I have had a 20 year history with DJing drifting in an out of it since my first ever set of belt driven cheapo Numark decks and mixer. I am again drifting back into it, and looking for some gear advice.

I will mainly just be DJing for personal pleasure at home, but wouldn’t necessarily rule out DJing live in the future maybe. For that reason, though it’s only a small chance, I would probably rather go the Pioneer route for familiarity should I ever get into a venue to DJ.

I am also wanting to spend as little as possible, just cos it’ll mainly be an at home hobby for myself. My thoughts are:

1. Buy something like a Pioneer DDJ-400 to use with my laptop and Rekordbox; or

2. Buy some cheaper older Pioneer gear, like a pair of Pioneer CDJ1000’s and a mixer.

Which route would you guys go down? From looking around, I can probably achieve either option for about £250-350 ish with the CDJs selling for next to nothing now in some places.

Grateful for any constructive advice and opinions (and no Rekordbox vs Serato fanboy war)!

 

optical mouse & laptop

 

cdjs fasho

 

I wouldn't buy anything older than an xdj 1000, buying a cdj that actually uses cds in this decade is insane

 

I like this wireless setup , no electricity or talent needed.

 

CDJs all the way. i wouldnt go for the old ones. The newer ones are so packed full of features, that moving to one from an older model is confusing. Pricy tho.

 

Scenario 1 - On the go
A mobile device (laptop, either mac/win, tablet, either iOS/android) and a Reloop Mixtour/Mixtour Pro.
Feels like high-quality mixer and you can even run this with solar panels.

Scenario 2 - Home alone
Use your laptop, which you still have and choose a DJ-software you like. Buy a controller that's compatible with your software or is easy to set-up and has a good haptic ... you have to feel good, while mixing!

Scenario 3 - The-I-Am-A-DJ-Guy
Buy something that has says "Pioneer" and tell everybody how the 4000 bucks were the best investment of your life, while hot-knobbing during a break-section of the playing track and looking veeery focused on what you are doing. Also works with 3-5 people per DJ-Booth. Of course you have a DJ-Booth at home ... in your bedroom.

Scenario 4 - The happy explorer/music ethusiast
Get this:

I would say "just kidding" ... but i'm serious. Ok, i made up this picture, but you are surely smart enough to read between the lines.

-cheers

 

Well.. I'm a turntable guy. Always been. But i 'm handy djing with anything really. Even at my age i do get gigs frequently and i am always checking out new gear. Now there is one thing that i never liked in djing professionally and you will find this very strange coming from me, most likely. And that is i hate using computers in dj gigs. Too much of a hassle for me. Done it too many times and i prefer having to carry 2 x100 records flight cases than laptops (one plus backup machine), audio cards etc. I have been constantly looking for a way to incorporate what the vinyl analog world and the comp based digital in one machine. And that in 2024 is summed in two machines. The Pioneer XDJ-AZ and the Denon Prime 4+. They both allow me to incorporate turntables (or cd players) as they are real mixers not just controllers and even without my trusted SL1200mkIIs, i can play anything in my digital collection without the need of a computer because they are standalone machines. The Denon can take an internal ssd, the Pioneer doesn't but it has larger jog wheels the size of CDJ3000 and they both have muliple usb ports as well as ethernet ports.
Surely these are two of the most costly choices in a crowded with cheap products market, but to me they are the pinnacle of digital djing that can include all that is "good" or classic if you like from the analog djing world. The Pioneer machine i have yet to try it out, nobody i know has one in stock yet, but the Prime 4+ i have tried out extensively and i want one badly. It is fkin awesome although its layout has a learning curve whereas the Pioneer seems just like a pair of CDJ 3000s paired with a Pioneer mixer and built in computer all in one machine. And watching vids about the Pioneer i'm also thinking i will like that as well. I just wanted to let this one out of my head really, as an all-in-one dj machine has been an item of desire for me since the first Denon all-in-one machine launched. I know you wrote as cheap as possible and all i 've written so far is about the opposite hehe.
So for your situation, i would look for second hand gear really. Supposedly, Denon gear tends to break less frequently than Pioneer gear, this from the mouth of my 20 years now repair guy. With that said, Pioneer is more popular and a market leader & the club standard. So either of these brands past controllers in 2nd hand would be just fine to resume your djing passion.
The other option would be a 2nd hand Ableton controller and join the thousands that do dj with Live. I prefer Live -for lack of a better word- in live shows rather than djing with it really.
Lastly i got to check a cheap Pioneer controller a friend of mine bought a year ago the DDJ FLX4 which costs around 350 euros and i really liked it, as for the money it costs brand new it represents very good value.
Cheers mate

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2024

What DJ gear would you recommend?

comfortable shoes, a tasteful hat and a pocketful of choice samples...

 

Cheap to buy, 2nd place at thomann: Native Instruments Traktor S2 MK3 - 288 €

 

Any post that features the words Technics SL1200 (I have the mkIII) gets an automatic 'winner' tag from me.. but I happen to agree with pretty much everything you said!

 

But the price is hot:
- Direct drive turntable system SL-1200G - RRP: €4,499.00
- Direct drive turntable SL-1200MK7 - RRP: €999.00

 

Jesus H Christ. is THAT how much they go for now???? :O

I almost fainted when I saw that. Still I suppose it was over 40 years ago when I bought mine!!

 

Man, 40 years ago already? How time flies! The Technics SL-1200 was produced from 1972 to 2010. A high quality product that DJs use. Over three million units were sold in total. The units are widely recognized as the most durable and reliable turntables ever made, and many units manufactured in the 1970s are still in use.

 

Anyone know whats differant in the Technics SL1200 versions?

I got rid of mine years ago to use my dad's old ones because they felt better, stronger motor I think?

Anyway their MK2 but when I see Spec pages for a SL-1200G, I can't hlep but wonder.

 

Here it is exactly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technics_SL-1200

 

After this post before it was rekindled recently, I actually ended up buying a Pioneer XDJ-RX3. I opted for this to use Rekordbox, be able to choose to use laptop, or be able to take the device to friends houses or any other location and then use a USB in standalone mode. I have to say, it's a solid piece of kit and I have no regrets on choosing this device and it is still a recommended choice from me for someone wanting something versatile yet premium, without spending crazy money. A much better option than the FLX10 or similar in my view. It is reliant on you being a 2 deck DJ though, which I am, so it works for me but there is that limitation.

Software-wise, as a techno head I've always felt a longing and draw for Traktor, and the v4 now looks like it's finally getting in the ball park of the competitors, albeit about 5 years later! I think the only thing I would potentially change the XDJ-RX3 for now is something like the Traktor Kontrol S8 (or whatever the newer version of this will be, if ever released) as I now mainly use fairly predictable techno tracks that rarely need much 'mixing' and falling into more of the live looping and blending tracks and components of tracks and so on to create 'new' tracks that fade in and out of each other.

 

Yep. Times have changed. I have three SL1200 mkIIs, bought in 1989 along with a Numark DM1775, remember that mixer? The first one that had a sampler onboard hahaha. Needless to say that gear earned its money hundreds of times more than its price tag. The Numark i sold, but my turntables i will not sell ever, even if hell freezes over lol. I still buy records tbh, both new and old releases. You might wanna check out what i wrote in this thread perhaps:
https://audiosex.pro/threads/vinyl-mastering-plugins.77891/

I have played with the S8 extensively. One of my best friends has it and i have used it many times on loan and at his small studio. While i like its features a lot, it is not the best built mixer/controller. The build quality is just not on par with actual pro gigging gear, it feels a bit gimmicky sometimes like if you do bang shit fast on a dj gig, you feel it might break or something hahah. I would argue the Pioneer XDJ-RX3 is much better in terms of build quality. For the S8 only the chassis is worth enough to be called pro, imho.
Cheers mates

 

When @taskforce said he bought his in 89, it got me thinking because I bought mine in 83.. I double checked and mine are mk 2's as well

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Yes I very much remember that mixer. Blimey it was built like a tank and not much smaller than one either. I had a pioneer DJM something or other.. I cant quite remember the model. It got dropped and never worked reliably enough after that.

Like you, I will NEVER part with these decks. I don't use them as much as I did though. I haven't bought any new records in years either..

I'll go take a look at that other link..

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I'm wondering that too.
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@Radio I will go take a look at that link too.. I'm ALSO curious to see how these beloved decks have changed over the years.

 

holyyyy