John Digweed, has adopted Allen & Heath’s Xone:DB4 digital FX mixer as his first choice for all tours and gigs.

A long-standing Allen & Heath user, Digweed has been using the mixer for several months, thoroughly road-testing it on his rigorous tour schedule, which spans the globe.

‘I’ve been using A&H mixers since the Xone:62 came out,’ he says. ‘As a DJ, you want to turn up at a gig and know you can rely on the equipment. The DB4 is stable, well built and has excellent, warm sound – it just delivers.’

Digweed’s current set-up comprises the Xone:DB4 and three CDJs. ‘I love the DB4’s layout, which is similar to the Xone:92 and it is well thought-out,’ he says. ‘For instance, certain knobs are backlit, which is great for a dark environment but also signals when the mixer is in different modes as the colour changes.

‘It’s a simple set-up as the DB4 has everything inside, so I don’t need to connect any other equipment. I use an SD card to play all my music through the CDJs and the DB4 is perfect for what I want to do. The input matrix is a fantastic invention, it allows you to change over quickly or add effects to the track that’s playing. I also love the delays, reverbs and distortion. EQ wise it’s fantastic; Isolator mode works for me as you can really cut things out, subtly nudge out the bass and mid to get a great effect when mixing in.

‘There is a wide choice [of effects] and they really are studio quality. I’m still not at the bottom of the list – it’s endless, giving me the scope to be creative and constantly change things in my sets.’

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