Need help with upgrading my DJ setup. Any advice would be appreciated
New here! Very cool site.
So guys, need some advice/input on upgrading my DJ equipment.
I’m looking to get into spinning live again, and looking to upgrade my way out of date CDJ800s. I’m just wondering whether I should go Traktor or Serato, and what hardware I should look into. I’d love some help since I’m way out of the loop in live performance/DJing right now.
Some suggestions for cheap/mid/high price would also be appreciated since I’m not sure what I’m willing to drop on the gear yet.
Much appreciated!
Xdj1000?
If you like playing on your CDJ800’s and you can live without a physical CD drive, Pioneer XDJ1000 (mk1 or 2) would be a good update.
I got fed up burning CDs and went from CDJ800 to Traktor with a variety of controllers, but found having to cart a laptop around and set everything up a pain. I also missed the big CDJ jogs and pitch controls.
I’ve switched to XDJ1000 mk1’s now and am pretty happy with this setup. If I want to use Traktor I can, as they can be used as Traktor controllers, or I can just dump my tracks onto a USB stick if I want to travel light.
Note that the XDJ1000 mk2 is not and may never be supported as a Traktor controller - may not be important to you if you are happy to use them without.
The XDJ700 is a cheaper option but has smaller jogs.
The cheapest way these days would be a controller and there are lots of models out there to choose from. Choosing one that’s good for you will be all trial and error. There are plenty of threads here that compare controllers for their pros & cons.
Me personally i still use cdjs but with timecode discs and a soundcard (SL3) like in the attached photo. I personally like Serato but mainly due to being a Mac user. I also like the waveform locations making it easier to match. I’d recommend watching videos of people using Traktor & Serato to get the general idea of how both look, feel & work.