I really really really like this. I had an idea before that it might be down what I was looking for, but now seeing more of it… hmm.
Not something I can jump on right away, but it basically does exactly what I want out of FX. And the send/return feature? Well shit, I can even use that on my TTM-56, no need for a new mixer 
I got to play with one of these in Miami and it was really fun, and really easy to use. My only complaint is that the effects are really heavy-handed. It’s kind of a remixing instrument in itself (hence the name) rather than an effects processor; I think if you used it for DJing it’s way too aggressive; I’d be annoyed hearing an entire set of stuff using this unless it was a mashup night or something.
I still maintain…it looks like my car radio.
But it has some nifty features!
I think the price is acceptable for it’s features actually.
I would not have been surprised if the unit had a 30% higher pricetag.
When you consider the efx1000 is about £800 i think the price for this is not too bad.
I wonder if you can somehow do loops with it?
yes you can he said so in the video…
Agreed. After these videos, I hate it less than I did based on the last videos that I saw, but it has a very characteristic sound. It would be great for the mainstream EDM side……but it has a ridiculous potential to be the next beatmasher and nothing else. It’d be a lot of fun for techno, though, depending on how subtle you can get the effects.
I could see owning one at some point but not paying for it.
Mostly, I’m impressed that it has nudge buttons.
The video with Guy Gerber, from Pioneer, is really excellent, it showed me a lot of things that I personally would use, like the tape delays…
With the USB and ‘master’ setting switch on the back can you just plug into a Macbook and run it with Traktor (in terms of altering the music you are mixing on say an S4)…anyone know?
This is the first thing that’s made me wish the DB4 had FX send/return. Not because these FX on this are better as such, but they look so damn USEABLE. That said, it might make me overuse them and that’s the best way to ruin an otherwise good set.
This is what my question was aimed towards; mixers without send/return…or do they just presume it’s always going to be Pioneer?
the vst thing is cool. the rest is pretty forgettable
They always assume that, but it’s to be expected. Pio do make the industry standard kit after all. You could probably achieve it with some inventive audio routing in some setups, but I don’t think you have enough outputs on the S4 to fit in a send/return. I think you can turn one of Traktor’s FX units into a send/return and implement that with another sound card but it’s a bit of a pain. You might even be able to use the VST in a DAW and route Traktor’s audio through that, but again it’s quite a hassle.
The DB4 doesn’t have send/return!???
WTF?
Almost all the other Allen and Heath Mixers had em. The 92 did for sure
Pretty surprised about that.
You could run it through the master mix i suppose but that’s a shame.
Yeh I know. I do love the DB4 and the FX are excellent, but they could have made it a little more flexible when it comes to physical routing options. Come to think of it, I could probably run my normal setup but instead of using the channels in standard analogue mode, use USB mode and route the serato inputs into ableton and back into the mixer via USB. I could even have one channel playing the unaffected audio and another playing the ableton output. Hmmm.
Yes and no. The S4 does not have an effect loop, and there’s no way to really do that with the Traktor software. You’d have to run it b/t the master out and wherever your audio was going or run Traktor’s audio into something like Ableton and use it as your mixer.
The send/return version of the effects (as opposed to an insert) is made so you can use Traktor’s effects as a processor for some other loop. The input goes into the FX unit and the output goes back to the sound card…not the other way around. And it can only use one sound card unless you’re using an aggregate device…which eliminates timecode control…if that’s you’re thing.
Basically, no, there’s not a good way to do it with the S4. That’s one of the many reasons why controllers like that kind of suck at being mixers.
I can’t think of a way to do it without running each Traktor deck into something like Live and using it is as your mixer.
The DB4 is kind of a POS in some ways. It’s awesome…it’s really powerful…it sounds great…and they seem to have fixed the QC issues from the first run. But, it also only has 4 analog inputs for all 4 channels, no loop, EQs that are kind of cool but abandon the best xone feature, and a host of other failings.
It’s fine for bedrooms or if your setup is simple. But it’s just not nearly as flexible as all the other mixers that came before it.
The EFX units never “did it” for me, but on seeing the VST/Hardware control aspect Pioneer may have just got a new Customer once the price drops a lil (I’m sure $799 will be about right).. using the EFX as a VST just Wow and super wow.
Sugarbytes Turnado is $180 on its own, this one unit does a hellalot more + has the quality programmable standalone hardware tied up into a super user friendly and small package should the club not have one installed. Although I can see quite a few adding one as standard.
Using this I could do away with all my standard Ableton channel effects I believe - depending how CPU intensive it is of course.
The Dave Seaman Video is worth a watch from an Ableton point of view.
http://www.djsounds.com/04/22/miami-2012-dave-seaman-rmx-1000
I might be missing something, but I can’t think of anything you can do with it that you can’t already do with the stuff that comes with Live. Of course, you’ve got the tight integration with a labeled piece of hardware, and I’m the last person in the world with any room to knock that……but the stuff you have already has more precise and diverse controls.
I couldn’t fault you for it…but I just can’t imagine using this thing in a studio when there’s so much better stuff.
So in my club set-up of S4 running through mixer the option I have is to use the send/return of the mixer and run the RMX1000 effects over the master output…yes?
Sure you “could” use the Ableton’s built in looper for example, but its got limited functions you can successfully use productively playing out without mousing around or using up control knobs (which is why I leave it out of my rack) - whereas this has everything in a one stop box that I can play out live with.
Its the fact that I could have the tight effects integration in a live setup rather than just the studio that makes it worthwhile - at least to me, its where I want/need a one stop shop. Also the fact that its not “just” a labeled hardware controller either, its a standalone physical outboard effects device makes it extreambly flexible should I decide to do a straight up CDJ set rather than my live one.
All the parameters in the VST though can be controlled on the live timeline though and from what was said it appears the VST has much more control than the device alone - as the host mentioned that the controller simply activates a series of Macro’s within the software which are customizable (and hope customizable on the timeline)- I guess we’ll find out more day by day.