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This page: Looking For Some Gear to Buy?
'Coming from a musician/engineer background, you probably expect anything called a mixer to have an effects send, but very few DJ mixers do'
Looking For Some Gear to Buy?
The market for DJ gear has grown immensely in the last few years, and there is equipment available for virtually any budget or musical goal. From inexpensive DJ-in-a-Box kits to mixers with onboard effects, there's something for everyone. If you're primarily a musician but are interested in exploring what a DJ setup can bring to your plate, plenty of professional, mid-priced turntables, mixers, and effects could fit your bill.
The Vestax PDX-A2S turntable is the new DJ battle station; it's guaranteed not to skip when you scratch.
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The gold standard of turntables has always been the Technics SL-1200. (MkII and M3D are the current models and list for $699.99 each.) The 1200s, as they are known for short, are to dance DJs and scratchers what the Stratocaster is to guitarists. That's slowly changing, however. Vestax, best known for their coveted scratch mixers, has introduced the PDX series of turntables, which feature straight "anti-skate" tone arms. The PDX-A2S ($759.99) is the first turntable designed especially for "battle position." (In DJ competitions, or "battles," the turntable is positioned with its left-side facing the DJ for easier hand access to the north side of the record.) Stanton, Gemini, Numark, and Next are all making very good turntables in the $300 to $350 range, some including features like an LCD readout that displays exact pitch change, and some with reverse play capabilities. Less expensive tables, such as the Numark TT-1520 ($299.99) and the Gemini XL-600 ($379.95), are superb values: sturdy, solidly built direct-drive (see sidebar) turntables that won't break the bank.
Gemini's PS-626 ($249.95) is an affordable 3-channel DJ mixer.
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A simple DJ mixer shouldn't be too expensive; hell, you can pop down to Radio Shack and pick up an Optimus mixer for under a hundred bucks that could suit you just fine. You shouldn't have to pay through the nose for a high-quality mixer either. The Vestax PMC-03, the Intimidation Apex Gold, the Gemini PS-626 (three channels), and the Numark DM2000X (three channels) are all very good basic mixers that sell for less than $200. Upping the ante are the Rane TTM-54I ($899), the Numark Pro-SM-3 ($899), the Vestax PMC-05 Pro II ($799 and the top-selling scratch mixer), and Gemini's excellent new UMX series ($499.99 to $669.99), which features ultra-smooth faders and improved preamps.
Consider the features you want first. Most two-channel mixers give you an option of choosing either "line" or "phono" inputs on each channel, but if you want to hear your sampler, turntable, and CD player all at once, you'll need three channels. So think about your goals, and be sure to play with the faders on a mixer before you buy. See if they feel buttery and smooth, or shaky and loose.
The Roland DJ-2000 (above) and Pioneer DJM-500 (below) both offer BPM counters and BPM-syncable effects, but at a precious cost. |
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If you're coming from a musician/engineer background, you probably expect anything called a mixer to have an effects send. But very few DJ mixers -- outside multi-featured monsters targeted at professional club DJs -- do. Rane's mighty TTM-52 ($699) and Vestax's PMC-170A ($399) are two notable mid-priced exceptions. Mixers like Roland's DJ-1000 ($895) and DJ-2000 ($1495) and the Pioneer DJM-500 and DJM-600 ($1239 and $1399) actually have onboard DSP processing, but may cost a little more than you want to pay. I suggest encouraging manufacturers to include effects-sends in simpler, scratch-oriented mixers, particularly since DJ-oriented effects boxes like the Korg Kaoss Pad ($375) are becoming increasingly popular and opening up the possibilities for using the turntable as a true sound source, not only a sleight-of-hand machine. Speaking of the Kaoss Pad, the new Numark EM-360 ($650) and soon-to-be-released EM-460 mixers have built-in Kaoss Pads.
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Direct Drive vs. Belt Drive:
When shopping for turntables, you should note whether the machine is a direct-drive or belt-drive turntable. In general, belt-drive turntables tend to be more cheaply made. Though the mechanism itself is no worse for scratching, belt drives are considered less precise for beat matching, and they don't feature quartz lock, which keeps the platter speed very consistent.
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