does it matter what CDJ's
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  1. #1
    Tech Wizard Towner's Avatar
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    Default does it matter what CDJ's

    Normally i would search but CDJ is too short a phrase

    gonna try to make this into a simple question

    I've been doing mobile stuff and using my own gear but want to quit that and get into the clubs

    Issue: I have never used a cdj before, always tt's or X1
    Im just going to grab a used pair

    but dont think I need anything expensive

    If im using traktor timecoded cd's and the x1
    Do I need really need a 800,850,900, 1000 etc?
    or should i just find the cheapest/best deal out there

    I would assume the older models work basically the same.
    MPB - TP - TS Pro 2 - Audio 6 - Technics 1200mk2 - Xone 22 - xone53 - Kontrol X1 - Axiom 49 - M-audio C400

  2. #2
    Tech Guru Cook's Avatar
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    Different quality of jogwheels, more/less features.

    Good jogwheels, 1000/2000
    Decent jogs, 400, 800mk2, 850, 900
    SHIT JOGS! 200, 350

    (all in my experience)
    DJM800 | 2xCDJ2000 | RMX1000 | Adidas HD25's
    2011 MBP | Traktor 2.6 | Kontrol S4 | Scratch Live | SL2
    Mac Pro | Ableton | Access Virus C | Maschine
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  3. #3
    Tech Wizard Towner's Avatar
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    perfect answer.
    thanks
    MPB - TP - TS Pro 2 - Audio 6 - Technics 1200mk2 - Xone 22 - xone53 - Kontrol X1 - Axiom 49 - M-audio C400

  4. #4
    Tech Guru dope's Avatar
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    I'm in the same situation, switched to timecode and will change CDJs soon (got the 350 atm)
    I'm planning on buying the 850 (the new freshly released black model 850-k). I don't need all the 900/2000 features and screen cause i got an X1 just like you. I'll just go for 850 cause they have the same jog, and same size/ergonomy as the one i might find in clubs. That's all.

    Any CDJ would work, but even with the 850 and the auto loop section that you won't use as CDJ is reading the timecode cd's bpm, remember that if you don't use the features on a regular basis, you still got the ability to, and that's a plus if you or someone else needs it one day, or if you want to sell it later

    TL;DR : 850 or 850-k seems a good pick imo.

  5. #5
    Tech Guru Cook's Avatar
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    850 has the same jog as the 800 AFAIK,
    Its a good jog but feels a lot hollower compared to the 1k/2k.

    Excellent players though.
    DJM800 | 2xCDJ2000 | RMX1000 | Adidas HD25's
    2011 MBP | Traktor 2.6 | Kontrol S4 | Scratch Live | SL2
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  6. #6
    Tech Guru dope's Avatar
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    Is the jogwheel feel worth $1k ?
    Btw Hoodless there is a mistake in you signature : My "Steup thread"

  7. #7
    Tech Guru mostapha's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dope View Post
    Is the jogwheel feel worth $1k ?
    Only you can decide that.

    I've spun on a lot of gear…controllers, turntables, every major CDJ Pioneer has made, etc.. I think the only CDJs worth buying are the CDJ-2000, and because I can't afford them, I just don't own CDJs.

    The 850 looks impressive, but it only feels marginally better than the $300 Stantons. I don't think the price difference there is worth it compared to just using X1s.

  8. #8
    Tech Guru kooper1980's Avatar
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    IF i was going to buy cdj's i'd buy 400's or 850's so I could use them in HID mode as opposed to using them with timecoded cd's. If you are buying them just to practice on I'd go 400's because anything you use in a club will ultimately be better but they all do pretty much the same thing so will do for home use.
    MacBook Pro, HD25's, Midi-Fighter Classic, Pioneer DDJ-RX , Rekordbox

  9. #9
    Tech Guru dope's Avatar
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    Well, I was using MIDI (no HID on the 350) but I switched to timecode for the mobility and comfort it provides.


    Why I didn't feel comfortable with MIDI/HID :

    - You have to assign a player to a channel in Traktor in the CDJs menu, ok that's no big deal but in a rush if you forget that you are screwed.

    - I've always been afraid of sudden non-recognition for whatever reason or mapping issues.

    - You have to create an "agregated device" (not sure that's the good translation) with the internal soundcards of all CDJs.

    - The switch between CD mode and HID mode has to be done on all players before being able to play tracks from Traktor, because (on Mac OS X) it has to be done before you check/assign the outputs on Traktor settings.

    - If the place you are playing at has CDJ 1000, you're screwed

    - Massive amount of cables (HUB, HUB power supply, USB for HUB, USB for each player..)
    Ok with timecode you'll say there is a massive amount of cables too, but well if you are correctly prepared with rubber tape etc (for further information about how to setup really fast : http://www.djtechtools.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41161)

    - Last but not least, many of the previous reasons lead to that last one : You can't do a smooth transition between several DJ (CDs -> HID is longer than HID -> CDs)


    I guess i pretty much summed up all the reason why timecode is still a very viable option. Especially for DJ playing at clubs and likely to move often. But gotta agree, for pure bedroom djing, MIDI/HID is awesome.


    Back on topic, are the CDJ 850 that bad ? I really want to have a "standard size" player with a bigger jog, but I don't want to pay that much for 900s or 2000s if I won't use a half of the features as a timecode user.
    Seriously, 3 hotcues ? My X1 gives me 8. Auto loop ? Same, and Traktor's auto loop are even better.

    What's the reason that led you to the 2k for timecode Hoodless ? No criticism, i just wonder
    Or you got a pretty big income, or there is ONE reason that i forgot, and that might apply to me and lead me to 2k too.

    PS : sorry for mega post, once i start writing i just can't stop myself
    Last edited by dope; 12-01-2011 at 05:33 PM.

  10. #10
    Tech Guru mostapha's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dope View Post
    <good points>
    Those are good points. I see where you're coming from, and I kind of agree with you.

    Quote Originally Posted by dope View Post
    Back on topic, are the CDJ 850 that bad ? I really want to have a "standard size" player with a bigger jog, but I don't want to pay that much for 900s or 2000s if I won't use a half of the features as a timecode user.
    Seriously, 3 hotcues ? My X1 gives me 8. Auto loop ? Same, and Traktor's auto loop are even better.
    Agreed. On all the points. Is the 850 that bad? If you're using Traktor and an X1 for hot cues and loops and ignoring most (not half, most) of the features…that CDJ-850 is essentially $800 for a platter and a pitch fader. And you kind of need 2 of them. Even the response on the play button isn't quite good enough to use (unless they've gotten a lot better than when I was using SSL…with like a 2ms buffer. So you're not even using that.

    I think $800 is way too much to pay for a platter and a pitch fader. And CDJs just aren't as good at scratching as vinyl (with or without a DVS).

    IMHO, it's not worth using both…not by a long shot. And the cheaper the CDJs get, the crappier the jog and pitch fader feel until you get to the point where something like that Stanton C.324 costs about $100 more than a DN-S2000, still has fewer capabilities, doesn't feel any better (even if the jog's a lot bigger), is heavier, is more likely to break, and complicates the setup drastically.

    I'm honestly surprised that things like the SCS.1d haven't caught on. Maybe the thing was just too expensive for its own good. It's certainly ugly as sin. But if I really wanted a platter and a pitch fader, that's probably what I'd go with as long as it worked.

    Quote Originally Posted by dope View Post
    What's the reason that led you to the 2k for timecode Hoodless ? No criticism, i just wonder
    Or you got a pretty big income, or there is ONE reason that i forgot, and that might apply to me and lead me to 2k too.
    I'm not sure about time code, but the reason to use CDJ-2000s is that they feel really good and can do the vast majority of what actually matters to most DJs. Most people barely use hot cues…very few actually use 8 in a way that matters. With Rekordbox, you can store 3 hot cues or loops, plus one more not-hot cue for your original start point. The loop buttons do work, and they're quantized if you use RB. The platter feels pretty darn good considering that it's not 12", not vinyl, and doesn't spin. Pitch bending feels really natural. And the pitch fader is huge.

    Plus they don't break.

    And they can read USB sticks or hard drives.

    They're not worth $1800 each to me…not by a long shot. But they're the only CDJs that make sense, because they're the only ones that don't feel like toys to my hands.

    I don't get it for time code at all, but I don't understand any CDJs for time code. If you're sacrificing the feel of vinyl, it all seems way to complex and too expensive to not just use the CDJs by themselves.

    If I could justify the expense of CDJ-2000s, I'd immediately drop Traktor. At that point, Traktor just becomes marginally easier track browsing with a better display and the possibility of a sync button…at the cost of a lot of cables, an expensive and fragile laptop, increased latency, and more of a chance of something going wrong.

    If I could afford CDJs, I'd probably drop Maschine too. As much as I enjoy it, I'd drop it in favor of a hardware groove box with finer control over pitch, since it looks like Maschine can only control to the whole number of BPMs, and it's really fiddly to get it to actually stop where it's supposed to at that.

    Quote Originally Posted by dope View Post
    PS : sorry for mega post, once i start writing i just can't stop myself
    I do that a lot.

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