I think of selling my OT… and buy a dj mixer Xone DB4
I can do everything I want to with it…
Only things:
if I stop using my OT, will the sound of the AR and A4 be good enough for playing in a club?
Definitely yes. They sound really good on a PA, with no external processing. Just make sure your kick is pounding, then you’re like 90% there.
Additionally, you can always get an external compressor. Something like an RNC would be good for a live set,it’s cheap, small and sounds better than the OT compressor.
Interesting… I’ve been pondering what it will take to ditch my sound interface and MacBook Pro and move to using the AR+OT along with my other gear… How would you connect the TRS outs to the DB4’s RCA ins?
I have a few Synth in the mix (and want more), so also wondered if you’d considered other options. 4 channels just wouldn’t be enough for my purposes…?
I wouldn’t get a DJ mixer for gear really. I might (and have done so in the past) use one if I owned one and it was all I had, but if I had the choice, I’d always take a small studio mixer to gigs instead. DJ mixers offer no advantage I can think of and the DB4 costs like 2000. You could get a really nice real mixer with that kind of money (or a small, cheap mixer + some great other gear).
A tiny Behringer mixers (802/1002/1202) would sound absolutely fine for this purpose and is a much, much cheaper option than a DJ mixer assuming you won’t be using the EQ and kill switches or crossfader a DJ mixer provides.
I know people love to hate on Behringer, but there’s an excellent reason why you see the little XENYX mixers popping up in a lot of pro setups. See http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2015/03/24/sounds-of-the-modal-electronics-002-synthesizer/ for a recent example…
The FMR RNC would be an excellent choice for a master bus compressor in this setup and should. You could also choose the FMR RNLA if you’d like something a little less transparant and a bit dirtier depending on your sound (I especially like the “Log Rel” setting on the RNLA for adding some glue to the mix without flattening out the drums too much).
I use the compressor on my Rytm the same way you use it on your OT.
I run a MonoMachine into an Analog Four, and that goes to a Mackie Mix5 to be mixed with a TB-3, and Volca Sample. The Mix5 goes into the Rytm where everything gets compressed.
This works great, sonically, but no looping like on DB4 or OT (i don’t need the looping, really).
An FMR RNLA is a great compressor/limiter to go on the DB4’s output, and you can send your Rytm’s kicks to RNLA’s side chain input for a nice booming club sound.
i was considering a DB4 for the same purpose, mainly due to it having a dedicated looper and FX slot on each channel.
however after trying the mixer in a shop last week, i decided against it - the functionality is great, but the build quality isn’t so good. the big FX rotaries are pretty wobbly, and the EQ knobs are also pretty loose.
there was a rotary version of the Xone 92 sat next to it, and the knobs on that felt rock solid.
i think i like the way it is built. light but strong. also the bag is nice…
for me main reason is the is the looping, flexible input and fx. although… don’t understand the design to have max 1 fx on a track (there is a workaround)… also no sends…
i just sold my octatrack :\