Hello and welcome, today we will be reviewing Numark’s Mix Track Platinum.
The mix track platinum is an upgrade from its predecessor the Mix Track 3, in this review we will be taking a look at all the features and upgrades on the Platinum in more detail.
The most notable upgrade from the mix track 3 is the extremely useful LCD displays in the centre of the jog wheels displaying some vital information.
The device comes bundled with excellent Serato software, although we would have liked to see the device come with the full version, the lite version is more than capable until you upgrade.
This is a great DJ controller for the beginner, offering excellent features and functions throughout, the device oozes quality and is a standout controller within this price point.
Lets Dive In
Table of Contents
Everything You Need To Know About The Numark Mix Track Platinum
PROS
- Long, Smooth, Precise Pitch Faders
- Good Value For Money
- Responsive, Touch Capacitive Jog Wheels With LCD Display
- Build Quality Is Good
- Spacious Design
CONS
- Only Comes Bundled With Serato Lite Software
- No AUX Which Means No External Hardware Can be Connected
- Performance Features Are Hard To Use & Navigate
Design & Build Quality
Like many low-cost controllers, the Mix Track Platinum is an all-plastic built controller, with a lightweight feel the device is easily transportable making it perfect for the mobile DJ. Although it is plastic, all the controls, buttons and knobs feel solid in use.
The layout of the Numark Mix Track Platinum is intuitive, it’s spacious and user friendly although sacrifices have been made on certain components.
The performance pads are slightly small, as well as the volume faders, this is not a deal-breaker by any means at all but it is worth noting if you are heavy into your FX and pad functions.
Numark certainly hasn’t sacrificed the pitch faders, granted they have relocated them to a slightly higher place than usual which can be slightly awkward at first. In use, they feel great to use and are perfect for beatmatching with them being long, precise and weighted perfectly.
Deck Section
LCD Display
Located directly in the centre of the jog wheels are 2 x 1.75″ LCD displays. You can find track information which includes; the bpm, time remaining and time elapsed. Having this information at the glance of an eye is invaluable to a DJ.
For More Check Out A Mix Track Tutorial Here
Jog Wheels
Numark sport 2 x low profile metal platters with Numark’s exclusive touch capacitive technology with dual-zone, giving you the ability to scratch or stop a track simply by touching the top of the platter whilst simultaneously allowing you to adjust the pitch by adjusting the platter from the side.
In use the jog wheels are highly responsive, feeling solid and professional in the mix.
Pitch Faders & Control Knobs
Although located in a slightly unusual position, the pitch faders on the Numark Mix Track Platinum are solid. They are long, precise, smooth and well-weighted.
Beatmatching by ear is a fundamental part of DJing and having long pitch faders like these make a huge difference to learning and mastering this art so it’s great to see brands like Numark including them on a range of their DJ controllers
A fundamental to DJing is the art of beatmatching by ear without the assistance of screens or sync buttons. Having faders like these make a huge difference in learning and achieving this.
Above the pitch fader is a pitch bend button which is used for temporary adjustments speed adjustments.
To the right of the jog wheel is a deck select button which toggles control between decks 1,2,3 and 4.
Below the deck select button is a shift button, which like a computer activates secondary actions i.e a second FX deck.
Below the shift button is a sync button, this is used to automatically match the tracks BPMs via the software.
Below the sync button is a cue button, used for setting temporary cue points.
Below the jog wheels is a wheel button for toggling between scratch (vinyl) and bend (CD) modes.
A pad mode which selects the modes for the 8 performance pads located below.
Performance Pads
8 performance pads are located at the bottom of the decks, the pads are used to perform functions such as; hot cues, auto loops, manual loops and samples.
Looping and sampling is a great way to add creativity into your mix, the pads give you full customisation over your loops, by setting start and endpoints in beats bars or measures and the same with assigning samples to pads i.e kicks or hi-hats. This is a really cool feature for a controller at this price point.
FX
Located at the top of the deck section are the FX buttons that are used to apply effects in the mix, a touch strip is also available which adjust parameters of the selected effects.
The Mixer
On to the mixer section, the mixer on the Numark Mix Track is pretty basic with only 2 channels, the device has 4 deck capability via the software, which is a cool feature but can be confusing to use. In use though, the mixer is as solid as any at this price point and is perfect for the beginner DJ.
Each channel has its own dedicated 3 band EQ with dedicated gain and filter knobs, this gives you full control over the Low, Mid, and High EQ on each channel.
Located centrally are 4 control knobs and a VU meter;
- At the top is the knob used to browse through folders and tracks
- Master gain below to manage the level of the master output
- Cue mix below which sends the signal from the master output to the headphones
- Cue gain located below adjust the level of the master output
- LED VU Meters indicate the volume levels of the left and right decks
Below is the crossfader, it will certainly do the job for a beginner DJ but if you’re a scratch DJ it may take its toll eventually. For the scratch DJs out there, the Pioneer SB3 is a great option, featuring a pad scratch feature by none other than Jazzy Jeff.
Related Read: For anyone looking to know what the difference between an external mixer and a DJ controller is, check out our article here.
Software & Connectivity
Software
The Numark Mix Track comes bundled with Serato Lite software, which is great software in itself, unfortunately, it’s not the full version so naturally the lite version lacks in a lot of features and capabilities the full version has including the ability to record your mixes and listen to them back, which can be vital to improving as a DJ.
Serato software is held in extremely high regard in the DJing world and is known as one of the best DJ software’s available, we really recommend upgrading straight away to the full version of Serato, it is possible to upgrade at any time but we feel the extra features and capabilities will be beneficial to any DJ, especially a beginner DJ.
Numark has included a really cool package which includes 6 samples packs with 380 premium instrumental loops, drum kits, one-shots and more which has a value of $200.
Connectivity
The Mix Track is certainly losing the race when it comes to connectivity and really doesn’t offer much, even though this is an entry-level controller, we thought Numark could have offered a little bit more in this department.
OUTPUTS; 1 x Master Outputs (RCA) | 2 x Headphone Monitor (1/4″ 1/8″)
INPUTS; 1 x Microphone Input
Final Thoughts
- Long, well-weighted Pitch Faders
- Excellent build quality, light, and durable – Perfect for the mobile DJ.
- Two Crisp, LCD Displays In The Centre Of The Jog Wheels
- Responsive Touch-Capacitive Jog Wheels.
Overall the Mix Track Platinum is a solid and well-built DJ controller with some excellent features making it a great low-cost DJ controller under $500.
The 2 x responsive jog wheels on each deck with beautiful LCD displays in the centre are standout components on the device.
The long and precise pitch faders are rare to find on entry-level controllers and are usually found more often on more high-end and professional models. Faders are vital to beatmatching and mastering the art of mixing so this is a BIG plus from us.
Related Read: For more top-rated controllers click here!
We Thank You For Reading & Hoped To Have Helped.