When I first heard that Grand Master Flash had helped designed a mixer, I was geeked. I know everyone has their favorites, some love Q-bert, some prefer A-trak, others like Kenny Dope, or Jazzy Jeff or Roc Raida, but to me, Grand Master Flash has always been the man.
And I’ve go to say, the Rane Empath mixer totally lives up to his legendary reputation. He partnered with the best DJ mixer company in the industry to create the best 3 channel mixer I can think of. I just bought the Rane Empath Grand Master Flash edition, so I’ll discuss what you get when you buy one.
Custom Flight Case
I’ve never heard of a mixer coming with its own custom flight case. Actually, having to buy a flight case down the line is usually a huge pain in the ass. The case that comes with the Rane Empath GMF edition is bomb though and makes me feel comfortable about taking it wherever I go, right out of the box.
Penny & Giles Faders
Although I’m not sure why they didn’t use their famous magnetic faders, Penny & Giles is considered the best contact fader on the market. I’ve heard of people hacking the crap out of their mixers just to stick a P&G cross fader in there. The Rane Empath comes with Penny & Giles faders all around.
3 Awesome Channels
With the Serato SL3, this is particularly awesome because you can assign the 3rd channel to the sampler or a virtual deck. Regardless, 3 channels allow for immense versatility whether you’re daisy chaining setups, spinning with 3 decks, plugging in a sampler or a synth, the options are really endless.
ALSO – for Serato Scratch users, its a HELL of a lot easier to transition between DJs with 3 channels (you need 2 Serato Scratch Live boxes) because you can plug-in the incoming DJs Serato box into the empty channel. Sounds complicated, but really makes life a hell of a lot easier.
Face Melting Rane Sound Quality
I don’t think I even have to tell you this.
Rane is known for making the best sounding gear, sturdiest gear in the DJ industry and the empath is no exception. Incredible EQs. Incredible, crisp, punchy output. There really isn’t anything more you could ask.
Awesome for Mixing House (blending) or Hip Hop (scratching)
One of the things I really love about the Rane Empath is how flexible it is and how well it adapts to any style. I used to have a Vestax PMC-05, and if you were an totally Q-bert obsessed turntablist, it really never cut it (no pun intended). With the Rane Empath I really feel like I can do my own thing and I’m not in any way limited by the mixer.
Available in Rotary
For those who want the old school feel and absolute butter-smooth control over their sound, the Rane Empath rotary gives you the best of both worlds. Many have compared it to the legendary Rane MP2016A rotary mixer, and while its similar in many way, it definitely has a character of its own. You can still get nasty on the cut and then do some beautiful smooth transitions. There really are no limitations.
Conclusion
I’m pissing myself over the Rane Empath. Its the best mixer I’ve owner, and all of my Pioneer DJM-600/800/whatever owning friends want to come over and play with it. They’re always so surprised that it doesn’t feel all plasticy like theirs!