DJ Mixers

[ff]

My old Radio Shack Mixer board turned 20 this last year, and although still working, is developing more bugs and quirks as time goes on.  Its time to start looking for a replacement.  I took a look at the latest RS offering.  Its all pretty with bells and whistles galore, but I was shocked to see how horribly cheap the channel faders are.  Anyone know of any robust DJ mixers out there - especially in the <$300 category?  I'm looking for one with at least four stereo inputs... thanks!

[ChrisSmolinski]

Have you considered a second hand / thrift store? It may be a long shot, but I was in one about two months ago, and saw a rather large mixer. From the labels on it, it appeared to have come out of a church. I forget how many inputs it had, perhaps two dozen. It was $30 IIRC. No, I didn't pick it up, sorry... :-)

[ff]

Have you considered a second hand / thrift store? It may be a long shot, but I was in one about two months ago, and saw a rather large mixer. From the labels on it, it appeared to have come out of a church. I forget how many inputs it had, perhaps two dozen. It was $30 IIRC.

Nice find Chris!  Yeah, I might end up going to the used market if I can't find a ROBUST board in these here modern times.  I'm looking for a pretty simple mixer, what is generally termed a "DJ mixer".  I realize a lot of folks are using the big, sophisticated consoles, however, I'm an "on the fly" guy.  I find the big consoles (and even the little consoles) to be too clunky and clumsy for my style of studio mania.  I use the computer and Audacity for all my sophisticated production, but I prefer a breezier board for the final live mix.  That's what I'm trying to replace but no one seems to make them like they used to.  Is Gemini still in business?  Now there was some robust stuff - kinda pricey too.  Maybe the used market is the only place left to buy that sorta stuff for a blue collar price.  Thanks Chris...

[cmradio]

Are you handy with a soldering iron? You can:
- Re-cap the electrolytics
- Use control cleaner on the pots
- Use non-residue contact cleaner on the switches

Enjoy for another 20 years!

Peace!

[ff]

Are you handy with a soldering iron? You can:
- Re-cap the electrolytics
- Use control cleaner on the pots
- Use non-residue contact cleaner on the switches

Enjoy for another 20 years!

Peace!

You caught me CM!  I've cleaned the pots a couple of times (and they are still nice and quiet) but I haven't recapped.  I guess the biggest reason (besides the itch for a shiny new store-bought toy) is that my bench is FULL of several projects that are all in various stages of completion.  They call me MISTER Lazybutt.  But you are absolutely correct - refurbishing IS what I need to do.  Its surprising how sturdy this old Radio Shack mixer is - and how high quality the channel faders are.  Of course when I bought the SSM-1200 in the early 90s I paid about $250 for it - much more than that in today's ever-shrinking dollars.  And good thought on cleaning the switches - I had forgotten them... thanks for the reality check!

[Pigmeat]

Try pawn shops in around your local Cracktown. I see a ton of mixers in those places.

I recently bought the el-cheapo RS mixer to use as a patch bay. It does that job well and could be pressed into service as a back-up mixer. It's small but you need a wall wart, unless you want to buy a bunch of 9 volt batteries. It has four mic imputs to boot.

It works for what I want it to do and came in at 26 bucks, new.

[cmradio]

...my bench is FULL of several projects that are all in various stages of completion.  They call me MISTER Lazybutt.

Oh yeah, I totally hear you there

Peace!

[redhat]

I know the lazy condition all-too-well.  My give a damn aint what it used to be.

Anyway, I own a pair of RS 32-118's, the latest mixer with all the BS sound effects, a horrible EQ, and lit faders.  All was well until I tried to mount it in a rack.  The chassis is an off size, and the holes don't really line up.

Agreed, had a 1200 for many years until I wound up with a Harris Stereo 80.  Its still in pieces in the garage, following an attempt to add control room mute to it.  I just wish you could find a decent radio-featured console for under 600 bones, but I've yet to find one.  I'm actually considering building one.  You can have all the hard work done by front panel express, the rest is just faders, vca's and switches.  Of course it would have to have;

-Real on-off switches with remote starts.
-Balanced in's and out's help alot.
-NO EQ or BS Sound Effects.
-A way to monitor off air in headphones and control room.
-A cue bus.
-6 channels or so.

Nothing fancy, just enough to do the job.

+-RH

[jFarley]

You can have all the hard work done by front panel express...

Hey redhat; thanks for the tip!  That IS a cool idea for custom panels!

[ff]

Thanks to all for your ideas.  I guess my plan of attack will be to clear off an area of my bench and do a refurbishment of the 1200 this winter as cmradio suggested.  Also, I will start keeping an eye on the local used equipment market to see if something real shows up.  Everybody needs a spare, right?  Pigmeat - I also have both of those cheapie RS mixers (both AC and DC units) from the late 80s.  All the earlier Radio Garbanzo shows were done on them.  Although in need of refurbishment, they both still work.  It amazes me how decent the old RS stuff was.  Redhat - I echo Mr. Farley about the Front Panel Express tip - I never knew either!  And good luck with the mixer project.  I built a crude one back in the 70s, mono, single VU meter, and all discrete devices.  No remote starts, but it did have a proper cue bus.  I ordered the biggest speed knobs I could find for cheap - surplus from Fair Radio Sales.  It all worked, but I'm sure yours will perform MUCH better.  Thanks again everybody!