Reverb fx on Prime Go needs rework

i purchased my prime go a few days ago and have been trying it out ever sinds. i’m very pleased about it’s stability, responsiveness. overall sound quality is excellent. it reads my entire rekordbox library without any issue on a large usb-drive.

but there is 1 thing i really don’t like: the way the reverb fx sounds and the way it operates.

  • there is no low-cut filter for the reverb-effect

  • there is almost no trail/decay after turning off the reverb effect (yes there is one but very tiny, way too short)

  • Reverb effect sounds a bit cheap

as a techno-dj i use the reverb effect a lot. I have been looking into other ways to get some decent reverb like using the prime go as controller together with virtual-dj, but the soundquality of virtual-dj’s reverb isn’t good eighter. also looked into external hardwareeffectmsmodules like Korg’s Kaospad and even an ipad with external soundcard. That last one seems workable but does induce some extra latency.

i already own a pioneer ddj-1000 (wich needs a computer/laptop to operate) but has a beautiful sounding reverb with all the controls i need.

I wanted to go computerless, therefore i bought the prime go. I noticed that there was a firmware update 2.3.1 recently i flashed it, tested it but no changes on the reverb-fx

this is a showstopper for me. i still have some days to return my prime go. if there are no plans to rework the reverb-fx on the prime go i will return it which is a shame because i really love all the other things on the prime go.

or maybe i’m doing something wrong or missed something? any help is appreciated

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If a revision of the FX effects wasn’t mentioned in the firmware release notes, then you can’t expect them to have been improved. :wink:

I have Prime 4, which has slightly different effects from Prime 2 and Prime GO, as it has a dedicated chip (DSP) to do just that function. However, they are not beautiful effects (at least in my opinion), perhaps the ECHO is the only one that can also be fine, but if you also try the Flanger, you will see that it has nothing to do with the same effect as Pioneer, Traktor , VDJ.

If your only reason for returning the Prime GO is because of poor effects, I would advise you to wait: as many months ago we were asked to fill out an FX effects evaluation questionnaire, I am very convinced that there will be news soon, in this area, surely the guys on the Team will be thinking about how to fix these FX effects that we have all been complaining about for many years. Wait up… :sunglasses: :sunglasses: :sunglasses:

thanks for your reply. i’m patient on waiting for Denon to improve the fx, but if you are waiting for it to improve for many years already, it doesn’t convince me Denon will anytime soon :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

maybe it’s better to return my prime go anyway while i still can and wait for Denon to improve the fx on the prime go over time. And when they do, i can always re-purchase a prime go

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If a lot of time has passed since the questionnaire, it means that they have had time to think about which path to take. If the questionnaire was requested a month ago, then you should be concerned as the waiting time may be long. But if by now the necessary time has passed … wait. :face_with_hand_over_mouth: :face_with_hand_over_mouth: :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

You decide which is your most convenient way economically speaking.

One (and there’s many) other way of looking at it, is that you could just get a kaos pad.

A dedicated fx box is always going to out perform both the sound and controlability of built in hardware fx or drop-down-choice list DJ app fx. It also means that once you buy a dedicated fx box, whatever mixer or standalone console you buy in the future, even if you put zero pre-purchase research into it, you’ll always have those fx which you’ve gotten used to, at hand, forever.

It also means that you could keep your prime go.

Another way of looking at it, is no-one else will be scrutinising the reverb tone and timbre to the same degree that you are; they’ll just be dancing to the tunes. :slight_smile:

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It seems to me as if you will not be satisfied with anything other than Pioneer. The solution then (as I see it) is to buy a standalone Pioneer FX unit.

Personally I can’t understand the big deal with the “it must sound exactly like Pioneer or it’s rubbish” crowd. You bought a Denon product. The FX are not going to be clones of Pioneer FX.

By the way, VirtualDJ is not limited to its built in FX. There are several others available as extensions, and VDJ can also host VST plugins, so the world is your lobster.

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Maybe you’re right about getting a dedicated external fx device, but it breaks the mobility feature of the prime go, that’s why i bought it in the first place. i’m really struggling deciding what to do. keeping my prime go and buy an external fx unit or stay with my ddj-1000 for the time being. i appreciate everyone’s thoughts in this toppic. even the ‘somewhat less positive’ ones

i am indeed used to the fx that pioneer offers, but i know that fx processors in general use a software algorithm to re-create the effects digitally. in other words, if the fx processor is fast enough to run the algorithm with not too much latency, it could be sounding really good (if the fx algorithm is well-written). the fx of prime go (specificly the reverb fx) could be improved by writing a better algorithm. i’m really not dissing my prime go, i like every aspect about the prime go, the portability, stability, battery-powered, reads my rekordbox library, stand-alone no laptop needed. it’s just the reverb-fx that doesn’t satisfy me at this point.

don’t get me wrong hey i like the denon dj products a lot. and i’m willing to switch from pioneer to denon. pioneer has been the industry-standard for long, but i think denon has more to offer each year over pioneer’s line. especially the bigger players like sc6000 have way more features and functionality compared to pioneer’s cdj-3000 for example at even a lower price than the cdj’s.
Denon dj products have better features and cost less than pioneer dj products. the prime go is really an awesome device and rock-solid and could be even more awesome if it improved it’s reverb algorithm. i just don’t know what to do at this point

i was looking into external fx modules some more and came across the korg kaoss pad 2s. this one seems to be in stock. most other kaoss pad models are all out of stock. the 2s is kinda afortable. i’m thinking about to try one. if i like it i might be keeping my prime go after all

The Go does not have FX send/return — does it? If not, then you would be limited to using the Kaoss on the master output. Maybe that’s OK for you — just mentioning it in case you hadn’t thought of that :blush:

If I was in your situation I’d return it and re-purchase if you can demo one in-store in a few months once the FX feedback survey has been digested by Denon DJ. It’s an awesome bit of kit but if something fundamentally isn’t right and stops you from enjoying your new purchase then I’d definitely wait it out.

I have a Go and a Prime 4 and for my usage the reverb sounds okay. It’s definitely not got that same sound as Pioneer DJ reverbs (and flangers) but those are so widely used throughout the world, it is how DJs are accustomed to hearing them and for many it’s how they believe these FX should sound.

Pioneer DJ have always had strengths in their FX and as DJs are so used to using them it can be hard to adapt to a new sound. Pioneer DJ have had a monopoly in the pro DJ world for so long that they have dictated subconsciously how DJs perceive FX.

It’s like how Apple often do things different to every other manufacturer yet due to the sheer volume of users, they can shift opinion on the said feature so everything else seems strange. This keeps people feeling safe and familiar and helping to lock people in to their ecosystem. They play to their strengths to keep the churn rate low.

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One thing you can try (if you’ve not already) is to use the wet/dry to control the tail-off, bringing the reverb in and out with that (it’s what I do). Also try adding some sweep FX to it as the filter can be a good addition. It’s a two handed operation so you’re tweaking both the wet/dry and filter sweep together but it sounds a lot better.

Add the decay to that from the reverb and you may have something usable. I don’t mind this combo.

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as far as i know it doesn’t. so if i want to use an external fx device like kaosspad, i should run the mainoutput of the prime go into the lineinput of the fx-device, and run the output of the fx device to an amp or something. but now i think of it… if i do it that way, the fx won’t be audible thru the booth-output. it is a bit of a hassle. if i also want the fx audible on the booth output i have to add an additional tiny mixer to be able to split up the mainoutput(with fx) to both booth and have seperate level controls for both.

if only the build-in reverb fx was a just a little better… whisful thinking :innocent:

that is a really good tip thank you :smiley: when i use some reverb, mostly i want only the mids and highs to pass thru (bass makes it sound so muddy) i’ve looked into that to use it that way. it is somewhat usable, comes close to what i want and takes a bit of pratice… but still it feels like i’m not there yet

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i found another issue :unamused: → no BPM adjustment in beatgrid editing Prime Go has streaminservices like tidal etc. i have a premium subscribtion for tidal and tried to load some tunes on the prime go. some of the tunes were incorrectly analysed. i can go in to grid-edit by pressing-and-holding the blue vinyl knob and ajust the beatgrid. steps left and right. half the bpm or double bpm. shift the grid left or right, but there is no BPM adjusting. i looked into lots of tutorials but there is no changing the bm while in beatgrid edit mode. for this i have to go to a computer with engine dj on it, correct it there and export everything to a usb-drive en plug into back into the prime go.

just to let you guys know. i’ve sent it back to the store. i was just getting used to use 2 hands for getting the reverb fx i’m after, but the fact that you can’t change the bpm of a wrongly analyzed track on the prime go itself was really a dealbreaker for me.

everyone thanks for listening to my whining and providing tips :heart:. i will watch the firmwareupdates of the prime go closely. i might buy another one when it improves :innocent:

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I added it as a feature request: https://community.enginedj.com/t/improve-the-functionality-of-the-reverb-bpm-fx-decay-parameter/55249, please vote on it!