Pioneers DDJ-RB questions...

[xs2man]

Hi,
So I have been thinking for a while that I would like to get a small controller to take with me on my travels, that would allow me to put down some mixes while I'm at work, either in hotel rooms, or elsewhere. The DDJ-RB looks like it would fill that role quite well, so long as I can fit it in my carry on.

However, I have also been thinking of expanding my current home set-up a bit too, and was hoping that the RB would also fill this requirement.

So I currently have a pair of 1210's, a pair of NI F1's, and an Allen & Heath DB4 mixer. At first, I was using the 1210's with Traktor Scratch, using the DB4 soundcard as the interface. But I have been a bit lax with that, and have moved to mixing with STEMS recently, so having all the tracks sync'd. And I use the MIDI mode on my DB4 for transport controls.

Now, as far as Traktor is concerned, I'm pretty sure I could map out the RB for browsing and transport controls, and keep mixing externally with my DB4.

However, I might like to switch to Rekordbox DJ. So I guess my real question here is with RB DJ, could I use the functionality of the DDJ-RB, but with my external mixer? Would I also then be able to MIDI map my F1's to some functions within RBDJ?

And if I wanted to use RB's DVS add-on, would that be possible using the DB4's soundcard? With the DDJ-RB being employed for browsing and hotcues and the like?

I am aware that something like the XDJ-1000 or similar might be a better thing for what I really want to do with my home set-up. But I am at a loss as to how to justify £2k for players, when a £200 controller might actually just do what I'm needing.

For reference, I did have a CDJ/DJM 350 set-up a few years ago, but they felt too much like "toys". Expensive ones at that. So sold them while they were still worth something, with a view to buying CDJ900's instead. But I just can't seem to justify them. I did consider a NI X1 for my transport functions, but the DDJ-RB would be better as it has jogs and stuff, is only slightly more expensive, and comes with Rekordbox, as well as has a better workflow for my travelling requirement.

So will the RB do all I want? Or at least some / most of it (I don't really expect RB DVS to work with my set-up).

[xs2man]

No-one?

[padi_04]

Rekordbox doesn't limit (currently) which mixers you can use for DVS so in theory your DB4 should work with that and the DDJ-RB can handle the rest. You will be able to map the F1 to anything that can be mapped in RDJ with it too and/or map the DDJ-RB in Traktor if you choose that.

The only issue I see is that it sounds like you are relatively invested in STEMS and that's something Rekordbox doesn't support. Aside from that the RB will be a quite nice travel companion.

[xs2man]

I'm not that invested in STEMS, and, to be fair, most of my sets don't even include STEMS tracks. But I do grab some, and play them when I can. That was the main reason for purchasing the F1's, but they were second hand anyway, so not such a huge investment overall.

That is great news that I'll be able to use my DB4 though. It never occurred to me before that I could just set the mixer to external, so have avoided buying such controllers because I have my DB4. I fancied the XDJ Aero when it first came out, but didn't know how it might work with the DB4. I fancy the XDJ-1000's, but it's a lot of coin to drop just to switch the PC off.

I had considered the A&H K2 for on my travels, as it would be perfectly small and light, and has a soundcard for headphone jack, for cueing in headphones. And then mapping it for 2 or 4 decks with just basic transport functions and eq's and other levels. That would really be enough for on my travels.

I have since been to see the size of the RB (well, the SB2), and I'll have to swap carry-on bags, but shouldn't really be a problem, so might still be a goer...

Thanks for the confirmation though.

[padi_04]

Keep in mind your DB4 will only work with Rekordbox's DVS as long as they don't lock that functionality to specific hardware. Right now you can even use a Kontrol Z2 with Serato records in it (Rekordbox uses a ~1k signal close to Serato's).

If and when they decide to lock it then it means that you'll only be able to use Pioneer mixer/controllers with it or they'll also offer an external audio interface like NI/Rane/Denon.

[xs2man]

That's fine. To be honest, I'm not too worried about Rekordbox DVS. I can use Traktor if I want to use DVS. But I do fancy giving RB a go for other mixing duties.