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The cult of rotary mixers

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Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#61

Post by krzbrg »

l33tbro wrote: post #19

Audiophile stuff is so often a bunch of baloney, but a vintage Bozak or Urei rotary actually does sound superior to modern mixers in a pretty noticeable way. Even for colder electronic stuff like minimal techno, I think the discrete components make things sound rounder and just more pleasant. Maybe the best rotary mixers being built today are by a guy in Adelaide, Australia (1). You'll have to wait 3 months (at least…

I got to play on one of those in a small club in Bushwick last week. It was a blast. If anyone is in the area I would recommend swinging by Jupiter Disco for a cocktail.

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#62

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

weego wrote: post #33
sircastor wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't occur to me for a second that it was anything other than kitchen mixers. Not blenders though. I was interested to see where my KitchenAid fell in the grouping.

Spoiler: way up on the indoctrinated into the cult ladder

Found the Kenwood fanboy ;)

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#63

Post by jbergstroem »

antris wrote: post #2

I've been playing records for a few years and have had the pleasure of playing with a DJR400. Some personal additions to the article I'd like to share: 1. The physical feel of the device is amazing. Every knob feels and looks both smooth and incredibly sturdy. It's like the difference between driving a Mazda and a Porsche. Madza might be more versatile, practical, and cost-effective. But which one of them is more fun…

I own a Model 1 (http://playdifferently.org/model-1/). The overall feel is very "analog" and the faders are by far the best I've ever used. The "filter" approach (LPF,HPF) is also hard to live without.

With that said -- not going to lie, still remember the sets I've done on the Radius 4 or Rane's. The feeling creates a totally different experience and it changes the way you mix. Casual, fun - "closer" to the audience somehow.

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#64

Post by jjulius »

empath75 wrote: post #45

All mixers use almost all rotary controls — the only non rotary controls on most mixers are the channel faders and the cross fader. The primary advantage of a channel fader not being rotary is that you can see at a glance where it’s at, and quickly move from one setting to another to a rough level of precision. When you’re doing hip hop or certain kinds of house mixing (think your classic Chicago house style like Bad…

There has been a renewed focus at parties over the last few years, particularly within the minimal techno scene and especially in the Romanian subset of that genre, on quality sound at parties.

Granted, those parties and that music are designed specifically for "the heads", so they're few and far between in the larger picture of club culture, but they do manage to throw a lot of festivals (see: Sunwaves) with thousands of people that have impeccable sound.

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#65

Post by al2o3cr »

vidanay wrote: post #58

And to think....all I want is a 6/12 channel stereo mixer with 3.5mm jacks so that I can combine my PC's and ham radio(s) signals into one common set of speakers.

Dunno if this has enough channels for what you're asking, but the Vixen mixer is pretty close:

https://kvgear.com/products/vixen-mixer

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#66

Post by empath75 »

jjulius wrote: post #64
empath75 wrote: post #45

All mixers use almost all rotary controls — the only non rotary controls on most mixers are the channel faders and the cross fader. The primary advantage of a channel fader not being rotary is that you can see at a glance where it’s at, and quickly move from one setting to another to a rough level of precision. When you’re doing hip hop or certain kinds of house mixing (think your classic Chicago house style like Bad…

There has been a renewed focus at parties over the last few years, particularly within the minimal techno scene and especially in the Romanian subset of that genre, on quality sound at parties. Granted, those parties and that music are designed specifically for "the heads", so they're few and far between in the larger picture of club culture, but they do manage to throw a lot of festivals (see: Sunwaves) with thousan…

Yeah but the difference in sound quality the mixer makes vs everything else that goes into a big sound system is miniscule — at least once you’re in the realm of professional mixing gear. Obv you wouldn’t throw a $50 Gemini mixer into a million dollar sound system.

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#67

Post by H1Supreme »

This article has surfaced some of my current frustrations with the DJ Mixer landscape. I've been DJ'ing (mostly mixing at home) for 20 years now. Started with a cheap Gemini, and got a Pioneer DJM-300 shortly after

I used that DJM-300 from probably 99-2014. It was an absolute tank. Aside from two crossfader replacements, it didn't have any issues. If the RCA's didn't get smashed in as result of a drop, I'd probably still use it.

Since then, it seems like anything under $1000 is going to have extremely poor quality potentiometers and channel faders. Even with big names like Pioneer, their low end mixers are almost guaranteed to have scratchy pots and faders in under a year. And, brands like Numark will have scratchy pots in two months.

Which, is hard for me to understand. I built two mixers for my eurorack modular setup probably 5 years ago, and used alpha pots (which are considered cheap, and cost $1/piece). No scratchy pots at all; and they get considerably more usage than my DJ setup.

I've been passively looking for something to diy, but none of the offerings are aimed at a 3-band EQ DJ setup. I'll probably break open my current mixer and replace all the pots, but it's sad that I need to do such a thing. Especially considering the retail cost of parts will be $10.

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#68

Post by vibrolax »

H1Supreme wrote: post #67

This article has surfaced some of my current frustrations with the DJ Mixer landscape. I've been DJ'ing (mostly mixing at home) for 20 years now. Started with a cheap Gemini, and got a Pioneer DJM-300 shortly after I used that DJM-300 from probably 99-2014. It was an absolute tank. Aside from two crossfader replacements, it didn't have any issues. If the RCA's didn't get smashed in as result of a drop, I'd probably s…

For my application (guitar amps), Alpha pots definitely belong in rare category of components that are both cheap and good. The problem with manufactured gear is that pots and switches are often not readily available for DIY.

Re: The cult of rotary mixers

#70

Post by timc3 »

empath75 wrote: post #45

All mixers use almost all rotary controls — the only non rotary controls on most mixers are the channel faders and the cross fader. The primary advantage of a channel fader not being rotary is that you can see at a glance where it’s at, and quickly move from one setting to another to a rough level of precision. When you’re doing hip hop or certain kinds of house mixing (think your classic Chicago house style like Bad…

Did you ever DJ in London? 15 years ago when I was regularly out we had plastic people, The End, Ministry and of course Fabric. All places that had excellent sound systems, full time engineers and had been built with sound quality in mind. The UK has had a long obsession with quality sound at clubs and raves, and funktion 1 is still producing excellent systems. Clubbing in the US was an eye opener at that time due to poor quality sound.
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