Hi, Matt here from South Wales UK.
Just got myself a nice new shiny denon7000 at a lovely discounted price at last weeks BPM show in Birmingham.
First thing that struck me is that there is no dust cover on the cross fader.
Dust covers on the Chanel sliders but not on the cross fader. So I have a big 3-4mm gap in my system just waiting to gobble up dust and disco smoke and any other foreign objects that could get in this big gap.
Is this normal or is my new toy missing something from the manufacturer.
Last I checked this is true for many cross faders, due to their different operational specifications.
As they are used primarily (not exclusively though) for scratching, where any kind of resistance (like that which the “dust protection brushes” in channel faders you mentioned, whether fiber or rubber, would bring) is considered to be a bad thing which will prevent the cross fader from moving as freely as possible.
On a number of controllers (not sure about the 7000) the cross fader is user replaceable, so you could easily get a new one once yours is gone, or find one perhaps that DOES have dust protection.
Again, just my two cents as usual. I could be wrong
Most (cross)faders with better specs are not subjected to dust because of the way they’re build.
Furthermore, VCA does not transport sound through the fader anyway, only a voltage to control the amplification (VCA…).
These kind of faders mostly are vertically oriented, whereas a cheaper fader has an horizontal print-board.
This way the contact strip, where the voltage goes through it, will not collect dust and are also less subjected to stress and wear.
See for an example: http://www.skratchworx.com/reviews/proxfade.php
