A good while ago, I had some deep insight into the birth of new Italian DJ brand Mixars directly from Alessio Foti, and got an inside look into the roadmap of their first products. Imagine the conversation staring something like this

Alessio: Hello Marco my friend! Please here is our UNO and DUO mixers!

I paraphrase for comedy effect, but those who know him can hear his voice when I type this. Now, I have a smattering of Italian, and my sequential product naming brain immediately responded with this:

Me: So what about the Quattro? We both know that’s happening right?

And although it took a full 18 months to be realised, it’s now here. And this four channel Serato DJ DVS ready QUATTRO mixer is essentially a pair of DUOs glued together. And we think it’s a beauty.

Their words, then mine:

MIXARS is pleased to announce QUATTRO, a Professional 4-channel mixer for a forthcoming release of SERATO DJ with dual USB audio connection, 16 RGB control pads and effect control section. Utilizing RCF Group’s experience in designing and engineering top-notch components, MIXARS launch the QUATTRO, a full-feature mixer made to conquer the club scene with superior audio quality completely integrated with the world-renowned software, SERATO DJ. The QUATTRO achieves the best layout, control, and reliability thanks to its 16 RGB pads, four effects (Filter, Noise, Gate, Crush) for each channel, FX section with 14 additional effects, send/return, and dedicated sampler volume. The 16 RGB backlit LEDs give a visual feedback and reflect cue points pre-set in SERATO DJ and allow instant triggering for Hot Cues or Sampler. The QUATTRO features the best high-quality audio output, ensuring superb sound quality in a club, in a small venue or at home. The dual USB ports lets hook up two laptops for easy changeover. The QUATTRO with SERATO DJ has an intuitive layout, providing the advanced features DJs require such as browsing the library, loading tracks, control sync, create and modify auto loops, and much more. The QUATTRO simultaneously supports control-signal and playback for four DVS decks in SERATO DJ The QUATTRO’s FX section controls provide 14 additional high-quality effects designed in Italy from experience of the MIXARS R&D Team. “The MIXARS QUATTRO represents the missing link inside the market of professional 4 channel mixer.” -Tobias Noetzel (Mixars Brand Coordinator) Key Features: 4-Channel Digital Mixer for SERATO DJ

16 RGB PADS with Hot Cue and Sampler control

Dual USB audio connections

2 Microphone Inputs

Dedicated 4 high-quality effects for each channel with a single knob

Completely MIDI mappable

Microphone Input

Trim Output master volume

24-bit digital output

Rugged metal construction

Auto loop encoder

Sampler switch

Dedicated Sampler Volume

Effects send/return U.S. retail pricing for the Quattro is $1499.00 Availability is Spring 2017 with a forthcoming release for Serato DJ.

What is the QUATTRO?

This is Mixars’ take on what turning a DUO into a four channel mixer is. It’s also what I suspect people wanted a Traktor Z4 to look like too.

This is ticking a lot of the right boxes for us. Firstly it’s a plug and play 4 channel Serato DJ with DVS mixer, occupying a gap left vacant when Rane moved to the inMusic brand ship, but seems to do it in a more simplified way. And borrowing from Pioneer DJMs (and its controller sibling PRIMO), it has hardware effects, something that the DUO doesn’t have. You can also select Serato effects and apply them to different channels and the master too.

The obvious USP here is the 4 x 2 banks of buttons that can be used to trigger hot cues and the sampler via a button (something I wish the DUO had) and includes a separate sampler volume fader too, as well as library and loop controls. Basically, they’ve tried to put the Serato DJ essentials right into the mixer, thus reducing the reliance on external controllers. And the fact that this is fully MIDI mappable makes it attractive for a wider group of DJs than just Serato DJ DVS users.

As a four channel mixer, the fader controls are less complete than the DUO, but still comes with fader curve switches, and a fader reverse switch, although this could have been left off because of the channel routing switches. The faders are standard Alphas, but are upgradeable with the new Mixars Kallisto and Galileo Pro faders, and by definition at least the Mini Innofader too.

It’s also nice to see a send/return loop, even if it has no wet/dry controls.

Summing Up

So the DUO gets a bigger more capable sibling that plugs and plays with Serato DVS out of the box, and does it for $1499. It’s not going head to head with the like of A&H, Pioneer DJ, or Denon DJ, but brings its own flavour of DJing to the turntable. Serato are usually mindful to ensure that there’s not a lot of crossover between brands, so it’s unlikely that you see another Serato DJ mixer that exactly fits the profile of the QUATTRO. So if it ticks your boxes, it’s probably a good idea to start saving.

Finishing off, bar Jared chucking a mental about USB positioning, we at Team DJWORX are all remarkably pleased (we’re a cynically tough crowd these days) with the QUATTRO. This could be an interesting NAMM after all, and more interesting 2017 too.

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