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Which controllers are currently recommended?
OK, so some of you may know that I mostly do lighting, but I still DJ 15-20 times a year. Very much mainstream party pop, mainly just one track after another with nothing fancy at all. Still using a mixture of CDs and digital using some slightly ropey Denon kit which I'm not very fond of.
For info I'm mostly still using an old coffin flightcase with 2 x DN-S5000 CD players and a DN-X1500 mixer, with a separate flightcase with an MC6000 and laptop running Traktor LE that I link in to one of the channels on the DN-X1500. Bonkers way of doing it but I've not got around to rearranging and just running through the MC6000. All of this kit was bought secondhand without much research and it's big, heavy, old, overly complex, unreliable etc!
Ideally I'd swap to just digital, but the way I DJ means I still find the CDs very useful. I'm considering changing my playout system for something smaller, lighter, simpler and more reliable than I've already got. I really know very little about this kind of stuff and to be honest it doesn't really interest me at all! Of course I want to spend as little as possible but realistically I'm prepared to spend a fair amount if it gets me what I need. Decent brands only, I still want this to function prefectly in 10 years time and to have good sound quality etc. Happy to consider secondhand kit if it's genuinely in good nick. Oh, and I'd happily change away from Traktor LE but know nothing at all about the software side of things.
Now I know people will suggest all sorts of bits of kit, could you please keep it relatively simple and on thread, assume I know nothing but I have got a brain! It might be best to ask me for more info before suggesting kit, I don't know. Don't really know what it's likely to cost me but for the right bit(s) of kit I'd consider going up to £1000 or so if neccessary.
Thanks in advance!
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You already have the best controller (in my opinion) - the Denon MC6000.
Not perfect by a long way, but for general parties the best out of a bad bunch and the size is beneficial too.
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Originally Posted by
ppentertainments
You already have the best controller (in my opinion) - the Denon MC6000.
Not perfect by a long way, but for general parties the best out of a bad bunch and the size is beneficial too.
I second that! I now own two mc6000 mk1 models & I couldn't be more happy with them. I'm tempted to upgrade to the mc7000 or mcx8000 because I fancy something a little less cluttered but the 6000 is great for its standard 6u 19" footprint. It sounds great too, is versatile & very very robust.
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Originally Posted by
ppentertainments
You already have the best controller (in my opinion) - the Denon MC6000.
Yup, for typical mobile work, I can't think of anything better (apart from the MKII lol).
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I know where you're coming from and thanks guys, but the first MC6000 I'd bought secondhand is in bits on my bench waiting for me to get round to fixing it as something weird went on with the crossfader after it had a tipple of wine during a lively gig, and the replacement I again bought secondhand to cover me for the next job is very tired and has got at least one major button that's dodgy. And I've just looked at a picture of one and counted - I think there are around 72 buttons or knobs on the front panel alone that I simply don't need so it's total overkill for me.
Ideally I'd be looking at a combined unit with integrated CD players but only if I could guarantee the reliability.
Essentially I need some form of kit that I can connect a laptop into (I might be willing to change software but preferably don't go expecting me to change from Windows!), and also use CDs as a source, with some form of auxilliary inputs too for other random music sources such as phones, musicians etc. I need to be able to cue and play tracks, adjust the speed and mix between them, with a mic input and some form of reasonable EQing on at least the master. Occasionally I'll play with an effect on the DN-X1500 but that's really not critical.
Thinking about it I might still have an old DN-D4000 twin CD unit knocking around somewhere that I guess I could put back into use... Not particularly serious about that one though! [Also think I've possibly still got our original DN-2000F twin CD unit that we bought when they first came out too!]
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Dinosaur
How about an all in one? Mixdeck express.
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I was part way through typing this when Excalibur replied, so not sure if it's fully edited...
OK Toby, I know that using CDs is even more retro than my hairstyle, and thanks for indirectly saying I'm a dinosaur , but without going into too much depth CDs still have some advantages for me and I'm going to need to continue using them for now.
Excalibur - thanks for that, vaguely the sort of thing I could be interested in although I see they do a quad version which would be preferable for me, but are Numark any good nowadays?
So far otherwise you've all recommended I stick with the Denon, interesting. Does anyone know anything about (even if they've not used any of them) any other integrated all-in-one units? Pioneer appear to have a vast range of controllers of different types including at least 1 all-in-one but all the model numbers are extremely similar so I'm getting properly confused between the different ones.
Or would I be better off using separate CD players of some sort into a mixer/controller?
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Originally Posted by
stormproductions
OK Toby, I know that using CDs is even more retro than my hairstyle, and thanks for indirectly saying I'm a dinosaur
, but without going into too much depth CDs still have some advantages for me and I'm going to need to continue using them for now.
Yes it was very tongue and cheek. If you know your collection in and out then great, also the quality is better.
Pioneer do some amazing dual controllers, so much easier having it all in one unit. Rekordbox is also very popular now. Pioneer have done their usual trick of sitting back watching other people make the mistakes and then copy all the good bits.
Last edited by yourdj; 06-06-2018 at 08:11 PM.
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Thanks Toby,
I'd discovered that Pioneer XDJ R1 not long before you posted it yesterday - and after a bit more investigation it looks like it could be a good answer for me although the internet says some people had reliability issues in the early days. It doesn't look like there were many combined CD/digital controllers launched, even when more people were still using CDs.
So far it looks like if I want an all-in-one unit it's this Pioneer or the Numark that Excalibur mentioned (or a cheap Gemini unit which I wouldn't even consider). Otherwise, then it's either stick with the Denon MC6000 plus separate CD units or similar. Is there anyone else who still uses CDs with digital? If so, what are you using?
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