A rotary market too often dominated by older, dustier audiophile DJs of yesteryear, too focused on individual components and not on the overall performance required for modern DJs, the prosperous young duo at Varia Instruments - with their own passionately unique and refreshing take on the rotary mixer - have created a handcrafted and high quality unit that becomes far greater than just the sum of its parts.
"WE STAND FOR OUR PRODUCTS WITH OUR HEARTS AND PASSION"
VARIA INSTRUMENTS
After lovingly crafting a super limited run of only ten prototypes that sold out immediately - including five star reviews from MCDE and Jeremy Underground at the Montreaux Jazz Festival among many others - combined with the cool and sumptuous laboratory visual prowess of a Delia Derbyshire-esque Radiophonic synth (or WWII submarine control panel, whichever you prefer) it felt the perfect addition to Legram’s retro-future philosophy, and is now proudly installed as the in-house mixer.
“Handcrafted in Switzerland” would automatically translate to quality, you would assume, but with so much premium competition around, you really do have to earn that mark in this corner of the industry, and the VARIA boys have done exactly that.
We asked Oscar what stood out and attracted him to this particular mixer: “Well, mixing on that beast is an absolute dream, but it actually wasn’t until I visited the guys at their workshop in Bern that the decision was made. Two of the most enthusiastic dudes in the world, Simon and Marcel gave us a tour of the Varia instruments HQ and walked us through each step of the process. From the circuit boards to the final test, the attention to detail was just next level! They said Marcel searched for weeks for the right buttons that were then tested for days for the perfect click."
This tireless strive for quality naturally ensures everything sounds, looks and feels perfect with the mixer. It has a solid build quality and sleek design based around “the technology and aesthetics of space missions.” The external casing comes from the "neighbouring village" from a company that actually manufactures housings for medical devices, the special printing of the faceplate is made in Zurich. It is a special printing technique (sub-eloxal print) where the print sits under the anodized surface. The print is protected by a glass-hard surface and you could basically spill acid (not LSD) over it and the typo won’t remove! Less cheap plasticky switches and more a feat of machine engineering. Every pot and button falls in its right place, every frequency sits perfectly with another, feeling both durable and precise in its movements. While the master isolator is quite steep and raw, the character of the channel EQs are more soft and smooth, allowing you to drastically sculpt the overall sound whilst delicately blending individual mixes between tracks. And the output is watched over closely at all times by the gorgeous analogue VU meters, making it a must have for DJs wanting that extra human touch, that extra analogue warmth, that extra smooth blend that they may not have yet found with other rotary mixers on the market, certainly putting it in the very top tier of high-end units available today.
The Varia ideal essential boils down to one thing: The quality essentials and nothing more, no fancy extras required. As such, all future showcases and events at LEGRAM VG will now be powered by the RDM40, starting this weekend when the rotary lizards themselves - 192GMBH slither behind the booth for the most anticipated event in VG history! SOLD OUT
Words by Ethan McNamara
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