In your opinion, what is the best DJ controller out there?
Hi all, I’m currently studying Music Production at degree level and require some help on an assignment
What is the best DJ controller out there? Make, model and compatibly doesn’t matter as I would like to grasp an understanding of the variety, or lack their of in DJ controller preference.
I have my own opinions, but I need primary research in order to complete my assignment. Also it would be great to get some feedback from fellow professionals.
I’m using the Pioneer XDJ RX, I chose this because I have old traditions and love operating on CDJs, this derived from my vinyl days I also believe laptops put a barrier between the DJ and crowd, this has always deterred me from using a laptop, hence the purchase of the RX which works without.
I would love to know what the DJ community has to say on this matter, I look forward to any responses.
Have you paged through threads on this board or searched controller names but failed to find any satisfactory discussion on this topic? This forum is full of opinions on almost every controller that has been released in the past ten years.
I need to provide evidence of primary research for my assignment (providing a link to this thread). I know which are the best and worst, its just for my assignment.
The “best” DJ controller is the one the DJ has practiced with long enough to integrate seamlessly into their desired workflow. Issues of cost, software support, pack space, portability, needed booth footprint, power needs, and more will all play into the preference for one controller over another.
Why not start with something easy, like what is the best genre of music.
I agree with this. For some people, all the bells and whistles and added features of the S8 make for an incredibly great controller (my old roommate for instance) but often I would play alongside him with an external mixer, an Akai MPD26 and a Serato box and could have just a good workflow as he did, but that’s because we DJed differently.
4 NXS2’s and a 2000NXS2. IMO nothing still beats the amount of functionality of the CDJs, especially with the new control interfaces. Direct link to Rekordbox, Traktor, Serato, VirtualDJ, dJay, MIXXX, Deckadance, Mixvibes, and anything else you can think of is an instant pro. USB and CD are still totally viable as backups.
I run 4 CMD PL-1’s because I like being able to see all 4 decks without toggling between two systems.
IMO beyond that, the DDJ-SZ I felt was pretty darn slick the last time I used it. Touch CDJ size jogs are fantastic, and I feel like there literally every control you could ever want is integrated decently well on that unit. No excess of shift buttons to get where you need.
I appreciate that there hasn’t really been a strong consensus for one thing over the other. Everyone has different workflows and it’s great to see people utilize so many different tools
