Friend sent this pic and wow I've never seen anything like it

[Vandalus]

Playing with a rotary (preferably a 'pure' rotary with no per-channel EQs) requires a style of mixing which can be immensely satisfying.

You have to really think about the way two records work together, there's no 'cheating' by eliminating clashing basslines, for example. Instead, the focus is on gently and smoothly adjusting the level of the two tracks until the mix is complete. The rotary faders allow for that really precise adjustment of levels.

Plus there's the fact that most of the big rotaries are built to produce incredible analogue sound.

I was at a bar recently where the DJ had brought along their E&S DJR400, one of the few modern equivalents of the vintage units. I've heard (and played on) that sound system many times, and it is not great. But that night, with the guy playing vinyl through the E&S, it sounded amazing.

Rotary mixing is not for me; it's not my style. But, damn, I sure can appreciate it. When you hear the great masters of it; people like MAW or Theo Parrish, it's impossible to not be impressed.

For a while back in 1999 and 2000, 1015 Folsom/San Francisco (Spundae) had a Rane 2016 mixer/EQ combo and it was amazing. I never saw one in the wild anywhere else. As I recall Sasha & Digweed used it when they played there back then, and once I saw it I've lusted after one ever since. In fact, this photo is of Sasha from the time he played in SF that served as the influence for his GU-San Francisco CD. You can just barely see the rotary nobs from the setup. Awesome booth btw. The concrete slab with recesses for the TT's. Perfect.

Sasha.jpg

[Dohjo]

Now that we are talking about it...

[Kwal]

Now that we are talking about it...

@16:38 mark he apologizes for him being a rookie with the mixer lol

[safefire]

The turntables are PRO-JECT RPM 9.2's, Hi-Fi scam things with the belt running outside the body.
I played around with one in a hi-fi some months ago, and it had already caught so much dust that it took it a guy ten seconds to get up to speed.
They're about $2.000
Sounded alright though.
www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=rpm92

Makes me cringe to see them hooked up to a MP2016, probably only to play timecode.

[JohnnyDrama]

Some (rich) people have no clue... this is wrong in so many ways

Ps. props to the dj for not blaming the mixer (it's lovely)

[Dohjo]

Haha, ya. Saw that. Still, good way of seeing it in use

[djchriswoods.co.uk]

It's the Rane MP2016 and XP2016 combo.

Ah right…I'm not familiar with most of Ranes stuff…looks very similar to the oldskool

[TonyRome]

The Rane 2016 is actually a pretty high quality mixer sound-wise. Some even argue it sounded better than the reproduced Urei that was put out a few years ago. There were reports of them discontinuing it, though
I was going to grab one just because it may not be available much longer (outside the Ebay market and then you don't know what it will cost). I'm a fan of rotary mixing... it's a personal preference.
As noted, it really appeals to those who mix house or disco where the mix transitions are long and smooth. The knobs are actually a little bit tight to help this. The older ones actually used Alps faders

[JohnnyDrama]

Owning serveral high end mixers and played on even more ... I can only conclude that soundwise it's the best mixer I own (2016a), together with the rodec.

But rotary has to be your thing....

Warning, mixing with rotaries is addicitive once you get the hang of it !

Ps. still love my Rodec to death
Pss. analogue untill I die

[dj subculture]

For those who may not be aware, Bozak rotary mixers can still be purchased from Audio For The Soul