There is a mind boggling amount of DJ equipment on the market. In this article we are going to offer advice on how to select the best DJ mixer for you.
Having the right mixer is an essential piece of kit for any DJ. Get this wrong and you can find the standard of your sets will drop and to be honest you will just end up frustrated. The reason I know this is because early in my career I invested in what turned out to be a couple of real turkeys. So please learn from my mistakes.
1) What type of DJ are you? - This is an essential question you need to ask yourself as there are different types of mixers for different types of DJ's. For example a scratch DJ will go with a well built two channel mixer that has responsive crossfader. Alternatively a mix DJ is after EQ's on each channel that will deliver the most awesome mixes.
2) The number of channels - If you are going to plug in extra equipment above and beyond your two decks then you will need more than a couple of channels. Ideally I like to go for four channels as a minimum but this is because I plug in a cordless microphone and also a special effects box. Think about your set and how you play in order to work out the number of channels you need.
3) Connectivity & Outputs - If you are what I call a plug-and-play DJ then you definitely need to consider the type of outputs on the back of your mixer. By plug-and-play I mean that you often turn up at venues with just your decks and mixer and plug into the house system (this is more and more common these days). If this is you then I suggest you go with a mixer that offers more than one option such as Phono and XLR. This will ensure you will have no problem connecting to the house PA and can just get on and do your job. By the way always go with XLR if you can as the quality of the signal is much higher than standard Phono.
