Why do Pioneer dominate the club scene?

I was wondering why is it that most clubs have Pioneer dj gear as standard? What is it that sets them apart? Native Instruments are a giant of the music production scene and probably the best in terms of the quality of software and hardware they provide and likewise their dj gear is one of if not the best so I am a bit puzzled as to why their Traktor software and hardware aren't standard in any clubs? From what I understand you can be more creative and do more things with the Traktor gear than you can with Pioneer gear so do they not deserve to have more of their gear in clubs? The Traktor S8 is Traktor's flagship controller and yet it's realistically too big to carry around to gigs and even then there is usually not enough room for it in the booth so what is the point of buying an S8? The way Pioneer monopolise everything it seems a waste of time buying Traktor gear if your goal is to regularly play in big clubs as the all have Pioneer gear so if you wanted to use Traktor it would have to be te not so good S4 or S5 and it would just be hassle having to carry them to every gig and set them up.

They made the best CD players for quite a while so it's only natural to use it's mixer too since they'll most likely get better pricing for the bundle and it will look more uniform.

Traktor requires you to use a laptop and it's much more convenient to just show up with a USB stick and headphones to a gig, specially if you are touring.

Most headlining Pioneer kit is Traktor and Serato compatible too so you can still use your software of choice while using the venue's gear so if you were to fit a booth with something like a S8 you'd still have to keep CDJs/turntables around (no effects unless you use a computer so another cons there) but also another Serato capable rig. You can still carry a S4/S5 to a gig our if you find them too hard to fit get a pair of D2s and use the venue's mixer, most Pioneer ones have a built in audio interface so you basically get a S8 with extra effects that way and setup is just plugging 3 USB cables.

Denon is aiming at changing the paradigm with their new "controllerist friendly" players that cater better people who started with software or are simply used to all the extras it offer but don't expect a sudden major change since a ton of clubs bought NXS2 recently.

Long story short, being the standard doesn't necessarily mean the best, just what is most convenient for a larger chunk of the community. Don't forget most people are fine with doing a 2 deck and minimal effect set without all the extra bells & whistles, nothing wrong with that either.

It's worth noting that Pioneer also beat the competition to the punch by providing their gear to key clubs and DJs from very early on.

In a word 'Quality'

The DJM 500 set the scene a long time ago, then the DJM series .... the rest is history. I have seen DJM 500s covered in beer back in the days when smoking at da club was cool................

Djs riding the faders and pots.... everything still working like a gem.

I don't think taking a laptop to a club is an issue as these days many djs take laptops with them when they are travelling so that they can produce music in the airport or hotel.

Although you can use the Traktor software via the Pioneer CDJs, the problem with that is you don't have the same level of control over all of Traktor's features like you would with the S8. For clubs that just play trance, techno and house, the booths could just have the Traktor Kontrol S8 only without the need for anything else. Some clubs that play other music where a large platter is needed then yes the pioneers would be best. I think the best solution would be to have the S8 as the standard and then there should be a new product made which is essentially just a quality large platter which can be plugged into the S8. The platter wouldn't have any other features on it so it could be a lot smaller and more portable than current cdj's.

For the time being if you want to be as creative as possible then like you said the best solution is to carry two Kontrol D2's and a laptop to gigs.

So here's some issues with your proposed setup of "S8 only":

1. There's exactly one USB input on the S8, so if you have any sort of switch between DJs, which will very likely necessitate the switch of laptops, you're going to have a lull in the room which is not really something you want to happen.

2. There's no real backup policy. What if a laptop crashes? You're kind of screwed right? With CDJs, if your laptop crashed while using the CDJs as HID controllers, you can use USBs. Even CDJ2000s can us CDs still, so there's another level of backup added on.

3. This assumes everyone uses Traktor, knows how, and understands the workflow of an S8. Granted you could make the same argument of Rekordbox and what not, but even CDJs allow you to just go for it and reject using a software if you wish.

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Originally Posted by overcast

So here's some issues with your proposed setup of "S8 only":

1. There's exactly one USB input on the S8, so if you have any sort of switch between DJs, which will very likely necessitate the switch of laptops, you're going to have a lull in the room which is not really something you want to happen.

2. There's no real backup policy. What if a laptop crashes? You're kind of screwed right? With CDJs, if your laptop crashed while using the CDJs as HID controllers, you can use USBs. Even CDJ2000s can us CDs still, so there's another level of backup added on.

3. This assumes everyone uses Traktor, knows how, and understands the workflow of an S8. Granted you could make the same argument of Rekordbox and what not, but even CDJs allow you to just go for it and reject using a software if you wish.

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I believe the S8 can run as a mixer without a laptop. Not 100% sure though.

Actually it's really easy to switch laptops with no lull in music. For example you can have your smart phone plugged into the S8 and the smart phone has Traktor installed on it. You can play a track from via your phone whilst switching laptops. Check out videos on youtube about this. This would also solve the problem of the laptop crashing. Yes happydan you can use the S8 as a mixer only.

i dont like traktor nor do i like the NI mixers very much. and if you think im going from serato to rekordbox and now to traktor youre TERRIBLY mistaken...

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Originally Posted by happydan

I believe the S8 can run as a mixer without a laptop. Not 100% sure though.

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Yeah shout out to that. I totally blanked on that asset of it because I am a dumb boy.

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Originally Posted by AdamBS

Actually it's really easy to switch laptops with no lull in music. For example you can have your smart phone plugged into the S8 and the smart phone has Traktor installed on it. You can play a track from via your phone whilst switching laptops. Check out videos on youtube about this. This would also solve the problem of the laptop crashing. Yes happydan you can use the S8 as a mixer only.

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Sure but it wouldn't quite nearly be as seamless as even having CDJs plugged into the S8. And I know I'm just being nitpicky at schematics here, but I just can't see why an S8 would be the way to go over a mixer plus CDJs or turntables.