Hey guys

I have the great fortune of having a best friend who is opening a nightclub, and I want to share a bit of the fun.

Since he knows that I spin, he left it to me to pick out the main components of the booth. Not the nitty gritty - we'll leave that to the professionals - but stuff like the CDJ's, TT's, Mixer, and anything else I'd like to pick out.

Obvious choice for TT's are 1200 MK5's, and the equally obv choice for the CDJ's are the latest 1000's.

Now about the mixer... I was thinking about a Xone 3D, V6, or S-2 but maybe a Rane MP44.

Any suggestions on the mixer or any other component?

Obviously 2 1200's, probably MK5's. M5G's are nice but aren't commonly found in club installs.

CDJ's - Of course you'll want CDJ-1000 MK3's, probably 3 of them.

Now the mixer...Xone 3D is a bad choice as nearly all of it's features can't be used by a guest DJ, and it's complicated and confusing. The V6 is way overpriced (and now discontinued), though the Xone S2 looks nice. The Rane MP-44 was a common club install a few years back, sounds decent and well, it's a Rane so it's built well and will last.

Xone 92's are also pretty common, as are DJM-800's, but I personally wouldn't want a DJM as the "house" mixer (just have it and bring it in if people request it).

For a workhorse 19" install mixer, the Rane mp2016a + xp2016 is very common (for rotary of course). It has more than enough channels to accommodate all sorts of audio routing in a club booth, and it's built like a tank and sounds fantastic. I see you are in NYC, these are installed all over the place with good reason. I have one at home

For the ultimate in sound quality, it's the Urei 1620le (also rotary). Limited feature set, so you'll need a separate isolator and VU meters, and some DJ might be intimidated by that. But it's smooth as silk and sounds amazing. Stereo in Montreal still uses one, as did Twilo in NYC. Both legendary systems.

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Originally posted by stevebutabi Hey guys I have the great fortune of having a best friend who is opening a nightclub, and I want to share a bit of the fun. Since he knows that I spin, he left it to me to pick out the main components of the booth. Not the nitty gritty - we'll leave that to the professionals - but stuff like the CDJ's, TT's, Mixer, and anything else I'd like to pick out. Obvious choice for TT's are 1200 MK5's, and the equally obv choice for the CDJ's are the latest 1000's. Now about the mixer... I was thinking about a Xone 3D, V6, or S-2 but maybe a Rane MP44. Any suggestions on the mixer or any other component?

A v6 would be awesome but to be realistic most DJs would probably prefer something that isn't rotary.

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That's their problem

Don't like rotary? Get the hell out of my booth bitch. lol.

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Originally posted by Zild A v6 would be awesome but to be realistic most DJs would probably prefer something that isn't rotary.

quote:

Originally posted by stevebutabi Hey guys I have the great fortune of having a best friend who is opening a nightclub, and I want to share a bit of the fun. Since he knows that I spin, he left it to me to pick out the main components of the booth. Not the nitty gritty - we'll leave that to the professionals - but stuff like the CDJ's, TT's, Mixer, and anything else I'd like to pick out. Obvious choice for TT's are 1200 MK5's, and the equally obv choice for the CDJ's are the latest 1000's. Now about the mixer... I was thinking about a Xone 3D, V6, or S-2 but maybe a Rane MP44. Any suggestions on the mixer or any other component?

Wow, I wish I was in your shoes. I'd definitely get an 800 for familiarity-sake but...here's the dark horse...how about either an Ecler EVO or the new Pio SVM-1000 so you can expand to video easily if need be?

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Those are nitch mixers, bad for a club install where you have guest DJ's.

Imagine walking into a club and seeing a SVM-1000 in the booth? Too confusing, too expensive, and too nitch.

Get the rane rotary and a djm-800. If a DJ doesn't like the rane, patch in the 800 to the rane and let them use that.

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Originally posted by miamitranceman Wow, I wish I was in your shoes. I'd definitely get an 800 for familiarity-sake but...here's the dark horse...how about either an Ecler EVO or the new Pio SVM-1000 so you can expand to video easily if need be?

What will the main music format be? If it's a mixed club that will also play hip hop, the Rane TT57 would be the perfect choice, as it has Serato built in. Most hip hop DJ's use Serato and a lot of EDM Dj's started using it too.

Rotary mixers are a really bad choice for mixed genre clubs. Specially if hip hop DJ's are playing there. They can't cut or scratch with rotaries.

The Xone 92, Pioneer DJM800, Rane TTM57, and the Rane TTM56 are pretty much the club standards. At least here in LA. Actually, the Xone 92 is usually only found on EDM clubs and it's pretty rare.

I'm thinking of the guest DJ's that will use the equipment. So honestly if it's a mixed club, I would not even consider the Xone 92. I would narrow it down to these three choices, Pioneer DJM800, Rane TTM57 w/Serato Built In, and Rane TTM56.

The beauty of the DJM800 is that it meets the EDM DJ's & Hip Hop DJ's half ways. So it's a win win situation.

I have mine personally...



Anyway.. if this is the sort of place that you intend on booking A listers or touring DJs, then you need at minimum:

3 xcdj1000s- mk2 or mk3.
3 x1210s/1200s with Ortofon DJ/Niteclub carts and styli. Mk2 or mk5s will do fine.
1 x efx 500/1000
Do not even think of deviating from the cdj/1210 choice... trust me- will cause more problems and hassle for you.

1 x DJM800 (I can stand the fucking thing- its a POS- but its on so many riders its unbelievable now...)
1 x A&H 92/62 - choose the 92 over the 62 as it has the sends etc and is better suited for wiring in monitors and stuff for music with MCS or guest PAs. If you dont plan on any of these then stick with the 62.
1 x rane rotary with the eq/cross fader expansion unit. God solid workhorse and still used lots.

The above are workhorses, commonly used and known, and proven. I would not suggest much else.
Forget your SVM-1000, Djm1000s, Ecler, V6/urei (as good as they are)...way over the top, not familiar to most Djs, and if any dj wants one they will request on their rider or bring their own.

Yes i did just say buy three mixers- or at MINIMUM the djm800 & one of the others. All your bases are covered then, and it takes 5 mins to swap one out. Plus you have a spare for when one gets beer spilt/blows a channel/fuse/whatever.

Extras-
- Some of those small black lamps you can get from Ikea. You need some light in the dj booth.
-Some vermona Dj action filter 2s/stanton Djf-1 (or intimidation have just relaunched the same filter unit again under another name).
One per CDJ and one per turntable is ideal. or you can double one up using one cdj and one TT on each and switch using the button on the front. These are also requested surprisingly often but my no means essential. Just nice!


Some Djs are such a HUGE pain in the ass nowaday with their techincal rider requests... certain mixers, certain other things wired in, effects etc and hire costs can be prohibitive.. basically hire it more than a few times and you might as well have bought it in the first place.

Oh and in case you couldnt tell...I do this for real so this is all from experience

For the sake of flexibility, I'm a firm believer that install systems should have good connectivity (good aux systems, good fx send, lots of channels) and a solid set of routing and monitoring options, rather than FX etc... if a DJ wants to use fx or any outboard gear, it should be up to them to bring it themselves but at the same time you don't want your mixer to limit what can be included. Basically, any features that can't be implemented in external equipment should be present on the mixer and any features that can be external shouldn't be there.

The DJM1000 is a common choice for this reason and tbh it's probably one of my favourite mixers to find in a club.


I'm also not sure if leaving the decision of the gear to use purely down to a DJ is the best plan... the sound engineer will know the rest of the setup (amps, compressors, etc) and certain mixers are prefered for installs for sound tech reasons, e.g. I know some clubs have installed particular Vestax mixers in the past as they're easy to limit the output from to stop DJs who love red lights and gains turned to 4 o'clock from overdriving the system.

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Agree with the above, you need several (probably 2) mixer choices to meet rider requirement requests.

Definitely think about installing a patch panel between the decks and the mixer(s). Makes it so much easier to patch a different mixer in, or throw in a DJ's DVS system without moving everything around and potentially damaging the gear.

As a former club owner, Freak hit the nail on the head. I personally put a 92 in mine, but the 800 is found in so many riders now it's hard not to have to put it in in the 92's place. IMO, the 800 is shit compared to the 92 as well.

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