Why is Mixvibes Cross so neglected?

When I started DJ’ing again about 4 years ago I started with VDJ used it for a few months then bought Traktor. November 2012 I bought a Pioneer DDJ-SX so got the chance to try Serato DJ never liked it. Around the same time I bought Cross and I loved it right away, I had some problems getting the mapping I made stick so I lost all I had done several times, Stayed with Traktor until around April 2013 when I decided to give mapping the SX to Cross a new chance and have used it at every gig I’ve played since. It is way better then any of the other programs I’ve used, I’ve also tried Djay, Deckadance, Mixx and One.
The only thing I would like better are the FX, I don’t use much FX but would love to have an echo out FX.
I would say 10 out of 10 would say “Never heard of it” 😀

I own Traktor, Serato and Cross. I use them in that order and I’ll give you the pro’s each has over Cross and what edges Cross has over the others. I have played with Virtual DJ, but that was a while ago and I never found a reason to return. I do agree that it deserves more love.

Traktor has the most mapping, EQ, filter and sample options. You can choose different EQ’s and filters, map almost every function imaginable (although it takes time to learn to map, it’s very much worth it) and the remix decks are almost as versatile as the drum rack in Ableton. The effects are very good with a wide variety of them. The layout is a little hate it or love it with very detailed waveforms. If you like the basics you can alter it precisely to your liking. Native Instruments makes modular controllers with very cool features that will only work as good in Traktor, because they use HID instead of Midi for the special functions (check out the Kontrol X1 Mk2).

Serato has quite good EQ’s and filters, although you can’t choose them. The effects are also very good, although in my opinion not as original as Traktor’s. But there are effect packs available, so maybe they have something cool coming up in the future. The waveforms are very detailed and there are enough layout options to rip out or add sections to your liking. You can’t map Serato controllers, but you can add controllers next to the main Serato unit. Those will not be very properly mappable though. For instance, you won’t be able to map anything useful to the touchstrip on an X1 Mk2.

Cross has two edges over both Traktor and Serato in my opinion: the price (like you mentioned) and a link to Soundcloud. Before I decide to add a track to my collection I often listen to it via Soundcloud in Cross and try it in a mix. I LOVE this function, even though I would never use it in a live situation.
I agree that even though you can choose different EQ’s, they are a bit meh. Filters are somewhat ok, but much better on the others. For me this is almost a complete dealbreaker as I EQ and filter a lot. The effects are very limited and quite underwhelming. You can use any midi device with Cross but the mapping functions themselves leave me longing for just a few more options. The layout is good, but can do with a few more options in the way of Traktor. In Traktor you can choose what info is shown where. It’s so simple, but really handy.

Concluding, I think Cross has its place. It’s not as mature as the other two, but the potential definitely shows. Maybe this explains the difference in price as well. Remember that the other two have been going at it for much longer than Mixvibes. I’m sure future versions will make the gap considerably smaller.

I know those are the rules, Vintage. I was really under the impression I was using facts as much as possible (the whole Traktor paragraph alone was pretty much all fact) and that I said these were my reasons for choosing (=opinion). But I’ll use more ‘opinion indicators’ from now on. You can disagree with me as much as you like. In fact, I like it when I disagree with somebody, it gives us something to talk about.

I didn’t mention the parallel waveforms intentionally. I did at first, but it would’ve made the post twice as long. So I decided to just post the reasons I had for choosing. The remix decks also fall under this category, I don’t really care how many dj’s use them. I know Cross has samples, but they are not as useful for me as the remix decks, because they have 8 instead of 16 samples. Hence the Ableton reference. Ableton would be the most versatile in my book as you can use 16 at once instead of only 4 in Traktor. You can use 8 at once in Cross, but the 16 per page in Traktor trumps that for me, especially for fingerdrumming. Nothing is perfect, apart from maybe the Ableton drumrack 😉 I recently mapped my F1 to Cross, so I might have a go at fingerdrumming in Cross. Never tried that before.

I didn’t know about the age of Mixvibes, althoug I do know they were the original creators of Rekordbox. Thanks for the addition.
The preview option is somewhat simmilar to the one in Traktor, although I will concede the one in Cross is more useful.

My intention is not to claim victory for one dj software over another, but simply the reasons for me not to choose Cross as my weapon of choice. Although you thinking I did maybe means I’m quite convincing 😛
It’s good that we have a choice. It gives more power to us, the consumers.