So what happened to Ecler's DJ division?

[djproben]

So what do you want to see in an Evo 5 firmware upgrade?

A few thoughts come to mind -

1. allow MIDI mode to control the effects processors, so you can have more control over the effects using the EQ knobs or whatever; as it is you really can't use the effects on two channels at once easily
2. Allow the Evo to save resolution info between reboots so you don't have to go through menu hell to tell it to use 44.1 instead of 96 if that's your thing
3. DB4 mode I made a Traktor map to do this for me using Traktor's F-92 filter effect (mapped the EQ knobs to control LP, RES, and LP), but I'd love to be able to do it with Evo's sweet sounding filter instead - it sounds MUCH nicer than the filter in Traktor (and I know it's heresy to say but I think I even like the sound better than the filters in my DB4!)
4. Some kind of effect in/out workaround using existing ins and outs (which the mixer has a plethora of) so you can hook up an effects unit if you really must
5. Reassignable FX crossfader - why just control dry/wet with it?
6. A more intuitive interface to the menus. In particular when you click to select a new menu you should be able to use the same knob to move up and down the new menu.

There were more things but I haven't used the mixer in months; I'd have to set it up and play around with it for a while first to figure them out again.

As for open sourcing it, that would be great, but is there anyone who would actually know what to do with it? I would pay for a firmware upgrade that addressed some of these issues. But I wonder how many of the few people who own and use Evo 5s are also firmware programmers...

[MrPopinjay]

Those all sound like great ideas. Honestly I've never seen an Evo 5 in the flesh so I don't really know that much about it. If anything the FX unit looks fairly confusing :P

I'd love it to be open source but honestly I don't believe anyone would be in a position to really be capable of working on it. There can't be that many who are skilled enough to do the work, willing to do the work and actually have access to one.

What do you think of the effects btw? I heard that the Evo 4's were pretty poor, is it the same for the Evo 5?

[djproben]

Those all sound like great ideas. Honestly I've never seen an Evo 5 in the flesh so I don't really know that much about it. If anything the FX unit looks fairly confusing :P

I'd love it to be open source but honestly I don't believe anyone would be in a position to really be capable of working on it. There can't be that many who are skilled enough to do the work, willing to do the work and actually have access to one.

What do you think of the effects btw? I heard that the Evo 4's were pretty poor, is it the same for the Evo 5?

The FX unit IS confusing, and could easily be less confusing if someone who actually had to use it also had some say in what was changed. But it's confusing because it is so comprehensive - you can pretty much adjust every possible parameter of every effect, and you can save preset combinations of effects (and you can save combinations that use both FX processors, including all the settings of every parameter). It's pretty incredible actually in terms of power.

Like I said, I'd be willing to pay for a firmware upgrade and I'm probably not the only one; there's probably not a ton of money in such a product but there's probably at least enough to fund a couple of Evos for the programmer. But yeah it's kind of a pipe dream; it is too bad because it's such a nice unit. The only real complaint I have about the hardware is the firewire port; I wish it had a USB option because firewire ports can be flaky (the one on my laptop sucked and would not allow decent recording with the Evo 5 - in the end that and the lack of firmware upgrades are the only reasons I switched to A+H) and on top of it they're harder to find these days; forget about using this with a new MacBook Air for example.

As for the effects, many of them are dreamy! At least, for the way I mix, I loved them - you could be very subtle with them. There were some lame effects but the filters are incredible sounding, and there are some great preprogrammed flangers and LFOs to play with. The delays were also fantastic, a really nice ping pong one and some other options. There's a vocoder that is very cool though it's possible to sound cheesy with it. But in a house anthem with a diva vocal breakdown and a fat drop afterwards it's just brilliant. There are some effects I really wish they had included; if there was a firmware update I would hope they would add some kind of beatmasher/beat repeat effect for example. And a gater would be nice too. But overall the effects are nicely done and the ability to configure and adjust so many different parameters of each effect makes it possible to develop your own style with them rather than sounding like everyone else who uses the same mixer (*cough* pioneer).

Combined with the FX crossfader they can be a whole lot of fun to play with. That crossfader on the Evo 5 is a really nice touch that I wish more hardware manufacturers thought of; controlling FX with a crossfader gives you a lot of cool possibilities. Scratch DJs bitched that you can't really crab on it because it's got buttons next to it, but for this kind of use I'm not sure of the value of that kind of speed cutting.

[tekki]

Actually a firmware update would be awesome. A software upgrade to the effects processors would do a world of good to the Evos. It's certainly make me consider getting an Evo 4.

So what do you want to see in an Evo 5 firmware upgrade?

Hey Guys,

I might be able to hook you up with the uncompiled firmware.
Been talking to a friend of mine, who happens to have had close connections with Ecler in the past. Will be trying to get him on board as well.

[ekwipt]

Does that mean open source firmware ! That would be awesome!!!

[tekki]

Open Source, don't know, but it could be a possibility to start building new/update firmware if all goes well.

[MrPopinjay]

That would be pretty awesome. I wonder if there's anyone out there willing/capable of doing the work.

[tekki]

Well, I actually heard the firmware was easy to code.

I haven't seen it yet, it all goes by word of mouth. I really hope the guy I talked with can find some time to join in on this as well.

[djproben]

Holy shit that would be my dream come true. I knew there was a reason I kept the Evo 5 around. Now we just need to find someone who can code... I can't do shit about that but I would be willing to throw a little bit of money at the problem, and I can't be the only one. I love my DB4 but I actually prefer the Evo hardware on a number of levels and would love to make it my mixer of choice.

[DJWORX]

From the information I've been given, it's fair to assume that Ecler as a DJ company is all but over. The Ecler DJ site hasn't been updated in 3 years, and the main Ecler.es site has almost no DJ product at all - certainly no HAKs or EVOs. They weren't even on Sonar. And attempts to get the firmware officially open sourced have met a brick wall, as I imagine that they don't want to have to deal with users who will almost certainly bork their expensive mixers.