im at a cross roads currently, after receiving my Launchpad i quickly made a tsi for four deck mixing that i love alot, but im left to having to use the faders on my APC 20 as the vol. faders and filter faders. the problem with this is that i dont have a full EQ section, only hi mid and low kills. this isnt much of a problem since i use kills anyways but it makes me very nervous not having knobs there incase i do wanna add some bass instead of kill it. also, the faders on my APC 20 may have their lifes shortened by being slammed down while im mixing. i dont really have the money to spit out for an X Session, and i really dont wanna add to my list of expanding midi controllers since im running out of room in my cramped apt.
the reason why i ask this question is because i can easily use my X1 as a mixer for 2 deck control, and then use my Launchpad as the deck controls and the APC as an effects controllers. but that limits me to 2 decks. so is 4 decks worth it?
i use 4 decks quite a bit (i pretty much do live mash ups through out my sets). However, before you start using 4 decks, figure out what you wana do with it. if you just use 4 decks for the sake of using 4 decks its not gona be worth your time
well, ive used 4 decks alot, and i enjoy it. this isnt like a “should i adventure with 4 decks” type of things. im just trying to get some ideas and thoughts from the group if a ful mixer is worth it and such.
…why don’t you just add a deck select button so you switch between A/C and B/D. Split your apc20 down the middle then control it that way, kinda like all other 2 deck controllers give 4 deck functionality.
AND.. you have traktor pro 2 so instead of going for 4 decks, why don’t you map 2 decks and 2 sample decks to the APC20, since you don’t even use 4 decks yet? that way you can decide if you would use a 3rd or 4th deck..
your sig says you have a numark stealth and mixdeck? If so, why buy an x-session?
plus, why wouldn’t you be able to use the launchpad for more than 2 decks? that’s 64 buttons, plus the ones along the sides!!
I’m constantly running 4 decks. A & B for mixing the actual “tracks” and then C & D for loops/FX/ect.
If you want to have access to knobs for the EQs I would say invest in something small and cheap like a NaoKontrol (should get the job done for what you need).
I use 4 decks al the time personally. I love it. I usually have deck a and b as regular decks and c and d as sample decks, i like to work different rhythms and grooves in under other tracks etc.
A lot of time i’ll have the same track going for about 20 minutes, just working it in and out, especially if it’s got a great groove or its a real nice percussive part of a track that lifts other tracks.
I honestly prefer mixing on exactly 3 decks. 2 leaves me bored a lot of the time, 4 leaves me buried in too many options. Unfortunately, Traktor isn’t well-suited to that, as it bugs me to just not use one of the decks that’s sitting there. And I still don’t really like the sample decks compared to just spinning with Ableton. And wanting something simpler than Ableton is the entire reason I tried Traktor in the first place.
I’m experimenting with going back to 4 decks with manual pitch control almost solely to limit myself a bit and try to keep from overdoing it. But, I also have a crap ton of controls sitting around and kinda just want to goof off with it.
If you have the controls you want, I say stick to 2. If you have an artistic reason to want 4 decks…buy more controllers.
I use two decks and sample decks sparingly. Any transition that would require more than 2 decks or using the loop recorder I’ll typically do in ableton, especially because my transition times can be so short utilizing lots of acapellas and instrumentals, and top40’s/dutch house and electro don’t lend themselves to 4 deck mixing.
