84 found helpful, 29 found unhelpful.
Good Starter... That Will Disappoint Over Time
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by hado
1/17/2004 12:27:15 PM
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Musical Experience:
DJ
Style of music:
Trance, Euro Dance
Hometown
USA
Most DJs, when you ask them what to start with, will recommend a jump to really good equipment- like Technics, big mixers, etc. But it's a syndrone we all have, wanting to inch into the business step by step. But, sadly, especially in the DJ world, you get what you pay for. The CD-Mix 1 is great for starters. It's great for learning the very basics of mixing and pretty much all the tricks to CD mixing. The design is wonderful, very compact, just like a small rack-shell unit. It's slanted upward, which is a good plus so you don't have to bend over and possibly irritate your back during a multi-hour gig.
Here is what you will find on the CD-Mix 1, with reviews of each: CD Players: Usual play/cue
+-12% pitch, does its job Jog Dial with inside for bend and outside for seek, well-designed
Digital Readout (pitch to .1%, really nice)
The players' location at the top is great.
Mixer: Mic volume and on/off Channel one volume and phono/line Same for two Master and Mono/Stereo Cue controls for mix + 2 channels, volume 3-band EQ Crossfader.
Why am I listing all these things the mixer has? That's where this unit has its pitfall. From the time that I've used it, I've pointed out many overall flaws: 1) The instant start isn't really "instant start." It fluctuates between really 'instant' and .3 seconds (disclosed in fine print in the manual somewhere). Really bad. Especially since you have to waste time pitch bending just to get it back- plus makes doing some things live pretty risky. 2) No individual channel EQs. This means you mix with the songs as they are. This really limits what you can do since basses will clash a lot and you can't refine your mix. 3) No frequency kills. No fun! 4) No cue pan, one input sends a much stronger signal than another (when you're using turntables, you can't adjust the cue gain and it will be harder to mix in headphones. 5) Average sound quality
Things like effects, and even kills I might be a little picky with, since you won't find anything like that on any system less than around $400, and if you do, it probably won't work very well or last long anyway. This is a decent mixer for learning. Two channels and a crossfader are all you essentially need, and the main EQ seems like a beautiful toy when you start. The instant start won't really matter since it will just make you sync songs more often and get more practice with that aspect of beatmatching. But it's just that, a mixer for learning. When you've figured out how to do the basics, this thing will 'feel' restrictive. You'll want more versatile tools. As an alternative to those who want to start fairly good, if you want a good CD package, I've personally taken a liking to Numark's Fusion series, but that runs $600 and is quite a hefty jump. The next best thing I can suggest for those interested in CDs is the Stanton Digipak, which runs $400. It doesn't have jog dials, which I (personally) don't like, and top loading the same. But the mixer is a perfect entry-level that actually has some meat on it (actual EQs, gains, and cuing). Unless you have a generous budget, I would refrain from putting together something from multiple units (external CD players, etc.). The packages tend to be good deals, since external CD players are pretty hefty on their own, running the same (i |