Thanks for visiting this Rane Sixty Two review. Rane and Serato have consistently been at the center of supporting the creativity of turntablism thus keeping this art alive.
Besides their many partnerships, they have now partnered to introduce the Rane Sixty-One and Rane Sixty-Two which are affiliates of Serato Scratch Live.
For more than ten years, DJs have preferred the innovative nature of Rane instruments to push forward their art. For most world class DJs, the TTM series mixers have been their best pick. This owes to the fact that the mixers integrate music software and hardware, music and performers.
The Rane Sixty-Two is a two-deck digital vinyl simulation which supports two computers on a plug and play package. It is an SP-6 sample player which has all the record and playback channels a DJ needs besides a range of software and hardware effects.
The software layout is done in such a way that it is fast and easy to access and control the Cues, Library, Loops and SP-6. For any person wishing to be a part of advancing the art of DJing, then the Rane Sixty-Two is your mixer of choice.
Both analog and Digital Vinyl Simulation (DVS) playbacks are supported by the Sixty-Two. The mixer incorporates Serato Scratch Live with a fully integrated MIDI controller for software controls.
Design
The Sixty-Two’s mixing section has such a layout that it gives you plenty of room to be playful with the faders and crossfaders without the fear of hitting an essential control accidentally. It will only take you a few sessions to grasp the layout.
The EQ section is a major let down concerning layout. Whereas the low-end EQ knobs have been given plenty of space to them, the highs, mids, and gains are tightly packed in a relatively small space which is not ideal for mixers with large sized fingers.
As is typical with all Rane equipment, the Sixty-Two maintains high quality and design standards.
Like previously mentioned, the cue buttons have a much-improved playability and response even when compared to the Rane Sixty-Eight small buttons. Those who have used the Sixty-Eight will be hoping that the cue buttons do not turn yellow as they get older.
The knobs on the Sixty-Two also maintain Rane’s standards. The buttons are a bit lighter in comparison to previous editions of the Rane mixers. To add on to this, the knobs have been fitted with a rubber grip on top which adds a new level of tactility when using the mixer.
Moreover, metal nuts have been added to the knobs to hold the stems in place securely. The metal nuts are another trademark sign of all quality mixers.
One notable improvement that could have been made would have been to keep some of the buttons and controls open/assignable. The other option would be to have another set of function buttons such as the ones on the VCI-380.
The FX Section
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One thing every turntablist who has used the Rane Sixty-Eight will note is that the effects on the Rane Sixty-Two were imported directly from the Sixty-Eight. They are well set into the flow of the mixer, way better than the 57SL.
Once again, there would have been a better improvement if these effects were open or programmable with the DJ-FX and had the capability to save DJ-FX to the mixer.
Of course, the quality of the effects is a long way in comparison to the effects on Alen and Heath or Pioneer mixers. If anything, they are not even on par with the effects that Traktor offers.
The effects of the Rane Sixty-Two are programmable to the Mic/Line inputs or either channel. This programmability is not selective, and thus you can throw your mic and an echo onto channel two simultaneously with no problem whatsoever.
The SP-6 unit control buttons on the top right or left of the mixer are programmable to a computer plugged into the mixer. Many would have preferred for the buttons to be shift buttons which could help unlock another layer for each SP-6 channel and maybe assign double the active track into the SP-6 deck.
SERATO Scratch Live
This is one of the top digital platforms with its improved features that are ideally suited for DJ’s to take advantage of digital music. The SERATO NoiseMap is a unique technology providing exceptional tracking abilities thus bringing back the real feel of a classic vinyl system.
It makes it easy to import your iTunes and playlist library by dragging from Explorer (Windows) or using Finder (Mac) into the Scratch Live Library.
You can also organize your sets and libraries using the crate and subcrate systems. These can then be browsed by album, BPM, artist or genre with the option of displaying the album artwork which makes it even easier to locate your best songs.
The position and speed of the track being played is displayed on the Virtual Deck. A circular progress bar at the edge gives a visual representation of the position within the track.
The time and remaining time are shown in minutes and seconds. The pitched BPM is displayed on the right while the turntable speed is given as a percentage of pitch shifts and displayed on the left.
Things that don’t work
Currently, the Rane Sixty-Two does not enable one to plug two USB ports onto the same laptop.
In theory, one should be able to program the second USB port to return effects from the laptop. This leads to confusion on the Serato Scratch Live since the USB soundcard is locked to the software. Rane has promised to come up with a solution to this problem. As of now, you can only work around it using two laptops.
The other thing is that only some buttons of MIDI can be programmed since some of them have locked in functionality to Serato Scratch Live. Serato has pointed out that this is an issue with software rather than hardware and we might have it fixed in the next software updates.
Recommendation
In conclusion, anyone who is looking for a reliable mixer that has a digital effects unit plays well with the latest Scratch Live features and in need of multiple USB ports, the Rane Sixty-Two has been designed specifically for that.
It may not be the most powerful mixer especially for those just getting started, but it’s one of your best choices out there.
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