Midicontroller and the cdj-feel

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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1

Midicontroller and the cdj-feel

Hi all,

I’m having troubles finding my next controller or dj-set. I want to keep beatmatching by ear and with jogwheels/ platters. I don’t want to spend a whole lot on pioneer cdj’s and I haven’t got the room right now for 2 cdj’s and a mixer but offcourse I want to be “cdj-ready” for when by accident I can spin in a club or party.

It all boils down to these questions. Does it really matter that a digital controller hasn’t got the cdj-platter feel? When you’re good at beatmatching does it take a few minutes of adjusting to cdj’s when you are used to a digital controller?

2

If you can beatmatch, you can beatmatch, regardless of what equipment you use (Although beatmatching on vinyl is harder and a lot more unforgiving, the main principles are still the same)

If you want the CDJ feel though, get one of the Pioneer DDJ-SX controllers. Pretty much two CDJS and a DJM in a complete package.

3

The Pioneer DDJ-S1, DDJ-T1, and XDJ-Aero also have the CDJ layout, although not at the same quality of the SX.

If you can beatmatch by ear with a jog wheel and pitch fader you’re pretty much sorted.

4

I learned to beatmatch on a bcd3000. Not touch sensitive, not even platters, didn’t even spin. Just jogwheels. If you can beatmatch by ear, the wheels don’t matter, just something to get used to.

5

i second the DDJ-SX. awesome controller and its feels just like a djm 800 combined with 2 cdjs and a drum pad. Bought it and havent looked back since.

6

For almost £1k, I expect moving platters tbh.

7

£800 is some way off £1k. US price is closer to £700 too.

Moving platters would add a large amount of weight (think NS7) and it wouldn’t do much good as a CDJ setup replacement with them.

8

Hmmm, still… I don’t particularly like Pioneer’s controllers, they just feel really cheap and nasty. I’ve got a mate who just bought an Ergo, and he was raving about it; I took one look and I was like, “wtf…” just looks like a toy :-\ Same with the DDJ-S1 tbh. Never handled an SX in person, but it just looks like a budget NS7II.

9

Ergo is a toy for sure. I think the mediocre-ness of the S1 and T1 was the driving force behind the SX; I’ve seen one briefly and it looks solid. The CDJ equivalent to the vinyl of the NS7.

10

I’ll have to pop up to Manc at some point and have a ganders at one in the flesh then… even if I have NO intention of buying one, I like to stay up to date so I can advise others :slight_smile:

11

DDJ-SX does look impressive, I second that. I’ve handled it for a little bit at presentation event and it made me just tiny bit sadder that I got S4 a week ago :slight_smile: But I love Traktor so no grief :slight_smile:

12

the pioneer ddj-sx should cost twice what it sells for. It’s all quality, but a little cramped compared to a djm and cdj’s. To me it feels better than the NS6 with a better layout although I still prefer my VCI-400 as I am confident that will last the abuse I give it.