The ecosystem of Serato products has expanded massively in recent years, with native control solutions appearing from many manufacturers. The latest company to step into the Serato world is Akai, with their new AMX and AFX units. But do they bring anything new to the table? We tested them to find out.
AKAI AMX BREAKDOWN:
- Price + Availability: $249 – preorders available in the DJTT store, releasing later this month
- The Good: Full two channel mixer with switchable phono/line inputs for DVS
- The Bad: No external power means that master output levels might fall short in some setups
- The Bottom Line: A powerful portable mixer solution that will be a strong addition to many Serato DJs’ arsenal
AKAI AFX BREAKDOWN:
- Price + Availability: $199 – shipping now from the DJTT store, released November 1st
- The Good: Wide array of touch-sensitive knobs and buttons give extensive add-on controls
- The Bad: Missing a “platter emulation” mode to move the playhead on tracks around
- The Bottom Line: Probably the best native control for all of Serato’s secondary features (FX, Flip, loops)
Saying Akai is a new brand to Serato is, of course, both true and false. While the Akai name hasn’t been attached to Serato native kit before, Akai is just one of the many brands in the formidable inMusic stable. That means the AMX and AFX owe design and technology debts to earlier products from, in particular, stablemate Numark.
The reasoning for the use of the Akai branding here is not entirely clear – these would sit quite happily in the Numark range – what’s probably more important is the Serato branding that also appears on both devices. The AMX and AFX were designed in tight collaboration with everyone’s favourite New Zealanders, and that integration is fully apparent in use.
Watch the full review video – and then keep scrolling for additional words on both controllers.
AMX: MIDI MIXER AND SERATO SOUNDCARD
Spoiler alert: Whilst the AFX is a cool bit of kit, the AMX is the headline act here. It’s really something unusual in the Serato lineup, with the potential to shake things up big time.
The AMX is, in essence, a two-channel mixer, although it must be noted that it isn’t a true mixer in the ‘standalone’ sense. It needs Serato DJ to work – there’s no mains power option, just USB, and must be hooked up to the software to do anything at all. It’s really a controller for Serato DJ’s internal mixing engine, and basically useless without it.
When it is hooked up though, it offers a heck of a lot. You’ve got switchable line/phono inputs for the two channels, providing full DVS control with turntables or CDJs. There’s an Innofader Mini (a favourite here at DJTT), full kill Eqs with touch control, and a combo filter on each channel, which borrows the great filter roll feature in touch mode from the Numark NS7 II).
You’ve got a browse knob, panel button and load buttons for library wrangling, plus a small set of controls for internal playback – play, temp cue, and sync. You can adjust the tempo of each track using shift plus the gain knobs, and search through tracks very precisely using the search and browse knob in combination. You can place either virtual deck in SDJ into ‘through’ mode, and play your regular vinyl or CDs through the unit, too.
That is a LOT of functionality, and seems even more impressive when you consider the price – $250. Depending on your needs, you could require the DVS plugin for the software too, but that still only brings you to $350 all-in. Consider that against the previous cheapest option for a Serato DJ DVS setup – the Rane SL2 interface at $500 (street), which has no mixing or control capability, and the AMX really looks like a steal.
It’s not perfect, of course (nothing is!). The gain controls double up as the pitch adjusters, which means they are necessarily endless rotary knobs, which provide no visual feedback as to gain position. That, combined with the 5-segment VU meters, makes gain pre-setting largely a matter of guesswork in a loud environment.
And speaking of ‘loud’, that’s one thing the AMX can’t be accused of being. Thanks to its lack of a mains power option, like the Novation Twitch before it, the AMX just doesn’t match up to the healthy output level of something like a CDJ or SL box. If you play on systems where the overall gain-structure is not ideal, you could find yourself running out of gain on the house mixer well before you’d like.
The resolution on those pitch adjustments leaves something to be desired, too. Offering a resolution of just 0.3% up or down, if you don’t want to use sync, you’ll struggle to set precise BPM values with them. Also, Serato DJ really needs an option to ‘reset deck controls on load’ like Traktor. As it is, when playing a set without sync, you’ll spend far too long during your set manually adjusting the bpm back to zero after loading. Akai have assured us that both of these are software issues, though (the pitch knob can handle tighter resolution), so hopefully Serato can get on the case.
Sound quality is good, though, and the build quality, although full-on plastic, feels made to last – the pots all feel rock-solid, for example. The low-profile design means you’ll probably want something to raise both units up to deck/mixer height, and Akai’s own forthcoming case/stand should fulfil that brief, though we haven’t had one to test yet.
The potential use-cases for this thing keep occurring to you, the longer you spend with it. Need a portable controller/interface for testing out mixes on the road? AMX. Want a super-compact easy to set-up DVS system for practicing at home? AMX. Work at venues where the house mixer is ‘less than desirable’? Plug in an AMX to it.
Ultimately, the success of the AMX is down to this – it is a Serato DJ setup, with DVS, for $350 all-in. That’s a pretty astonishing feat, and truly unprecedented. I think it will rapidly make appearances in the kit list of many serious Serato DVS users, either as a travelling or back-up option, and serve as an ideal introduction to DVS for beginners.
Plus, of course, there will be the users who will be looking for a $250 internal mixing solution to go with their….
AKAI AFX: SERATO EFFECTS, CUES, FLIP
The AFX is the latest in the line of ‘add-on’ controllers for Serato software, which began with the venerable HC-1000S from Denon (also now an inMusic brand, the circle of life, etc.) and has since expanded to include offerings from Reloop, Novation, and Pioneer. As a native controller, it’s automatically mapped to the software, and includes a plethora of controls to give you access to most of the features in Serato DJ.
It handles up to four decks, depending on which interface you’re using it with – the buttons at the top do the switching, to determine which deck the pads and touchstrip are controlling.
In the middle of the unit is the standard SDJ effects control setup – four knobs, four buttons. Like the AMX, these are touch enabled, which allows you to stab FX in and out with ease.
The pad section is fully comprehensive, too, again following the SDJ standards, with cues, looping, rolls, slicer, and the SP6 sampler all present and correct. Thanks to the compact size of the unit, the pads are small, but big enough that you won’t mis-press, and have full RGB lighting. They’ve even included a secondary cues mode which offers transport controls, for internal playback modes. Great.
Dedicated Flip controls sit either side of the central loop knob, and make recording your own Flips very simple and intuitive. The unit comes with a licence for the Flip plug-in included, which is a nice touch.
Above that loop knob is a 2-digit LED display of your currently set loop length, and that is KILLER. With so many SDJ controllers, determining your loop length without looking at the screen is impossible, so having it right there on the controller is excellent.
The touchstrip at the top of the AFX has three modes – Search, which moves the playhead through the track in large increments – Pitch, which offers smooth pitch bending up and down, and S-FX, which allows you to quickly adjust FX parameters up and down momentarily. That’s a cool feature, with definite possibility to open up some crazy new FX techniques.
So, as an add-on controller, the AFX is very successful. You might not be a fan of switching layers, so you might consider a pair, although then you’ll have 2 banks of redundant FX controls, which can’t be remapped. But if you’re happy with working with layers, then a single unit positioned between, say, a deck and your mixer, makes for a super fun, ,compact, comprehensive addition to your setup.
THIS IS NOT THE X1 I’M LOOKING FOR
At this point, the review gets personal. One of the reasons I started playing around with Traktor, after many years as a Serato user, was that the Twitch introduced me to a world beyond platters and jog wheels. And with the Kontrol X1 mk2, Native Instruments distilled that world into a modular device which has been my main means of control for many, many gigs, used either individually, or in a pair.
I’m no Traktor fanboy, though. I’m still equally into Serato DJ. Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, and so the option to have an equivalent setup in SDJ has been a dream for a while. When the AFX showed up, I hoped this would be it! The moment had come, I where I could use a single, or pair of AFXs, an SL box, and regular mixer…
…But it hasn’t. Yet.
As you can see in the video review, the touchstrip is missing the ‘platter emulation’ mode which makes the X1 mk2 and Twitch so usable. There’s simply no way to accurately move the playhead around. Also, crucially, there’s actually no way to adjust the bpm from the AFX. You can pitch bend, but that’s it.
There’s also an issue with Serato DJ itself which holds back this kind of setup too, in that with DVS hardware like SL boxes, Smart Sync is disabled. That makes platter-less playing way more of a hassle that it should be.
So, my SL box/external mixer dream is squashed, for now, at least. But, the saving grace is the AFX/AMX combo. At all the gigs I’ve done with these units, that’s all I used, with the AMX feeding into the house mixer, and the AFX hooked up for control. Now, THAT works great. You get the bpm adjustment and precise playhead movement on the AMX, and pitch bend on the AFX. Smart sync works with the DVS plugin disabled. It’s a superb combo, and has served me very well in a live situation. Hopefully software and firmware updates will enable my dream eventually, but in the meantime, the pairing of both does the job nicely.
HOLIDAY MUST-HAVE CONTROLLERS FOR SERATO DJS?
In all, there’s little of substance to complain about with the AMX and AFX, only fine details. When used as a pair, they’re a great setup, alone, or with DVS. The AMX is a total bargain for what you’re getting, and should certainly be on the holiday gift list for any Serato user, really. It’s a wonderfully handy piece of kit in many situations, and a potential ‘gig-saver’ in some.
The AFX, despite my disappointment in the couple of things it doesn’t do, actually performs extremely well within the parameters it was designed to. As an add-on controller for an existing Serato DJ system, it’s impossible to argue with its efficacy and value for money, at just $200. There’s no other native Serato DJ hardware which can match the amount of features on offer for that price.
If you have a space in your setup for either, or both, the AMX and AFX, you won’t be disappointed with what they’ve got to offer.
Support continued great content from DJTT – pick up these controllers in the DJTT webstore.
TRAKTOR AMX KONTROL?
We couldn’t help but notice that the AMX would make a very affordable all in one controller for those who want a highly portable dj setup. With some creative mapping you could take control of everything needed in a basic dj mix including looping, effects, eq, levels and more. With a good built in sound card and front headphone monitoring – this would be a great value at $250. If that sounds interesting to you, let us know in the comments so the DJTT experts can start to look into mappings!
I bought this controller on purpose just to use this “All-in-one” Traktor mapping: 4x decks, 6x hot cues, Loops, 5x insta-FX pages, “super cross fader”.
Also, my own upcoming extension adds Beatjump, Loop roll, Selectable FX control, Zoom + Layout changes, Library adv browsing.
https://maps.djtechtools.com/mappings/4397
I’ve had a pair of these for a little while now and they work great – it was my first step in ‘Digital DJing’ from analog vinyl – and use them as a DVS control but mainly now as a digital controller (my SL1200’s are getting dusty!). The only issue I have found is the pitch control fiddly and not as intuitive as faders and the low power output. I have rectified the low power output with a powered USB hub – HUGE difference in volume and headphone volume. I am going to by a second AFX so I can run 4 decks!
i was jus thinkin, is it possible to connect the amx to the dvs send output of an external mixer using it just like a sound card?
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Can a extra preamp plugged into the in house mixer fix the low output volumes or would that affect the quality?
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Anyone figured out the AMX midi output? When I chuck MIDI-OX on it the crossfader, channel faders, filter, and bass mid and treble output two separate streams of midi, interlaced, simultaneously, effectively giving the unit high resolution output. I only assume this gets interpreted by serato, and joined into so that rather then the traditional 128 steps of resolution, you’d get 256. I’m using a visual programming language called VVVV to grab the output, and have managed to mesh them, but wondered if anyone else was playing with it in this way?
Amx is good but only big issue I have is the master output levels are very low. Very strange 🙁
Please help how can I fix that.
I use macbook pro 15” i7
When I use left usb port MB Pro I get really low levels in my headphones but when I use right side usb port of my MB Pro I get the headphone level normal. So today I connected The Akai Amx via right hand side usb port from MB Pro and connected the RCA wire to Pioneer DJM 900 Nexus. Preety strange the output levels are very low coz I have compare with my Pioneer CDJ 2000 playback.
Please help out me out how can resolve this issue.
Hi. Is there already any really good mapping for Traktor Pro ? Thx in advance
The AMX intrigues, if only because this is the first bus-powered mix controller with a quality faded that has made it to market. Id love to see a 4-channel variant of this, would make for an excellent ableton mixer…
Aima Nandos | DJ mixers
Bless up, i also have the AMX and the AFX but there was no real good solution for the carriage of these controllers on the market. So i built two prototypes, its a hybrid of a control stand and a flight case made of aluminium, painted matt black with anti slide control on one side Link up if you’re interested, i’m planning to make some more.
How adaptable would this controller be for Scratch Live?
By any chance have you figured the answer to your question?
I’m also interested in using the amx for dvs funtion but on traktor scratch.
see above
The AMX doesn’t work for Scratch Live
DJ controllers are best.. so smoothly they perform their duty!
Can you use Akai AMX as a interface for Traktor Scratch Pro and hook it up with Traktor’s timecode vinyl??
Will the AMX on it’s own control Serato Video?
I’m thinking about switching from traktor to serato. I got two technics sl1200. Thinking about buying a second hand behringer ddm4000 and thought the AFX would be a nice addition next to this mixer for cueing, looping, effects, library search etc. Is this setup possible with the behringer ddm 4000, the AFX as a soundcard for serato and buying the DVS expansion pack to get the technics working??
Just got the AMX and I am still a lil bit confused when it comes to the real benefits of this controller when used without any secondary controller. Okay it is a bargain for offering an audio interface BUT I already had it installed on several machines and there are tiny cracks on the output when loading a new track or using many buttons at once, i.e. the faders, eq’s or the touch (I did not have this problem with a MAC). Second as you already described, the pitch cannot be adjusted very granular and also the missing fast search is a big minus here. Whats also missing is a loop function for 1, 2, 4 etc, just to have the filter for 1/2 1/4/ 1/8 etc is just not enough. Whats also not very logical is to have a dedicated knob just for the filter and the cut outs, I would have prefered it they set up the knob for 1/2 1/4 etc if turning left and 1, 2,4 when turning right. The touch function itself seems like a nice gimmick here but the range of possibilities focuses just on the cut out and thats not enough for me.
Also the unadjusted volume control of each deck is not very logical, you need to adjust from the levels in advance before you mix in a new track. Having said all of that I already ordered the AFX and will test for the missing functions here. From what you already showed about the AFX in the video, my resumee so far is: The AMX is a small all in one solution if you have no clue what to expect in the club, venue etc when it comes to equipment. As most of the clubs at least have CD players of Turntables, I think getting the SL’s would make more sense here because of the high quality audio output. A mapping for the AMX would definitely turn the whole thing and I really look forward to that. If you search for a cheap (but nevertheless good quality) and small solution for your gigs and you want to be independant from club equipment, the AMX COULD be a good tool for you (combined with the AFX it should give you even more possibilities to mix) but if you can expect CD’s and Turntables (that you might use) in the club I would recommend getting a SL and a secondary controller with your custom mappings.
Nevertheless I think that this controller might be able to really get powerful in the next versions.
So finally I tested the AMX and the AFX and as I guessed (and as you described in the video) you really need to have both controller so that dj’ing would make real sense. I really like the AFX, the handling is awesome but nevertheless I did a really dig deep test for the audio quality of the AMX and unfortunately it’s way too weak for a clean and powerful signal. Even in comparison with the already old and weak VCI 300 it cannot nearly reach the output of the VCI and DJ’s know that the first version of the VCI 300 already has a weak audio output. So I really couldnt recommend using the AMX as for me the output quality is one of the most important factors. So please AKAI improve the AMX and get it in a pro version state 😉
Any news on software upgrade that would turn on platter emulation on AFX touch strip ?
I plan to map it to mixvibes and share my mapping
Can you Pitch bend with the AMX
Yes, Holding the SEARCH Button for either deck and rotating the Data knob. Clockwise = Pitch Bend Up, C.Clockwise = Pitch Bend Down.
Thanks. This could be quite useful for one hour sets then. Easy to setup and pack away with minimal space saving.
Just hoping that they wont release a “Pro” version right after I buy this one.
I have just got an AMX and am planning on picking up a AFX. My question is I am looking for a flight case something like the one for the Traktor x1 which allows you to put the controller on the top of the case when in use. Can anybody confirm if the amx will fit the x1 case or which kind of case use guys are using?
it’s not an exact fit, of course, but I’m using the the Kontrol Bag to house my AFX and AMX and they’re working quite nicely.
Turntable Lab has a pretty nice case for those controllers.
Bless up, i also have the AMX and the AFX but there was no real good solution for the carriage of these controllers on the market. So i built two prototypes, its a hybrid of a control stand and a flight case made of aluminium, painted matt black with anti slide control on one side Link up if you’re interested, i’m planning to make some more.
Are you experiencing low master output levels? if yes let me know how can I fix that.
thanks
I was so I just turned up the gain inside of Serato DJ at the top where it says “Master” next to the digital LEDs.
Have you made any more of these cases?
not yet but if you need 2 i can easily made more, every case is custom made. here´s another pic showing the cases in “flight” modus.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1e66acddb854bf7a78dce16bdf0eec8e75b124b79e58907c3769bce00029112a.jpg sorry. here it is…
Well, AFX as add-on controller fails on me in one point – missing library browsing functions. Thats is one of the essentials which I am looking for in my SL3-DVS setup, so I dont have to touch the laptop.
You CAN browse your library with the AFX and you can select and load tracks to the selected deck of choice be it 1,2,3 or 4. In addition you can browse through and select efx as well.
Really cant find how. There is no mention on Akai website and there are no dedicated controls for loading/browsing visible from any photo.
Yeah I know. They don’t really mention it in the user guide and no one talks about it on any of the videos. I will give you a quick desc.
1) To load track-Select deck on AFX. Press cue- you can now use your parameter knob to scroll your library. press down on parameter knob to load selected track to your selected deck.
2) to navigate from your folders to your library or library to folders. Press down on the shift button on the AFX and press down on the parameter knob. Repeat to go back.
Just received the AMX a few days ago
And it works perfect with my old CDJ-800, Serato Dj & DVS plugin !
Just wondering about getting the afx too now…or old dicer will do the job
The only thing missing is a stand/platform for it !
I put it on the box for now but the unit is too light to be stable
I decided to jump on this today when it was available from my regular retailor. Im guessing there is a forum thread on it ? Has anyone used it along side Serato Remote on the Ipad? I really hope serato does more with the Ipad application < its by far the strongest and most contiguous hardware platform available next to an actual computer. People dont take the apps as seriously because of thier low price .. BUT ITS A 500$ piece gear … needs to be utilized. Pitch and transport control on the remote software + this controller / sound card … would be pretty tight.
Serato Remote + AMX is pretty good combo. Im going to add a CDJ-1000 that is in good shape and I think Ill have a solid compact setup.
Interested to test out the AMX as a serato internal controller. Any reports on really mixing all night with the pitch/bpm control? The controllers seems like a really good solution for those times you just want to plug your laptop into a bar or resteraunt and rock internal. Great price point. Like the idea of having a super minimal go to set up.
Just so you know without purchasing the DVS plug in the INT Mode including tempo sliders disappear, stopping you from mapping pitch to another midi device and also make Pitch N Time plugin useless as you are locked in to standard +8 -8 tempo adjustments. So you could say you get a slightly watered down version of Serato DJ forcing you to eventually fork out the $$$$$
I giggle every time we go back to the Twitch to see how things are supposed to be done with a touch strip. I just want to see the active loop pinch (as in Serato) in Traktor.
Map it!
It’ll be interesting to use these with the Numark V7. I used them with the NS7II to control 4 decks under windows.
[…] Akai AMX And AFX Serato DJ Controllers Reviewed – Our friends at DJ Techtools have taken Akai’s new Serato DJ controllers for a spin Read more […]
the amx intrigues, if only because this is the first bus-powered mix controller with a quality fader that has made it to market. Id love to see a 4-channel variant of this, would make for an excellent ableton mixer…
I wrote Akai back in September to ask about the possibilities of using the AMX with Traktor or Ableton. Their response was: “The AMX is a mixer integrated solely for use with Serato DJ so it cannot be used as a MIDI controller for other DAWs.” Were they misleading me?
I wrote to AKAI a couple months ago as well asking similar questions.
I asked if the AMX could work as a midi controller in Ableton. (I’m currently in the process of switching from Serato to Ableton). I also asked, since the AMX can be used as a sound card through Serato, just like the SL boxes, I wanted to know if it would work as a mixer/sound card in Ableton.
Their response was “the AMX can be used in Ableton and would make an excellent midi controller for it too”……..not a very specific response, but whatever. I still wanted to purchase it and check it out.
I bought the AMX about two weeks ago. I spent the whole day mapping it to Ableton. It took forever to map it to my dj template but the mapping was well worth it lol. Then I ran into some trouble. I thought something was wrong because no sound was coming out of the mixer. (I did the whole 1/2, 3/4 channel cue out process).
Long story short, it wasn’t until I actually plugged in my whole setup, speakers and all, when I realized that the sound wasn’t the problem. The sound was coming out, thankfully. What AKAI failed to tell me was that the volume LED for each deck will NOT light up. Which is slightly bad in a way, at least for me, because I can’t tell when the tracks are clipping or are too low. Yes I can easily use my ears to tell the difference, but it would be nice if the mixer would light up to let me know which tracks are clipping, but WHATEVER. I won’t return it because of it. Plus the master (in Ableton won’t work) you’ll have to use the master on the AMX. This whole AMX Ableton thing is pretty confusing so if you need more info just email me sikksounds @ gmail
Onto my next issue, which was addressed in this article. The sound.
Sound quality isn’t bad, it’s pretty good, but its USB powered, not powered by an AC unit. This past Saturday was my first gig solely using the AMX and Ableton. Again, long story short, I had to end up using Serato instead of Ableton last minute. All this prep I had to just use Ableton but I couldn’t. And I’ll explain why….the master on the AMX was all the way up, but it still wasn’t loud enough. At least in Ableton. In Serato, which btw I hadn’t used with my AMX at all before until the day of my gig. Was slightly better but the sound was still too low. I had to use another mixer to make the overall sound louder.
It’s just a mess, but I mean, I love the AMX. I just need to find a solution to this sound issue so I can use it just for Ableton. I’m really serious about switching over, doing in Ableton is much more smoother, at least for me.
That’s interesting. I was surprised and a bit skeptical when they said it would only work with Serato, but figured they’d made an agreement with Serato to lock it to their software, at least to start. But it sounds like I just got someone who didn’t know what he was talking about. Bottom line appears to be it will work with Ableton and other software, but it will be a process undertaken by users to get it working up to snuff. I’ve since gone another direction, but the Ableton functionality is duly noted for possible future reference.
The AMX and AFX can be MIDI mapped to whichever software you like, there aren’t any restrictions to this. The VU meters are controlled by software, so the output lighting for the segments would need to sent by the host software since the AMX is not a stand alone mixer.
Hey man, I had no idea about this, I just figured this out today. After hours of research, I finally found a way (a VST) to use on each track in Ableton (as well as Master) to send the audio signals into the AMX…..it took forever but I’m so glad you gave me this tip.
I also tried it all out in my setup. It works flawlessly with Ableton now. I don’t even have the significant ‘low’ sound anymore. I’m set now
What VST are you using to get the lights to work?
I’m using a VST called AudiotoCC. I found it through another vst called MIDItoCC. I checked the website from where I downloaded it from a while back, last time I checked they only had the vst for Windows only. They didn’t have it for Mac anymore. This is the website http://thepiz.org/plugins/?p=AudioToCC
thnx I’ll give that a try 🙂 I’d rather not run any plugins while doing live work but the lights would really help .. One other issue for me is the headphone cue lights only change for every two clicks; u know what I mean? I’ve written a review of Ableton with AMX; but only have one gig worth of experience so far: http://www.flitemedia.com/studio/djing-with-ableton-akai-amx/
Good job Akai…now a more relevant company take note and create an updated improved version.
No USB hub. Again. How is it that Behringer are the only ones going “hey, that might be useful for people who use Macbooks…”
yeah, and look how their decision to require mains power for the mm1 played out: regardless of whether you need the hub ac, you cant use the device solely through usb. Thanks but no thanks.
I don’t think the mains on the MM1 is a problem. Any mixer you use is going to require mains. Thing is if you’re using a hub, you still need to power it. So either way you’re using mains.
Personally, I would rather have the mixer as the hub that having to take one more thing to a gig, and potentially forget one more thing at the house.
Yah this for Traktor DJ (as thez1) would superb,
“Sound quality is good… ”
Nice review, @Mojaxx:disqus . However, how does the sound quality of the Akai AMX compare against, say, the DJ-Tech X10 (for those users looking for a budget mixer and sound card but aren’t invested in Serato?)
i was looking hard at AMX and AFX a while ago. It was finally time to retire my workhorse SL1. Also, I had a month of tour gigs where turntables were provided, but I had to carry in my own mixer. At first the AMX seemed like the perfect portable solution until I realized that: 1. it’s not a real mixer replacement. Bus power only. No microphone input. No aux input for daisy chaining or backup. 2: After adding the cost of a mini mixer (for mic usage) and the extra $100 for the DVS expansion, I was back up to the $500 that could be spent on a new SL interface. Plus the AMX seems a bit too plastic and not road worthy especially without the custom case. I decided to just get a SL2 and keep using my current mixer and controllers. Perhaps at some point Akai will come out with a higher spec “AMX Pro”.
Great review thanks, but is it true you can use real vinyl? I read this on the Akai website “It is important to note that these inputs can not be used to send audio thru the Akai AMX as Serato does not currently support passing external audio through the software.” http://www.akaipro.com/kb/article/1698
That’s out of date, it seems. With the DVS exansion pack, it works.
Confirmed by Serato here – http://serato.com/forum/discussion/1385705#10055313
Cheers for that. It does make more sense.
I should have probably mentioned that you can also use the software FX on THRU sources with the AMX, too. It’s not beat synced, of course, but you can still get some crazy fun stuff going on.
There’s also an issue with Serato DJ itself which holds back this kind of setup too, in that with DVS hardware like SL boxes, Smart Sync is disabled. That makes platter-less playing way more of a hassle that it should be.
If the DVS plug-in is disabled in the setup screen you can still use smart sync 🙂
Hey Nick,
The paragraph isn’t perhaps clear enough, I was only talking about using the AFX with Rane interfaces (the dream!).
And DVS can’t be disabled/smart sync can’t be enabled with those.
I’ll try and find a way to rephrase that paragraph and clarify the point more.
Seems like a missed opportunity that you can’t use the AFX like an X1 with an external mixer. Then again there isn’t a cheap Serato soundcard like the Audio 2 to use with it. Would have been nice as pretty much every controller DJ I see uses some combination of an X1/soundcard/club mixer.
This is what the Traktor Kontrol Z1 should have been like! Mini Innofader + DVS Inputs!!!
Which unit would you prefer between the AFX and the Reloop Neon? and why?
I first got the Neon, but switched to AFX. Controlling effects with the pads of Neon is impossible. Knobs are doing a much better job for it.
AFX has also display showing you useful information like loop length, flips, etc. I also love the touch knobs and touch slider.
The only advantage of Neon is the better sample playback. It has leds for all the different modes, lets you switch them and has bigger pads…
Note that AFX is also coming with free backpack fx and flip voucher. 40$ value…
Interesting . .. maybe i should get these and try em out and return them before i get my Sx2 sometime in mid december … aagghghghhf
Uh… ‘using shit plus gain knobs?’ :B
Hah! Fixed that typo, thanks for noting it.