DJing Discussion

Forum
 DJing Discussion
Upgrading to CDJs
This area is for discussion about DJing in general. Please remember the community rules when posting and try to be polite and inclusive.

Upgrading to CDJs

James - DJ Skittles 3:38 PM - 8 April, 2019
Hey DJs,

One more post today, I'd really like some good insight to upgrade my current setup to a pair of Pioneer CDJ NXS2 with a DJM-900 NXS2.

I played on an older CDJ 2000 and thought it was pretty cool. I've heard so many great things about their reliability and versatility both as a unit itself and a serato supported system with the ability to go laptop less and use built in rekordbox if ever in a real pinch.

My problem is the same as many DJs in the scene for two-three years with fluctuating gig demands and on a tight budget: How do I afford them sooner than later and are they really worth the rediculous price tag?

Currently have a Pioneer SX3 that seems to work great 9/10 times. But like any professional I'd like to upgrade to the most versitile and reliable piece I can get.

Best option I found was a sweetwater promo with 48mo financing for a set of NXS 2 gear with flight cases for about 188/mo ~ $6,500ish. But to me that's still a lot to commit to, per month for 4 years on a already somewhat tight budget.

Of course the easy answer is "get more gigs each month and it'll pay for itself" but much easier said then done as we all know nor would I want that commitment for 4 years. I'd want to make double payments during busy months and pay it off in two years max.

I suppose the real question is how have some of you made it affordable to invest in the best equipment on tight budgets and is the setup worth it?

I'm a combo nightclub, bar and mobile gig guy if that helps at all.
Despo 5:34 PM - 8 April, 2019
My honest opinion, stick with the sx3 and buy yourself a Rolex or a nice car instead. A cdj setup can do less than your sx3 can. I've spent so much money on gear over the past 10 years, it's not worth it.

Or sell your sx3 and get yourself some turntables, you know, like a real dj.
James - DJ Skittles 7:07 PM - 8 April, 2019
Lmao I like the perspective. I'd love to work with turntables at least for nightclub gigs but I know they have their limitations too. But they're somewhere on my list after the nice car and some other things.

In total I've probably spent about $14,000 in the last 3 years from start to now getting into the game. It's insane and a lot of clients complain about what we ask for in regards to wages. At this point I've probably made back about half my money. By the end of the year if I don't spend much more I'll finally be at 3/4 and next year I hope to finally "profit" off everything.
Despo 4:00 AM - 9 April, 2019
Btw i did not mean to offend with the "real dj" line, I meant it as a joke :)

Holy crap 14k, that's a lot of money. I don't really see the need for you to shell out on a CDJ setup at all, your SX3 can do everything a NXS2 setup can do and more.

But i do know RGAS is a real thing and I had it too. You think Nexus 2 gear is the hottest thing ever, then you buy it and play on them for 3-4 months before you realize that your purchase was unnecessary. Been there done that. But atleast you can flip them for almost the same amount of money if you bought them used.

If you really want to learn CDJs tho or have a CDJ like experience, I'd go with the XDJ1000 mk1 or mk2 used depending on whether you need serato HID. Use them for a year and then flip them on craigsist or something.
Laz219 9:04 AM - 9 April, 2019
I feel like it's pretty simple...

What would a CDJ NXS setup do to change your performance over an SX3?
And is anything you can come up with, worth the price?
DJ Jonasty 9:14 AM - 9 April, 2019
188 per per month X 48 months = over $9,000. If you need to finance this setup you can't afford it. Use the sx3 or get some tables. Just my advice.
577er 10:53 AM - 9 April, 2019
Cheaper to bring an extra laptop and an extra controller to each gig than go the CDJ route.
James - DJ Skittles 11:11 AM - 9 April, 2019
Quote:
Btw i did not mean to offend with the "real dj" line, I meant it as a joke :)

Holy crap 14k, that's a lot of money. I don't really see the need for you to shell out on a CDJ setup at all, your SX3 can do everything a NXS2 setup can do and more.

But i do know RGAS is a real thing and I had it too. You think Nexus 2 gear is the hottest thing ever, then you buy it and play on them for 3-4 months before you realize that your purchase was unnecessary. Been there done that. But atleast you can flip them for almost the same amount of money if you bought them used.

If you really want to learn CDJs tho or have a CDJ like experience, I'd go with the XDJ1000 mk1 or mk2 used depending on whether you need serato HID. Use them for a year and then flip them on craigsist or something.



Not offended at all, I know what you meant there lol. Doing the math im all in around 10k not 14 but regardless that's still a lot of money. Between a laptop, hard drive, headphones, speakers, lighting, cables, cases, some marketing material and a few other odds and ends I'm in the low area of 10k easy. That's without adding up gas money or record pool subscription monthly. Granted all that equipment enables me to do private events and make double if not triple the amount id make on bar or nightclub gigs. But it all adds up.

Even without the CDJs I'm looking at having to eventually spend about another 4-5k in equipment to compete with some of the bigger companies around. This business can be very profitable but very expensive to invest in on your own.

As far as the CDJs go in my area it seems like most of the super popular DJs around me have some 2000s or NXS 1 and they swear by them and somewhat look down on the other area DJs that use controllers for whatever reason. Or I at least get that vibe. Two use exactly what I use though. In fact one said he sold his CDJs for the sx3. As you've said though buying used you can sell them for close to what you pick them up for. The NXS 2 setup new I'd probably lose 500 each on if I went to resell later.
James - DJ Skittles 11:12 AM - 9 April, 2019
Quote:
Cheaper to bring an extra laptop and an extra controller to each gig than go the CDJ route.


Even with a high end MacBook ain't that the truth lol
James - DJ Skittles 11:15 AM - 9 April, 2019
Quote:
188 per per month X 48 months = over $9,000. If you need to finance this setup you can't afford it. Use the sx3 or get some tables. Just my advice.


Typo on my part, I meant 158 per month. But even that I find rediculous. But you make a very valid point, financing that kind of money in a one person business for that long is stupid and you're right, I can't afford it.
James - DJ Skittles 11:18 AM - 9 April, 2019
Quote:
I feel like it's pretty simple...

What would a CDJ NXS setup do to change your performance over an SX3?
And is anything you can come up with, worth the price?


As far as what would it do for me? Give me a few options as far as ways to play, Cds, built in rekordbox with usb, and hid mode. Better response and durability (so I'm told). Is it worth the price of a cheaper used car.... At this point in my business most likely not lol
Mr. Goodkat 8:42 PM - 9 April, 2019
one option is to rent the gear you get, but there are so many djs that are now sound guys, they might have beat you to that punch.

realistically if you rented out your stuff 20 times for 200$ a nite, that would take 4k off the top.

200$ would be cheap but lowballing might be your best option, again, with what i said about having so many djs turned dj/sound rental people
James - DJ Skittles 9:10 PM - 9 April, 2019
Quote:
one option is to rent the gear you get, but there are so many djs that are now sound guys, they might have beat you to that punch.

realistically if you rented out your stuff 20 times for 200$ a nite, that would take 4k off the top.

200$ would be cheap but lowballing might be your best option, again, with what i said about having so many djs turned dj/sound rental people



That's actually a great idea! I just wonder how many people/companies in my area would be willing to rent it. A majority of people in my area either already have what they want to use and don't care about CDJs or would probably go to our local guitar center and rent it (if they have them to rent). Any suggestions on how to get that information out there without spending hundreds on marketing?
Mr. Goodkat 1:01 AM - 10 April, 2019
just google sound rental places in your area and ask how much that setup costs.

back in the days it was 10% of cost, so at 6k that would be 600, but nobody goes by that.

id say its about 100-150 for each cdjs/ djm(im sure ppl here would know) then lowball on craigslist or facebook. lotta people have gear but might need a separate setup if the'yre using 2 or 3 rooms/setup areas.

then just rent cheaper than the other guys.
James - DJ Skittles 1:27 AM - 10 April, 2019
Quote:
just google sound rental places in your area and ask how much that setup costs.

back in the days it was 10% of cost, so at 6k that would be 600, but nobody goes by that.

id say its about 100-150 for each cdjs/ djm(im sure ppl here would know) then lowball on craigslist or facebook. lotta people have gear but might need a separate setup if the'yre using 2 or 3 rooms/setup areas.

then just rent cheaper than the other guys.






Thanks man! I'll certainly look into that and consider it. If I can find some intrest in it then I'll be sure to think about that as an option.
pdidy 2:08 AM - 10 April, 2019
Now that the rane 12 is doing so well all of my cravings to upgrade my old cdj1000s have completely vanished.
James - DJ Skittles 2:12 AM - 10 April, 2019
Quote:
Now that the rane 12 is doing so well all of my cravings to upgrade my old cdj1000s have completely vanished.


When they first came out I was impressed with the idea but I've heard a lot of negatives about them. Would certainly like to get my hands on them and turntables and get a feel for both though.
Mr. Goodkat 4:08 AM - 10 April, 2019
bottom line is that people use controllers and cdjs at a higher rate than turntables. theres really no reason to hold on to that dream of turntables unless your gonna retire sooner than later and only play by yourself.

id rather play with decks, id rather people have computers and play with a dual out soundcard mixers so we could all use the same set up, but at this point, CDJs make the most sense.

After using them the first time, i flipped them back into a pair of decks but this time im just gonna give up on 1200s.

900s or xdjs are a route you could also go if you dont wanna go all in on 2000nxs. Im happy with my 900s, they arent perfect but they do the job, work well with hid mode or time code. Makes it easy to switch over even if you are using serato with a box or single usb mixer. No needles, no cv's dirty or warped or purchased, no bass vibration problems, no tonearm problems with connections, etc



just makes sense.
DJ JulioYEG 4:48 AM - 10 April, 2019
tbh i would get the s9 over the 900. imo you feel more comfortable coming from a sx3 to a s9. but cdj wise if you go the s9 route you could save money and buy 900s or some used 850s or even some xdj 1000 mk1s as the mk2s arent serato compatible and wont be ever
DJ Jonasty 5:39 AM - 10 April, 2019
I was thinking about this as I used to use CDJ 2ks. 3 USB cables and a USB hub to laptop to use Serato. The sx3 just one cable. I hate cable mess and that's what you get with the nexus setup. I'd only get that if you want to ditch laptop and can pay cash.
DJ JulioYEG 5:12 PM - 10 April, 2019
Quote:
I was thinking about this as I used to use CDJ 2ks. 3 USB cables and a USB hub to laptop to use Serato. The sx3 just one cable. I hate cable mess and that's what you get with the nexus setup. I'd only get that if you want to ditch laptop and can pay cash.

its not necessary to run hid anymore. It was at one point when the 900 was in every club and you needed to use your cues and didnt want dicers or a sp1. Now hid wouldnt even work because i run a external library. But since the s9 been the club standard or the 62 even you just run timecode on the cjds or tts. No point for hid just use dvs and loop track 1 noise map. or pm me and ill send the 3 hour pre looped file