flame on! (not really, just a few responses) (Re: [Dynagroove] Re: if it ain't broke... (RE: Opinions & Reviews of the Vestax PMC-46MKII please))

[t-bird]

--- Will Yardley <i&8342930 at hq.newdream.net> wrote:
> I personally hate both the sound and the feel of the
> Pioneers. The
> faders feel really "plastic" to me. The effects
> don't sound that great,
> and are just begging to be over-used. 

i think the effects sound fine, and just like a
crossfader, just because it's there doesn't mean you
have to use it...  i've been playing on one for
several years now, and the only time i could really be
accused of "over-using" the fx is when i'm playing a
bit of dub.  i don't use them very much, but i like
having the option.  a lot of djs take the bass out of
tunes too much--is that a reason to do away w/eq?

> The sound
> quality is not very
> good... I'm sure this will start a big flame war,
> because I know some
> people really love them.

not very good relative to what?  ranes?  ok, no
argument there, but they sound a HELL of a lot better
than the f'ed up numarks/american dj/realistic (radio
shack?  come on!!) i STILL see in some places...

> It's a totally different feel, though. Mixing with
> the knobs gives you a
> lot more control over what you're doing and how you
> do it. 

i think what you mean is it gives you more control
over *fading.*

> Obviously it
> doesn't work well for some styles of mixing (I only
> know one or two
> jungle DJs who like playing on a rotary-only mixer).

it doesn't work well for MOST styles of mixing.  it's
great for the smooth fade-in/fade-out/blend-style (if
that was the only mixing style i used, i'd be totally
with you.)  if you're doing ANY other style of mixing
it's a bitch and a half.

for instance, if you want to drop in a short snippet
of something knobs are NOWHERE as easy or intuitive as
faders.  let's say you want to make a dramatic
transition (which some of us do on occasion) or
scratch--remember when house djs used to do that? i've
even seen a dj "echo trick" (i.e., done purely with
his hands and the levels) a *house* record out of a
mix.  dropping acapellas is even easier w/faders.

> The UREI may be archaic, but I've never found it to
> be limiting. I've
> pretty much never been mixing on a UREI and said
> "gee - I wish I had a
> crossfader" or "gee - I wish I had separate EQ on
> each channel" or
> anything like that - it's always just a joy to be
> playing on such a
> great sounding mixer.
 
i played on one in nyc--hated it.  
it's kind of like driving a 4-speed car when you've
gotten used to 5-speeds.  you don't have as much
control as you're used to.  having more control over
the sound, allows me freedom the to play more
creatively.

obviously, you and i have very different mixing
styles.  there's certain things in a mixer i don't
consider "bells & whistles" anymore:  crossfaders,
channel faders, gain knobs, 3 band eq per channel...
maybe sometime you'll hear me mix, and see why i'm so
big on these items in a mixer.

-t

=====
something else!  (www.geocities.com/somethingelse2k4)
every monday:

radio:  7.30-10pm pst (gmt -8hrs) www.streetsradio.com
live:  10pm-2am @ the brig 1515 abbot kinney bl. venice beach

archived dj set (November 25, 2003) on www.brokenbeatradio.com 

mix cds availible at:

grooveriders sherman oaks (2-step garage)  www.grooveriders.com
the basement sherman oaks (funk/rare-groove) www.basementhiphop.com
soul sonic (aka green sector) santa monica (downtempo) http://www.larhythmnetwork.com/recordstores/recordstores/greensector.php

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam
http://mail.yahoo.com