I'd rate my experience 8/10.
Pros: sound quality, ruggedness, connectivity, ease of use of the efx, midi capabilities, 2 usb, 4tts mixing ...
Cons: cue buttons material and accuracy (thx dicers), the 4 small rotary buttons get stuck when pressing down, the fact that when comparing with the 57 we dont have a view in SL showing us which group we are in and what each button does, design wise i dont like the front knobs, makes it impossible to fit it in a bag and the mixer is a bit too wide too (2inches too wide to fit in my udg creator backpack)

Overall I love this mixer and dont regret buying it.

yeh i love my 68.

theres a few teething issues with buttons(cues, cue points, flex fx) not responding 100 % on point but im pretty sure after the next coupla updates theses should be gone.

when is 2.3 out? lol

Hi Res-Q! Some of the early units we shipped had not-so-good encoder knobs. Luckily, it is a quick fix. If you PM me your contact information, I will take care of it for you.

I do love this mixer!
And much like all the people who actually love this mixer ..there are things I don't like or hope will get fixed in future updates like s3kn0tr0n1c was mentioning. But I like it so much that I def. am thinking about buying another…mostly because I feel there is just no other mixer out there that can do all that this mixer can do.

I know I work for the company but even if I didn't... there is no other mixer on the market that allows me to do what I can do with a Sixty Eight. Thus the Sixty Eight is the ONLY mixer for me:)

Yeah, I might be biased but I do see the advantages of this mixer compared to what else is out there. When it comes to using DVS, this is the champ. I dj with a DVS system, so it's my natural choice although I'm not always using all 4 channels.

Majority of the people that come to forums either have problems with the hardware or software. I personally come to learn, meet other DJ's and the support staff, laugh at "Yo DJ So Bad", software request, hardware firmware request, BETA test, and yes.. complain about the almighty Sixty-Eight. I love my 68, but it does have its shortcomings. However, companies like RANE and SERATO listen to there customers and want there feedback.

Do you think they will release another mixer with CUE buttons like the Sixty-Eight? NOPE!

"The wheel that squeaks the loudest gets the grease."

Years after the TTM 57SL released, Rane and Serato still support it through updates. For this reason (and Rane's and SSL track-record), I bought the Sixty-Eight.

I to come to these forums to learn, talk to fellow DJ's and all the other positive things you said...

However, "certain" people that gripe about the "evil" cue buttons seem like they wished they never bought a 68 in the first place.. REALLY, if you are so turned off by the buttons - don't buy it, return it and get your money back or sell it on Craigslist/eBay and move on to something you like.. But "The wheel that squeaks the loudest makes the most (annoying) noise."

No it's not perfect and new designs will be different, not necessarily "better" however.

I will say this, Rane as a company is FAR more caring about their customers (DJ's) than ANY other company in this game.. Ever tried to phone up Pioneer for help? (Good luck finding someone that actually knows they manufacture DJ products..) Or how about Technics/Panasonic for parts for yer 1200's (2hrs & 4 different phone operators in 3 different countries...) M-Audio (HOLY SH*T these guys don't even speak understandable language!!) The customer support from Rane and specifically Chad, Zach, Trevor is hands down worth the price of the Rane hardware.. Trust me...

It seems that Serato (software company) needs to match Rane's buid quality... Where the he'll is the "less new features, MAJOR bug/reliability upgrade" AKA 2.3 gonna drop???????????

+1 for these are the issues that really need addressing.

I'm getting tired of getting to gigs to find that I've lost crates, lost files etc. oh look, the beachball again.
(and yep.. I've done all what's required. But it still plays up 'n crashes pre/post playing..)
I moved from Traktor a while back... there was never this problem..

As for the 68 - I'm really happy. It's solid, reliable, audio sounds great.. the only issues would be:
Cue buttons for the reasons listed elsewhere, the fx a bit 'thin' sounding..

loosing crates....not a 68 prob but an SL one.....not having this happen to myself but this is no good.

hope you keep a backup....i always backup my crates/database as well as my music.

hahahahaha i thought i was the only one seeing thinks... that all of a sudden am loosing crates and files!


good to know am not the only one experiencing this

I know, worst of it is.. you walk out the house all packed.. you've tried a few tracks earlier in the day..
all seems good.. 5mins before I'm going to play - Lost song files, crates all dumped in the trash and/or file not found then the spinning beachball... (tried many things on the Mac and SL to keep them ship shape, but still happens)..

I've had this prob quite some time s3kn0tr0n1c and always keep a backup.. but even that has it's down sides. I mean this is a live piece of software that should be rock solid reliable. It's frustrating to think every timeI make a new crate with some different / new tracks for that evening or venue that I've gotta backup and rely upon it, I got enough worries setting up, client, venue, changing room - yer on in 15mins etc.. than to get to the decks and see Serato Scrash Live!!

Sorry to go off-thread with the SL, not as it's related to the above but anyone know if there will be an firmware update to the 68 soon and what it might hold - or what is it missingor needing tweaking that could be added via firmware?

I love my 68, it took a minute to learn it's features and advantages. But after words it's an awesome mixer, especially switching DJ's at the club. The cue buttons have been fine and have worked 99% of the time. I've learned press them at the bottom edge. After people play with it for a few minutes and learn the basics, most people like it.

I wish the EQ and filter knobs were a bit bigger a la DJM800, but other than that...I've been pretty happy with it. Wish there was some action on tweaking the effects, but overall its pretty good.

maybe your database file is corrupt?

you tried re-building that.

As far as hardware goes it's the best. Coming from the school of DJ Tech Tools, I like buttons and knobs and no other 4 channel mixer has nearly as many, let alone the Rane reputation. Even given my personal PC's drivers issues (and wanting to run this thing as asio device), the 68's design and execution smashes the bar. My hat goes off to the "user interface" designer who laid this thing out. I am really shocked how many cheap dj's won't just pony up and buy one, seriously by the time whatever you bought around $1000 (S4's, NS7, Pioneer Controllers, Sound Cards) are obsolete you could have enjoyed a 68 for a year or two and still have another couple of years of life in the thing. I don't understand why this is not in most clubs. Rane needs to send some reps and demo units around to clubs and get them hooked. The hours I have enjoyed mixing on the 68 bring it's cost per hour to a pretty reasonable hobby.

yep, done the above a few times.. still happens.
My only theory is - SL doesn't play well with external drives (Glyph 062 connecting with firewire)
.. SL needs it's 'file/structure/library/crate' part of the software looking at if that's possible to make it more solid.

I haven't even considered playing on another mixer since I bought my 68. I've had some minor issues (filter button loosing up, losing a phono screw, midi mapping instant double buttons pressed at once restart track), but overall it's been the best piece of equipment I've ever had in my arsenal! Keep in mind that I went from a Pioneer 909 & TTM57SL. Keep up the good work Rane! =)


P.S. If I get one more comment about it looking like a christmas tree...lol! =P

I love my 68, the only problem is I have is that I keep showing up at clubs that don't have one!!!

Bring your own and hook it up …tell'em whats up! ;)

Get a case, plug it in... get it out there.. :)

I would, but since serato, I try to ride my bicycle to most gigs. No lie. reggaedelgado.blogspot.com
Plus, I'm not gunna de-install anything at a club for a few hours... at my residencies I sure as hell will though!!
The one thing is that it has SO MANY awesome features, a lot of DJs kind of get intimidated and just stick with real basic stuff and don't think too much about it. I try to have open studios once a week to let people check it out, though....

I L.O.V.E my 68 too, I had some issues with some of the buttons & push rotaries when I first got it, but happily the supplier got me a another one. Personally I find Pioneer mixers more complex to use. I used to own the old DJM600, and most places here have the DJM 800 installed. I always bring the 68 to gigs if I can.

Nothing beats it when playing back to back, faster & easier to connect.
And the sound quality... :D

hats off to rane for a great ergonomic mixer.
love my 68! sold the djm-800 w/rotary knobs & never looked back.

i still want rotary knobs...come on, its got four screws *asking* to be unscrewed. who cares if the knobs are small, i'm not complaining about your small knobs as it is now.

hurry up & give me my 19 inch rack ears...its metal with holes drilled in it.

ziggenpuss-i'm way over 100k songs & i don't have that happen ever. sounds like a corruption in your files/hard drive and you need to rebuild your overviews. maybe re-install your SL software.

this mixer should be in more clubs as a permanent install. get your reps out on the road & have them knock on/kick a few doors @ clubs.

Cheers erange, I wish it was.. but I've checked and done both those things a few times over..
It still plays up. (trust me, I'm running my macbook pro very tight, with SSL, Ableton, Logic, itunes on - theres literally 3 to 4 more programs on there. Everything not needed - front row, address book all that crap and their prefs. including some utilities - were stripped out..)

I think whats needed is some kind of 'more stable' library/crate/external drive fix from SSL.

Moving back to the 68 subject..
Pioneer has just released it's firmware v2.0 for the DJM2000.. beefing up the fx a little...

Does anybody know if it's possible to have an update for the 68 that would change the fx 'in such a way' through the firmware? Or are the fx pretty much 'set' at where they already are..?

The FX can definitely be upgraded via firmware. I will be trying to get this some attention as soon as our engineers have the time to work on it:)

Fantastic.

Anybody with ideas/thoughts on the 68s FX ?

I hate to be the guy that suggests things to act like another mixer, but I like the frequency sweep of the filters better on the 800 then the 68. Same with the flange.

...its probably because Ive used an 800 forever though. hard to unlike something

Yeah - I wasn't trying to compare with the Pioneer or emulate it, I was just thinking that if it's possible to
alter/tweak the 68s FX - then what would/could we change if possible..??

Personally, I think the Robot is a weird one and have never really had him out the box.
Mind you it is funny when you place it on your own mic channel through a huge PA..!!

rane.com

:)

I bought the 68 yesterday and took it to a gig with no experience on it. DUB and erange helped me with the set up. I hate manuals but both dudes where helpful. That's why I love this forum. I owned the 57sl and to me the 68 is way better and worth it. It's so easy to use and I think it will pay itself off very fast by how many business cards I was giving out last night. This mixer is the shit! The haters will hate no matter what. Can't please everyone but I am pleased! Not only does is it easy to use, it was so easy to see in the dark with the colors. No light needed at all and it was my first time ever using it. The beauty of it peeked a ton of interest from so many of the guests at the event. I am very happy and would tell the folks on the fence to go and order yours!

woot woot!!! That is what I like to hear....Not just because I work here, but as a DJ and stepping to a new mixer, Awesome.

I havent got the chance to come back n say thx to Rane for their customer service. I was sent the new scroll caps n I'm so loving my 68 now more than ever!

I have the Sixty Eight - built like a tank!!! The buttons are not a sensitive as the Dicers, but I can live with it.

Rane Question???

Will Rane be attending www.videodjconferen​ce.com to showcase Sixty Eight to all the VJs? I noticed Mix Emergency is used by several VJ/DJs on The Mixing Lab.

Thank you for this great discussion!

Chris aka SpinDoctor

Hey SpinDoctor,

We were just discussing that video conference this morning.
We hope to be there. Just need to work out the specifics:)

I love my Sixty-Eight - No issues here, there is a slight learning curve but hey there was also on the 57 - once you learn navigation....your all good!

I complain because I've had nothing but trouble with it! Cue point buttons sometimes don't work, the EQs and filters are way too touchy and the sp-6 doesn't work when you set it to "master". Not trying to be dick, but the mixer has it's flaws.

Have we tried addressing some of those issues for you yet?

Maybe you can start a help thread and we can tackle some of the issues like you EQ and Filters being "too touchy".

The sp-6 won't route out of the master output.

The reason for that is this is a 4 channel mixer. Lets say you have audio playing from two of the four channels you are using. If the SP-6 is routed to master the sample will play out of both of those open channels. This means you have twice the amplitude and that will sound bad in the mix. This is why you need to assign it to a certain channel.

im callin bs.

lol@Mr. Goodkat! Yeah, trust me it happened and Dub could tell you cuz he actually called me to help me after I requested in a pm. Funny thing is last weekend at a wedding in Napa before sunset the lights were a little tough to see in broad day light. Like I said the haters will hate and just Ante up or stick with the 57.

I know this doesn't affect the lights but you know you can adjust the backlighting of the LCD screen for the effects to make it easier to see right?

I have a ttm 57,a 68, DJM 800, 600 and mp 24, just sold my Urei and Bozak. The 68 is the 2nd best sounding mixer in the bunch behind the Bozak and the DJM's fall dead last. I love the flexibility and ruggedness of my 68. I have no real issues with the buttons. I use my turntables for 90% of my cueing and efx. Serato is really the best for turntablest and this is where it excels. I find also the care and maintenance of your mixer will increase its reliability (Keep drinks and smoke away and have a proper hard case not a backpack). I DJ in clubs and mobil, have a rental company and do installs and maintenance for venues and find this is the most glaring problems for all gear. Just cause it is built like a tank doesn't mean you can treat it like one.

@djnativeson
I am supprised you sold your Bozak!! Would'nt mind having one!! I had an Allen & Heath Xone V6 for 4 years and wish I never sold it!!! I should of hooked up and SL4 and gone rotary cra-Z!!
I agree that the 68's I have are great sounding and worthy of the Rane name!

Now if we could all get together and get Rane to make a rotary version of the 68!!!

Gonna do a tag team of at least 6 DJ's at a small club tonite and will bring my Sixty Eight along, gonna make life so much easier for all those switch overs in a crowded booth :D

Still LOVE this mixer!!

sounds like fun!

heres a new complaint other then all the obvious stuff!! my rane mp44 has metal on metal knobs ,wich means the pots and the sloppiness is nil but the rane 68 has metal with plastic centers my pots are all ready warring down and not equally .. anybody??

The only real complaint I have about the 68 is that there was no provision for a rotary-knob version.

I kind of understand because at the time the 68 was in development, rotaries were at a low point of popularity.

Things to like: IMO un-matched overall sound quality (far superior to any Pioneer offering), deep feature set that rewards time spent exploring, and support by a company run by real human beings.

Even if the 68 or other Rane products came with more serious liabilities, the company and people that support the products would still give a big advantage over most other companies producing DJ-oriented products.

This is true. Most of their tech support staff is pretty cool and very helpful.

I had a friend who bought the Pioneer DJM-T1 for MIDI capabilities in lieu of the 57. The fader started bleeding for no reason and it took him almost a month to get his mixer back from Pioneer.

Reason #1 why I would never buy a Pioneer mixer: terrible terrible terrible customer service, including their behavior on their user forums. Blatantly dishonest company. Insanely inflated pricing on out-of-warranty repairs....as well as ridiculous waits as mentioned above.

Reason #2: inferior sound quality. I'm aware that many others don't notice that. Had to play on a DJM-600 last weekend and it was an ear-searing reminder (even when running gains low to prevent the well-known problem of internal summing-bus clipping).

I'll stop the ranting there :-)

love my 68.
would love a rotary option!
if people pay 2 grand for a mixer,they'll pay $200 for a rotary option.

djm 600s were the worst.

ohhh, I've seen a lot worse ;-)

Interesting...I thought the DJM 500 and 600 were about the same in terms of sound quality...to my ears, both were terrible. Only other mass-produced "higher-end" mixer I remember being anywhere near that bad was a late-90's offering from Roland (which quickly disappeared without a trace).

A sound guy came to my club last week to setup a new sound system (Martin Audio....)

He didnt want to do the sound check with my 68, he said the sound wasnt good with it, he said I should use what he had a brought...... a djm 600.
I was like wtf!!!! this is the guy stringing up the sound in the club I play 5 nights a week? OMG this is a nightmare I'm gonna wake up!
So i got into an arguement with him because he thought he knew better n didnt want to look like a fool in front of the owner. I ended up saying to the owner, look, its either I play videos in your club on MY mixer or I dont and go to another club to play. She was like ok play on what you need to play.
But still that douchebag said we had to use a pioneer as the house mixer, and that I would plug the 68 in the Pioneer, I said hell no!
Then the next day he comes back with a..... DJM 700, I was like whatever, let him plug his piece of crap, I'm the one running the sound here anyway, so as soon as he was gone the 68 was back in place, straight into the house system. The DJM 700 is just there collecting dust wired to nothing.

Check this video is not a mix I was just putting one song after another to show how the 68 cue button work so perfect now enjoy it
Watchwww.youtube.com

Wow! It does look like your pushing the cues effortlessly. I look forward to seeing a step by step instructional video on how you did this. Kudos bro!

Very nice - looking forward to the how to.

If not the *best* laugh I've had in 2011, that ranks right up there.

I'm going to guess the "sound guy" is also an audio-equipment dealer? If so, always take their advice with a major grain of salt. Often things like profit-margin/kickbacks/etc. influence such "opinions".

Betting the "sound guy" also made sure Monster Cable was used for the install...

All that aside, the only reason a sound guy might be insistent on leaving one mixer installed in front of the club's processing/DSP would be to preserve a known gain structure/headroom going into the rest of the sound system. Different DJ mixers can give widely-varying results.

Well now I really laugh about it too Mark, but on the spot I wasnt laughing at all trust me.
You are right, he is also a audio-equipment dealer (Martin Audio amongst other stuff). I know about taking their advice with a grain of salt, because I used to sale DJ equipment in a big store in Paris, so I also know about margins, but I never told blatant lies to a customer, that's pure disrespect.
You are also right about different mixers giving different results, but I sure prefer a Rane mixer anytime over a Pioneer :-)

That is hilarious! I can't tell you how many people are amazed at the output and sound quality of the Sixty Eight. This guy obviously has never used a Rane mixer.
I would have blown a gasket.

I did Zach lol, it was a crazy arguement, mainly because when I got there he had removed my mixer to plug in this piece of ish and said I shouldnt use it, n use the Pio instead, thats when hell broke loose!
I would say even more, this guy obviously knows nothing about sound systems!
well the 700 he brought the next is next to me right now in the club, I use it as ash tray disposer and tray for my drinks, thats all its good for imo

I forgot to mention that when I told him he didnt know anything about sound system, he said you're a dj, and dj dont know ish. So the club owner was skeptikal on both of us, thats when I showed them my trailer for Rane/Serato at the MixMove 2012 vimeo.com and then he was like whatever, but the owner was impressed and now I get to make whatever request I want in the club basically so its all good ;-)

The owner obviously has a good dj. He/she needs to get a better sound guy lol:)

well I did try to get Funktion Ones in (they are the same folks who distribute Rane in Korea), but she didnt have the budget.....

This is the video, part one and two on how I fix the cue points.
www.youtube.com view
www.youtube.com view

Sorry wrong link. This is the link
Watchwww.youtube.com
Watchwww.youtube.com

Check this video is going to show you how the cue points are working after a month
Watchwww.youtube.com

Thanks for the video's - now I can't get "Rocky" out of my head...lol

Rane, what say you to any adverse affects on adding the fader lubricant to cue point triggers rests/ports??

Thanks polonyc:)

Good video tutorial:)

Thanks. It was a lot of work but I hope it work permanent.

Well, my top left Cue button died last night...
would this oil trick work or is it a send in for a repair job??

I'm in the UK and feel as though it's gonna take ages to get fixed through sending away and I need to use it every weekend...

interesting, i recently had a "real" sound guy come out to tune in a Void audio system... when i say "real" i mean he has a masters degree, anyway when hes telling me what to bring he says the 57 doesnt sound good and since ill be using mainly a 800 or 68 to bring them....he had never heard a 68 , he left and didnt say anything about the 68 so im assuming he wasnt impressed.......
basically one of the most acclaimed sound engineers in north america says a pioneer 600 or 800 sounds better than a rane 57 and prob a 68 too.....

The following is only my opinion, and I am far from being a "real" sound guy, but I've used mixers from the past 20 years and I kinda know what I'm talking about.
To truely test out and compare those mixers, you have to consider using the same audio file source, ie cd. because mp3's, mp4's, wav, aiff, dont sound the same. Also it depends how the db is set in SL options. I dont know how your sound guy tested and compared them. My sound guy was against my mixer from the get-go and had never seen a Rane mixer in his life.
I've seen so called engineers compare apples and bananas which makes no sense to me.
To be honest, the 800 sounds good but it's overall a crappy mixer regarding components (faders, knobs, etc...) they dont last long.
The 57 is not the greatest sound mixer I've had, but its pretty damn good, I used to like the sound of my Empath better, but when the 57 came out imo only allen & heath could stand the competition.
The 68 is a piece of madness once u get around it, and I dont even use it to its full potential, but as a studio mixer it rocks and as a club mixer too. The sound is imo better than the 57 and also of the 800 paired with a SL4. Of course there's this little glitch with the cues, I say "little" because since I got it fixed by the official distributors of Rane here in Korea they work better then ever and are so reponsive its insane (not that I only started to see problems with them a few weeks ago after using my 68 for more than a year and travelling with it in my bag for months. But even though I use dicers and I believe they are a must add-on to any DJ rig and rarely use the cues on the 68.

I would definately like to read an honest test comparing the 68 with other mixers on the market done by a well reputated pro engineer though

Yeah right...I know B.S. when I hear it...I trust my ear! I bet he is just "used" to tuning systems on a pioneer. And maybe the club had DJs that don't adjust there gains right...or who are using low quality files, or key lock was engaged? maybe the tables/cdjs were not calibrated correctly? to many factors for this to be true!

That "college" stuff is bullshit most of the time, just like the culinary kids 90 percent of them think they are awesome but absolutely cannot handle real restaurants and break down over and over again. Just bc you studied sound doesnt mean you have good ears....

Dj ace is right ppl tend to be biast towards what they are comfortable with

Any "sound engineer" that finds the Pioneer DJM-600 even **acceptable** in sound quality is either deaf dumb or dishonest.

I'm no fan of the 800, but at least the earlier major audio-quality problems that the 500/600 had are much less of an issue. Build-quality and durability of the 800 (and the newer Pioneer mixers I've seen/used) is still an issue (vastly inferior to Rane in that regard).

The 57 sounds just fine as long as input gains are set for no red lights. It falls apart when the internal limiters get active from overdriving the input gains.

The 68 to me sounds great and doesn't have the 57's issue of "too easy to activate internal limiters". Seems to have a huge amount of internal headroom.

I loved my 500; the setup could've been accepted as format for all IMO...That said; if my 68 had a midi-counter, delay and pitch-shifter ( latter avail. through firmware update that I haven't done yet) I would literally take my 68 to bed with me every night . Serato would need to release a line of lingerie

^^^ lol

After being at NAMM 2012 and playing round with the new 62…I really want Rane to change out the buttons on the 68 for the 62's and I know its not just the buttons but the mechanics underneath the buttons…W/E…Just do it!!! LOL

I think us 68 owners were lab rats for the 62…Now I'll wait a year to see if the 62 has some of the same issues or if they finally got it right.

This makes me wonder if there will be a Gen 2 version of the 68. Like how the 57 has had 3 generations of changes.

I just got one last night and stayed up till 4 in the morning to use almost every features of it. I love what it does, but built quality of knobs and buttons are not acceptable for a mixer that is more than $1200. Crossfader selectors seem like on/off switches from old toy cars I used to have. And how does a Unit with a $2600 price tag passed Quality control when I hook my headphone on regular slot does not work? Don't get me wrong, I like tools that work for my needs and wants. I can care less about what brand it is. (PS. Anyone looking for endorsement from RANE or scratchlive, please reply me with your comments directly)

First, in what way are the knobs/buttons build quality suspect? You have had the mixer for maybe 24 hrs? I have had mine for 6 months... No knob/button failure...

Second, Crossfader selector switches - let me guess they remind you of ALL Pioneer mixers in addition to your "toy cars". Hint: How often you gonna be switching the "recessed" crossfader selector switches.. Most people don't transform with em.. ::rolleyes:::

Third, Maybe the issue was the $20 Chinese built headphones you were plugging into the "regular slot", (I assume you mean 1/4" jack?) Ok, to be truthfull, I had an issue with my 1/4" jack on one of my 68'..... but a phillips screwdriver and 10 minutes of my time it has been repaired and had zero issues since... (bend metal contact downward..)


Lastly...
Title of Thread - "Sixty Eight buyers that DON"T complain about their mixer?"

Not "I have had this mixer for a couple hours and played on it for a couple more and it's crap thread..." My advice, if you don't like it return it and get something else that you can spend a couple hours deciding if it's any good... Besides someone will LOVE getting a lower "Open Box Item" price on the 68 you returned...

I looked up my feedback and I think I said "I LOVE what it does" and I stayed up late to play with it cause I LOVE what does. But I have some issues with it and wrote my 2 cents about it. I never said this is crap. I am giving my feedback with a hope that Rane will make a better product for the price. My apology.


Please see this video I made and hope you will understand where I am coming from.
youtu.be
When I have it pressed all the way in I hear it in one side. if i touch or pull out little I hear it fine on both side.




I hate to argue but. see that video again. Also, Rane should take a note here.. why are you including features that is just useless? maybe remove this in future?



Please see my video again. I was not able to find this SONY 700 headphone for $20 anywhere as a new one. Where can I find a bulk of these new for $20s? Help me out.

I bought a $2600 mixer not to jack with a screw driver. Rane should take a note here... we expect you make $2600 mixer that can have some issue that a regular buyer should be able fix it?

Lastly...
Title of Thread - "Sixty Eight buyers that DON"T complain about their mixer?"




My apology again. I would stay away from you. Thanks

We definitely appreciate your input:)

The headphone jack in the Sixty Eight is standard. The issue with some headphone adapters is that they aren't thick enough at the tip thus the jack in the Sixty Eight does not connect to it.
Since discovering that this was an issue for some people we adjust the jack prior to shipping it out so that its recessed a bit more thus fixing the issue.
I'm going to assume the Sixty Eight you bought was one that was shipped out of our factory before we started getting complaints about the headphone jack.
The good news is the fix is extremely simple and there is no need to send the unit to us.
You will need to pull out the fader assembly to get access to the jack but once you do you'll see the part that needs to be pressed down a bit to then connect to the headphone adapter your using properly. I would say the fix should take you less than 5 minutes.

The cue buttons on the Sixty Eight may not be what your wanting. I would also prefer that they weren't so hard. We have already listened to our users in regards to that and completely reworked the switch and cap on our new 62 mixer.

Zach...will there be any way for 68 owners to have their mixers retrofitted with the newer button design?

No.. unfortunately its not possible.
The 62 is a completely different beast.

Zach, do you guys plan on producing a Gen2 of 68s that have the newer buttons, knobs and MIDI clock out?

Yea, I want Gen2 retrofitted in my 68. Can we solder the contact points to a arcade button to get the Cues working correctly?

The mixer would be dynamite with new buttons. I'm still buying a 62, even though the buttons are not rubber (I use the Cues like drum pads).

Is MIDI Clock out possible with the current 68? When are some different hardware effects going to be added? Are the hardware effects stack-able on the 62, or is it just software and Input?

There is never going to be an option to update the current buttons on the Sixty Eight.

Unfortunately I'm not at liberty to talk about possible future updates to our gear/firmware.

The hardware effects are not stackable. You get one effect at a time.
You can, however, stack internal software effects, with a hardware effect, and an effect coming from an external effects processor.

Anyone want to buy a used 68?? Buttons work some of the time :/

+1

hmmm, didn't know that... is there any way to work around this?

Lower the software gain....
However, having a dedicated channel for the sample player is so much nicer anyway...

Rane Sixty Eight

1. Better soft, and responsive buttons all around
2. Magnetic Channel Faders with adjustable tension and INDIVIDUAL Contour Curve Control
3. Center the Channel Strips- Right now they r off center and it bothers the shit out of me
4. 3 Band EQ for the mic channels
5. More LEDs in the PFL Meters- Right now its a bit hard to 'fine tune' Instead of the 7 LEDs/ Channel (5 Green, 2 Yellow, 1 Red) make it 15 LEDs/ Channel (10 Green, 4 Yellow, 1 Red)... STILL KEEP CURRENT IDIOT PROOF WONDERFUL GAIN STRUCTURE, Just add the LEDS
6. Better More Intuitive Effects- Be able to lock out parameters we will never use such as 1/2 beat flanger ( I personally would only leave 8 or 16 beat flangers available maybe a 4 beat one if that. same goes with phasers etc.
7. Better Sounding Effects engines- Filters to sound as good as A&H, Flanger to sound better than PIO, etc.
8. More Effects- Pio has 13 on Board, why do we only have 6... I really want to know.... I don't want to ever rely on computer taxing software effects ever, and we should out do the competition
9. Sound Color Effects- Expand on the channel filter and offer a bit crusher and the other 2 pio effects
10. bring Back mixtape
11. Ability to route the SP6 Sampler to the 'Main' Output = Post fader perhaps even? EX. route to ch. 1,2,3,4, CF A, CF B, SESSION IN, MIC 1, MIC 2, MAIN

This will perfect the Mixer in my eyes, Its already starting off dope, just looks and feels a bit rushed and now has stiff competition with the pio 850, 900
I would pay $2800 for this mixer for sure, $3200 if they call it the rane 69 (immature plug)

Serato (as a program)
1. Ability to go back to the old GUI (one with round PFL in Program Meters- this is 3/4 the reason I never wanted to upgrade past 1.9.2)
2. Stability I heard after 2.0 stability became a problem- this is no bueno and hurt consumer and long time customer confidence
3. Ability to turn off features we don't want (think this is possible already- just hope even with them turned off they don't tax on system performance)
4. Off line library management plug in (duplicate detection, mixed in key, play count detector, album art finder, auto tagging, audio vs video library scanner~ tool that sees if u played an audio track with no video of a similar name in library and crates it, etc. got 99 thousand ideas) $150/ plug in value
5. multi column sorting EX- SORT primarily and 1st by BPM, Then by Key, Then By user preference (artist alphabetical order, genre, track length, whatever)
6. many more but I am tired... but basically make sure us with large (over 2 TB libraries) still can use it with so so macbook Pros

Video
1. Take the best features of VSL that everyone liked, combine them with the best features of Mix Emergency and then put them together and try and get them to run right


Bridge
1. Bring back Mixtape
2. Have a user tutorial program that explains ableton and serato and just really like an idiot proof crash course available online $350/ person value

Did you read the thread subject?

yes but would anyone like these additions or ideas?

possible work around for me (for now)-
DJM 850 + SL4 + Dicers

Would prefer a rane based mixer instead however im going to wait on the next gen rane 68 (69)
I would LOVE one with the rane gain structure...
I always find that with the pioneer when using effects the songs start cranking as well as just really not sounding AS good as the rane mixers

However I would like to test out this 850 and hope it is a bit better however I am still worried about the sound quality issues

Hi, if you could elaborate a bit more on the sound quality you find you get from the 850 to a Rane.
I have a 68 and have been contemplating changing to a Nexus..??
I wondered if anyone had any thoughts..?

1. with rane mixers on the MAIN OUTPUT setting it all the way to 10 or max volume is 0 db... this means that as long as u don't clip the individual channel gains (stay in the yellow with occassional red blips) u r good and will like never blow the speakers

2. pioneer when u engage most effects tend to add gain on whatever ur sampling in the effect... its rather annoying

3. i never feel comfortable when playing on a pio mixer (gain wise) I always feel like when i am bringing in a source its either too low or too loud then I over compensate whatever change I make to the gain knob and then have to keep fine tuning... when mixing hip hop over 2 bars and less... thats obnoxious... same goes when mixing like classic rock which may start off low and then gets loud later on in the record... I feel like with the rane its a bit less

These are my major gripes with the pioneer mixers

again in any of my posts I was not bashing rane/ serato I even said "This will perfect the Mixer in my eyes, Its already starting off dope, just looks and feels a bit rushed and now has stiff competition with the pio 850, 900
I would pay $2800 for this mixer for sure, $3200 if they call it the rane 69 (immature plug)"

I run my 68's channel gains in yellow (never red) and use the Master to adjust output volume. I notice distortion (very minor) running in red, and therefore don't suggest it.. You are right about the Pioneer DJM's adding gain (somtimes huge amounts) when the effects are engaged, I have noticed that the 68's don't seem to be nearly as bad..

@Ziggenpus - I have a friend who owns the Nexus 900 and he does like it, but he is a Scratch Live guy and actually prefers my 68's to the Nexus, He says the reasons are, the cue buttons (that some people hate), the layout, and the build quality. He also says the Mic preamps are way better on the 68 than the Nexus...

The Sixty Eight is 32bit floating point which means that the signal will not clip coming out of the mixer regardless of running it into the red or not.
If you are hearing distortion in the audio its going to be due to the signal getting clipped down stream from the mixer.

Would a 'downstream' example be setting the channel gain too high?

yea I m so confused by the term down stream

Same here Rane please explain?

Down stream meaning the signal is getting clipped at the eq, compressor, limiter, amp, efx processor, speakers that have been inserted after the mixer.


No. The Sixty-Eight is a 32bit floating point mixer. It will not distort the signal regardless of how hot your running (red lining) the mixer.

what about the gain in serato?

The serato gain is different. It's feeding into the mixer, so if you clip from there, than the mixer will output your clipped/distorted signal. But won't distort your distorted signal.

cool, good to know.

It will however distort in a recording via the internal record feature in SL though, so keep your levels nice people!

Just picked one up and I love my 68..best investment ever..

Congrats dj720

I was just wondering if anyone took a look at any of my ideas and feature suggestions and had an opinion on any of them (for or against)

be it for the software or the mixer.

Picked up a 68 yesterday upgrading from the TTM57SL have to say its dope bit of kit...still getting my head round it. Main reason I got was for the 4 decks, will only be using three tho and at this stage controlling the 3rd with midi, that in its self straight out of the box is on point. Only thing I'm not feeling is the xmas tree effect with the back lights on but meh easy to turn off, might look into painting them and leaving some sort of small symbol just to let a smaller amount of light through so you can still see them in the dark and just tone it down a bit.

Other thing that I'm liking is the how easy the efx are to use compared to the 57, I've never been a huge efx fan but this will open a few extra options, stoked on the mic set-up my MC is stoked.

Not sure if I'll get rid of the 57 yet farkin love that thing and must say the I like the feel of the 57 knobs & sliders more than 68, might be having more room on the 57 not sure, Like the dark minimal look of the 57 hence why I want to tone down the lights on the 68.

The price...yea well I got it because it came down here in New Zealand from $3999NZ( 3,023.84 USD)to $2799 and I got them down to $2500(1,890.38 USD). asked the salesman if there was a new version on it's way, said he didn't have a clue lol but did tell me they hadn't sold one unit since its release at $3999NZ haha gee I wonder why.

Anyway I'm stoked to have this, it'll bring some wicked options to my radio show and make gig's so much smoother on change over

mmm nice double post, Mods can you delete one of those and this please

Hey Jimmy glad to hear about ur happiness with the mixer... I hope the Rane guys will look to fix whatever issues u have in the 2nd gen 68... I would venture to say that should come out by 2016 or so

Crazy! Ive had my 68 for nearly 2 years and it cost 2600
Best mixer Ive ever worked on and in the clubs I work in there are a few:)
Shocked to see the price was more this week than 2 years ago! WTF? upon looking for a cheaper price I found NZ was the cheapest place in the world to pick 1 up from...

CHCH Represent :) lol

You in CHCH? yea couldn't believe the rock shop was trying to get $3999 for them, just to add all four plates that came with were warpped, took them back and salesman had the cheek to ask if it was my 1210's that was out lol but yea NZ would more than likely be the cheapest now that they have dropped price and exchange rate etc.

Just a side note anyway of telling if your mixer has been fixed in factory regarding the cue buttons?

No Im in Australia now:) Not sure about the cue buttons.... mine are still ok but I only use it at home and not that often:)

I love my 68! Feel the exact same way and I've even dogged mine out a bit!
R

I thought I'd dust off this thread and ask a question. If a Rane 68 is getting signal bleed. Is there an easy fix for it or is this something that needs service and a credit card (if out of warranty)?

Sounds like you need a cleaning of your faders

That's what I thought. I passed on buying that one though and ended up getting a Six Four.

My residency has two of them so I practiced on one in my studio before I got a 62.

I really like the 68, it's just too bad it doesn't have the midi layers.

If Rane could update the firmware to do this it would be boss!

Then I could use the same setup as my 62 and use it more again.

It does have midi layers? You hit the top left (or is it right?) button and the cue points to switch between the layers

The layers don't work the same.

I'm a new proud owner of a Rane 64. To be perfectly honest, when I DJ, I'm not into all the fancy midi stuff. Give me some cue points and a feel of the crowd and I'm cool.

Just copped a Sixty Eight for cheapness, upgrading from my old TTM56.

So far, so good. I'll be doing a thorough clean-up of buttons/faders etc later on. So far, I'm super-pleased, it's huge, sturdy and to my ears sounds great.

I do wish though it was USB class compliant, then I could plug an iPad into the second USB slot for MIDI controlled FX send/return. I know some of the other mixers are and appreciate that the Sixty Eight is discontinued...but it would be a nice treat as a firmware update!

I felt an urge to bring my cdj's & mixer out to my residency as opposed to my VCI-380 controller which I've used for about 5 years. Left the cdj nexus at home and brought the cdj800mk2's and my Rane 68. I have owned the 68 since it first came out, and I have always loved it!

1st of all, it has Spdif inputs, which I prefer to use with my cdj's or turntables. I only wish it had a Spdif output.

My main mixer at home is the Pioneer DJM 900NXS, but I have always loved the 68's fx...they are always on beat, and that is a big deal to me! Way better than the DJM.

I have been using my mic more and using the fx on my voice. I record my 5 1/2 hour sets.

I just got on the forum to see if anyone has a hack to get 8 cue points out of the mixer. Anyone.