Don’t Get Rid of Any of your Gear
Hey guys, I actually just registered to the forum only to post this reply. I’m a long time follower of DJTT, but have never really contributed aside from introducing a few other friends to the site. @Ean, this is a great resource man! Sorry for the mouthful below, I guess I had a lot to say.
I purchased a Mixtrack a few wks ago, not as a back up, but intentionally as a primary “midi-contoller mixer”. I’ve used many different hybrid midi-controller setups along with various input methods from all MIDI to vinyl or even CDJ timecodes. I’ve realized one thing, It’s not about what you use, its how you use it, and how comfortable you are with it. With that said choosing a MIDI controller is not a once size fits all type of category. If you’re buying turntables you can say get Technics 1200’s (any variation really) they’re the best in the industry, you couldn’t boast this about a MIDI controller, you have to see it more as an extension of yourself and a platform for your performance. So it is going to vary as much per user as it will per event. The perfect Midi Controller for me would be a Single unit, built in sound card, effects, loop, cue, possibly even a hard drive input or thumb drive input, the one must is that it must have an abundance of knobs and faders that are all easily mappable. Similar to the bigger brother of the Mixtrack, the Mixdeck.
With that said, My 1st surprise with the Mixtrack, was the ultra-responsive jog wheels, in my opinion they feel great, I’m not saying they don’t leave anything to be desired, in fact, they leave a lot to be desired, but they feel like they could’ve easily been on a much more high end unit and at $149 they feel GREAT! I also own a pair of Scs.3d’s from Stanton. They were my first MIDI controllers, I used them at first with my 4channel analog mixer, but in all honesty I was not happy that the units didn’t really track all that well and really didnt feel natural in terms of the touch jogwheels, there was no tactile feedback at all, although the buttons and faders are incredible. And so, I still use them since, becuase of the responsive nature of their performance, the intuitive feel, and the quick access to multiple modes, they make the perfect addition to any kit for much more control in a small package.
So, I have since combined the SCS.3d and the MIXTRACK and created a hybrid midi map for each of the two devices. Each unit only handles specific key functions, this also allows me full control over 4 decks, physically. In this setup, my Mixtrack controls all of my transport functions, where my scs.3ds in 2 deck mode will provide greater contol over effects and loops respectively for each DECK A&B. I can also use the SCS.3D to also fully control DECK C and DECK D and really get into a groove with 4 decks, loops and effects.
All in all the jogwheels are a hit and they come very close to mimicing CDJ platters and jogs exactly, but since they are touch senstive (more like weight Sensitive) you cannot pitchbend from the side of the platter by nudging the platter, this does not send a midi signal without some weight downwards on the platter in scratch mode. You have to come out of scratch mode in order to do this more intuitively, or I can jog/scratch with the SCS.3D and pitchbend on the Mixtrack by keeping the scratch toggle off, or vice versa, pitch bend with the SCS.3D ang jog/scratch with the Mixtrack’s more responsive platter.
My only real disappoint with the Mixtrack is simple, lack of knobs- no independent channel gains represented on the physical layout and also not enough knobs to control all the effects parameters that traktor makes available to you. They could’ve given so much more here, but since i use the SCS.3D’s in combination with the Mixtrack I’ve mapped most of the effects, loop, and cue functions to the SCS.3Ds instead.
Also:
Master Vol. Fader - This is the most poorly planned fader on the device it sits in between the Channel 1/Channel 2 Volume Faders and literally is not well spaced as I have hit it by mistake before during a performance and cut out the volume completely. I’ve subsequently fixed this issue by mapping it to control my headphone vol. instead. I usually just set my master volume internally and adjust my volume from a standard analog 4 channel mixer that I output to from Traktor using a Numark DJ/IO soundcard so I really don’t need a on board midi mapping for this.
In summation, I think the Mixtrack is a great unit for the price, there are a few functions that you feel you need that are not natively there, but you can always customize to your needs. And for those of you considering getting rid of or “purging” your other midi controllers, don’t! Try to see if you can incorporate both into your routine the way you’d like to use them.
thanks for your time guys hope this helped those people who considering buying or even those who are just curious, either way also check out the Numark Mixdeck seems to be a very similar unit, but much more versatile as it is sold as a media player acts as a midi contoller, but also has 2 CDJs & 2 USB (Hard Drive/Thumb Drive) ports and an IPOD dock (which I am not too fond of, but this can also be used for recording, which is neat) its more of an all in one option, with a built in soundcard. Thanks again!
So far I’m very happy with my purchase…
