cheap mixer thats good for scratching?

[chile]

One of me students I did a one to one lesson with is off to uni soon and he's looking to get into scratching.. I've linked him to some decent deals on decks so thats more or less out of the way, but yeah what mixer would you guys reccomend? Something thats good quality and the fader won't screw up after a few months.. I'm not clued up on the latest budget mixers so thought I'd ask.

[DJ Rock Well]

There's a total drought right now on cheaper new scratch mixers, bar the DJ-Tech one.

 

The charity I work for sometimes, like everyone working from grants/funding, has to buy all there equipment new and it's been a bit of a nightmare.

 

I'd say, secondhand all the way for scratch mixers right now. I got one of my students a Pioneer 707 off ebay for £120 in tip top shape which puts even the £150 DJ-Tech mixer into perspective. Shame there's not a newer version of the Vestax 06 or something though.

[Steve]

The DIF-1S is really the only choice when buying new, although I suppose it depends what you mean by "cheap".

[ericuk]

does he want new or used? obviously thats a game changer. #bargainhuntersteez

[mfsop]

If he wants a super cheap mixer, I'd look out for a Gemini Umx 7(Vestax-style crossfaders won't fit into the UMX 5 and 9 though as the front is inclined and the circuitry board behind it blocks anything but the short-bodied UMX-faders) - I got two perfectly working ones on ebay this year for about 20€ average for friends of mine.

Also, the Stanton SA-5 and SA-8 can be found for about 50€ every now and then which is pretty crazy for three swappable Penny & Giles faders.

 

The sound quality of all those mixers is pretty terrible compared to new mixers but they're still damn cheap for what they offer.

[scottie(the)goonie]

The DIF-1S is really the only choice when buying new, although I suppose it depends what you mean by "cheap".

 

I got a chance to try one out last week. For scratching, it's a good mixer, but it's very plain. There is no channel fader curve controls, but for under $200 it's very nice

[chile]

707 for 120 quid.. megabargain.. Yeah hes looking for new cheap or used. i was thinking about reccomending that thing where you get a shit mixer and pop a good quality cross compatible fader in.. is it just pro x and innofader that go over multiple mixers?

[d00ban]

pioner 707 ftw. bought mine years ago fromm europe for 200 euros....worked out proper cheap and is solid as a rock

[Ethanol]

recently picked up a Rane 56 for £195 and regularly see Xone 02's for under £200 on fleebay

[mfsop]

Penny & Giles faders should work with most VCA mixers, too. I was thinking about getting a Tascam XS-8 (Hak 320) and putting one of my P&Gs into it. But that might just be due to personal preference: I even like them more than the Innofader because I've had them for about ten years and they still work (even though I've had to open them about a hundred times to clean them).

But if he can find one, then a 707 for 120 indeed sounds like a great (and better) deal.

[scottie(the)goonie]

Penny & Giles faders should work with most VCA mixers, too. I was thinking about getting a Tascam XS-8 (Hak 320) and putting one of my P&Gs into it. But that might just be due to personal preference: I even like them more than the Innofader because I've had them for about ten years and they still work (even though I've had to open them about a hundred times to clean them).

But if he can find one, then a 707 for 120 indeed sounds like a great (and better) deal.

 

The xs-8 is dirt cheap, if you can still find one. I got one used for $40 years ago. The only issue is that the upfaders suck. I had a 707 before that and it was an all-around better mixer.

[waxdestroyer]

i had both the 707 and the 909 in the past...the crossfader is pretty nice with about 1 mm cut in...the only downside of those mixers is that the faceplate wears out really fast around the xfader..other than that it are grewat mixers although the 909 is still expensive 2nd hand

 

i got a Stanton SA-8 with 2 penny giles and a Focus fader laying around here..if anybody wants it ill sell it for 40 pnds excl. shipping

[chile]

ive reccomended rane ttm56 and linked to an auction that has one currently at £105 but it has like 6 days left still so likely to rise.. his budgets about 150 quid for a mixer. I also told him about the DIF-1S, although i just read it has a mini innofader in which is more catered toward controllers than turntablists but im sure itll sitll be decent

[Deft]

Do Stanton still do the SA-5? That was a very decent mixer for the cash.

[mfsop]

The Numark DXM PRO might be another good mixer. http://www.djworx.com/skratchworx/reviews/dxmpro.php

For my taste, the cross fader curve is a bit too steep, too (kind of poppy on-off-clicks) but it's not too bad and the lag is nice. Also the overall build quality, eqs and sound is pretty good, so he could still upgrade to the Innofader later while still having a damn good cross fader for the first years. They run for about 80 € on ebay here.

[Vekked]

Do Stanton still do the SA-5? That was a very decent mixer for the cash.

yea the SA-5 was great in basically every way except the tapered fader stem. The faders felt fine and cut nice but I literally snapped the stem off 3 of them because they made it 1/4 inch thinner at the top and it was already the Vestax style thin stem to begin with not the Rane/Ecler double width. But feature wise it blew the 05 Pro out of the water for slightly less money.

[DJ Rock Well]

ive reccomended rane ttm56 and linked to an auction that has one currently at £105 but it has like 6 days left still so likely to rise.. his budgets about 150 quid for a mixer. I also told him about the DIF-1S, although i just read it has a mini innofader in which is more catered toward controllers than turntablists but im sure itll sitll be decent

The 56 would be my first choice, although I've never seen one dip as low as £150. The mini innofader is good for scratching but when you compare the rest of the mixer to what you can get secondhand, I still say secondhand all day.

 

As well as the aforementioned 707, which should be easy to find under £150, I've had an A&H 02 for £150 before and I've seen a couple of Ecler Haks go for about £160 recently.

 

Occasionally you can get really lucky on eBay - I got a 707 once for £50 and I think Symatic recently did the same thing with the Xone 02.

[ericuk]

I love rockwells Mackie mixer. It cost under a tonne and I could have easily got a semi using it.

[DJ Rock Well]

I love rockwells Mackie mixer. It cost under a tonne and I could have easily got a semi using it.

£90 BIN no less!

 

The only reason I didn't mention it was they have an inherent problem with the stupid transform switches which can cause all kinds of havoc (usually one or all of the faders stop working). All it takes to remedy is soldering two small wires across the transform switches to remove them from the equation. I didn't think a beginner would fancy this though.

 

Eric - they come up on eBay from time to time but you have to wait for an open auction or someone who's not kidding themselves with the start price though. There's two on there now, one wants £250 and the other is £120 but with a broken channel.

 

Be patient though and you can get lucky - when I got mine there was another that went unsold for £100 and one other time I was the under bidder on one that sold for £67!!!

[ericuk]

I've seen them on Bumtree now and then also.

 

I wouldn't cheat on my beloved 06, but if it dies, I'll be all up on the mackie mixers fo rizzle.

[DJ Rock Well]

chile - tell your friend that there's another 56 just popped up on eBay - it's an OG model rather than the 56S that was already on there so it will probably go a little bit cheaper.