CDJ's....What should i do?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

CDJ’s…What should i do?

I need a little help here guys. I currently have 2 cdj-400s that im running in HID mode in traktor pro 2 along a kontrol x1 and a xone 42 mixer. I have no soundcard, just running the cdjs in aggregate mode.

I absolutely love the setup but would really like the next step up in quality when it comes to the jogs. However, the cdj-850s, 900s and 2000s are all too pricey for me.

I have come across a pair of cdj-1000 mk3s gently used in road cases. I can probably pick up the pair for a little under $1000…I have no idea if this is a good deal or not… But what will be my main differences if i were to run these cdj’s in traktor scratch pro with timecodes vs. my current setup (cdj-400s in HID mode in traktor pro 2).

Any and all suggestions are welcome…thanks in advance!

2

Honestly you will probably hate using timecode, versus HID mode with traktor.

I had 400s (just sold them) and am getting 900s. The accuracy and the cueing is just spot on with 400s in HID mode. With time code its spotty and can be annoying.

I mean in terms of hardware itself. I honestly wouldn’t upgrade unless I was getting 1000 mk3 or 800 mk2. So at the very least you get mp3 capable cdjs. But I probably wouldn’t do it unless they were 1000s mk3, and even then I can’t not have thumb drive capable players, thats me though.

3

why don’t you use your cdj 400’s with timecode to see what the response is like, and what features you will miss out on using timecode vs hid

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i say get the cdj 1000’s they r great cdj’s

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i wouldn’t do it, not unless you where getting 900s. yeah the jogs on the 1000s should be alot better than the 400s but i wouldn’t say that its worth loosing HID mode.

6

depending on how good of a salesman you are and your market, you could buy the cdj’s and flip em…

price for a cdj on my local craigslist is averaging at 750 (no cases)… might have to do 2 flips to get cdj-850’s but i would definitely go hid/midi

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man honestly get the cdj 850’s u should be able to pick up a used pair on ebay or craigslist for just as cheap as the 1000’s and use them in hid mode perfectly with traktor

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This isnt a bad idea but that menas i have to go get the time codes and scratch pro…Also, I am going to have to get one of the NI Sound cards right?? Dont want to go purchase all that to find out i dont like using the time codes…

if you must know i am actually a top notch salesman (pretty much my career). Basically purchased everything in my setup used for around 35-65% off retail…
However, i see the cdj-1000s up on craigslist all the time and rarely ever see a 850,900 or 2000…

Ill look around and see what i can find…

Is this a common occurrence with the higher end cdjs?? I dont like to hear that the cues are delayed but then again i use my X1 for all my hotcues so if thats the only downside im facing that isnt really a problem…

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I find it to be delayed. I don’t think it really matters regardless of CDJ. I like tapping the cue sometimes to get into beat right before I drop, on time code it doesn’t work as well, and sometimes I miss my drop by a beat, thus screwing up my phrasing just slightly.

I ended up finding 900s on CL for $1600. I just sold my 400s for about 900 bucks, so the cost to upgrade was welll welll worth it for me.

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I thought that there were serious problems using CDJs as controllers with traktor and aggregating the sound cards (poor response or something). Surely if this was a good option it would be great to be able to use them in the club like that - although I know there is the issue of Traktor crashing when you unplug one of the CDJs used as a soundcard..

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Ya i mean if i unplug one of the cdjs then traktor will crash…but why would i unplug my cdj during a set?

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response time is fine. Its as good as using a controller like the s4.

If clubs had cdj 400 I would love to use them in that mode, thing is clubs rarely have 400s in the booth. At least from what I have seen…

As for traktor crashing I’ve never tried unplugging it while its running so I would know if that was an issue, but the only reason one would unplug is to switch out djs into other software soundcards.

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Im assuming that you are talking response time for HID mode??

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yeah. Its pretty spot on in my opinion.

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No question…kinda my worry here about switching. As much as i want a higher quality setup, the main reason i use my cdjs with traktor is to make song selection easier along with general workflow…

And like i said…all of my cueing is done with my x1 for the most part…Using time codes wont cause my x1 to have any delays in traktor scratch right??? I cant imagine that being an issue…

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I believe going from HID mode on the CDJ back to USB or CD mode crashes it .. so you’re pretty much screwed if you’re not the last person on in the club, or I guess if the next person is using DVS or a controller. When I found out about the HID capabilities of CDJs I was amazed that nobody ever just rolls up with a laptop with traktor - but it seems like this crashing issue prevents it from gaining popularity.. maybe I’m wrong. I heard something else about Traktor not supporting the high-res HID or something which creates problems with cueing or something?

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Alright so tell me what you guys think. I found a guy trying to sell a cdj-2000. When i asked why he was selling only 1, he said he has a 2nd one but the cd player was skipping a little so he was gonna hang onto it and get it fixed probably. The other one is near perfect condition and works perfect…

I offered $1900 cash total for the both. Im sure he will laugh at me but what should be my top dollar… I will prolly get try and get pioneer to replace the broken one but even still, i will most likely be using it in HID mode anyways… What should be my highest? If he accepts the $1900 i will cream in my pants…Just sayin… Let me know what you guys think.