How do you like the Z2 Mixer so far?

Hey guys,

I was wondering how you like the z2 so far. I got rid of the rane ttm56s years ago and now getting back into it. I bought one a used vestax 05 pro III a while ago. I do R&B, Pop etc. I'm just practing at the moment, but was wondering if you would recommend this mixer for a turntabalist and why? Thanks

 

Hello (Sorry for my bad english)
I am like the TTM 57SL (great quality, great Fader *****) and the Vestax 05 pro is cult (but a little older, and you have no digial fader ****). I like a compact mixer to go out at home. I like a mixer with integrated audio card, clean fader layout. I have the TTM 57SL and Serato but i work with Traktor and Audio10.
I have buy the Z2 to have a great compact mixer i not need the Audio10, i not need the X1. I do not need 8 cable, save time and space in my pocket. I have a great 2 canal mixer for Vinyl/CD and primer i have a Traktor supported mixer.
I find the quality very good anyway for this price (*****). In technical respect, makes away NI another as Rane(the Hardware self work different). In Traktor Mode send the Fader to the Software the position and the cut is on the software, not on the mixer. The Crossfader (innofader) are very great(like butter), with a new calibrate (a bigger fadein away) the feeling i like it to scratch. If you need a mixer only to scratch check it first self. I have remap the Z2, now i can switch deck A and C, Deck B and D on one click (assign Vinyl,EQ and Faders This is the advantage the Z2 work in Traktor mode, you can remap it self for you work style.
I hope i can help you and wish you a nice day
Urs

 

I really like the mixer, but I have a couple of gripes about it.

Like: -

The all-in-one nature of it. Having a decent mixer, sound card and many of the controls an external controller would give you all in one nice unit is great.

The build quality feels very good, especially for the price.

Ease of set up. You install Traktor and select to install the Z2 drivers and you're ready to go - all of the mixer controls are mapped to Traktor automatically.

Being able to control certain things direct from the mixer - browsing my library and loading tracks, setting and triggering cue points and loops, controlling effects.

The crossfader is great. Some people have had issues with the cut in/lag, but I'm not one of those people thankfully. The crossfader is light, smooth, feels solid, and the cut in is sharp, plus it has full curve control and a hamster switch.

The overall performance. I'm using a high end desktop to run Traktor and before I bought a Z2 I had a Traktor A6 package. The CPU usage with the exact same settings was higher with the A6 and with the Z2 I can have the buffer settings as low as they will go and the CPU usage stay low most of the time and I never get any drop-outs or audio glitches.

Post-fader effects. If you're gonna scratch and mix with effects (particularly for a hip-hop DJ/turntablist) the effects need to be post-fader and in Traktor mode, this mixer has that.

Dislike: -

The stiff line faders. While all 3 faders are the same, basically, the line faders have been configured to be considerably stiffer than the crossfader and there is no way to adjust this (unless you can crack a fader open and do a DIY mod of the tension) While I understand the thinking behind this, I think it's flawed. You don't need stiff line faders in order to be able to control them smoothly/evenly if you're just mixing and they are really no good for scratching at all. Of course, you can swap the faders out for Innofader Pros, but that pushes up the cost considerably. If NI or Audio Innovate make them available, a cheaper option would be to buy 2 of the looser Mini Innofaders and fit those, which would improve things quite a lot.

The lack of curve control/reverse on the line faders. At this price point, corners had to be cut, but I would have happily paid a little more to have full curve on all 3 faders, and reverse on all 3 would have been nice too.

Potential issues: -

Some people are having issues with the paint coming off around the fader areas. The paint will wear on pretty much any mixer over time, but it usually wears down over a period of years, not days. Again, this hasn't happened with my mixer yet, but that doesn't mean it won't.

Overall longevity and support. How long will the pots last? How long will the pads last? The pots are plastic, which doesn't necessarily mean they will break, but it's something to consider. If one of the pads stops working, will I be able to buy a spare and fit it, or would that pad just be dead until I replace the mixer at some point? Currently you can't buy any spares at all - not even spare faders.

With regards to the OP: -

You ask about this mixer for a turntablist and I would have to say that out of the box, it's just OK for a turntablist. A turntablist would certainly benefit from looser line faders and curve control on the lines, plus a turntablist is going to give their mixer more of a hard time than someone who's mixing house or whatever, so while the build quality feels very good, how well will the mixer hold up over time? Sure, DJ Craze has posted up a promo vid, but he's being paid to use it and I'm sure if his breaks, a replacement would be provided in no time - we're not that lucky.

I do think that this is a great choice for a mix DJ that scratches though, bearing in mind the negatives and potential negatives. Also, if you're a scratch DJ, I think you'll be very satisfied with the performance of the crossfader, but you'll be limited to doing basic fading scratches with the line faders as they are.

Overall, I'm very happy with mine. I'm a mix DJ who does quite a lot of scratching, so I'm not really a turntablist and for my needs and at this price point, I'm very pleased as long as it continues to hold up and work as well as it's working now.

 

I would add, that the crossfader with vinyl (no computer) feels perfect for me. In tractor mode i feel certain scratches unfortunately been a little different. Not easy to describe

 

Used my Z2 out for the first time last night... gotta say everything worked perfectly.

SETUP: Setup with the CDJ's was simple, and we switched from Traktor mode, timecode, and standalone mode throughout the evening with no glitches. Plugged in the "D" power cord, XLR outs, 1/4" booth monitor, CDJ's and USB cable and we didn't have to touch it for the rest of the night.

SOUND: Main output and headphone outputs were very strong. Had both outputs at around half the entire time... plenty of headroom to spare if needed. High and mids were smooth, and bass was powerful and punchy. Right up there with a XONE 92 or 900 Nexus in terms of output. Very worthy of a large sound system. Filters and EQ's were great... I use the filters to mix and they do the job with the perfect amount of resonance in both standalone and Traktor mode.

KNOBS & FADERS: Since I have been a longtime user of the S4 and X1, I am familiar with the NI style of hardware. The knobs do feel a bit better than the S4 (because it's brand new perhaps?)... but the faders are exceptional. Can honestly say the line faders are perfect for my style... smooth with the perfect resistance. We don't use the crossfader, so can't comment on it really.

PADS: Used the pads moderately for controlling cues & loops, and also for the beatjump features. Didn't get too involved with the sample decks last night, but the pads felt great... size is just right and they are very responsive.

EFFECTS: Used the macro effects quite a bit. Worked just as expected... selecting effects via the Z2 could be easier, but I really like the simplicity of using the macros. You can really create some drama when utilizing both effect decks on the same channel.

EXTRAS: Although I didn't use any additional controllers last night... I did find a great feature for the USB ports on the Z2. It was perfect for my USB light. Too many times the DJ booth is so dark I can't see anything. Having a USB light directly above the mixer makes my life easier, as I like to have my computer off to the side and out of the way.

All in all, I am very happy with the Z2, and really can't find anything to complain about. Anxious to start using it with my F1 to fully utilize the remix decks.

 

I totally agree.

 

I find that holding shift and rotating the FX knob to select FX to be to my liking. I guess if you're using FX groups that doesn't work to well. I've got an X1 for that though.

 

Yes, I cant find that its possible to turn on more than one effect using the Z2. If I need say three effects I have to either use the X1 or my mouse.

 

I love it! Except for a couple things. Check my review and demo.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRpzWaRnKOg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRpzWaRnKOg[/ame]

 

That was a cool Video. I'm looking for easier access to the effects and sample decks vs my Denon X1600. Did you feel the layout and workflow of the mixer Achieved this?

 

Nice review!

 

Good stuff here. I'm thinking about buying the Z2.

 

Thank you guys! the workflow on this mixer is perfect except for the sync button which should be placed underneath the mixer. LOL

 

If it bothers you that much... map it to be something else.

 

Defending the Sync!

Let me tell ya guys! If you're making quick mixes, manually changing the speed can really get in the way of making mixes (def on unfamiliar jams). So, I have grown to like the "Sync" feature to get me the "ball park". BUT! Sometimes I have found this feature to do more harm than good. I'm not sure if it's TSP or my controllers (SC3900). So, I find myself keeping the sync on for some mixes and off for others.

What I would like to know is reviews on the cue point/ sample deck buttons. Are they big enough and do you find it cumbersome to select pads 5-8 ( I hate "shifting"). From what I've heard, My DN-X1600 has a better build quality, but looking for more control with Traktor and the X1600 only has usable mixer controls and very few performance controls. This is important to me since I'm strongly consider the change back to turntables instead of my SC3900s.

I kinda wish they stuffed two F1s into the mixer and made the mixer the same size as a 4 channel mixer. I'm surprised NI made a "battle type" sized mixer when most Traktor users probably use the 12" club mixers. Maybe there's a "Z4" in the works? I feel like I will still need a F1 controller with this mixer, so it's not really reducing the amount of gear I need to bring to a gig.

 

I love this mixer so far, it has brought my DJ'ing to the next level. Going from using the A10 interfacewith a crappy 8 year old numark mixer with the x1 and f1 to using this mixer with those 2 controllers is like night and day. Anyone looking to upgrade from an entry level external mixer should do so right away!

 

My understanding is that in Traktor Mode audio mixing (EQ, Gain, and Volume) are processed by the software and not internally by the Z2.

See p50 of the Z2 manual.

If this is true then I bought a NI DJ mixer to use with Traktor and my sound is not mixed by the mixer! Its just working as a big fat midi controller.

 

Are you using this just as a controller? There must be someway to get sound thru? :lol:

 

Basically I'm returning this unit after one weekend of use. VERY disappointed that NI completely left Transport controls off of this. Why? Makes no sense.

Obviously gearing it towards SCRATCH users and wanting you to either use SCRATCH or another controller for transport, but I just can't figure out why... why not FINALLY give us one quality device that is EVERYTHING NI? This would be the perfect device if you could have simply added in PLAY AND CUE (simple additional button) and even better added pitch sliders. Then we'd have everything we need in one great controller - a sound card, controller, and transport.

Back to Denon 8000 for me - it's got everything and works like a charm, oh, and DOESN'T crash or have problems with USB 3.0.

Note that even with the Z2 new drivers, it crashes and is unstable with USB 3, had to set BIOS to USB 2.0 and then that's a drag with other things that use USB 3.0.

Was a nice weekend of trying it out, but overall disappointed.

It appears to serve its purpose for many, but many others have been left out. At this price point they could have (as many others have (Pioneer and Denon) included more functionality so it could truly be all things to all people.) I don't want to lug this around and still have to worry about how to control the tracks.

 

About the transport. They can still implement this by some sort of update. However, this is still just a mixer and transports have been reserved for all in one controllers. I have a denon x1600 and even though I can start tracks with it, I'm not sure why I would...it's a mixer.