Build Quality

I always wanted to own a Vestax mixer. They always looked so classic, and they’ve been a standard for so long. After having gotten my hands on one, I understand why so many DJs consider them top-shelf. All the metal knobs are fantastically sturdy, the faders are smooth (though the middle channel is a little wobbly, but that might come from the fact that this unit is used).

Sound Quality

It’s a little rolled off on the highs, but it’s analog warmth makes up for it. I’m used to a certain clarity on my AEMs, though I’ve heard some folks accuse those mixers of being bright. This mixer has a decent amount of headroom and is quite loud. I’m having no problems getting it to boom out of my RP8s.

Faders

This is NOT a scratch mixer. There isn’t a single fader curve control on the entire mixer, which is a shame, given how nice the crossfader feels - buttery and smooth, with a lot of mass. It’s clicky though, and I know some of you people hate that. I theorize that clicky faders are hated mainly because they transfer a lot of the shock from the fader hitting the end of the slot into your fingertips, making it less comfortable to use.

Also, “Channel 1 is the left side of the fader, and Channel 3 is the right side of the fader. Channel 2 runs to the master, always. Deal with it.” appears to be the design philosophy of this mixer. But that seems to work out just fine.

Anyway, the long throw line faders are a joy to mix house on. It’s nice to have all that space and a nice smooth fader curve. It’s great having all that space to work with.

EQ and Kill Switches

When I saw that the PCV-275 only killed -16 on highs and lows and -12 on mids, I was a little disappointed. Even my old Numark DXM06 full kill EQs! However, after an hour and a half of mixing on these EQs, I really enjoy them. They’re very musical and take just enough from each frequency.

Also each EQ knob affects the right parts of the range, and they don’t stray too far into each other’s territory. Mixing with bad EQs is totally infuriating (see: mixing on Torq’s internal mixer - the mid knob eats so much of the bass and highs that it’s almost unusable - luckily it’s tweakable.)

The kill switches feel exceptionally sturdy and are very easy to use. They’re actually full kills (if you kill all three switches, you kill all sound) and are nice for messing around with a mix.

Cueing

I hope you like split cue because there’s no master / PFL knob here. You can cue any channel, and the cued channel pops up on the Cue LED meter and plays through your headphones. (There’s also a green pulsating LED that lets you know what’s going on with the uncued channels.) There’s a headphone input on the face of the mixer as well as the top. They’re both 1/4″ so don’t forget your adapter!

Other Features

Each channel has a balance knob on it. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that, but it’s kind of nifty to have. I’m considering doing some weird trick where I’ve got two tracks beatmatched, and then they weave in and out from each other, going from right to left, sort of passing by each other.

There’s an effects loop, but without an effects box, it’s kind of hard to try out. I might try to hook up one of my AEM mixers to the send / return and see if I can rock the oscillator / noise generator on the middle channel, or use the filters on the music playing on channels 1 and 3. Maybe even hook up a turntable to the AEM and get some scratchy goodness going on. Overall, the effects loop looks fairly well implemented. You can assign the effects to any channel (or two or more simultaneously) and you can set them to be pre or post fader. You can also cue the effects, which makes me VERY happy, as being unable to cue effects (like the effects in my DVSes) is really frustrating.

The line four input is on the face of the mixer, above the mic gains, on the left side, and runs to the middle channel. This is cool for hooking up an iPod or other backup system. The PCV-275 also has two separate mic inputs. It’s a familiar feature on my old mixer, and one I’m glad to see back here. The volume of the mics are controlled by two gain knobs. You can even put effects on the mics, which is a nice touch. Again, not sure how often I’ll use this, as I don’t have an effects box. There are also high and low EQs for the mic channel - again, not something I’m so sure I’ll use.

IN CLOSING

So overall, worth the $73 I paid for the mixer + shipping and handling. I’m not sure how much use it’ll get once my new Urei 1603 gets out of the shop, but it’ll make a nice backup / loaner mixer. It’s got great build quality and decent sound - great for a beginner who’s only interested in mixing. As I like to throw scratches into my sets, I’ll probably wait for my Urei 1603, and then slap an Innofader into it. But as a loaner / backup it’s perfect, especially considering the price.

written by: Punky
thread link: here

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