Most of djs that have the eq and trim knobs in front of them are not using them correctly. I seen a lot of djs running on constant full meter light up on the mixer, and gain/trim knobs have been maxed out. So the other guy after this intelligent monkey just moved the eq’s from 12 to 2 o’clock - because he wanted to be louder…
And then, everyone wants autogain… maybe they should first learn to use it properly…?
Fun reasoning… Why use a DJ at a party?
Autogain alone isn’t the function that’s needed in the good-old loudness wars. Tracks still have massive differences in perceived volume at the same dB.
I’d welcome a multi-band processing (with autogain duhh) on the all in ones, but I’d still prefer separate devices that execute that function. Plus, it could eat too much resources.
I think the other issue in play here is people seem to keep asking for features that can be found in Serato/Traktor/VDJ on the Prime units.
These units were never designed to be a replacement for that software, more an all in one solution to the traditional CDJ and DJM setup, so their featureset is always going to lean more towards that side of gear than software.
Funny how everyone talks about the ‘club standard’ on one hand, then asks for all these auto features that won’t prepare you for any clubs on the other.
My advice to anyone who aspires to play at venues is to learn as much of the craft manually as you can, because auto gain isn’t going to mean a thing on a CDJ nexus setup, and good luck using sync when the ethernet ports on the back of the media player don’t work and you need 2 USBs to play (the exact thing that happened to us recently).
An old cliche saying ‘to fail to prepare, is to prepare to fail’
Here here @STU-C … @reece. A “party” can be defined as a birthday bash or a wedding reception. Its what the nobile and event guys do…
If the file has distortion at the base, it will remain so, even when lowering the level to 0db. The file will remain damaged.
The software that corrects and improves audio files fairly well (even if it won’t be quality from a studio) I recommend “Platinum Notes”. You will be able to keep your original files during the improvements “Platinum Notes” will create a folder for you with “_PN” files to indicate that they have been corrected (audio normalization) and cleaned up at the level of saturation picks, and improved if the file lacks bass or treble. You can create a preference preset to normalize your files according to your taste.
Here are the preferences that I assigned as a preset in the “Platinum Notes” software (it’s really a good tool!):
I see them as the complete opposite, units that are good value that a lot of aspiring DJs will buy for their home setup, in which case they need to be ready for whenever they get their first gig… so applying half the stuff software has is irrelevant because its just never going to matter once you get to a venue.
What is missing that would lead you to believe they aren’t even 50% of the way there? im curious because ive had the Prime 2 several months and its been pretty much a direct replacement for my old Serato controller, im not missing a thing, maybe sample banks but I never used them anyway.
Mmmm I’m going to sit in the fence here. The more “features” we get the more the skill of reading a dance floor and putting the right tune in at the right time is forgotten. You can have all the bells and whistles you want. However if you start dropping speedcore or hypertone at a 60 birthday party. Or You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’ by the Righteous Brothers as a first song at a wedding then those bells and whistles are not going to cover your back are they
“Why use a DJ?” is perhaps a better question. 
Anyways, I’m not against more features.
@Reese .
More money than sense lol. Why get married IMHO. i aint complaining though… if people want to pay me to do what i love doing its a win win situation…
Another Sr. DJ here. Started back in 1982 when I was 14. Played my first club gig at 17, and went on to pioneer House Music in New England (U.S.) on the radio with a show that ran from 1987 to 1997.
Anyways, the biggest annoyance I had back then was the volume difference between 12’ vinyl and albums. Albums were always recorded much lower and I would have to turn (trim) them up (sometimes fearing turntable rumble) to get the right volume. Because of that I avoided playing an album cut as much as possible.
Today’s mp3’s have no standard in volume so trim becomes a constant battle. I like how Serato gives you the OPTION to autogain your tracks when you analyze your library. It’s one less thing to think about. I think it would be a great OPTION if the MP3Gain technology could somehow be included in Engine OS.
That’s all from grandpa. I’m off to pack for tonight’s gig! You kids have fun!
Haha don’t remind me, I have Todd Terry and Subliminal sessions Ministry of Sound albums, plus stuff like Live at the Playboy mansion, all horrific pressings compared to a 12" Single… shame really as some of the tracks you could get on them were epic, like the house mix of talkin all that jazz etc.
Im sure I had to top out the trim and boost the EQ on some of them.
Lol yeah the fun days when your only sync tools involved using a finger and ears in unison.
@kradcliffe … no i dont think i would like to play then with todays tech. You wouldnt have the skills that you have today without the old skool learning curve that we all went through in those days
Vote here https://community.enginedj.com/t/prime-4-prime-2-prime-go-auto-gain/37089?u=mufasa
Not sure if that was migrated
I have no problem with 89dB, I have only had a couple of tracks in my 98,000 that still clip at 89dB, but by experiment, as high as 91dB causes many clipped tracks. I run my Denon Go, through KV2 EX12 speakers, and my input gains are set to 1pm position, with my master gain set to around 2pm position. With these settings my faders are usually around 80% position. So plenty of adjustment available, should I need it.
The great thing about technology is that it helps broaden your creativity.
I could go on and on.
It was tougher back in the day to be a DJ, and one can argue that it required more skills, but advances in technology is pushing us DJ’s to be more creative than ever before.
I love it!
No, that’s not me! LOL
@Mixlive yeah i see your point totally. I personally dont think the tech replaces the old skool skills. Enhance maybe. New djs are IMO spoilt with the likes of sync etc. Sometimes itx fun to just have it raw and rely on ears fingers and the such like.
Totally agree with you on the sync thing. Don’t use it and IMO weakens you as a DJ. What happens to the sync-reliant DJ when quantize or BPM analyzation is inaccurate? What about those mixes (and I’ve heard them) syncing a 110 BPM track to a 120 BPM track (hideous!).
The DJs I admire most are those that have impeccable ears, not only for lining up mixes, but in there choices of tracks.
Like i always say . You cant use the power tools until you can do it by hand… you cant use a typewriter until you can write. Yes sometimes a quick hit on the sync to line tempos but from there in play it by ear. I wonder how many guys could cover their screens over and still line things up without a button to do it for them… it’s a dying art
Norman Jay is one of those, not the cleanest mixing ever but what a DJ.
I try and make my mixes as smooth as possible and practise like mad perfecting it, its all 100% manual though, my beat grids are all over the place, too lazy to work my way through them… but ill mix on pretty much any gear in front of me, and have.
Another long term DJ here, started back in 94, played professionally in super clubs for 5 yrs, Ibiza for 2 seasons, Europe for 5 yrs, no longer actively dj.
When it comes to gain, lets not forget that seasoned dj’s couldn’t run their 12" through a gainer, its all by vision, hearing and most of all, experience. I don’t feel that a gain would is necessity on the controller if you use your trim, sliders and output correctly.
Here is what i typically do and its never failed me yet
The trim and indicators are there for a reason. Cueing allows you to level up which you can get through your phones and indicators without pre-gaining. Mp3’s in generate are a lower quality track and don’t hold the same data as a wav for example. adding a gain doesn’t increase your track at the same quality, there is some quality loss when you gain an mp3. Its similar to a jpg vs a svg. increase the jpg size, it just gets more pixelated because the original quality isnt great to start with. Its bigger, but less quality.
Use wav as much as possible for a good quality sound
