Upfader vs. Rotary's

**fat8ack** · 02-10-2012, 03:36 PM

Just wondering what everyone's opinions are on this. I notice most mixers have upfaders but some do use rotary's or have a factory mod to switch to rotary's. What is the main differences between the two other than how they work? What made you decide to go one way or the other? I am very interested in mixing using rotary's and would really like to hear some input on the two different ways to control channel volume.

I have added a vid of the legend Louie Vega using a DJM1000 with rotary's. I really like how he works them!

http://www.djsounds.com/07/14/djsoun...w-7-louie-vega

**Jason Cerna** · 02-10-2012, 03:47 PM

The volume adjustment is a lot smoother compared to linear channel faders. And on some mixers where it is standard equipment, the volume curve is smoother, compared to linear faders. It is suited more for longer type mixes/blending, like you'd see in house, techno or trance music and its subgenres. So, you'd never see a hip-hop dj with a rotary mixer.

**Chay** · 02-10-2012, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by Jason Cerna

The volume adjustment is a lot smoother compared to linear channel faders. And on some mixers where it is standard equipment, the volume curve is smoother, compared to linear faders. It is suited more for longer type mixes/blending, like you'd see in house or trance music and its subgenres.

I prefer upfaders over rotary because of this

**fat8ack** · 02-10-2012, 04:03 PM

I play pretty much house, electro and (yes me too) dubstep. But really starting to get into moombahton.

**Damon_Chambers** · 02-10-2012, 04:39 PM

i loooove rotary faders. you can probably do the same exact thing with upfaders if you are very careful, but like jason said usually the action is a lot smoother and they "feel" better.

**B.Frank** · 02-10-2012, 05:26 PM

Only bad thing about rotaries is it's not as easy to see where the channel volume is. And if you're in to slamming tracks in with upfaders you can't do that. <3 my Empath Rotary.

**dskreet** · 02-10-2012, 08:53 PM

Smoother mixes, love the feel and precise control with the Rotary.

**Panotaker** · 02-11-2012, 09:14 AM

I own an original Urei 1620 and a Bozak rotary mixer and if you like to do long mixes, the rotary mixers is the way to go. The mixes just come out smoother. Channel volume is not a problem because with rotaries, you don't turn the volume all the way up on the rotary fader. I keep mine around 2:00 o'clock, so you got plenty of head room in case your next song is a different volume level. With rotaries, you can hear the next song coming in with very little movement of the volume control, unlike with slide faders, where you don't hear the next song until the slide fader is almost all the way up. That is what makes mixing with rotaries smoother. Bozak's and Urei's have always been expensive mixers, especially the Bozak. A new Bozak cost $1000 back in the 1970s, and you can expect to pay at least that much today for one that doesn't even work if you are lucky enough to find one. They also sound fantastic.

**Jason Cerna** · 02-11-2012, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by Damon_Chambers

... you can probably do the same exact thing with upfaders if you are very careful...

yes, this is easier to do with mixers that have longer channel faders. for those shopping around, these will be more seen in the 3 and 4 channel mixers.