thinking of buyin a korg zero 4.. anyone here got or used 1? pros n cons please>
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  1. #1
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    Default thinking of buyin a korg zero 4.. anyone here got or used 1? pros n cons please>

    as above just want opinions that count hence posting on djtt this will be my first midi/ firewire mixer if i buy it so i dont know enough too jump straight in
    3 cdj 400s, djm 700, efx 1000, tpro, control x1 and krk 6 Gs

  2. #2
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    I have one .
    Sounds great , works great, looks great.
    Most versatile mixer ive ever used. The channel options are unreal
    4 channels or (little know) 8 channel mixer with a special function.

    More FX that you can shake a stick at.

    Total Midi control surface that can be used to control Traktor or any midi application.

    Mine is up for sale actually. Never use it these days. In fact i havent used it in over 6 months since i moved house. Its still in the original box.

  3. #3
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    thanks karlos im really swayed now wats the deal with 8 channels how does this work? was gna buy 1 sell my djm700 n go for the certified upgarde for t2..
    wats the damage on urs?
    3 cdj 400s, djm 700, efx 1000, tpro, control x1 and krk 6 Gs

  4. #4
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    I got one, used it for about a year before I came to college and started mixing internally with a VCI-100. I definitely loved it, it's solid as hell, effects are pretty good. The midi-capabilities are top notch, definitely going to explore those a lot more this summer.

  5. #5

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    >.> why arent these awesome mixers Club standard?
    /人◕‿‿◕人\
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  6. #6
    Tech Mentor Dubba Dutch's Avatar
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    The Bad

    Sadly it took about 4 months to kill my beloved Zero4, I strongly disagree that it's "solid as hell". To be fair I'm a turntablist, I subjects mixer's pots and faders to endless hours of abuse. Disclaimer, I'm not a heavy handed knuckle dragging mixer killer, in 14 years of dj'n the Zero4 is the 3rd pro range mixer I've worn out, the difference is the other two victims were designed in the mid 90's (Vestax 05 and 06) and they both lasted years and years .
    I'm sure the Zero4 would stand the test of time when used by dj's who are more in to tweaking there controls. But I practice scratching for hours for a number of nights a week, it took me only 3 months to ware out the version of the Pro X fade it has installed, so I went to replace it with the proper version of the Pro X fade but it wouldn't fit in the hole, Penny & Giles xfade does fit, but you have to drill new holes to be able to screw it down.
    The X Y pot in the main effects section got quite a lot attention from me hence after a few months use the feel became very different to all the other rotary's, very lose and quite a bit of wiggle play.
    There were odd occasions where I had to turn it on and off as a channel would get frozen in different input modes. But the final straw was all of sudden the recordings I'd done via Zero4 using Traktor started to pick up artifacts and interference.
    The pop/click sound you get from changing between firewire and alternative options is pants.

    The Good (for me any way)

    The first less obvious plus was being able to run together Kore player or Maschine and Traktor "Scratch" Pro on the Zero4, for some almighty annoying reason it's not possible get Kore or Maschine running along side Traktor DVS on the Audio8. I love fiddling around with N.I. Kore Player ,but once it's paired with Traktor on the Zero4, the threesome equals a serious amount of of awesomeness.
    The effects are typical for Korg, powerful but qwerky. Once midi clocked together the Zero4 BPM will stay tight to Traktor's master tempo making the Zero4 effects and sampler very easy to play with.

    I do really love the Zero4 but you could say it's a victim of Korg's feature over build quality qay of doing things, for starters plastic pots should NEVER be found on a pro mixer. My short time with it did ignite a serious interest in hybrid mixers but with Traktor Pro 2 on the horizon I would wait to see how Certified mixer's will handle all the new S4 features.
    For example, your average Certified Hybrid mixer has 8in 8out interface which doesn't leave much room for the loop recorder/player. So fingers crossed NI will open the new improved deck routing options to certified mixers too.

    As it's in the same price range, consider the Denon 1600, very similar feature list but far superior build quality.
    Last edited by Dubba Dutch; 03-04-2011 at 01:08 PM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by djackie View Post
    thanks karlos im really swayed now wats the deal with 8 channels how does this work? was gna buy 1 sell my djm700 n go for the certified upgarde for t2..
    wats the damage on urs?
    i think the 8 channel comment was regarding the korg zero 8? I've been looking at the zero 4 as well looks very nice but it's kinda expensive here (Switzerland 1500$ new) and my laptop doesnt have firewire

    Karlos: How does the MIDI+Audio mode work? can i set it up so that the EQ+fader are audio from the onboard soundcard whlie the 4 EFX knobs are MIDI? I thought about it for the new TP2 where you could have the 4 knobs control sample volume (or filter) on the mixer for 2 sample decks.

    only annoying thing is if you play at clubs you'd have to take it with you or miss the MIDI controls but as I dont play at clubs yet...
    Xone 42, X1, Audio 8, Maschine mikro

  8. #8
    Tech Mentor DennisHuiberts's Avatar
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    I've had a Korg Zero4, but the DSPs inside it failed on me (this seems to be a common problem with this mixer). Luckily it was under warranty, so they repaired it for me. The problem is; Korg replaced the faulty DSPs with the same kind! I've read some reports from people that their repaired Korg failed again on them. That's why I sold my Zero4 immediately after it was repaired.

    I don't know if Korg stepped up their game and resolved this problem, but my advice would be; save yourself the hassle and say away from it.
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  9. #9
    Tech Mentor Dubba Dutch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ashigari View Post
    can i set it up so that the EQ+fader are audio from the onboard soundcard whlie the 4 EFX knobs are MIDI? I thought about it for the new TP2 where you could have the 4 knobs control sample volume (or filter) on the mixer for 2 sample decks.

    Indeed you can set it up like that, once your chosen channel is in audio & midi mode. But like you say getting used to something that isn't easy to take to the clubs isn't ideal.

    @DennisHuibertsm - While I researched how to fix the issues I had with my Zero4, I found a large number of un happy users making the same points as your self. A few years has passed since it was discontinued, which is a big shame as it'll never get the updates it obviously needs. Once mine is fixed I plan to do the same as you and sell it straight away and then I'll most probably purchase the Denon 1600.

    If I remember to take a camera down the studio later I'll take picture of the current condition of my Zero4, at the mo it's in pieces as I'm replacing the fx wet & dry fade. Unlike all the other fade's, the bloody wet & dry is soldered directly to the main pcb board and it's a right bugger to get to. Actually thats another thing, I pretty much opened up and self serviced most of my mixers over the years and what lies inside the Zero4 hardly breeds confidence.
    Last edited by Dubba Dutch; 03-04-2011 at 09:39 AM.

  10. #10
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    I had one, great mixer IHMO, sometimes I wish I didnt have to sell it. You can connect anything to it and run it almost any software. What I find funny that now this mixer is discontinued, everybody else is coming out with a 4 channel mixer with a sound card built in. At the original msrp of $1299 its a bargain, compared to Pioneer's Nexus at $2000 or A&H DB4 at $2900. The mixer has ton of effects on each channel then you can shake a stick at and then you have a master effects you can combine with any channel plus a line sampler. The option to switch to from audio to midi or mix both on each channel is crazy.

    The only real complaint, I would have about the mixer, is that I wish the knobs were thicker for smoother tweaking.

    The comment made about the crossfader, I had no problems with mine, but also dont think the mixer was designed for turntablists. But I did see a tutorial video on how to replace the crossfader with a Pro-X fader.


    Pros:
    tons of effects
    tons of master effects
    mix midi and audio on the same channel
    midi in & out
    firewire connection, so it free up your usb ports
    sexy as hell
    easy to see in the dark, light up like a christmas tree
    multiple eq settings
    fader curve adjustments
    midi programmable
    24bit/96kHz sound card
    guitar in

    Cons:
    it got discontinued
    no options for rack mount, if you wanted to do that
    mine didnt come with 7" Traktor vinyl
    small knobs
    hard to read some of the leds in the daytime outdoors
    Last edited by deejaysoul; 03-04-2011 at 09:50 AM.
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