You already have a setup that works. Turntables, an amp, maybe a mixer , small speakers or a big sound system !?
And you’re wondering where the Dub Mixer fits in – and above all, what it replaces.
Short answer: the Dub Mixer sits between your sources and your amplification. Your turntables, your players, your mic go in. The sound comes out to your amp or your PA. In between, you get the mixer, the filters, the effects and the siren, all in a single box.
This guide walks through the most common setups, one by one. Find yours, and you’ll know exactly what to plug in where.
The 3 questions to ask before you plug in
Before you run a single cable, ask yourself three questions. They decide everything else.
- What are your sources? Vinyl turntables, CDJs, a laptop, a smartphone, a mic.
- Where are you sending the sound? A hi-fi amp, a PA, or a crossover feeding several amps.
- What are you replacing? A preamp, a mixer, an effects unit — or nothing, if you’re starting from scratch.
On the Dub Mixer side, remember two families of inputs and two Master outputs:
- IN A and IN B: stereo phono inputs, for vinyl turntables.
- IN C and IN D: stereo line inputs, two balanced TRS jacks each (left and right), for CDJs, a laptop, a drum machine.
- AUX 1 and AUX 2: mic or line, your choice.
- Master 1 and Master 2: the outputs to your amplification.
The detail of each connector is in the article Front and back panel controls. For the outputs, keep the output modes guide handy: it explains how to wire up depending on your system.
You have turntables and an amp (home setup)
This is the simplest case. You plug your turntable into a phono input, IN A or IN B. You connect a Master output to your amp. That’s it.
What changes: the phono preamp is already inside the Dub Mixer. No need for an amp with a phono input, or a separate preamp. And on top of that, you get the filters, the delay and the siren on whatever you play — something a plain amp will never do.
It replaces your phono preamp. It adds the mixer, the effects and the filters. For a step-by-step first start, follow the quick start guide.
You have a sound system (preamp, crossover, amps, scoops)
Here, the Dub Mixer sits at the head of the chain, in place of your preamp. Your sources go in. The Master outputs go to your crossover, or straight to your amps if you don’t have one.
This is the scenario where it replaces the most gear at once. The preamp, the effects unit and the isolator all move into the same box. The kill filters (low, mid, high) cut a band in one move, like a dedicated isolator.
Depending on your system, you choose the output mode: balanced stereo to run a clean signal over long distances, mono if your speaker wall is mono, or a dedicated sub output. All the modes and their wiring are detailed in the output modes guide — the piece to read before wiring a big system.
It replaces your preamp, your effects unit and your isolator.
You already have a mixer
Two options, depending on what you want.
You replace your mixer. The Dub Mixer handles the mixing, the filters and the effects. In many setups, it takes the full place of the old mixer.
You keep it alongside. You connect the Dub Mixer to your mixer’s send/return loop (the FX Send / FX Return, or Aux Send / Aux Return jacks). Your mixer sends the sound into the Dub Mixer, which applies its effects and filters, then sends it back. You add the dub colour to a setup you don’t want to tear down.
How the effect loop works, and how to wire it properly, is explained in detail in how and why to use an effect loop (Send / Return).
You play from a laptop (Traktor, Serato, rekordbox)
The Dub Mixer has no USB audio input yet. Your laptop goes in through the analogue outputs of its soundcard, exactly like a CDJ would. From there, one thing decides the wiring: how many stereo outputs your interface has.
One stereo output: you mix in the software. The main out of your interface goes into IN C, left and right. You keep the crossfader and the EQ inside Traktor or Serato, and the Dub Mixer becomes the dub end of the chain: three band isolator, filters, internal effects, send and return for your echo box, siren, master limiter and the output crossover feeding your system. Channel 2 stays free for a turntable, a drum machine or a second player.
Two stereo outputs: external mixer mode. This is the one worth wiring. Switch your software to external mixer mode, send deck A to outputs 1 and 2, deck B to outputs 3 and 4. Outputs 1/2 go into IN C, outputs 3/4 into IN D, four cables in total. Set CH 1 on source C and CH 2 on source D. Your two decks become real channels: the scratch crossfader with its own curve and cut-in, the high pass and the filter section per channel, the kills, the pre-listen. Any four output interface does the job, and most DVS interfaces already have one.
The cables. Each line input is stereo, on two balanced TRS jacks, one for the left and one for the right. If your interface has balanced outputs in TRS or XLR, you go straight in and you keep the balanced signal all the way. If it only has RCA, a plain RCA to jack cable does it, unbalanced.
Timecode vinyl (DVS): your turntables do not go into IN A and IN B. This is the mistake to avoid. The timecode has to reach the computer, and the Dub Mixer has no output back to the computer. So the chain is: turntables into the phono inputs of your DVS interface, interface into the laptop, then the line outputs of the interface into IN C and IN D, as above. The Dub Mixer sits after your DVS interface, never inside the timecode loop. DVS itself is unlocked by your interface and your software, not by the mixer.
A controller with its own soundcard (Kontrol S, DDJ and the like) follows the same logic: master out into IN C if you mix on the controller, master and booth into IN C and IN D if you would rather let the Dub Mixer crossfader take over.
The levels. Feed it line level, never phono. Take the line outputs of the interface rather than the headphone jack, which is fine for a test and noisy for a gig. Then set it with the channel Gain while watching the meter, around 0 with the peaks under CLIP.
It replaces your club mixer or your small DJ mixer. It adds the isolator, the dub effects, the siren and the crossover to your sound system.
You play live or on the move (turntables, CDJs)
The Dub Mixer is compact, made to slip under your arm. On stage, your CDJs or your laptop go into the line inputs IN C and IN D. A mic goes into an AUX input. Your turntables, still on the phono inputs IN A and IN B.
On the output side, you send a Master output to the venue’s console or PA. Balanced stereo mode, in TRS or XLR, is made for this: a clean, balanced signal, even over a long cable to the booth.
And if you scratch, the Dub Mixer packs a crossfader with adjustable curve and cut-in, suited to turntablism. To find your way when you mix, you get a headphone output with pre-listen on each channel.
Frequently asked questions
Can you see where it fits in your setup?
Discover the Dub Mixer — designed by hand in France, built to last.
