You get your brand new controller or mixer out of the box and when you get down to businesss and you notice that the crossfader is terribly loose and wobbles around quite easily. But why is that? There is a quick answer for this question!
Why is a crossfader usually looser than mixer faders?
Crossfaders are usually designed to move more freely than channel faders, and a light crossfader does not normally mean that your mixer or controller is faulty. The exact resistance depends on the fader design, and some mixers let you adjust it.
This is mainly because scratching requires very fast crossfader movements, so crossfaders intended for this kind of use are generally designed for low resistance to enable you to quickly cut off the sound by flicking your fingers against it during the scratch routine. The looseness of the crossfader is also proven useful with many other mixing techniques such as beat juggling, drop mashups and acapella vocal chopping.
Crossfaders are meant to move way smoother than the regular mixer faders.
The light movement of the crossfader makes it easier to perform the fast sound cuts used in scratching. Your crossfader is moving much easier than the mixer faders and that is to assure that you will be able to perform very fast movements that are essential to cut off the sound in the right way during the scratching process.
What is a crossfader curve?
Every crossfader has a so-called “curve”. It’s used for defining a behavior of the crossfader control during its full movement cycle. It does not affect the physical movement of the crossfader but rather how the music will react to that movement as you shift the fader from one channel to another.
The two basic extremes are a smooth curve and a sharp curve:
When the crossfader is set to a “slow” curve the volume changes progressively as you move the fader from one side to the other. This makes it more suitable for blending tracks during transitions.
When the crossfader is set to the “fast” setting, the incoming channel reaches full or near-full volume within a very short movement from the edge of the fader. This creates the quick on/off response commonly used for scratching.
There are more advanced crossfader curve shapes, but those two are the main ones you will most probably come in contact with on modern devices.
Depending on the device, the crossfader curve can be adjusted with a physical knob or switch, in the hardware settings, or inside your DJ software.
On some Pioneer DJ controllers featuring a mixer that also functions as a standalone device (for example the SX series) the curve control knob or switch is located in the front part of the device alongside with mixer input controls or at the top of the mixer surface. If you are using a mixer to control your software (Rekordbox, Serato, Virtual DJ and so on) you might find your crossfader curve settings also in the options menu.
The crossfader’s “curve” can be set up manually on many devices.
When you begin your DJing journey it’s important to remember that if you leave your crossfader on the fast setting and you happen to move it fully to the wrong side by accident during your mix (for example with a piece of your clothing) you might cut off your playback or involuntarily move to another track. If you are starting out and you don’t use the crossfader for scratching yet keep that in mind and try to keep it on the slow setting.
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Can a crossfader be replaced?
Whether a crossfader is user-replaceable depends entirely on the mixer or controller. Some models have removable fader plates and user-replaceable crossfaders, while others require considerably more disassembly or professional servicing.
Most of the times on devices that allow the replacement of the crossfader you will notice two visible screws on the sides of the crossfader. When you unscrew them you will be able to remove the crossfader and replace it with a new one compatible with your device. Generally it’s meant to be a part that is the easiest one to replace on your console after trivial things like control knobs or fader caps. Be sure to consult your device’s user manual and check your warranty before attempting a repair or replacement by yourself.
Should I mix and do transitions using the crossfader or the main mixer faders when I start out?
It is generally advised to start out learning how to transition between songs using the main mixer faders rather than moving from song to song using only the crossfader and channel faders set to 100%. This generally gives you more flexibility and you will find yourself doing that a lot more often later on. There are some techniques that can be done exclusively with the crossfader (beat juggling, scratching, drop mashups) but most of the standard mixes can be done with using only the mixer faders.