the STUPID HARDWARE FLAWS thread...
yes. because every manufacturer has a product that would be great, yet somehow, they manage to fuck it up with a stupid ass flaw.
there are some that suck, but are pretty logical. for instance, Pioneer makes the 200, 800 and 1000 in their CDJ line. the 200 and 1000 have super accurate pitches, and while the 800 is superior to the 200 in that it has vinyl emulation, the 200 is more accurate while being cheaper. why? well, if they gave the 800 a pitch as accurate as the 200 and 1000, very little, if any, people would feel the need to pay the extra money for a 1000 just for a few more features. so, yeah it sucks, but you can't expect them to shoot themselves in the foot.
HOWEVER, there are some gems that really make you wonder what they were thinking. let's see the ones i can name off the top of my head:
Allen & Heath XONE:32 3 Channel DJ Mixer
Fatal Flaw: the damn gains on the back
there is just NOOOOOOOOO explaining why they did that. i mean, SERIOUSLY, why? someone try and give me a good reason. did it save them any money? no. does it make it any easier to use? no. does it ruin an otherwise perfectly good entry/mid-level mixer? yes.
fine, so the flaw doesn't make the mixer unusable, but i don't feel like giving A&H my money, and then having to 'settle' for whatever that design team pulled out of their ass.
Allen & Heath XONE:62 6 Channel "DJ" Mixer
Fatal Flaw: 6 channels, with 2 useless inputs on channels 1 and 2
another genius move on the A&H design team's part. make a very well rounded mixer with good sound quality. give it 6 channels. you have made a very affordable club installation mixer, that's still affordable to some bedroom DJs. now, make 2 channels useless by default. raise your hands how many electronic music DJs use 2 mics? yeah, i knew most of you spun hiphop and scratched with 2 MCs at once.
this flaw was so dumb, it apparently got fixed in a later version or some people modded the 1/4" inputs into RCA inputs, based on some few pics i saw once on google image search.
Pioneer DJM-800 4 Channel DJ Mixer
Fatal Flaw: damn beat jump buttons on the FX unit.
Pioneer makes 2 mixers geared towards the DJ, and one towards the club. the DJM-400 is the entry level mixer, and the 800 is the biggie, and they both have FX units. then, there's the 6 channel DJM-1000, which is all about club installation. since there is no FX on it, it wouldn't matter for this discussion.
the DJM-400, just like Pioneers beautiful little effects boxes, the EFX-500 and EFX-1000, has beat buttons on its unit:
if anyone has used a beat-based effect, they will agree how comfortable it is to jump from one beat signature to the other. yeah, i'm on my 400 or one of the FX boxes, and i can go from 4/1 to 1/2, then to 2/1 and jump back to 3/4, and fun stuff like that. while on a mixer with a price tag of nearly $1800US, i have to tap from one signature to another. meaning if i am at 1/4, and i want to go to 3/4, i'd have to pass over 1/2 first, and unless my hands are ninja fast, my timing will be a little off, producing unwanted echoes.
one could argue if they put this feature on the 800, no one would buy the EFXs. but as it stands, no one in their right mind would buy an 800 AND a seperate effects box unless they have a lot of money to burn, or are really dependant on their effects. for instance, for travelling around, if i am really into FX, i'd buy the EFX-1000, so i'm sure i am set up no matter what mixer they give me. but if i am just a bedroom DJ really into this hobby, it would make no sense for them to expect me to buy a DJM-800 AND an EFX-1000. i just don't get it. they could have even given it a limited beat button layout (like the 400) and left the larger rande of buttons for the effects boxes. just complete your damn hardware.
this concludes it for today. feel free to comment, flame, and whatnot. hell, if you feel like adding some of your own, feel free to do so.
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check out my guest mix for OndaSonora Podcast (aug.2009)
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