I want to get a new dj setup and was looking for peoples opinions

Howdy Am'rs

I was looking to upgrading my decks and mixer,

I was wondering if anyone had heard anything good or bad bout either of these;

Mackie D2 battle mixer (reason being is I found one for half price! $700) and Vestax PDX 3000.. I love collecting vinyl, the feel, the smell, the look, the fact that you have to carry the fact it takes up ten times more space, so Im sticking with turntables..

I play dnb and hip hop, more dnb, but would like to learn to scratch, and 2 channels will be sufficient for a while..

thanks Am'rs

mackies are quite nice

yeah, I mean I found it for 50% off, marked down from 1400 so I thought it sounded pretty good, I mean they make good everything else, and it looks dope I read a few bad things about people having problems with the channel faders, but you reckon theyre nice to use Simo?

id look at the pioneer range aswell - theyll have something similar for that price..

not 100percent sure on mackies reliability

not familiar with mackie mixers at all.

I have a pair of Vestax PDX-2000 mkII's and am very happy with them, so the 3000 ought to be... better?

so theyre hella torquey? and how does the straight tone arm go, no skips etc>??

Straight arm on the vestax ( and stanton 150 for that matter) are gun for the cut. 2000mk11 are good.
Just ask Q-bert. The Vestax 3000 is a good option givin the demise of Technics 1200 manafacturing. The fact Panasonic are't making some components for 1200s' anymore, it would be a plus to grab a Vestax for any breakdown probs.
Saying that, nothing beats a 1200 for reliability and toughness.
Mackie mixers are good, but the cut off point on the crossfader may piss you off after a while when you advance to more sophisticated scratches.
At 50% though you can't go wrong, practice on it for a year and then next tax time, grab a Rane ttm56 and you'll find a massive improvement on all your scratching.
One.
ANZAC

yes id like a ttm56, but for $500 -600 cheaper i think the mackie will be pretty good... so you dont think the lifium x faders are too good anzac??

oh and anzac, do you know a bloke called benny plachta??? he is on my crew at work, I think he says he knows you

Yeah, say hello from the 116 monkeys.

Go for the mackie, at that price you can't go wrong. Not saying the faders arent good, just, for a battle fader with a strong use on the cut, Penny & Giles are the leader in the biz (standard in the Rane series). Not sure if you fit a P&G in the mackie, check with Jarrod at Derringers for specs.

Not sure if Penny & Giles are standard in the TTM56-57. Reckon they have those magnetic faders made by Rane, which are supposed to actually be better for cutting than anything Penny & Giles make.

oh and can anyone tell me if i got a straight arm table would i loose any sound quality due to the needle not lining up with the record like a s arm would?

No, the way both arms are set up, both track in the groove. The str8 arm is shorter to compensate for this. Straight arms tend to track better than S-arms. Again though, never have a problem cutting on 1210's running Shure M44-7 carts n styli.

excellent, thats about all my questions answered thank you for your time and help everybody


Peace

OK. Just checked. P&G make the faders for Rane.

Check the specs:
http://www.savsystems.com.au/rane/index.html

Ahh right, I thought they just made the ones in the 3 chan Empath.

Fuck it all get Ableton!!      

lol.
You like cans of worms M.S?

Yep I'm a big fisherman!

no Ableton, im a purist... just love them records

Yeah nah headache is right.  Is says on the page you linked under Empath...

Penny & Giles faders are simply the best money can buy. Smooth, accurate and reliable mixing is made possible by employing the most respected name in audio faders

... and under TTM56...

Rane’s patented magnetic fader is the fastest, most accurate, and long lasting on the planet. No travel noise - No bleed - ever! Unlike optical non-contact faders, the magnetic fader is impervious to smoke, moisture, temperature and aging. The mechanical life of the magnetic fader exceeds 10 million operations.

Yeah your right, researched a bit last night and it seems the Empath uses the P&G standard. I was always of the notion the 56&57 series did as well.
Saying that,I have used both and can't see a difference. My mate has an Empath, I run a Rane ttm56 & Stanton SA8 (runnining P&G) at the studio, all with magnetic faders and can cut without any variance on all three. I reckon the Rane engineers may have outsourced to P&G and called it there own, I dunno.

Good talking point at my next cut session with the other tablist goons though.
PZ
A. Bizkut

to anyone who helped me/cares..


I got my mackie D2 yesterday, set it up, its nice except for the fact that it bleeds when ch fader 2 is in reverse, so Im pretty cut about that... but apart from that it seems ok... sorta wish I waited for a rane though, a rane wouldnt bleed straight outta the box...


hopefully the after sales service is ok

oh well you live and you learn...

shoulda got the Ableton!!!       
(please know I'm only joking)

send it back as for  a new one

sounds like a screw may have come loose mounting the fader on its track.

they should replace the part, or give you another unit 

yup storedj.com have been good, theyre couriering it out on friday and going to give me a new unit... Which I thought is good after sales service I dont have to pay a cent, just wait for the courier to rock up... so I give storedj a 

Definitely a big plus they aren't making you pay for return shipping.

mixer just got back, seems to be working sweet.. free shipping store dj looked after me