Looking for a good 4 channel midi mixer. Help? Suggestions?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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Looking for a good 4 channel midi mixer. Help? Suggestions?

Hello people,

I am looking for a solid 4 channel midi mixer with a built in sound card. At this point I am using my Akai MPD 26 with Traktor Scratch Pro but I need a mixer. I was intrigued by the American Audio VMS4. But after I read a few reviews (including Ean Goldens), I realized that it might be beneficial to look into other options. I also am looking into the Behringer DDM-4000, but have heard that they sacrifice build-quality for features. I’d love something form Allen and Heath but their mixers are really expensive. Other than that I have no idea. My budget is around $500-$600. Due to budgetary constraints I am leaning heavily on mixers with built-in soundcards (hence the interest in the VMS4). But depending on how much the mixer is (i.e if it is cheap enough), I might be able to spring for an external soundcard. What are your guys suggestions???

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The VMS4 is complete trash, i had two before giving up for a refund (went to Denon and am happy). Just read the forums about it, they haven’t got a fix for the crappy sound and it’s built by a blind dog in a shed in China … avoid it until they fix it, and having been told by the man in charge of it, thats not going to happen !

I also have a DDM4000 and it’s never gone wrong, unlike my DJM800 !! I bet if you ask the people who actually own one what they are like you will suprised. Most of the “haters” either have no kit themselves or are stuck in the “if it costs more it’s better!” camp … The DDM4000 is a great home mixer and for light comercial use, i’d say go with the big boys if you are hammering the mixer for 8 hours a night every night (i.e. club instalation) but if you are starting out or only gigging once a week, the berry is fine and fun …

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thanks for the feedback man. What about the New Traktor Kontrol S4? Ive heard some great things about it especially about the new software it comes with. You think that its worth it? Furthermore, what is the usb situation with the DDM-4000, is it a USB mixer? If not, and I have to get a midi-usb cable, how does a midi-usb cable affect latency? Also, If I do get the DDM-4000 I’m gonna need a 4 channel soundcard so that I can pre-cue all 4 channels, what are your reccomendations?

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s4 is exellent, plus you get full deck controls with it, and the software that comes with it is great… loop recorder/sample decks, plus full hands on control of everything within the software. build quality could be a little better IMO but i guess they sacraficed build for portability… still pretty good by controller standards though… it wont fall apart any time soon, but if your giging a lot id reccomend getting the flight case at some point to save any unwanted dramas.

im pretty sure with the DDM u dont need a soundcard, couple of mates have one and they use that as their sound card. one thing on the build quality of the DDM tho, its fine if your just a regular mix DJ, but if you plan on doing mashups and really throwing the faders around and basically abusing the mixer, then i dont reccomend it, faders and knobs start to become wobbly and fall off after a while, but… regular mixing… fine…

the reloop rmx40 i think? the blackfire edition with full midi/usb is another good alternative… built in sound card, the EQ and the sound that comes out of it is supprisingly good… comparable to a pioneer, it sounds great, unlike the reloop soundcards and midi controllers with interfaces. there also built like a tank and you definately wont have problems with build quality.

korg zero 4 is another great full midi mixer with soundcard, plus you have ridiculous amounts of input options and a full effects section. some people say that it sounds a bit flat, and id have to agree to some extent, it doesnt sound as “full” as some of the more expensive mixers on the market, but neither does the berhinger… and for the price, your getting a great quality mixer, good build quality, and a ton of effects/options and inputs, and a LOT of extra knobs and buttons you can assign to anything you want in traktor. Its a bit more expensive than say the reloop or berhinger, but the added features and the good build quality justify the higher price… i think its going for about the same as an S4

it all depends on what you personally want/need as a DJ, but the S4 is definately a good all in one solution… like i said tho, definately get a flight case if you tend on taking it out of your bedroom… you want to protect your investment.

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Thanks man.

But built-in effects are not important to me. Considering I will be using traktor, they are almost redundant. the most important things in my book are that the mixer has a USB connection (this can be solved with a cheap midi-usb cable) and more importantly and internal 4-channel soundcard.

On the new Traktor S4. I really want it badly, but it is a bit out of my price range. Maybe I will wait until it drops in price. But I’ll try to find a cheap one

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I have and S4 and love it. If you don;t already have traktor and your budget is in the $600 range then that puts the S4 in your budget since Traktor pro will be back to full price soon.

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And here you go

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I do already have traktor scratch pro. The guy in the post you linked to is selling it in the UK I am in the US so I doubt he’ll sell it to me. Plus, is it even worth it to buy the S4 without the new version of traktor? Is it even sold without the new version of Traktor?. And the price for the S4 is $900 everywhere I’ve looked.

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@filterkat ..
i have been bashing my DDM4000 since the launch day, it’s still in perfect order …unless you throw it on the floor it’s not going to break. It’s just a mixer, so you will need a soundcard and it’s a MIDI mixer so you need a USB/MIDI controller. Those “mates” of yours need to be more careful with their kit, if they are breaking things then they sound like they don’t really know whats the art of DJ’ing is really about. The faders on mine are still slick as silk, the crossfader is still very light (no need to go to the expense of an innofader)

I use mine with an Audio 8 so it’s already got the MIDI interface and I use the external 32bit effects on top of traktors own. I also own a DJM800 and the sound is pretty much the same as the DDM4000, it’s all down to your sound source, the DDM has 32bit internal processing, one of the few one the market, it also has a pair of Blackhawk DSP’s …they are not cheap in any ones kit …

It’s all down to your sound source …remember if you feed crap into your mixer, it’s going to give you crap back out … 16bit sound will never sound good no matter how long you try, and internal laptop cards will never complete with pro level cards - they are just the things we have to deal with.

@sonology

The zero 4 i believe still has a major problem with the cue/PFL in Traktor … (search this forum for the thread) and it’s now discontinued. I’ve used one once and i loved it, but i can’t give you a proper reveiw as it was an Italian open air “close of summer party” …nuff said.

I’ve not used the reloops, but considered the “contour” before going with Denon. They seem strong, and i’ve used their Mk6 turntables in Germany I play at a few times a year, they’ve not had any problems that i am aware of.

If the S4 is a little costly, then consider the Denon MC6000 they are build like my SC-2000’s and they are rock solid, the jogs are brilliant but you will need software too,

the S4 has a lot going for it (sampler software etc) and it’s an all in one unit, but i doubt you will find one “cheap”, they are pratically flying out of the stores and most retaillers are waiting for deliveries.

However with all this information take a very large pinch of salt. No one can tell you what to buy, that has to be your choice, and the best way to make that choice is spend a day in a store with your kit and some headphones …

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I’m rockin the ECLER Nuo4, it’s dope.

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the DDM doesn’t have a built in soundcard, so latency is not affected.

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you could always mix 4 channels internally, then you wouldn’t need a 4 channel soundcard.. but you’d still be able to cue the channels through your software..
just use the Audio2DJ from NI.

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Just get an x-session pro and a sound card.

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i think he wanted 4 channels avail. to not switch layers

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Switch layers? I dont get it.