Figure 1 shows the classic constant-power response. The new control was called a crossfader and has achieved wide use and acceptance. Knowledgeable engineers noted that if two source signals of equal RMS amplitude were statistically random and incoherent, a slight modification to the standard panning circuit would allow constant energy fading between sources. It was called the model SMP101, made about 1977, and had a crossfader that doubled as a L/R balance control or a crossfade between two inputs. The earliest example documented so far was designed by Richard Wadman, one of the founders of the British company Citronic.
It seems certain to have come out of the broadcast industry, where the term "fader" has been in use since at least the '50s (mentioned throughout the Radiotron Designer's Handbook, 4th ed., 1952) and the term "cross-fading" shows up in the Tremaine's Audio Cyclopedia in 1973. The exact origin of the first use of a crossfader in the DJ world has proven difficult to track down. "Rosie" is the first known electronic DJ mixer, circa 1965. While the requirements for a single source panning circuit were well defined, those for maintaining constant acoustic energy while fading from one source to another were not. Panning circuits were already used in recording studios to move a single source from left-to-right while maintaining constant acoustic energy. It became obvious that if a way could be found to fade from one source to another with a single control, the task would be much easier and repeatable for the less experienced. Some expertise was required to accomplish this effect accurately and consistently. They would maintain constant acoustic energy (equal loudness) in the room while carefully fading from one program source to another.
The DJ mixer crossfader was originally developed as a control for implementing smooth fades from one program source to another, but where did the idea come from? Fading between two independent sources was first accomplished by DJs using two separate controls, often rotary controls.
Evolution of the DJ Crossfader Rick Jeffs, Rane RaneNote 146, written 1999
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