audio chain. I like good quality sound as much as the next guy but first and foremost I mix music for the art of DJing not listening. I have a separate hifi system for that.
However if you want to lay out your mixing requirements, genres you play, space you have, current and future equipment in your setup, budget etc etc etc., I will be able to provide an informed and experienced point of view and an array of ideas and options. That is where my strength lied and I am happy to report I have received on the whole great feedback and many happy decisions have been made off the back of my recomendations.
My emotions
I may be coming across bitter about my overall give give and no take from this industry and no doubt I have my demons. But on the whole I have enjoyed the journey and have had some great times behind the decks and it’s always nice to be respected for one’s opinion in such an opinionated industry.
Please please do not follow the pack
If you ask the owner of a Condesa mixer they will tell you it is by far the very best rotary dj mixer on the planet. If you asked the owner of a Pioneer DJM V10 they would swear on their mother’s life it is head and shoulders above anything else. There are several reasons for this undying and clouded loyalty. No1 they have dropped a significant chunk of change on their pride and joy and would never admit there are other mixers on this level. And No2 they simply have nothing to compare it to.
Also there are so many variables and categories to take into consideration when trying to establish “the king of mixers”. What is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. In fact there can’t be a “best” mixer full stop. What is important is in fact what is the perfect mixer for you.
However, you are more than likely going to come to realise that in fact there isn’t even a perfect mixer for you. Harsh realities I’m afraid ladies and gents. I have owned in excess of a hundred DJ mixers and I am still in search of the holy grail.
To Rotary or To Linear, that is the question!
Even this decision can be an absolute nightmare. Especially if you play many genres of music. Whilst rotaries are more suited to long and/or smooth blends so therefor instrumental deep house, minimal, techno and so on, linear mixers are a little more flexible and usable for anything from hip hop to vocal house. In fact any genres that need you to be more reactive in the mix.
Analogue vs Digital
Well this little conundrum has caused an inordinate amount of contention in this micro industry. And needlessly so in my opinion. It goes back to my earlier point around audiophile vs DJ. Also digital has improved massively from a sound perspective and is far less frowned upon.
You have analogue mixers like the classic Xone 92 and digital mixers like the DJM series like the A9, 900 nexus or V10s. Then there is (what I regard extremely highly) the Xone PX5 from Allen & Heath. This is quite unique whereas if you are playing records your signal path is analogue. The effect circuits are digital however. Best of both worlds.
Before we leave this point however I recently had a flag ship Pioneer DJM V10 club install mixer. And while it is built like a tank and has some of the highest specs on the market, I came to the conclusion that compared to the Xone92 Mk2 it was lifeless and nowhere near as warm as the Allen & Heath offering. Now I can’t say for sure whether this is fact or my perception but it was however my reason for choosing the Xone over the V10 depsite the feature packed difference massively in favour of the Xone.
Questions questions
You have to ask yourself questions and more importantly answer honestly. Do not be persued by the excellent marketing (particularly Pioneer DJ) and also be careful what you read in the comments of all those groups you are part of on Facebook. Also do not just copy what your mate has and swears by, the chances are it will not be the mixer for you.
Here are some key questions to start the journey to salvation:
- Budget – this will help narrow it down straight off the bat.
- Linear vs Rotary – or a curveball some mixers have interchangeable fader units.
- Effects – do you need them? Internal vs external (or both on the PX5)
- DJ/Audiophile – Are you mixing music or predominently playing it
- Looks – do not shy away from how it looks. Great looking kit can be hugely inspiring and encourage you to get on the decks. Nobody talks about looks, I think it is a massive consideration.
- Amount of channels and flexility for your setup today and also consider kit on your wishlist. Don’t worry about the haters who say “how many channels do you actually need to mix two audio sources” these people have no clue!
I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.
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