I’ve no idea where in the UK you are, but in my neck of the woods (Brighton/London) I never see any DJ in a professional environment (i.e. not at a student/bar setup) using a controller as the main interface. Some use a fader/button box or APC to control ableton, and quite a few use Traktor in advanced HID mode with CDJ’s. But nobody uses a controller.
No…
youve never layed hand to one, so how can you say at a pinch, a pinch away.
I’m in the Midlands. Maybe it’s a north/south divide thing lol. Still, I’m quite surprised that down south aren’t ahead of the scene up here :-\
Depends on if you think controllerism, or use of controllers is ahead or not 
Personally I think controllers are a good addition to the DJ booth, but not a replacement for CDJ’s. i.e. for ableton etc.
I’m in Newcastle and its extremely rare to see a DJ using a controller, 90 percent of the decent venues have some form of cdj, always at least 800s.
I wouldn’t class venues having no cdjs as ahead of the scene either lol I’d class it as tight owners, quite silly to be honest. The downfall of an all in one controller for me is the all in one bit, one spilt drink equals no equipment!
Lol. Have you ever played on real cdjs? CDJ 1000 MK3 shows BPM , yeah , but its not accurate ! He can shows you 128 BPM , but in reality the track can be between 127.9 & 128.9! Will always show 128 BPMs . Its all about the reading Algorithm 
. There is no better sync than your own ears , and in this case you have to use them to sync!
There’s something more challenging about riding a unicycle. Doesn’t mean I’m riding it to work.
Remember when we cared more about what was coming out of the speakers?
Now all I hear is “what software? What gear? blah blah.”
Meanwhile Pauly D is headlining at WMC 2013 : http://wmc.wantickets.com/Artists/993/DJ-PAULY-D/
Wake up people.
dead horse aside…i agree that cdjs, turntables etc have been the standard since the dawn of djing in some shape or form. I come from learning with vinyl 14 years ago, moving to cdjs, then to DVS…i still prefer the modular setup because its what i know the best, it also helps redundancy should anything go wrong.
I do however, have a completely irrational lack of respect for young djs who use the all in one type of controllers…i know i cant justify it, but its there…and i apologise for it lol
I’ve been to clubs in the North and South and have yet to see a controller in any professional/commercial set. Every booth I’ve seen has CDJs and the occasional set of turntables, and DJs are either using Serato or Traktor with DVS/HID or just mixing exclusively with the CDJs.
Toys like the Ergo and Typhoon can hardly be called “ahead of the scene”.
I’ve been to internet cafe’s around the world and I have yet to see an Apple Mac computer.
That must mean that Windows is better.
Huh? CDJ’s are the standard because it’s the easiest solution for the club.
Personally, The CDJ club setup sucks for me.
I have two options. #1 Bring a USB drive or #2 Burn CDR’s.
I like to bring 100+ tracks to a gig and feel the crowd.
Option #1 I have to deal with browsing 100+ tracks on a horrible tiny LCD screen.
Option #2 is like going back to 1995. Burning a folder of CD’s ? That’s “ahead of the scene”
They are easier for the DJs as well as the clubs. If you don’t want to burn discs you can use HID/DVS and bring your laptop into the booth.
HID gives you all the benefits of a computer without the hassle of bringing a whole setup with you.
Yep pretty sure DVS negates any of these issues.
If I bring my laptop then I’m bringing Traktor and I’m showing these HID/DVS momo’s how we do it in 2013.
CDJ’s feel like the past to me. The S4 feels better to mix on.
That’s why I was asking.
I used 1210’s, had a long break, and now use Traktor.
One thing I know is having a bpm counter makes it hell of a lot quicker to do your beat matching than on 1210’s, even if it’s not spot on, you’ve just then got the fine tuning to do.
You do know that HID and DVS use Traktor just as much as any controller right?
If you want to show off a controller against CDJs at least pick one that’s well made, not something entirely plastic and fragile like the S4.
The X1 buttons are much nicer to press than the ones on the S4, and Maschine has much nicer pots. Jogs are awful on the S4 and the faders are mediocre.
Plastic and fragile like the CDJ and/or any DJM Mixer?
Yes. Traktor has HID control. I am actually running out the door to spend $4000 on two CDJ-2000’s so I can do less than what I could do on the $800 S4.
I played around with the Pioneer DDJ-SX the other day. That feels like the future.
The DDJ-SX is a great example of a quality controller. The S4 however is not. It doesn’t come close to the modern high end controllers in build quality, nevermind a proper hardware mixer. Lying about CDJs and decent mixers being fragile or costing twice their actual price really doesn’t help your argument.
Pioneer gear is expensive and you’re not expected to have a full club setup at home. That’s why its called a club setup.
No need to go get the cdj2000 but why not use them if they are already in the booth at the club you play? I have and DDJ SX and use it sometimes when I play at a club but if they already have a set of CDJ2000 and DJM 900 I use them in Advanced HID I just bring my F1 and use it in midi mode to controll hotcue, loops and FX. only real diference between the club setup and my DDJ SX is better layout for using Traktor with my DDJ SX. I can do all the same things with the Club standard + F1 and laptop as I can do with only my Laptop and DDJ SX. Anyway in my country there is only one club that has CDJ + DJM installed at the club and most DJ’s are using controllers by now.
Anyway to the CDJ DJ’s looking down on controllers … I don’t realy care I get gigs and I can fill a dance floor no matter if I happen to use CDJ’s or my controller. You should not be conserned about what other DJ’s think of what you use you should be more concerned about if people are dancing to what you play.
And thats why DJs with controllers arent respected. So because I own an S4, I’m obligated to put on a show with 3+ tracks at all times? I have to over use effects just so I can justify my controller? Also, since I use Traktor, does that mean that i’m using the sync button?
I play D&B, not a genre thats prone to looping for 5 minutes straight. Most of the tunes are too busy to bother with effects, and personally, I enjoy “just mixing”. Even if that means actually letting the track play and doing a simple bass swap from one to another. Does that make me “just another kid” whos trying to DJ? Ive been doing this for a little over ten years and the amount of ignorance that people display against others who use controllers baffles me.
Im constantly bombarded with guys who say “Why arent you using the remix decks?” “Why arent you using 4 tracks?” or my favorite “You should use the effects more!”
CDJs were met with resistance but I dont remember it being this bad. Learn to deal with it.