damn, sorry to hear. Rane is always great about their repairs.

I feel for them on this button issue. If they say they are going to change the buttons, they are going to piss off everyone who already has a 68. If they don't change it, they risk not selling more units.

Honestly I love the 68 and have wanted one since I first saw it, but this button issue keeps me from buying one. I fear making the purchase, only to hear that the MK2 is about to come out and it fixes the issue.

In the long term, I would rather see them say, "oops, we could have done a better job on these and we will fix them whatever the cost" and by "fix" I mean change the button materials. That is going to keep those customers for life.

The reasons given to us for the choice of buttons is that these last longer, which is obviously not the case. I don't think it's realistic to expect these buttons to last the life of the mixer. What is more realistic is to treat the these cue buttons like the crossfader and make them user replaceable.

I mean the cross fader is replaceable, and I have NEVER heard about anybody breaking their magnetic fader. Why have a replaceable part that lasts forever and a non replaceable part that wears out within the first year?

I love Rane and I am always so impressed by the way they design their products, but I really want to see them address this issue.

Yes I totally agree with you there Dub. I love the ease of plugging in my mixer to my MacBook and I am ready to play. I would not mind if the keys were a hard plastic if they were easier to press like on my laptop here. A computer keyboard gets THOUSANDS of key strokes daily and works for years! The only other semi issue I have with the mixer is sometimes the efx section does not quite function properly like it should. Every now and then if i use an effect and switch to another a little of the last effect still play for a moment but it is noticeable. I do not like they way the filter works either as much but again these issues can be fixed with software updates.

I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do while my mixer is back at RANE for repair. GOnna be a rough week and 1/2 without it.

Hey Scott,

I have not heard or experienced such a thing?
Are there any steps or specific effects your switching from or too that cause such behavior?

As for the buttons.. I can say for sure that Rane has no plans to "fix" the buttons. They are what they are.
I will say that we definitely stand behind our products.
If we feel an issue is a fault of ours we will do what it takes to keep our users happy:)

Dub... don't let the buttons discourage you from purchasing a Sixty Eight.
It would be a good decision. Plus I personally got your back if you have issues with the buttons:)

Thanks Zach.

I still plan on picking one up. The pros most definitely outweigh the cons. but....

I'm disappointed to hear that buttons are what they are. The TTM57 has had 3 different kinds of buttons over it's production span, and I just finished retrofitting my V2 57 with V3 buttons (Thanks Raph!) so I am "used" to seeing Rane make improvements. The buttons on the 68 for me went from being a "wow" feature to something that is holding back my purchase.

I am just being honest. You know how much I love my Rane gear and I usually can't think of anything negative to say. I still marvel over my 57 and what I can do with it. But in this case, so many users have expressed their disappointment I'm surprised that nothing is being done. It's not that it ruins the mixer, it's that there is potential for it to be so much more. I still think the 68 is an amazing piece of gear and worth every penny. I want one for the FX, the extra channels, the sound quality, dual USB, the sexiness and more, but I still would love to see those buttons "fixed".

Honestly, I wish the buttons were rubber too, but the fact is I already use dicers, so now I can just program the buttons to whatever. ANd I definitely have never had a problem getting them to engage.
As a matter of fact, I'm in mexico right now and the main thing I miss is my 68! (#2 is a good IPA, can't take too much more crappy lager).

The sad thing is that I mainly use the buttons on my Denon 3700's as well so the buttons on my Sixty Eight do not get that much use. I am trying to figure out still how I am gonna work and send my mixer in for repair. I guess that is the down side of having Scratch Live built in. I have a SL3 but only have OLD 19 rack mount crappy mixers around to use it with.

On t he EFX prob I have now and then I am gonna play around and see exactly what I was doing to make it not function properly.

Scott

I have had the same problems with my head phone cues buttons and my serata cue point buttons also the bad head phone connectors which is inbaresing to bring to show for the price really its going back again for repair to

One of my left cue buttons stopped working today. I took some canned air to it and it is working again..for how long I don't know. =/

Try some CAIG DeOXIt contact cleaner on the buttons! Made my buttons/rotary knobs work like new!!!

I have a couple of buttons that work but I need to press on them in a certain spot to activate/deactivate them. Sucks because its a top cue button on the right and ch1's flexFx button and that can be problematic at times. I was hoping it was a software issue but I'm not sure now with the latest update 2.3 because its still doing it :(

I would call to get it fixed but................. after the 2 or 3 years it is coverd by Rane what are we to do then? That is what scares me!

Pretty sure you're having a hardware issue...

Is it safe to use CAIG DeOXIt on the EQ/filter knobs as well? Some of my knobs are getting literally stuck. In addition, my channel 1 filter knob know feels like it wants to fall off and doesn't even stop in the off postion anymore...

One of my right CUE buttons doesn't work all the time. I have to hit it around 6 times before it engages. I hit it with compressed air and that seemed to help. Now I only have to hit it 4 times in the right area to get it to engage once.

The Rane mixer is awesome, but these pathetic buttons have got to go. I wonder if Ean Golden can retrofit some backlit mini arcade buttons?

I think mine is going to have to go back in again as well. The headphone jack is static-y again, and the right deck 1st cue is starting to misfire again. So sweet.

Dub...

How did you do this?

Rafael sent me new buttons that are taller. I just popped them in.


PS. After taking some time to think about this issue. I have decided not to buy a 68, because of the buttons.

As soon as my busy season is over i have to send mine in for a third, yes Third Time...... Ive had it back for the second time for over a year and the headphone jack wasnt fixed when i sent it in,just the cue button..... At least none of the buttons are going out again(yet)

I will say that even with the hassle of sending it in, the benefits far outway the negatives......
Dj swap, sampler control, efx section is amazing(djf,ext/vst), love the filter knob, the mixtape feature with the bridge is bananas, and archiving vinyl 4 decks at a time at 24 bit is rediculous.....

I dont reaaly like the cue buttons but i feel i dont need to like them.... As long as it engages and functions its doing its job.....
All that said i will prob get a second so when 1 goes down i have no downtime.......

arn't they different widths? did you just change the caps? or did you have to solder?

the ones I was sent fit the V2 buttons perfectly. they just pop on, no solder. you just have to unscrew the faceplate. I cleaned and lubed my faders at the same time and put some deoxit on the buttons. Nothing like a fresh 57!!!

Wow!!! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one returning the mixer for a second time around. Sorry to ear that though DJScott. I must admit though Zach and the guys at Rane have been VERY GOOD with fixing some of the issues. I would like to see rubber buttons on the 68 though. Since it's my OWN personal mixer I would be quite conscious of the wear and tear I put on them but I hope after I get back my mixer with all the issue addressed, I won't have to send it back for quite some time.

Yeah the people at Rane were very appologetic about the problem and did get the mixer back to me in about a week even with shipoping it coast to coast. I am having another issue now that my right side keeps ejecting the song when I have the Sixty-Eight midi asign enabled. This issue just started last night and I have not had a chance to check it out yet and see what the issue is. Hope that is is nothing. JINX sorry to hear u had probs too but again Rane has been quick to fix their products.

I had a similar issue Scott. It could be left over assignments from previous controllers. The 68 is sending the same midi code as before and ends up ejecting the track. I recommend blowing out the presets under setup -> midi, or creating a new one before assigning stuff. That should solve your prob.

What do you guys think of this Denon? serato.com

I've never used it but Denon's been putting out some ok stuff lately and the build quality on their midi controllers has been pretty solid... definitely don't feel like toys or cheap like a lot of others.

that said.... I still prefer the Sixty-Eight to any other 4 channel mixer out there.

Thanks Big Wiz. The reason I'm looking at the Denon is that I don't need the 68, especially for 150% more $$$. I strongly believe that you get what you pay for though, which is why I'm begging for real feedback from real users before I purchase.

YES!!! 1 hot cue button left side bad ...head phone cue buttons not always working ,,headphone jack issues still ,yes second time to send in really ridiculous for the price of this mixer .and then having to pay for the shipping and insurance again ,I think they should at least pay for the shipping