Korg Zero 4 Mods/Knobs

[aviatorman]

I would finally like to have my say in regards to the reason this thread was started.

I am so glad that there are still some Zero 4 users out there. I bought mine about 3 years ago and I love what Korg did in terms of design and features.
The biggest bust about this mixer is the quality of the knobs and faders. I was hoping someone would point that out...

The biggest plus in any knob design is that it should have a weighted feel with the ability to provide comfort to the touch. In my opinion, based on all the knob twisting I have done for many years, NI has nailed it down to a science with the X1 and the S4.

I had a VCI-100SE with the Vestax knob upgrade, and it still does not compare to the weighted tension in the NI controllers.

I also have heard of an Innofader mod, but it hasn't been confirmed.

The knobs on the Zero 4 make the entire unit feel cheap, and I think that if you find a nice knob kit, it will make this mixer shine- the way it should.

My impulse was the firewire. USB will NEVER be as reliable as firewire (sorry PC users!)
And as a plus, if you have a macbook, it frees up the 2 USB connections, so you don't have to buy a USB router. (+1)

I have it set up at home with my Traktor scratch Pro setup. For gigs, I use the incomparable S4 along with a reliable Mackie 803-VLZ3 8 channel mixer that is light and does not eat up space in my backpack. The Mackie is there as a safehouse in case a crash occurs. And I don't give a shit who you talk to- sooner or later, the shit will hit the fan, so for $200 extra, you should be prepared.

But back to the Korg...
If anyone has any cool traktor mappings or advice on what knobs to mod it with, I would greatly appreciate it.

I think all of us Zero 4 users invested wisely on a platform mixer that was ahead of its time.

[l0ckd0wn]

The biggest bust about this mixer is the quality of the knobs and faders. I was hoping someone would point that out...

The biggest plus in any knob design is that it should have a weighted feel with the ability to provide comfort to the touch. In my opinion, based on all the knob twisting I have done for many years, NI has nailed it down to a science with the X1 and the S4.

...

The knobs on the Zero 4 make the entire unit feel cheap, and I think that if you find a nice knob kit, it will make this mixer shine- the way it should.

My impulse was the firewire. USB will NEVER be as reliable as firewire (sorry PC users!)
And as a plus, if you have a macbook, it frees up the 2 USB connections, so you don't have to buy a USB router. (+1)

So your personal opinion is paramount above everyone elses? I never knew. I'll be sure to consult when I'm going to pick out my next toilet paper purchase.

The knobs and faders are fine. They may be plastic, but after nearly 2 years of use I have had no real problems with either the faders or the knobs, and my mixer is the center piece of my little "home studio" so it's on and used for 6+ hours a day. This is not an install mixer, and I'm unsure as to why it is still being compared to mixers like the DJM 800 and Xones (not specifically aimed at you, but you provided no real baseline for comparison, only midi controllers). This is more of an instrument, like it's big brother the Zero8. It's supposed to have a finesse feel and not be some big clunky mixer that is going to be beaten on.

Personally I don't think the knobs or faders make the unit feel cheap in anyway. The suit the necessity for the mixer and have stood the test of time.

Secondly, what's your base line comparison for firewire vs usb reliability? Just experience or are we talking actual benchmarking/diagonstics? Also, USB seems to be light years more stable on PCs than OSX, but that could just be my experience and the fact that Apple doesn't play nice with anyone.

Regardless, my original complaints also stemmed from the knobs, but not the faders. Even so they aren't cheap by any stretch of the word. Just because it's plastic doesn't mean the quality is lacking, it's just another material was choosen, probably for cost reason, but this doesn't take away from the usefulness of a great piece of kit.

Just my .02 having been using the Zero4 for 2 years now, nearly everyday.

[l0rdr0ck]

I adore my Zero4, I would absolutely agree this mixer is more like a precision instrument.
than a battle/mash surface.

I treat it very kindly, I cannot find a way to replace it with some other gear yet. Its
just too wicked to have analog/midi on the channel strips or 8 knobs per channel of
midi. Simply brilliant with Ableton/Traktor External Mixing.

Not to mention the bonus Traktor Scratch Approved, fundamentally this lets
me break out audio Pre-Eq/Pre-Fader for Ableton this is really nice.

Firewire chain, i absolutely agree i would always prefer firewire to USB, it's pretty
easy to understand this when using SMPTE, Genlocs, or any of a number
of Realtime VJ paradigms. Asyncronus and Isyncronus transfer, USB does not.

As the previous posts state, i free up USB, i use a firewire Harddrive. I already
have 10 USB devices connected, granted they are low bandwidth midi, but why
muddy the bus.

I just want some damn knobs with rubber.

l0rdr0ck
Yes it sounds flat, I personally like the neutral sound of the mixer, i add some vintage tube or analog warmth in an Ableton track.

I just want to find some new knobs, knobs that hopefully are a little rubbery. They are very slim knobs. I havent found a good set yet.

[aviatorman]

I used to have a urei 1620 rotary hooked up, but with the entire controlerism phenomenon, I had to make the swith.
To deal with the flat sound, I invested in an analog tube compessor: the avalon design stereo tube with graphic eq for post mix.
There are cheaper ways to get around this, but I am a big fan of quality, and I don't care what anyone says, analog tube compression will enhance the quality of mp3 tracks.
The korg eq's are ok but tha's why you need to add a little more umph to the setup

I wonder: does the vci 100 SE knobs fit the korg????

[MiL0]

My impulse was the firewire. USB will NEVER be as reliable as firewire (sorry PC users!)
And as a plus, if you have a macbook, it frees up the 2 USB connections, so you don't have to buy a USB router. (+1)

pretty sure most pc laptops and pcs come with firewire ports!

shame the same can't be said of new macbooks...

[ctrld]

USB will NEVER be as reliable as firewire (sorry PC users!)
And as a plus, if you have a macbook, it frees up the 2 USB connections, so you don't have to buy a USB router. (+1)

my PC laptop has 1 firewire port and 5 USB ports out of the box. using an expresscard gives me 2 firewire ports and 7 USB ports. you were saying?