Ultraportable DJ'ing



Affixed everything to the iPad stand……

Sorry for hijacking the thread briefly, but I’ve a question about the MF Twister that @Slak_Jaw will be able to answer……

I’ll try and explain this, but it’s not gonna be easy….

So, on my current controller (DDJ XS2) I have the EQs of decks 3 & 4 mapped to the NM of decks 1 & 2. This means I have both EQ and NM controls on the knobs of the 4 decks.

If I fade a stem out (knob to left) and then change the track on that deck, the GUI NM faders reset to all being on again, as designed.

Now, the problem arises if I now forget to reset the NM knobs on the controller as the GUI is ‘on’ but the controller is ‘off’.

The only way to realign the two is to very quickly turn the knob back to full on, but this does have an effect on what’s being played, so trying to time it right is awkward and sometimes not an option depending on the track.

You can hopefully see the issue and it’s all down to operator issues….in fact the forgetting of knob turning is inversely proportional to the amount of Gordon’s consumed!!!

Question is, with the Twister having never ending knobs, would this potentially end my idiocy?

The hope is that regardless of where the knob is, the LEDs on the Twister just reflect the actual state of the GUI and I can then just turn them to the left to fade out without having to ‘reset’ them every time.

Anyway, hopefully that’s made sense….

Cheers

S :+1:t2:

@sooteee I’m 80% sure you won’t have this issue with the Twister due to the endless encoders. If memory serves me correct, the LED states do reset on the controller to match the GUI state. Unfortunately, my Twister is packed away as I’m in the process of moving so, it will be at least a couple of weeks before I could confirm this 100%. Hope that helps…

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Perfect! Cheers @Slak_Jaw :+1:t2:

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After 5 years, this is still my ultraportable setup. I always feel like it’s a bit janky, but I haven’t found another rig with this many features, that also fits neatly in a carry-on laptop bag. There’s even room for a 2nd laptop and sun tan lotion! :slight_smile:

Notes:

  • Traktor Z1 + Hercules Starlight
  • Knobs by CoolorCaps.com
  • (not shown) Sennheiser HD25 headphones + Decksavers.

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Nice setup @Michael_Wisniewski!
I used to have a Traktor Z1. I ended up switching to the Reloop Mixtour which I liked a lot more because of the extra buttons. I eventually upgraded my portable setup to the Reloop Ready. IMO the Ready is almost perfect except for the sound quality and the dim LEDs.

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The Allen & Heath Xone:K2 also looks like an interesting option for a portable setup. I’d like to have a go at custom MIDI mapping it since it has 3 banks/layers for a total of 171 MIDI mappable controls. I wonder how the sound quality compares to the Traktor Z1 and Reloop Mixtour…

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Hi all,

Here’s the dilemma.

I’ve bought the MF Twister and a MF Spectra, as I’m going all in on the ‘portable’ way of DJing.

This means I will be getting rid of the DDJ SX2, which is a decent mixer.

What small mixing units have a decent sound, and good knobs / buttons / crossfaders that will last?

I’ve looked at the Pioneer DJ2goTouch, the Hercules Starlights, and the NI Traktor Control Z1.

I know the Traktor is a decent unit and is currently my preferred option, but are the other two any good on the sound out front?

Not bothered about the platters / knobs / pads etc, just the mixer side of the units to output a decent sound and have pre-cueing without a splitter…

Any thoughts or experiences as to which I should opt for?

Cheers

S :+1:t2:

  1. For me, it’s more about audio reliability on larger systems. Plugging into large systems, I inevitably run into weird audio glitches with the mini-controllers that are immediately resolved when I switch to the Z1 or MIXTOUR. So I mainly use the Touch/Starlight as controllers (not sound cards).

  2. While I love the Z1, the lack of iOS compatibility is a big downside. In contrast, the MIXTOUR is fully supported and sound-quality-wise works well for me, especially with an external mixer (+6 dBu bump!).

  3. My Z1 is 8 years old and the MIXTOUR is 5 years. Both have been very heavily used/banged around … and they’re still solid. Only thing I’ve done is q-tip clean/relube to get the faders smooth again.

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For a more robust “portable” setup, I’ve been considering upgrading to the Numark Scratch or DJM-250Mk2 … :slight_smile: with a Hercules Starlight for basic transport controls.

Something like-ah-this …


Perfect! Cheers @Michael_Wisniewski, sort of what I thought.

The smaller controllers aren’t up to the audio requirements.

That’s why I was looking at the Z1 purely as an audio (pre-cue, crossfade etc) device.

The Mixtour suggestion has now thrown a bit of a spanner in there….

Whilst the midi fighters will be mapped to operate all my usual functions, the idea of some ‘basic’ transport buttons on the audio mixer is quite appealing.

I’ll do a bit more research between the Z1 and the Mixtour and report back with an update soon.

Cheers

S :+1:t2:

@sooteee this is my personal experience and not an official stance from Algoriddim. I too have personally used both the Z1 and Mixtour. I didn’t have an opportunity to compare the sound quality of them, but I really preferred the Mixtour because of it’s MIDI capabilities, extra buttons, and multiple control layers. Also I don’t know if you’ve been following Laidback Luke, but he’s a pro DJ and has been using the Mixtour on huge festival sound systems. So it seems the sound quality is good enough for him…

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Thanks @Slak_Jaw, after @Michael_Wisniewski ‘s input, I’m definitely leaning towards the Mixtour.

In fact bought one, they then tell me discontinued, and refunded me….boooo! :frowning:

Anyway, off to Fleabay and see what’s on offer there.

I’ll be back to bother you again no doubt @Slak_Jaw once the MFs turn up as I know you’re the expert on them!!

Cheers guys.

S :+1:t2:

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You’re welcome @sooteee. That’s weird. The Mixtour isn’t showing discontinued on the Reloop website (Reloop Mixtour - Reloop). There must be someone that has stock either way. Hope you can find one…

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Yeah, some websites showing discontinued/ no longer available, some showing back order, some showing pre-order….
It’s a minefield!!
Anyway, just got one £50 less than the website from eBay, boxed, new.
Happy days.

Pure speculation on my part, but Luke hyping the mixtour and mentioning the shortcomings, and advantages of other setups sounded to me like a ramp up to a new mixtour. But, as said, this is pure speculation.

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A MIXTOUR + MIDI Fighter sounds like a great ultraportable setup!


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Has anyone had any joy with using a MixFader with Djay Pro?

Was thinking after a bit of a trial with Djay Pro 5 that the only hardware thing I was using to any extent was the crossfader, and for everything else either the touchscreen was better (e.g. FX) or at least good enough for my purposes (e.g. neural mix channels, track selection). The auto EQing for the crossfader FX is great for me, doubt I could do a better job.

Anyway, MixFader + Djay Pro … is this a thing? Absolutely no issue with manually mapping it, it’s going to be literally one thing.

I have looked into the Mixfader before, would love to have one with an iPad to make an ultraportable setup. I read though that it’s not officially supported by Djay, and I didn’t want to spend the money not sure it would work.

I read here that someone made it work; mind that this was in 2016 though Made Mixfader work on Algoriddim Djay Mac+iOS!

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