Recloose: CDJs with Serato DJ

Recloose brings Detroit back to Auckland with this short Serato DJ demo showing how easy and powerful it is to connect CDJs to your laptop directly via USB rather than use Control CDs. Watch the video and read how you can set this up.

How to control Serato DJ with CDJs (using HID mode)

Before you start, make sure you have the latest version of Serato DJ installed on your laptop. The CDJ-2000, CDJ-2000nexus &  CDJ-850 are only supported in conjunction with supported Serato DJ devices and not stand-alone. You will also need to update the firmware of your CDJ which you can find here.

Supported Pioneer CDJs are class compliant USB plug-and-play devices for Mac, however require drivers for Windows. You will find these on the installation CD that is provided with your CDJ, or as a download from the Pioneer website.

To use a pair of CDJs with Serato DJ, you will need at least 3 available USB ports. If you don’t have 3 ports available you may be able to connect your CDJs to a powered USB hub. It is however, important to always connect your Serato DJ hardware directly to your computer.

  • Connect your Serato DJ device as per normal into an available USB port on your computer.
  • Connect the CDJ to your computer via USB cable or USB hub.
  • Open Serato DJ.
  • Press the LINK button.
  • Press the Scroll Knob to connect to the computer.
  • Use the Scroll Knob to choose which virtual deck you wish the CDJ to control.
  • Set the virtual deck in Serato DJ to Internal mode (INT). If you are using a controller, this step is not necessary.
  • Once your CDJ is connected, the Serato music library and track information is instantly browsable on the CDJ’s color screen and dedicated hardware controls. 

Your CDJ can also be used to play regular CDs. To do this just connect the CDJs audio outs (RCA) to your Serato DJ devices hardware inputs (if available) as you would your regular CD players.

If you want to know more then have a read of the official Quickstart Guides, available on the Serato DJ download page.

If you need any further help, please contact Serato Support.