Noob: mixer or no mixer that is the question

[theborg]

Hey im buying equipment to start djing, so far im getting a midi fighter and possible a kontrol f1 or maybe f1 im not sure. but i was wondering could i run this setup easily with out an analog mixer? or would using the software to mix limit or make things more complicated. i feel like hardware is the way to cause i don't want to look at my lap top barely if at all. but what kind of mixer would i want. my price limit is like 300 bucks cause i have to save for months for each piece of equipment. sorry if question is stupid i know little to nothing.

[Culture_Shock]

midi fighters and f1's might not be the best way to get the ball rolling.
for the price you spend on those units there are many other controllers that would get you off to a better start! all in one controllers, sound cards, even a mixer and a x1 would be a better start, but the f1 and the midi fighter are kinda secondary as far as the functions they can be used for.

[oilythread]

^that.

A lot of new DJs see the awesome performance routines with midi fighters and F1's and such online and want to play like that, but you need to understand that you will absolutely never get booked to do that live, EVER. If you want to play around in your bedroom, (and maybe even record those videos) then sure, buy them, but that's as far as you can go.

If you want to start DJing, a midi fighter and a F1 are the two absolute last things you should buy. They're awesome and do cool things, but you will not learn how to play live in any meaningful way by using an F1 and a midi fighter. The only DJ application for these things is for advanced DJs who sue the mto add to their sets.

Just as importantly, yes, you absolutely need a mixer. You could, buy a mixer controller though, and a cheap soundcard, since you're on a budget.

If you've got $300, I'd advise you to check out the Behringer CMD MM-1, a four channel mixer controller for $130. You could sue that as your mixer, and get an X1 for deck controls, if you want to go the sync route. If you want to learn to beatmatch (honestly it's next to impossible to be taken seriously, or get booked for real gigs without at least being able to pretend you're beatmatching), check out the behringer PL-1, also $130.

Alternatively, you could look into an all-in-one controller like a mixtrack or something, but thankfully those are going out of style, so keep that in mind.

[James Chen]

If you are mapping veteran, F1 + a sound card can be quite nice...
But if you are not very dedicated in mapping (which you don't seem like one, no offence), then like what others said, get a all-in-one controller. You can get a used VCI100 or 300 for cheap.

[dripstep]

If you want to use a mixer, you will need a soundcard as well (at least $100). If you want to learn to mix, get an all-in-one controller that has a soundcard built in.

That being said, you CAN re-map a midifighter and the F1 to control the decks, but you won't have any eq knobs to work with, which means you will need to use your laptop more.

If you are set on the F1, get an X1 as well. You have cue/play buttons, and 2 rows of 4 knobs. That allows you to have 3band EQ, and a gain/filter knob for each deck, and you can re-map the endless encoders on the x1 to each deck.

Lastly, you will need a soundcard if you want to be able to listen to the track you are cueing up. Without it, you will only have master audio, no headphones.

[theborg]

^that.


If you've got $300, I'd advise you to check out the Behringer CMD MM-1, a four channel mixer controller for $130. You could sue that as your mixer, and get an X1 for deck controls, if you want to go the sync route. If you want to learn to beatmatch (honestly it's next to impossible to be taken seriously, or get booked for real gigs without at least being able to pretend you're beatmatching), check out the behringer PL-1, also $130.

Alternatively, you could look into an all-in-one controller like a mixtrack or something, but thankfully those are going out of style, so keep that in mind.

i thought the Behringer CMD MM-1 wasnt out yet. when i look on their site it just says coming soon

[oilythread]

i thought the Behringer CMD MM-1 wasnt out yet. when i look on their site it just says coming soon

They're shipping now, to be for sale at the beginning of the month.

Although in your case it might be more worthwhile to go with the Studio 4A. It's only $200 bucks, and actually looks way better than the S2, which is twice the price. It's got jogwheels and high-res pitch faders, so you could learn to beatmatch, or at least pretend to to get booked, and you could actually get away with showing up to a gig with one.

Alternatively, this just occurred to me: something that would solve all of your criteria would be a Xone K2. Check it out.
-Two-channel sound card built-in
-Full mixer section
-a bank of 4x4 buttons, so you could have for each deck your standard cue, play, shift, sync, and four cue points.
-plus a rotary encoder for beatjumping for each deck.
-Costs $300

But you really couldn't show up at a gig and be taken seriously with ONLY a Xone K2, so you'd need to buy some other stuff down the line, maybe a pair of CMD PL-1's, or Reloop Contours. (I promise, having jogwheels is really important if you want real DJ gigs. Unless you're a producer and get famous that way, you're never going anywhere if you don't have jogwheels)

Seriously though... Don't listen to these kids talking about the F1 and midifighters, get a platform that will teach you how to mix tracks together. Yes you could use a deckalized mapping for the midi fighter I suppose, but on your budget, it's inefficient. You ABSOLUTELY shouldn't get an F1. Remix decks will distract you and condition you away from DJing in any way that makes sense to do live.

[johnm]

i thought the Behringer CMD MM-1 wasnt out yet. when i look on their site it just says coming soon

It is not out yet. It does look like a neat little system.It is still missing a built in soundcard.

About a month ago, my buddy decided that he wanted to try his hand at DJ'ing. He really wanted 1200's and a mixer. He also was on a budget and knew he didnt want to spend to much in case this was not for him. We decided the Digital route was better for his budget. We went with a M-Audio Xponent. Amazon has it New in Box for $189 and we picked up a traktor license for another $50.
Yes, It is an older controller for sure. but it is built pretty solid and it has more features then most (all?) newer controllers in its now reduced price range and has a built in sound card. once we customized a Traktor mapping for it, we were able to do about 95% of what my S4 could do on it. plus a few things i was missing on my S4 like EQ kill buttons and a booth out.
I used it as my only controller for about to weeks and was quite satisfied with it. I almost missed it when it left my studio.

I ended up getting another one for free from another buddy..

[P4ULSON]

get a controller with built in sound.... and a x1 for the effects. hands down the best combination. if your controller has 4/4 in and out for the sound card and is approved by NI you can hook up cdj's or turntables to it and use them to control the tracks later on and be taken seriously til you buy serato lol jk