How important do you feel a cue fader is on a mixer? For clarification, I am talking about the fader that allows you to adjust the mix in your headphones of the song you are cueing with the master output. I'm getting a 19" Vestax mixer and I don't think it has that fader, but the mixer I learned to DJ on does have it. I was just curious if it is normal to use it or if I should not worry and just learn to use the split "one on and one off" method with my headphones. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.

AggieJedi

Personally, I prefer a cue-fader aka split-cueing. I do a lot of recording at home, and I find the split-cueing feature allows me to create more precision mixes, so I do have it on my own mixer.

But most nightclubs (at least around here) have Urei rotary mixers which are pretty basic... no eq's or split-cueing. You cue in one ear and listen to the program on the monitor. In a crowded nightclub, the volume is usually too high anyway for split cueing to be particularly helpful.

It's a matter of preference and the intended use. You're probably fine either way.

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...relating to the essential nature

I learned to mix using cue faders on a couple different mixers. I quickly realized that if you learn to mix using that feature it is harder to mix on a mixer that does not have it. So my advice would be to learn how to mix without it. Its just as easy once you figure it out.

I am quite sure that the 19 inch Vestax PMC/PMV series dont have cue faders.. that also goes for their 10 inches'

A cue fader on a mixer doesnt make that much of a large difference.. from experience, i can still mix on mixers without them. You dont really need to "pre-mix", but just get the beats right by listening to both channels at the same time...

As for cue split, i dont use it cos its hard to cope with 2 diff. tunes in opposite ears.

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