Xone 4D - yay or nay?

[sparsh319]

hi guys. i'm in the market for a new mixer. the 4d caught my eye. lots of midi mapable buttons - traktor certified. and living in thailand - mixers tend to cost 30% more here however i'm getting a great deal on one.

im a mobile dj and i've only owned denon products so far. im currently using the MC6000. its starting to age a little and i want to improve my skills as a scratch dj and the mc6000 isn't that great for scratching which makes it even more difficult if you are a beginner in that area. i'm looking to move to a DVS system.


would you still recommend it for a traktor users? any issues that one should know about?

have you tried it in a DVS configuration? is it any good as a scratch mixer? i'm not great at scratching but its something i want to get better at.


Thanks a ton for any answers!

Best regards,
Sparsh.

[djrickdawson]

I have got one. had it many many years. it was an upgrade from a Behringer BCD3000
this was before the controller market rapidly expanded with products.

I use it with traktor scratch DVS no problem, although as I bought my technics 1200 mk2 decks used, I don't know the ownership history.
I don't know if the needles (Stanton 500 mk2) are worn or not. anyone know how to check this?
and what should the circular visualisation for timecode control in traktor look like, if it is correct?

one thing to note with timecode control, is that the BPM is 0.02 less than the real BPM when controlled by vinyl timecode in traktor.
eg 138 is 137.98 120 is 119.98 and so on.
this is even after I properly calibrated my decks.

I've never got to doing any scratching with it though. I want to learn the art of scratching. I don't know what to do... help?

if you are gonna use it for mobile djing, then be very aware of its weight. you might be better off with a newer model of mixer that has x-link, and use one or 2 xone k2 controllers. much lighter, but still excellent solid build quality (I have a pair of xone k2 as well)

just ask away with your questions.

the 4D feels very robust, but in a completely different way compared to pioneer mixers.

[bergen]

Ok I'm gonna hop in her and ask as well - want to replace my S4 with a scratch certified mixer for my turntables (I'd love to avoid audio interfaces and cables if I can). Been thinking about Z2, the Xone:4D or... the Rane MP2015.

Ok let's face it, I WANT the mp2015 - and I could technically afford it - but I just started DJing and I think I don't really deserve it yet. Z2 seems very traktor integrated, but I'm building up a vinyl collection so I'm not planning on being a Traktor guy to the end. I also think it might not hold it's resale value really well.

But the Xone:4D looks like it could do the job. Similar to the xone 92, with a lot of midi mappable stuff for effects and browsing (and maybe remix decks?)

I think I'm just kind of convincing myself here. The only worry I have is a lack of available mappings for it (which means work creating one).

[rob2192]

The only worry I have is a lack of available mappings for it (which means work creating one).

I wouldn't worry about a lack of midi maps. It just means you are free to make it do what ever you want. Think what the important features of traktor are and map them in the way its going to work for you.

The Rane is a nice mixer but that price is crazy.

Xone 4d - Amazing sounding, rock solid mixer, Traktor Scratch certified, freedom to custom map for your workflow, beatclock means you could sync vinyl to Ableton or Maschine, if you want to get crazy, it even has a foot switch input and game mid port (can be used to connect a basic custom control surface).
What more could you want.

And with it being a good few years old now you can find them at really good prices.

[bergen]

Yeah, that's true - I can get it used for basically the same price as a new Z2. I'm gonna go take a look at one.

[bergen]

Hey rob2192 one more question - Could I potentially in the future sync a drum machine (something like the Roland Tr-8) to vinyl with the bpm clock on the Xone:4D? And potentially even use the midi functions on the xone:4d to control it as well? Would be a pretty sweet setup, just vinyls and a drum machine!

[rob2192]

Hi bergen

I'm yet to use the midi I/O on the 4D as I run a digital setup so send everything over USB. I see no reason why the clocks wouldn't sync and the 4d has so far been pretty good at detecting BPM (if it for some reason doesn't pick it up you can tap the beat in, although I haven't had a problem yet). You will probably need to nudge the timing a bit though especially if the bpm isn't constant although if you like vinyl I can't imagine you'd have much trouble beat matching.

As for controlling it you would be better of using the drum machine's controls I doubt you can custom map commands like you can with software. You could integrate a DAW (and control this from the 4D) for effects and launching saved midi pattern clips that would play through the drum machine.

[djrickdawson]

it's better to manually match together than MIDI clocks
they drift about too much.

if running Traktor and Ableton together, then it's best mapping Abletons BPM controls to a controller, manually set the BPM in Ableton to Traktor, and nudge once started. it needs rapid presses to find adjust the matching.

[dj wo k]

I wouldn't worry about a lack of midi maps. It just means you are free to make it do what ever you want. Think what the important features of traktor are and map them in the way its going to work for you.

The Rane is a nice mixer but that price is crazy.

Xone 4d - Amazing sounding, rock solid mixer, Traktor Scratch certified, freedom to custom map for your workflow, beatclock means you could sync vinyl to Ableton or Maschine, if you want to get crazy, it even has a foot switch input and game mid port (can be used to connect a basic custom control surface).
What more could you want.

And with it being a good few years old now you can find them at really good prices.

(y)