Rane One - Is This The Best DJ Controller Ever?
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Rane may have just produced the best DJ controller yet.
...I was screaming “take my money...
I don’t pay a huge amount of attention to what is being released in the DJ hardware market purely because I’m not looking to purchase anything. My issue is that you see a piece of kit that looks amazing and you immediately look at what you have and decide that it’s useless, outdated and you have to upgrade it. Also, there haven't been any massive breakthroughs or features that have made me take a serious look at replacing my old faithful Traktor S4 MKII.
The two pieces of kit that have caught my attention over the past year or two have been the upgraded S4 MKIII with it’s motorised Haptic Drive jog wheels and the Denon Prime series (both the Prime 4 and the Prime Go). But although all of these are great products, way better technically than my trusty S4 (still running Traktor Scratch Pro), neither have tempted me to part with any of my hard earned cash.
However, whilst browsing YouTube, I came across the new Rane One being reviewed by my usual favs Phil Morse at Digital DJ Tips and Jamie Hartley from Crossfader and I was screaming “take my money” at the screen.
I started as a hip hop DJ and grew up on turntables, belt driven ones to begin with, then moved on to Technic SL1200 MKIIs once my pocket could afford them. I wasn’t a battle DJ as such, nor a turntablist but I did love to scratch and beat juggle whilst I produced my mixtapes. Later, when I moved on to house music, I still used vinyl so retained my decks. Begrudgingly, I moved on to CDJs but was so pleased when Traktor came along and DJ controllers became more readily available.
Their portability, ease of use and realistic DJ experience made life so much easier however, there was something that I missed...scratching and beat juggling ie hip hop DJ’ing.
Now yes, I know...you can get time coded vinyl, you can purchase a Phase DVS kit or even, if you win the lottery, get yourself a pair of Rane Twelves with a Rane Seventy Two battle mixer but this wasn’t an option for me. Firstly, I didn’t have the space to set up my 1200s (nor dig out all my old vinyl) so the time coded vinyl or Phase option was out and secondly, I didn't do the lottery so the choice of a set of Rane’s was also off the table. But then the Rane One popped up.
I want it so bad. So badly in fact, that I am now checking my bank balance to see if I can afford to splash the cash...
At around £1400.00 here in the UK, that’s do-able, it’s high-end money but still do-able. I could get a few hundred for my S4 so that would chip away a bit too and I would be able to scratch again...properly too!
DJ controllers have never been able to master the art of the scratch. Yes, I know that there are DJs out there who have and can, I have too but it’s just not the same, not really...is it?
Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t tried this product so I am only guessing here. But from what I have seen, I am now seriously considering it. The idea of loading up two of my favourite tracks from “back in the day” and spending the afternoon going to town on them with those rotating platters makes my heart pump, my juices flow and I drool with anticipation.
This looks like the perfect controller for all aspects of my DJ’ing. I’d be sorry to give up Traktor (yes, I know but I’m loyal but frankly it’s a great piece of software) but switching to Serato is no biggie. It would sit perfectly on the table where my S4 currently sits. I could also keep the S4 to use when I play out and about at small venues.
In the past, I have considered making the jump to Pioneer. However, Rane (like Denon) is owned by InMusic who also have Akai, Numark and M-Audio, to name a few, under their umbrella. They really listen to their customers to craft and produce products that we want. I just don’t feel this from Pioneer who, to me at least, have become complacent and rely too heavily on their “industry standard” reputation. Their releases over the past few years haven’t shown much innovation at all and have mostly been just to sell more units because it’s the “latest model” when really it’s just the old one with a new outfit and one or two small additions which don’t really justify its price tag.
To me, Pioneer seem to be more interested in market share than innovation. Think of the market as a giant cake and they want the biggest slice but with more and more great products coming, ones that actually make DJ’ing better, then they really need to up their game because us seasoned jocks want that. They have flooded the market with products to fit all categories and all price ranges but none of them are particularly stand out offerings unless you’re going top end.
Serato too continues to push boundaries and improve. Pioneer is tailoring Rekordbox to their products to try to compete with Serato which will have an impact on it’s sales but it still remains the top of the tree (for the moment, at least). Whilst poor old Traktor, despite being able to keep a core of users, is looking tired and desperately needs a good overhaul to attract new users.
So like I say, I haven’t tried this product, I haven’t run my hands over those gorgeous looking platters but I want to. I want it so bad. So badly in fact, that I am now checking my bank balance to see if I can afford to splash the cash and get me one of those new Rane One DJ controllers because I believe, from what I have seen.
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