While the portablist world was defined by a steady stream of wired faders in little boxes, the Mixfader came along and banished the wires in preference to hooking up with mobile devices to deliver wireless fader performance. But in a strange retrogressive move, the new Mixfader ProLink essentially returns wires to the wireless fader. Trust me — it makes sense.
This will help you make sense of this seemingly backward step:
MWM announces the release of its new Mixfader add-on: Mixfader ProLink, the latest portable scratching innovation to offer a level of scratching performance never reached before.
MWM offers fresh possibilities to Mixfader with its new product: ProLink, available for pre-order from November 6th, on shop.themixfader.com.
Thursday, November 2, 2017 — MWM, the world’s number 8 mobile music app publisher and creator of Mixfader – the first connected portable crossfader – continues to innovate in the scratching field, announcing today, the official release of Mixfader ProLink.
ProLink: a unique way to scratch with Mixfader.
With Mixfader, MWM made the wager to create the first wireless connected crossfader. Two years after its first release, Mixfader has found its place in the scratching world, and has helped democratize the practice. Today, with ProLink, MWM offers a new scratching solution for portablists, more effective than ever.Mixfader ProLink possesses two analog inputs to which you can connect two audio sources (turntables, smartphones…) and a headphones output. The product allows to connect Mixfader to one or two analog turntables, without having to use a mobile app. It works as an independent sound card, plugged to the turntable’s analog connectors and communicating with Mixfader thanks to a unique wireless technology. This way, ProLink offers an easy-to-use setup, totally optimized for performance.
An innovative technology built for scratching performance.
Mixfader ProLink is also made up of a first-of-a-kind software technology, developed in order to enhance scratching performances with Mixfader. This technology lets ProLink process the information sent by Mixfader faster than any smartphone or tablet. The main technical stake has been to focus on optimizing the crossfader movements. The outcome is an ultra precise cut-in point, sharpest cuts and a lossless audio output quality worthy of high-end mixing tables. Using Mixfader with Mixfader ProLink breaks the latest portablism boundaries letting DJs enjoy the freedom of a wireless connection while achieving, more technical scratching performances than ever, thanks to the ProLink technological abilities.This new technology strengthens MWM expertise in the wireless and audio processing fields, and has already received the support of several renowned artists, such as the 4 times DMC World Champion, DJ Netik – or the turntablism legend, DJ Excess:
DJ Excess
“Prolink definitely changes the way you scratch on portable turntables. It feels like I’m scratching on a regular mixer !“
Jean-Baptiste Hironde, MWM cofounder and CEO
“With Mixfader ProLink we pursued our will to improve the sensations of Mixfader scratching performances. The unique technology we developed, grants a level of accuracy worthy of the best turntables’ crossfaders, with a setup that is way simpler!”
Prices and availability:
Mixfader ProLink will be available on November 6th 2017 for pre-order on the official Mixfader website, and will be officially listed for sale in limited edition from November 20th.
Pre-order
ProLink: $39
Bundle: Mixfader + ProLink: $129
Key Features:
Tech Specs
Controls and connection
- 2 audio inputs
- 1 audio output
- 1 on/off button
- 1 adhesive band on the bottom surface of the ProLink for better stability
- 1 micro-USB port for charging the ProLink
Power and Battery
- 20 hours autonomy
- 1 hour charging
- Lithium-ion battery
Make sense now?
It absolutely does to me. I’ve had a Mixfader for ages, but never really had a great deal of success with it. It had to connect to an app on my iPhone that would routinely decide not to bother. Or it would connect one app but not another, and I basically lost interest in fighting with it. Others have clearly had better success though.
But this approach with the ProLink is considerably more interesting and almost certainly more reliable. Instead of depending on an app, the Mixfader connects directly to the ProLink, which pretty much acts as a hub between your turntable, music playing device, and output. You could have a pair of PT01-Scratches bridged by the ProLink and a single Mixfader. And this optimised routing means improved latency which means better performance.
This doesn’t effect the placement of the Mixfader as being wireless means completely standalone. As long as the ProLink is plugged into your other devices then you’re all good. I know it’s adding cables back into the mix, but it just feels like a better solution than going wirelessly through a phone.
We’ve got our name down on one of the first production units and will gleefully report back on performance with the Mixfader and our PT01-Scratch. And you’ll be able to find out more and preorder the Mixfader Prolink for $39.99 from 6th November right here.
GALLERY
