Ecler Nuo4 Review.

DJ Gear & Hardware Hardware: Controllers, Mods and Gear
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Ecler Nuo4 Review.

So I just picked it up a couple days ago and here are my initial thoughts:

Sound Quality- Awesome. It takes a lot to get it to clip even though the levels run a little hot. There are 2 analog-only channels and 2 analog/midi channels (one or the other), along with a MIDI center strip that includes 4 push button encoders.

MIDI Implementation- Extensive and well thought out. USB cable into computer. 4 push button encoders, 2 full MIDI capable channels, MIDI crossfader and a toggle switch to flip between 3 layers creates a BUNCH of MIDI controls… lazy math: like 70 controls. PLUS, there’s a 5th input channel that only has a Gain knob and PFL button to cue it. Which is AWESOME.

Knobs/Faders- Fat knobs give precise response, with a very reassuring center detent. The faders are smooth and sturdy.

EQ- I was at first slightly concerned with what I’ve heard about the frequency range of the MID EQ knob being wider than other mixers, but I actually like it a lot. I can keep/remove the deepest of the bass frequencies without taking away from the lower mids. This is important to me when I’m doing mashups and trying to extract vocals without making male voices, for example, sound tinny.

Build Quality- I got mine from the 2nd (possibly more) person to have owned it. From the demo the guy gave me, I could tell he tends to be rough with his equipment. There were some scratches and bumps and he slammed the faders pretty hard during his residency with this mixer for the last 2 years but its was still an 8.5 to 8.8 out of 10.

I was initially debating between this Ecler Nuo4, the Behringer DDM4000 (which I previously owned), and the Vestax 3 channel PCV-275. I considered the PCV-275 really only because it was cheaper and shiny lol. I LOVED my DDM4000 for the features but the quality of the potentiometers always bothered me, even though I liked the sound quality of the DDM.

I’m SO glad I went for this mixer and that I got it for $360 :smiley: which is only a little more than the DDM new. I always told myself that if I could get an Ecler mixer I would go for it ASAP and I’m happy I did.

That’s it so far, but hit me up if you have any questions about the Nuo or the DDM4000 (I had the DDM for a year).

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damn this got no love. thanks for the review.

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thanks for the review gives me another good alternative =]

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haha thanks for the input. yeah I was wondering how it got like 40 views but no comments lol

Well, hopefully someone who actually knows how to use the Search feature here on the forums finds this one day for some help… bc I could barely find ANYTHING recent about the Nuo series.

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how is the crossfader? is scratching possible on it? And is this one traktor certified or is that just the Evo series?

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I’m pretty sure that the evo5 is the onl elcer mixer that is traktor scratch certified. You can scratch on the newer ones and their crossfader upgrade is supposed to be pretty good.

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I have a Nuo4. great mixer outside of the crossfader, it’s definitely not sharp enough. I can do crabs cleanly on my old SK-6F but they sound muddy (if I can even get them to come out) on the nuo. Gonna buy an innofader this next week and I’ll be set. I got mine on ebay for about $380 and it was pretty much brand new outside of the lower 1 (of 2) headphone jacks was broken. best dj purchase yet

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The headphone output is probably an easy fix.

You should disassemble it and see if you can find a broken solder point anywhere around it.

The “noisy” headphone jack on my Behringer DDM4000 was due to a shoddy solder joint on the ground lead, I fixed it and the headphone jack sounds awesome now.

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it is. actually the only thing wrong with that jack is that the external connector has broken off, which is only a hot glue job.

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Thanks for your thoughts on the Nuo4, $360 thats an awesome price to pick it up for! I’ve seen a few readers reviews of there own gear on the forums, it would be cool to see review posts like these turn in to a owners log. It’s pretty hard to fault Skratchworw gear reviews but they obviously don’t account for longevity.

@DJ Asand - What is the curve control like on the line fades? is it pos to adjust the curve to an instant cut like an xfade?

Maybe in years time, a little update on how the Nuo4 has done? info on how the more frequently used pots feel from the less busy pots and your personal pro’s and con’s ect
Ok it may not be the most in exciting post but it could prove very helpful for potential buyers as maybe other owners would eventually chip in too.

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The ecler is solid. I’ve had my used one for about a year and gigging with it every week. The only wobbly pots are the fader curve and the line curve on the front (both of which go from soft to hard/instant cut), and that may be my fault for the way I keep it in the case with the buttons pushing against the front of it.

really nothing bad to say about the ecler outside of the stock xfader. The only other thing I wish the Nuo4 had (that the Nuo4.0 has) is individual VU meters for the channels, but im used to using my PFL buttons for that.

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Do you have one from one of the earlier batches? I was under the impression that they fixed that soon after it was released as they were getting poor reviews.

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im not sure which batch mine is from since I bought it used

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I’ll definitely keep updating with time.

The curve adjustment knobs on the front of my Nuo4 are wobbly as well but they dont feel like theyre coming off any time soon.

I personally dont scratch, so I couldnt tell you anything about it in that sense.

Yeah, I had to get used to not seeing individual channel meters but you can still send a channel to a PFL meter; each channel has an individual LED to show when it’s “in the red” as well so I use those.

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You should give the eternal fader a try :slight_smile:
Ive had 3 ecler mixers by now and i love them all. :smiley:

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I’m having a really hard time finding a case for the NUO-4 though… because of the front Curve Adjustment knobs..

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I have the FZ-12MIX by odyssey. fits like a glove and has a removable front panel

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awesome! thanks.
you transport it with the faceplate removed too?

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nah, no need to, it comes with enough hard foam spacers to keep the knobs from hitting the front

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ok cool that perfectly answers my questions, thanks man