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Posted by CraSHer[UK] on Mar-28-2004 17:38:

Kill Switches essential?

I'm looking to upgrade my mixer (which has kill switches) but i'm noticing that not many mixers have kill switches.

How essential are they? I'm worried that i've become over relaint on them. I use them to chop and change the bassline between the two tracks a lot just to add a bit more depth.

As not many mid range mixers offer them, i'm concerned that i really should be able to mix without them.

What are your thoughts on kill switches? anyone else here use them alot?

Posted by trancintaiwan on Mar-28-2004 17:49:

they aren't essential... but why wouldn't you want them? they give you more options while mixing to make it more interesting. if you can get a mixer with them... then buy it. if ur upgradeing check out the ecler smac pro30 or pro40. mixers is ill!

Posted by Tiger777 on Mar-28-2004 17:54:

The vmx300 has them... But i'm not sure if it's really an upgrade for you.

Posted by Diesel818 on Mar-28-2004 17:58:

I don't know which mixer you have right now, but I have the vestax Pcv-275 which has kill switches. I agree it's a nice feature to have if you like to chop bassline or other eq. But I don't find it an "essential" thing to have. Well I would highly recommend this vestax mixer. You can get it for just over 400$ US. good quality mixer, nice faders and the sound quality of both the outputs and the headphone monitors is really good for the price.

Posted by Dmatrox on Mar-28-2004 18:21:

kill switches arent necessary, but if you are mixing techno or hard house then they can be useful, especially in techno. alhtough not really necessary you can do neat tricks when mixing techno.

i agree with Diesel818, the 275/270a(old ver) is an absolutely great mixer.

Posted by KiNeTiC ENeRgY on Mar-28-2004 20:38:

Kill switches are useful, but you can do the same thing with the rotary EQ knobs as well....just do a quick flip, and you get the same effect. I wouldn't *look* for a mixer that has them, just find one you really like and fits your budget and your good to go.

Posted by Skipper on Mar-28-2004 21:37:

quote:
Originally posted by Dmatrox
kill switches arent necessary, but if you are mixing techno or hard house then they can be useful, especially in techno. alhtough not really necessary you can do neat tricks when mixing techno.

i agree with Diesel818, the 275/270a(old ver) is an absolutely great mixer.

I play techno and the kill switches are extremely handy. I just bought the 270a from a friend, almost brand new, and the kills on this mixer are AWESOME! It really does KILL it!

Posted by dj chex on Mar-28-2004 23:51:

I've upgraded from a rm3s awhile back to a rane empath. At first i missed my kill switches, but after a week I learned how to do fast eq changes and tweak the eq better. Kills are helpful but not necessary, once you get on a mixer that has a killer eq, the need disappears.

Oh yeah, good mixer w/ kill switches: Ecler Smac 30Pro, Smac40

Posted by goata on Mar-29-2004 05:46:

when i bought my mixer i deliberatly went for the one with kills (numark dm3002x) cos i thought they would be awesome and useful... i used them for a week and never touched them since! eq's are generally good enough

Posted by Zombie0729 on Mar-29-2004 05:49:

in hardhouse they work awesome!

Posted by razzi on Mar-29-2004 15:33:

i just use my eqs. kills are cool, but i dont find them necessary.

maybe just because im used to mad eqing though

Posted by jdat on Mar-29-2004 17:59:

[flame war mode : on ]kills are for people who are lazy [/flame war mode]

Posted by Luke Terry on Mar-29-2004 21:10:

u don't need em + shouldnt really be usin em if u r mixin trance unless they are for tricks i should imagine

Posted by Vero on Mar-30-2004 18:33:

i have EQ kills and i never, and i mean NEVER use them. dont really have a reason, i just like using the nobs instead. when i bought my mixer i thought they would be really useful, now im kinda regretting getting the mixer that i did. stanton rm-3s by the way, it sucks! dont buy one.

Posted by dj chex on Mar-30-2004 18:54:

quote:
Originally posted by Vero
i have EQ kills and i never, and i mean NEVER use them. dont really have a reason, i just like using the nobs instead. when i bought my mixer i thought they would be really useful, now im kinda regretting getting the mixer that i did. stanton rm-3s by the way, it sucks! dont buy one.

LOL i regreted buying one as well. long up faders that don't have a smoove curve; they kick in close to the top, shitty eq, no xfader curve, xfader died after 5months, phono amp on ch3 died, shitty sound quality, just a pos. (mine only lasted me 6 months till i rma it back and then sold it w/ my str8-100 for $150) I'll never buy stanton products except for cartridges again. Final scratch 1.1 was a pos on linux, str8-100 couldn't hold it's pitch for long, Their crap is just too unreliable. The only stanton i have owned that worked well except their needles was the old sk-4 scratch mixer. I owned and abused that mixer for 4years until i sold it.

Posted by khemfusion on Mar-31-2004 05:39:

I was trying to record a mix tonight and on the first record, it sounded very flat and I couldn't figure out why.

Then I noticed I had the kill switch flipped up on the treble, D'OH!