Going Old School Mixer But Not Reallly....

[fatcatdj]

http://www.toptenreviews.com/i/rev/scrn/large/50748-american-audio-mx-1400dsp1.jpg

Ever work as a mobile dj so much that you don't check out whats new, equipment wise? Well that's what I've been
doing the past 3 years. Weddings, party after party, event after event! Getting home late at night, exhausted, not
giving a damn who's making new software, new mixers, CDJ's, controllers, etc. Very played out on mobile dj'ing....

It got to the point, after buying Serato SL2 and Virtual Dj pro, I couldn't give a sh*t if controllers were taking over
or if people were dj'ing with iPhones. All I knew was I was working every weekend doing the same sh*t over and over again
to different faces and names, hotels, halls and homes.

So that was the build up to why I bought this mixer that was introduced back in 2007-08. I didn't know it existed. It has
a crazy ass effects section that kicks ass on computer-software based integrated ones. Sure, its not MIDI or even the fact
there's not even a sound card built in, but the effects and features are pretty nice. I talked to one of the techs at American Dj
last week and he almost hung up on me when I asked him if the build was the same as a Behringer. No plastic pots that crack
and no bleed over on the CUE section he said, among other Behringer ways they cut corners.

Of course I could buy a Allen and Heath, Pioneer, Denon 12" mixer with effects but I'm cheap, but not that cheap
and they also don't have the pitch---although I can be wrong. But regardless I own 3 other midi/built in sound card mixers and this old school one
seems to be built well.

So I just put one of my mixers on ebay, bought this new "left-over" from Pssl.com and also bought a Numark sound card.
I will give a review on it when it comes in. Meanwhile here is this guy on youtube that did a review a 3 years ago. Check out the
pitch effect that he sent to the mic section---its friggin' awesome!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wpk-AlXe9c

[djteknovibe]

It looks alright, my main concern with dj mixer is sound quality, that's why in the past i've had an Allen & Heath Xone 02, Rane TTM56, Rodec Scratchbox, Ecler HAK360 and various ones but mainly I try to get the best sound quality mixer I can. I've never been bothered about all that effects, mid mapping etc..bollocks, if a mixer has a hardwearing crossfade for scratching and has excellent sound quality then it's got my vote. At the moment i'm short of cash so i'm thinking about the American Audio DV2 USB because I use Traktor, but I haven't got a clue what American Audio dj mixers sound quality is like. When you get it and do a review, note what the sound quality is like if you can, a lot of reviews actually miss out sound quality or really don't say much about it.

If I didn't care less about sound quality i'd get myself another Vestax PMC05 Pro mkII because those things last years and have amazing crossfades, but their sound quality is cold and lifeless.

[Windows 95]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wpk-AlXe9cA thousand dollars! :eek:
What ever country he's in, equipment must be really expensive.

I think the most I've ever seen it priced was $400.
Sears sells it for $200.

Not sure if they still make it though. I think the 14MXR replaced it.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/American-Audio-14MXR-4-Channel-MIDILOG-DJ-Mixer-H93167-i2950591.gc

[djteknovibe]

Some countries equipment IS expensive, here in the UK American companies like JBL, EV etc..their equipment is shockingly expensive, here the JBL SRX728 subs were £1,400 each when they were on sale new which is about $2,250.

[Estacy]

I too owned that mixer but found it so awful that I send it back in a week and spent my money on a used Rodec.

The mixer offers massive bang for your buck, buildquality is decent and it doesnt feel cheap. However the EQ is horrific, soundquality is meh but ruined by a way too noisy power supply and the effects, well they're not Pioneer. Beware, thats just my opinion, if you like it, great!

[djteknovibe]

I was gonna go for an American Audio DV2 USB, but i've decided i'm waiting until I can afford either a new Denon DNX600 or a used DNX1600.

[fatcatdj]

I too owned that mixer but found it so awful that I send it back in a week and spent my money on a used Rodec.

The mixer offers massive bang for your buck, buildquality is decent and it doesnt feel cheap. However the EQ is horrific, soundquality is meh but ruined by a way too noisy power supply and the effects, well they're not Pioneer. Beware, thats just my opinion, if you like it, great!

thanks all, when it comes I will do a full report!

[punky]

Cool, let us know!

[fatcatdj]

American Audio Q FXPro Review
This is a way belated review on the FXPro, launched perhaps in 2008-09 by American Dj, it was a Q series of a trio built to attract 19" rack mount mobiles
who wanted something besides just a 4 channel mixer. One model had a SD Card player built in w/ pitch and bend assignable to all channels, another had a USB player/recorder to record your sets, and this one has some effects to liven things up. I bought this last week along with its brother, the American Audio 1400DSP 12" mixer as I mentioned in this post.

All three models were reasonably priced POS (j/k) at $399/$299 MAP.

This one was bought on eBay, supposed to be new in box, sold as is. The seller wanted $250, I gave him the best offer of $175 and he took it. When it arrived,
the box was a bit beat up and the item looked new. Hooked it up and it worked fine. Well except when you pressed the FX button, only the Left side VU's worked.
Oh great. No wonder it said Sold As Is. I took it apart, found the short and both sides now play in FX mode.

After an hour or so, I noticed some bleed over when using the cross fader. Great. So I turned down both faders and noticed when crossing over on
the left side, one side stayed on, but crossing over to the right, it was OK. Great. Took the cross fader out and found out it was a short, so I fixed that too.

If I wasn't an electronics fiend, I would have gotten pissed and sent the mixer back despite the AS IS rating on the auction because the seller
never mentioned any problems. They probably knew about the shorts. Oh well, its cool, I like to fix things and now everything works.

http://imageshack.us/a/img707/2810/xu81.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img6/2947/7wcx.jpg
Effects are great, not super fantastic but actually really good. You can also assign both mics to the efx for reverb or echo, etc which is good for Karaoke.
The flange, trans, reverb, echo, manual filters really sound good. Using the beat sync buttons alters the sounds forward or backwards.
The pitch shifter is fantastic for voice overs or announcements---Chipmunk to Giant Ogre type of alterations. Its just OK when using it with music though.
With some other mixers, you may notice a -2 db reduction of sound when assigning the efx but with the FXpro there is none.
http://imageshack.us/a/img834/2395/gbxx.jpg
Since there is no built in sound card, I am using a Numark IO external card hooked up to Channels 3 & 4. Sounds great. It sits below the mixer in its flight case.
MIDI duties go with either my Denon SC3900 or Pioneer CDJ850, so I never touch the laptop except to turn it on or turn it off. Also if doing a gig without
a laptop a USB stick is shared between two CDJ's.
http://imageshack.us/a/img585/5654/knav.jpg
Likes:
MONO button
Lighted CUE butons
3 available Mic inputs
Mute buttons for two mics
XLR outs
Output trim knob
Balance Output knob
1/8 stereo jack (ipod /phone)on top that connects to Channel 4 AUX
80% of the effects

Dislikes
No VU meters for each channel for cueing purposes
2 prong insulated electric cord, would prefer 3 prong grounded
Output VU Meters are as accurate as a 2 year-old boy describing what he saw at the circus
NO soundcard (expected)
NO MIDI (expected)
No crossfader curve, it cuts out too fast for EDM and too slow for scratching
http://imageshack.us/a/img22/530/2knk.jpg
Overall:
A Great buy, I recommend this mixer for anyone who like to tinker with onboard effects and not have to use effects on a computer screen.
The output level is LOUD as well, American Audio didn't mess around.