OVERVIEW
After preliminary testing, it appears that Rane has released another inventive, extremely high quality mixer on to the market. Innovations abound and they've finally fixed some of the problems which other high-end mixers have had. Firstly, the 56 adds a powerful mid-eq (the primary advantage the 07 used to have over the 54) Fader wise, the 56 uses non-contact magnetic faders for both crossfader and both upfaders, which they claim are impervious to dust, moisture, smoke, temperature and aging. Since it has no contacts, the performance should unaffected by use, meaning it shouldn't bleed or crackle'ever. Like all new faders that have come out in recent years, the feel is different and will take some getting used to, but the sharpness and precision of the faders did make our skratches sound cleaner. Recommended.

4/7/02: Since testing this mixer out for the last month, we have switched over our store and office mixer to this model. In our opinion, the best skratch mixer currently available. Vestax users will need to get used to the feel, but it will eventually win them over. The crossfader feel and curve is the best we've encountered and the sound is heads above the other 2 channel mixers. The best choice.

- our highest recommendation for a professional 2 channel mixer for hip hop, scratch & mix djs
- new non-contact magnetic faders
- 3 band accelerated slope EQs
- post fader effects loop with wet/dry pan
- session mic with volume control
- hamster switch , stereo/pan select, and contour adjust for channel fader
- separate curve adjustment for left and right inputs on crossfader

• manufacturer's website

reviewed by the mgmnt