This AlphaTheta DDJ-GRV6 review is brought to you by David Michael of Passionate DJ.
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Introduction
The AlphaTheta DDJ-GRV6 is a four-channel controller for rekordbox or Serato, and the rekordbox mobile app. And as of their latest releases, it’s also supported by Virtual DJ and Algoriddim Djay.
It provides that club-standard-style of layout that so many of us desire – meaning, it follows the design language of the CDJ-3000 and DJM-A9, including its placement of hot cue pads above the jog wheels.
When used with rekordbox, there’s an onboard remix function called the Groove Circuit. This allows you to replace the drum tracks on your songs with other ones.
When used with other software, particularly Serato, this function becomes Stems FX. This lets you apply effects such as Roll, Trans, Echo Out, and Delay to the separate Stems of a track – drums, bass, vocal, or melody.
Overall it has a nice aesthetic, with a nice black matte finish covering most of it. It has a spacious, ergonomic design that is mostly symmetrical.
The new Smart Rotary Selector allows for up/down and left/right tilting as well as conventional rotation and push operations. This makes it much easier to find the track you’re looking for, no matter the size of your music library.
The GRV6 is appealing to many DJs because of its broad compatibility, its familiar layout, and the set of features it brings for the price.
That said, one thing you might notice is its minimalist approach, visually speaking. I’m mainly referring to its lack of full-color LCD screens, or crispy OLED displays giving feedback under knobs.
As far as visual feedback, you get the spinning jog ring, some flashing lights, and that’s mainly it.
But keeping those things simple means that despite its feature-set, the GRV6 is able to come in at a reasonable mid-range price point of $829.
Features & Layout
The layout of the DDJ-GRV6 deck section is CDJ-3000-like, with 9 pads placed above large jog wheels.
Small pitch faders make way for large jog wheels, which are of upper-mid quality. Perhaps equivalent to something like an XDJ-1000mk2.
The mixer is DJM-A9-like, with its entire suite of FX included. Though, you don’t get all the same controls (e.g. no X-pad or EQ bands to apply FX to).
The faders (including the crossfader) feel nice, but not top-tier like a Magvel.
Using Stem Iso mode (by holding shift + any channel’s cue button), you can convert the EQs to stems controls. If you want to drop (or fade) the specific elements of your track, this will come in handy.
Stems can also be toggled using the pads, whether using rekordbox or other software.
Build quality overall is enough to instill confidence. While made of plastic, there’s nothing on the GRV6 that feels particularly cheap.
Carrying handles on the underside make for easy transport. Jog wheel size is prioritized, and certain features are omitted to make for a more spacious design.
Using the new Smart Rotary Selector, you can easily browse through a library of any size. In addition to the normal rotate and click options, it moves up/down and side/side like a joystick, helping you flip through crates and directories.
Ports & Connections
- 2x USB-C ports – power input, “device output”
- For PC/Mac, power is supplied via USB.
- For mobile devices, power must be supplied to the DDJ-GRV6 from an outlet or mobile battery.
- Android mono/stereo switch
- Balanced mic
- RCA Booth
- RCA Main + Balanced ¼” Main
Groove Circuit (rekordbox)
The unique Groove Circuit function uses dedicated buttons to replace the drum parts of a track, creating live remixes.
You can insert entirely different drum loops, effectively changing songs into different genres, creating fills, build-ups, and breakdowns.
There’s a Groove Circuit on each side, each one having an independent gain control.
They also each have what we’ve come to think of as an FX paddle, labeled “Drum Release”. We then have a “Drum Swap” and “Drum Roll” section, each with four buttons.
The “Capture” button in the middle allows you to save a drum loop from the current track you’ve loaded into the deck.
There are a handful of premade loops inside rekordbox already, and with the ability to add your own, the possibilities are endless. It’s easy to change the mood of a track by simply changing the percussion.
If you’re the kind of DJ who likes to play a well-known house song, but change it to a breakbeat, you’re gonna love this feature.
Using the Drum Roll, you can “roll” only the percussion section in a repeating loop.
Use this in combination with the Drum Release paddle to add a little sparkle to your set. This lets you use Echo, or other selectable FX (like Vinyl Brake).
See the video above for demos.
(This function is only available on rekordbox for Mac/Windows.)
Stems FX (Serato)
When using Serato DJ, Groove Circuit is replaced with Stems FX. In fact, with the included overlay, you can ensure that the controls are labeled properly for your preferred software.
Not only is this hugely functional, it helps you not feel like a second-class citizen by having the wrong labels on these buttons – and makes it feel like it truly supports both platforms.
Pro-tip: save whichever overlay you don’t use, and keep it nice. Somebody will want to buy it from you, one day.
Stems FX applies effects to the individual stems of a track (drums, bass, vocal, melody). These are classic FX like Roll, Trans, Echo Out, and Delay.
Drum Roll is replaced with Stems Roll – actually a more useful version of the same function which lets you roll individual (or multiple) stem parts.
See the video above for demos.
Complaints/Wish List
I have a couple minor ones:
- Looping is unintuitive. It’s hard to get used to a long-press to engage a 4-beat loop, and the length controls are in a different location (see video). Give me a rotary loop encoder any day!
- Why ¼” balanced instead of XLR on main out? This is a minor complaint, and technically it works fine. But be sure to keep your own cables and adapters around for this when playing out.
- Groove Circuit is “risky” – easy to engage off-beat.
My main complaint about the GRV6 is its lack of useful visual feedback.
And honestly, it wouldn’t take much. RGB backlighting on the beat pads would be hugely useful. This makes it easy to identify hot cues, easy to tell which stem you’re removing, etc.
RGB backlighting could also be used to make it more obvious whether you’re controlling the primary or secondary decks. Currently you could be forgiven for forgetting whether you’re on Deck 1 or 3.
It could also be used to help differentiate whether your CUE buttons are in CUE mode, or in Stem ISO mode.
There’s nothing particularly useful in the center of the jog wheels either, other than a spinning ring. No BPM or pitch data, no library browsing.
None of this is a huge deal individually, but having them all means there’s a non-zero chance of getting lost while DJing. At least for me. (Admittedly, I’m scatter-brained.)
This is a DJ controller in the traditional sense – it’s not meant to help keep your eyes off the laptop screen. Which is fine – not every DJ controller needs a zillion OLED screens.
But at this price point, I think RGB backlighting would be a fair (and useful) inclusion.
Wrap Up
The DDJ-GRV6 is a device that handles the main DJ tasks well: manipulating tracks with its full-size jog wheels, easily skimming a large library with that multi-function browse knob, and sounding good (all the way down to its full suite of Pioneer DJ FX).
The GRV6 is a solid all-arounder. You get a stout, four-channel, handsome controller with multi-software support and unique remixing features.
It does all the basics well, though that doesn’t mean there are places it could be improved upon. But generally speaking, it’s a joy to use.
The GRV6 is for just about any DJ who wants four-channel control, a club-style layout and doesn’t care about mixing external sources.
It’s a proper mid-range controller that mimics the functionality of the big boys. Its wide level of software support is another reason to make this easily recommendable.
For something a little more entry-level, check out the 2-channel DDJ-FLX4.
