DJing Discussion

Forum
 DJing Discussion
Battle Mixer vs. Club Mixer: What's the better Option?
This area is for discussion about DJing in general. Please remember the community rules when posting and try to be polite and inclusive.

Battle Mixer vs. Club Mixer: What's the better Option?

fvckJuly 10:34 AM - 2 January, 2018
sup serato dudes, long time lurker, first time poster, you know the deal

so I'm currently putting together my little setup, so far I have one of the two turntables I'm getting, still working on a couple of deals with the second one. I'm kinda stuck when it comes to choosing a mixer tho, as I'm planning on doing equal parts of regular mixing and scratching/turntablism. I don't have the biggest budget (who has?), and I'm looking to buy used for less than $200.

so my question is, am I better off mixing on a battle mixer or scratching on a club mixer? a lot of club mixers I've been looking at don't have variable crossfader curves and obviously take up a good deal of space, but battle mixers obviously don't have effects and the EQs often aren't as elaborate.

so far, I think I'm most likely going to get something from the Vestax PMC-line, most likely PMC-05 (Pro III or older), 06, 06T (fave so far) or PMC-07 (if I find a good enough deal). all of these go for very reasonable prices on my local classifieds. as far as club mixers go, I don't even know where to look because I can't afford any of the good DJMs (and I don't even really like them) or Ranes (both of these brands have models with adjustable x-fader curves), and I don't know if, say, Reloops are any good.

that's that, sorry for the weird long post, excited to hear your opinions and shit, I know most of y'all probably started spinning before I even was born

p.s.: if anyone cares, the table I already have is a Vestax PDT-6000 (weird one, heard they were only sold in japan), traded that one for my hifi turntable. for the second one, I'm waiting for sellers to respond, and there are two routes I can take: either buy a PDX-D3 and call it a day, or buy one PDX-A2 and a second one later down the road and use my PDT-6000 for listening and sampling. but that's enough rambling for now.
Detroitbootybass 5:12 PM - 2 January, 2018
Maybe you could find an old Ecler Nuo (either the 2.0 or the 3.0 model) as I assume both should sell used for close to your $200 budget).

Also, you could afford a Rane TTM 54i or the TTM 52i (both should sell for less than $100). Other potential Rane models would be the MP22z, the MP24z, or the MM 8z (all of those 'z' models have crossfader curve adjustment options).

And you already mentioned the Vestax PMC-05, so you're on the right track.
deezlee 6:07 PM - 2 January, 2018
Used rane 56 or 56s will last you forever.
fvckJuly 8:14 PM - 2 January, 2018
thanks a lot for these inputs!

I checked out your recommendations, here are my thoughts:

all of these apart from the MP2xz the the MM8z look like battle mixers, or at least have a rather minimal layout. does this mean I'm best off getting a battle mixer for my situation?

the Ecler Nuo really looks interesting - I recall almost buying one at a flea ages ago lol, I'll keep an eye open and snatch one if the price is right.

as fare as the Ranes go, at a first glance, I can't quite make out the differences. there seem to be only slight differences in the layout/featureset, is it mainly a quality difference?

and of course the Vestax', I think I'll have to pull the trigger if one of the nicer ones pops up for a good price. so far, someone's selling a PMC-06T for 65€ (roughly $70 I'd say) and I kinda fell in love with the form factor. how bad of an idea would it be to just cop it and see if I can work with it? I know it's very limited (2 band EQ, no FX send, no mic, no aux in and shit) even compared to other battle mixers, but do y'all think I could pull of a mix using one of these?
skampy 11:58 PM - 2 January, 2018
I'd buy the 06T only for collection purposes, as it really is no good (I've had one). The x-fader is crap (it will wear out soon and a spare, if you find one, will almost cost you as much as the mixer itself at 65€), and the EQ is crap, so you have neither a "mix" mixer, nor a scratch mixer.

In Europe (don't know about the US), you can find the DJ Tech DIF-2s New for under 200€. As it has a superior 3-band EQ and a mini Innofader, this would be more logical.

And indeed, Should you be able to find an Ecler Nuo 2.0 at the right price point (should be doable in Europe), this would be a no-brainer. Excellent mixers, decent sound, faders, build quality... Should last you a long time.
deezlee 12:54 AM - 3 January, 2018
Instead of thinking "mix vs battle mixer", think "efx vs no-efx".
You can mix on any mixer and you can learn to scratch on most any modern crossfader.
But yeah, you want 3 band eq's for sure.
O.B.1 6:27 AM - 3 January, 2018
I would lean toward a battle mixer if you want to keep it simple and also if you plan on incorporating any scratches, cuts, record manipulation, etc. (which is indicated by your concern for a cross-fader curve adjustment) and also if area/space is an issue.

Although club mixers generally have more channels/input options/FX, EQ options.

Just curious when you say "club mixer" do you mean something like a Pioneer DJM 900 (12in. wide)? Or a 19in. like the Rane MP2016?
fvckJuly 6:44 AM - 3 January, 2018
@skampy: okay, will pass up on the PMC-06T for now.

someone's selling one of the Roland 909 joints (DJ-99 I think) for 100€, do you think they come from the same OEM as the DJ-Tech? Roland has exactly the same featureset and layout (even down to the DVS loop, which I really like) and also uses an Innofader. are the faders the main thing to look for in a mixer?

@deezlee: got it. that's the thing I'm still wondering, can I really do without DSP? neither the Vestax' nor the Roland joint I've been looking at at least have FX loops so I could use a Kaoss or something like that.

I don't know why, but Ranes don't seem to exist on the market over here, there's like a handful of 56' for 400€+ and nothing else lol

@O.B.1: thanks for your input. I refer to DJM-950-esque devices when talking about club mixers.
dj_soo 7:42 AM - 3 January, 2018
roland had a brief forray into the DJ scene in the early 00s and then opted out until just recently with their controllers.

That roland mixer is about as basic as it gets, but the innofader should feel nice and the sound quality should be good.

Could also look at a DJ Tech mixer if you're looking for something cheap.

A used Rane or Ecler will be far superior tho.
deezlee 7:55 AM - 3 January, 2018
Quote:
@deezlee: got it. that's the thing I'm still wondering, can I really do without DSP?


I guess I'm not the person to ask. I've been gigging for 20 years and I've never used efx whereas some people use them on every song
fvckJuly 8:41 AM - 3 January, 2018
Quote:
A used Rane or Ecler will be far superior tho.


of course, but these aren't really available in the used market over here. all the Ecler Nuos and Ranes are waaaay out of my budget, for some models, there are no offers at all.

so I'm thinking of going for the DJ-99 and maybe plasti-dipping the front (because this thing is ugly lol). thinking about it, when using DVS, I don't really need FX because I can always use the software for that (maybe in combination with a nanoKontrol or something), and when using the real deal, I can always put a Kaoss on the master for delays and shit.

I've just seen someone selling an XONE:02 for like 150€, are these A&Hs any good? I know their pro audio stuff is top notch and I think the 02 retailed for like 750€.

again, thank y'all so much for your inputs.
dj_soo 8:47 AM - 3 January, 2018
A&H's sound great. I don't particularly like playing on them, but you can't really fault the audio quality.
fvckJuly 4:33 PM - 3 January, 2018
I honestly didn't think that deciding which mixer to get would be that hard lol

so hear me out on the following offers in my area:

-Roland DJ-99 (DJ-Tech DIF-2s), 100€. has an Innofader Mini, DVP-loop, no FX send and is ugly (not that it _really_ matters)
-Vestax PMC-05 II, 115€ negotiable, is a Vestax, a classic, great faders, but has no FX send and only a 2-band EQ (!!!)
-PMC-07 Pro, 200€ probably negotiable, has the gold face plate, good faders, no FX send and the weird fader EQs
-PMC-06 Pro A, 85€ negotiable, as simple as it gets (both positive and negative), only has a 2-band EQ, obviously is about as cheap as it's gonna get (not the T I was talking about previously)
-A&H XONE:02, 150€, has all the bells and whistles, basically 4 channels, but has the weird fader EQs too

I'm really struggling at this point, I don't even really know what I want. any major pros/cons I overlooked? any known issues with any of these pieces?
fvckJuly 5:34 PM - 3 January, 2018
Quote:
DVP-loop


DVS**
The Return of Dj Sparky 6:14 PM - 3 January, 2018
get a used native instruments z2,

you'll have efx, loops/cues and a decent scratch mixer,

but you'll be switching to traktor though
fvckJuly 7:19 PM - 3 January, 2018
thought about it, but a) too expensive still (over 400€), b) not too fond of the idea of having a fully digital mixer as I'm planning on moving to "real" vinyl over time c) too many buttons, I don't need no cue points, no sync (lol) or other trickery like that

but I gotta say, the answer to the core question only opened the door for many, many new questions lol, I think I gotta listen to my heart and maybe see if there's a way for me to try any of them in person
dj_soo 7:45 PM - 3 January, 2018
You can play vinyl through the z2 - you just don't get comprehensive effects outside of the filter
fvckJuly 8:24 AM - 4 January, 2018
sorry for all the spam, but I think I just found exactly what I was looking for, the DJM-707. and sure enough, a little google search linked me to a 10+ years old thread ( serato.com ), and sure enough, the man himself, dj_soo, reported in, saying he has one and loves it :D

do you still own/use/love it? you think it would be a good purchase for just unter 100€, being in all working condition with a little cosmetic wear? I'm once again very close to pulling the trigger on this.
skampy 8:31 AM - 4 January, 2018
I've had one, still have it as a backup mixer. Love it. Needs everything you want. If you can find it for €100 and everything is working fine, don't hesitate!
dj_soo 8:36 AM - 4 January, 2018
I finally sold mine just last year. It was a great little mixer.
fvckJuly 9:02 AM - 4 January, 2018
I think it's better than most options I was looking at, especially for that kinda price. has all the I/O I'm ever going to need, good EQs, great customizability for the x-fader curve, optical x-fader and as a little bonus, an FX-send... I don't really know what else to ask for. gonna cop, case closed (at least for now).
dj_soo 10:55 AM - 4 January, 2018
The only minus I found was the lack of balanced 1/4" outs for the booth. Other than that, it's about as feature complete as you can get for a scratch mixer from that era. It was kind of the option for people who couldn't afford the 56 (that was me).
fvckJuly 12:12 PM - 4 January, 2018
I see. from what I've heard, it should also be slightly inferior sound-wise and the up-faders obviously wear out faster. but I think I can live with that, as far as I can tell, spare faders are still available (maybe there's even upgrade potential, haven't checked that). I think I even prefer the layout of the 707 slightly over the one of the 56, seems as if the 707 has much bigger pots, and it just generally feels cleaner and less cluttered (especially the bottom half).

but yeah, just contacted the seller and asked if everything's still good and working.