There is no one right or wrong way to DJ. At its most basic level, a DJ set is about playing songs one after another, but the manner in which these are combined, manipulated and augmented is how a DJ develops their own distinctive style.
Finding the right mixer can play a major part in this. Although most mixers share some fundamental similarities, the layout and features they offer can shape the way you mix. Two-channel ‘battle mixers’, for example, lend themselves to scratch DJs, open-format DJs will look for a mixer with maximum flexibility, while some club DJs prefer the old-school workflow of a rotary mixer.
AlphaTheta’s DJM-V5 is top-end mixer with a distinctive feature set, which opens the door to a host of techniques and setup options for DJs looking to take their sets to the next level. But what, exactly, makes the V5 special?
About the AlphaTheta DJM-V5
The DJM-V5 is a new, smaller counterpart for AlphaTheta’s flagship DJM-V10 mixer. It features many of the top-end specs as its bigger sibling with the same emphasis on sound quality and advanced features that allow for deep, nuanced mixing. The V5 strips back the size though, while also introducing several brand new next-gen features, creating a streamlined device focused on the core tools that appeal most to creative DJs.
Like the V10, the mixer offers studio-grade 96kHz/64-bit DSP processing and 32-bit A/D and D/A converters from ESS Technology built into the channel inputs and master output.
By focusing on three mixer channels, the V5 has a considerably smaller footprint than the V10, making it more portable and well-suited to smaller clubs and bars or home use. It also means the mixer lands at a more affordable price point.
Getting surgical
The V5 has the same 60-mm long-throw faders as the DJM-V10 LF and a precise 4-band EQ. Combined with its all-new Cross-Pass filter mode and refined Send FX module – more on these below – this makes for a mixer particularly suited to slow, surgical mixing. So what does that mean in practice?
Put simply, the V5 works great for mixes that take a longer amount of time to transition from one track to the next. Instead of simply cutting from one track to another, the channel controls here allow DJs to gradually introduce elements of a track frequency-by-frequency.
This is one reason that the V5 – like the V10 – would be a favourite of DJs playing hypnotic, loop-heavy genres like techno, minimal or the deeper ends of house. This type of mixing works best with long, repetitive tracks that provide space to slowly introduce elements over the course of several minutes.
The unique filter setup is incredibly powerful for these kinds of subtle DJ performances. The V5 inherits the expressive filter controls loved by users of the V10. Unlike standard bi-directional filters, the full range of each filter knob is used to sweep the cutoff of the selected filter type, resulting in more space for precision.
New for the V5, however, is the new XPF, or Cross-Pass mode. This combines characteristics of both high-pass and low-pass filters. As the cutoff rotary is turned, the filter sweeps up through the high frequencies, but it also keeps the lowest frequencies in the mix, creating a very musical effect that creates tension in the top end without pulling out the sub weight.
The V5’s new Soft Mix Curve fader mode is also something of a secret weapon for expressive mixing. With the channel faders set to this mode, reducing the fader level will not only cut the volume of the track, but also roll off the high frequencies, which has the effect of softening a track as it's mixed out in a very musical manner.
Equally useful is the 4-band EQ, which allows for extra precision when blending frequencies across two or more channels. These split the mid-band frequencies into low and high mids, which allows elements such as snares, claps, percussion and synth melodies to be cut or emphasised with more accuracy.
This channel strip design is inherited from the V10 in full, including the same analogue compressor, which is perfect for adding more weight to older records or unmastered tracks.
Think about effects differently
The V5’s effects setup is a little different from that of most DJ mixers on the market, including the majority of AlphaTheta’s own range.
What you won’t find here are the multi-band Beat FX or swept Sound Colour FX found on gear like the DJM-A9 or XDJ-AZ. Instead the V5 uses a system of Send FX with an emphasis on spatial processes like delay and reverb.
This Send FX module expands on ideas loved by users of the V10. Here, effects are divided into three BPM synced effects and three non-synced effects, allowing DJs to create both rhythmic flourishes and looser, more creative textures.
The amount of each channel sent to the effect module is controlled by the Send rotary. The level of the effect blended back into the main output is set using the master mix level, controlled by its own fader on the V5, allowing users to perform with effects in a more natural and precise way.
This setup allows for more nuanced control over how much of an effect is applied to each track. By sending multiple channels to the same effect unit, it can also help to gel disparate elements of different tracks together.
Try sending elements of differing tracks to a single reverb in order to place them in a unified space, or different percussive patterns into a delay, to create a whole new rhythm from elements of multiple tracks.
The V5’s connectivity also lets users easily incorporate additional effects. Using the top panel Multi-IO port, users can add AlphaTheta’s new RMX-Ignite via a single digital connection. The same port also allows for the use of digital send effects, compatible with iPhone and iPad connections, letting users incorporate apps such as RMX-1000 for iPad.
The mixer’s analogue connectivity also allows for hardware pedals and desktop effects to be easily routed in a send-return configuration.
The power of three
The V5’s three channels are perfect for experimenting with setups that venture beyond classic two-deck mixing.
The most obvious use of the third channel is incorporating an additional deck into your DJ setup, in the form of a turntable or CDJ. This is a real asset for creating the sort of longer, slower mixes the V5 specialises in. With a third deck, DJs can use the precise EQs and long-form faders to layer and blend track elements to combine and reshape tracks on the fly.
This works particularly well with something minimal, hypnotic or dubby loaded onto the third channel – perhaps a long, looping track with distinctive percussion, chords or melodies that can be brought in and out throughout a set, or even a looped DJ tool that can provide the foundation for an on-the-fly edit.
That third channel can be used for more than just an additional deck though. With the option to switch the input between phono and line, the V5’s channels can be fed anything from drum machines and samplers, to the output of a full-on modular synth. In this way, the mixer becomes a hub for a setup that blurs the lines between DJ set and live performance.
Of course, whatever is connected to the input can be blended and manipulated through the usual channel controls. You could, for example, use a drum machine to augment and transition between tracks in your set, using the XPF filter to musically sweep through the percussion parts to create your own builds and drops. Or send synth sequences through the delay effects in order to create new, evolving melodic lines.
In these use cases, the V5’s channel compressors can be particularly useful. Applying a touch of compression can help boost a more dynamic input from a synth or drum machine, or add extra weight to older vinyl records and help them alongside tracks with contemporary mastering.
However you choose to use the V5’s channels, its sound quality, capable tools and nuanced effects provide all the depth you need to find your own distinctive style and sound in the booth.
Find out more at the AlphaTheta website.