Adam Dworak aka DJ Destruction writes to let us know he’s finished a video review of the ZERO8:

Via the DJ Destruction blog.

About halfway through, he gets to some hands-on demos with the internal effects and controllers, which demonstrates some of what makes the ZERO8 unique. Thanks for sharing this one, Adam!

Adam’s rig — the mixer, a DJ app (Virtual DJ), and use of the internal mixer and effects — qualify him as what is likely the target audience for the ZERO8. And you can see he’s pretty happy using it in that way.

We have heard some dissent, though, from people who wanted to use the ZERO8 for live laptop performance with Ableton Live, or with DJ sets that push the envelope a bit into the live performance area. In fairness, that may not have been the ZERO’s target audience, but as it is a target audience for CDM, I’ll be interested to see what gear can fit the bill.

Also, I don’t like to bring up anecdotal evidence, but do any ZERO owners out there know if Korg was able to resolve the “hiss problem” we heard readers complaining about?

What about the alternatives?

For various reasons I remain interested in the Ecler line. I don’t think it’s immediately comparable to the ZERO, but its focus on combining MIDI control and mixing features make it very interesting to the Ableton crowd. That’s nothing against the Korg kit, but in this emerging category, it may be closer to what this niche wants. I hope to look more at that soon. See our previous story (which also includes commentary on the Korg, so I’m not the only one making the comparison):

MIDI + Mixing: Ecler EVO4 DJ Mixer Specs, EVO5 Update

There’s been quite some interest — and discussion of the relative merits of high-end mixers — in the boutique DJ mixer Ecler EVO4. It’s a more svelte rendition of the EVO5, and also doubles as a hybrid MIDI control surface. There’s still no word on pricing, but if it comes anywhere close to a US$1000 street, I think it could be serious competition for the cheaper but apparently flakier Korg ZERO range.

At least now we know what the thing looks like:

I like the design — it’s not hard to imagine digital musicians and laptopists/electronicistas having good fun with this as much as traditional DJs. The MIDI controls look a little disappointing, though.

Previously (with lots of comments):

MIDI + Mixing: Ecler EVO4 DJ Mixer Specs, EVO5 UpdateMIDI + Mixing: Ecler EVO4 DJ Mixer Specs, EVO5 Update

So, you’ve got a mixer, which is a box covered in faders and knobs that processes audio signal. And you’ve got a MIDI control surface, which is often a box covered in faders and knobs that looks a mixer, but doesn’t process audio signal. Why not combine them into one device?

That’s the approach taken by DJ-focused mixer maker Ecler. Their EVO5 (shown at right) does all of this, but at a hefty price premium — about U$1900 street. (That price could be more worth it, however, with updated firmware capabilities — more on that in a moment.) A rumored EVO4 at a lower price (expected at a non-cheap, but possibly mortal-compatible US$1000-1500) has been making the rounds on the Web. Today, Ecler confirmed those details and promised the final unveiling at Musikmesse next month in Germany and here Stateside for Remix Hotel Miami later in March.

No photo or official pricing yet (meaning if you’ve seen a photo, it’s an unauthorized leak or fake), but here’s what Ecler has to say:

It’s a 12 x 12 FireWire audio interface. It’s a customizable mixer, with curves, filter styles, and ranges editable via a color LCD screen. It’s a MIDI controller. It’s an Italian sports car, molded by design house Giugiaro Italdesign. And it has password-protected audio output limiting, so those sleazeball DJs don’t blow your club’s speakers. (No, seriously. They need a password to defeat the limiter.) Hell, like you’re going to let anyone but you get their grimy hands on this. We’ve been watching the Ecler hardware, and its needlessly-overblown pre-launch hype. Now we can enjoy the hardware itself. And it is awful purty, even if you actually don’t need / can’t afford it. -PK

Ecler has officially launched the EVO5 DJ mixer + audio interface + effects unit at Messe, though you’ll have to wait until October to get your hands on one. Its yet-to-be-determined price will be in the range of $1500-$2000. Full details on this 5-channel digital DJ mixer can be found at Ecler’s new EVO product mini-site.

Here’s the quick rundown on the specs, if you’re not still distracted by the looks:

It’s got 24/96 converters and a 2-port FireWire sound card that supports 6 stereo inputs and 6 stereo outputs. Route any of these channels to your computer and back for effects processing, mixing tracks from your DAW of choice, or recording to computer, etc.

Eight editable effects can sync to MIDI or the built-in beat counter (which can output MIDI Clock): Delay/Echo, Filter, Flanger, Phaser, Transformer, Panoramic, Pitch and Reverb. You can chain two effects together and also save presets to your computer via FireWire with the included EVO5 software. There are also two editable effects just for microphone: a Noise Gate and Compressor.

10 push switches and 4 rotary encoders can be mapped to MIDI. 64 layouts include ones for Native Insturments Traktor and Ableton Live. As expected in a digital mixer, you can customize settings for EQ and fader curves. There is also an output limiter to help save speakers from impassioned DJs.

The user interface, designed by Giugiaro, features a 320 x 240 TFT color screen with 262,144 colors. Thanks to an anodized technique, the lettering and markings on the black aluminum faceplate will not fade before Ecler delivers another revolutionary DJ mixer.

CAUTION: if you are still enjoying the EVO5 countdown, and don’t want to be tainted with any product details until the official announcement at Musikmesse in 15 days, STOP READING NOW!

Preliminary specifications for the EVO5 digital mixer obtained by Create Digital Music reveal the folowing:

1. It’s a 5-channel mixer with MIDI and effects. (Ok, you might have guessed that, but anyway…)
2. The EVO5 includes a 12-channel FireWire interface that provides 6 stereo in and 6 stereo out, so you can stream audio to and from Ableton Live, Native Instruments Traktor, and other applications.
3. 4 channels of the EVO5 can handle the FireWire audio, the 5th is for microphone input.
4. MIDI can also be transmitted over FireWire and there are both MIDI In and Out ports.
5. 4 continuous rotary knobs under the display can be used for MIDI control, as can the channel EQ knobs, which are non-continuous.
6. I/O includes 4 phono preamps, 5 line inputs, and RCA and XLR outputs.

Beyond this promising feature set, much of the EVO5’s potential success seems to be riding on its user interface. The EVO5 has apparently been in development for over a year with the revered Italian design firm, Giugiaro, best known for high-end European sports cars like Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. This is the first time Giugiaro has designed a DJ product and their involvement raises expectations for a fresh perspective on the DJ mixer UI.

One can only assume that the low-res rendering images floating around won’t do it justice!

Ed.: Hmmm, I think I’d probably take an Alfa Romeo over what looks like a fairly ordinary mixer, but we’ll see! -PK