Need advice on CDJ decision

Voltmod 5:34 AM - 22 February, 2012

I am really wanting to get some CDJs, but I need some advice.

I currently run traktor pro 2 with no jog wheels/ttables of any kind, and beatgridding tracks is a pain in the ass as well as trying to beatmatch with no jogs.
I thought about getting some DNSC2000s, but i'm more interested in learning to mix where I can ditch the laptop and learn to do things properly. I'm only a bedroom/party DJ though, so it's hard to justify spending a ton of money... I mix mostly older style dubstep or UK bass such as mala, coki, skream, benga, kryptic minds, kromestar, widdler, loefah, biome, etc.

I can get some brand new CDJ 400s for about $350 a piece through a friend.

But the Reloop RMP 3 or 2.5 are $500 and have a ton of features for the price. They also seem like solid units. They have a lot of effects on them and in MIDI mode, they have a shift key that allows you to control 2 decks with one unit; this is handy since I won't have the money to buy two units at once. My mixer has enough effects for me though, as well as traktor or serato if i'm using my laptop. So all the features may not be necessary.

The reloops seem really future proof and better value for the money, but the 400s would be cheaper... so i'm not sure if it'd be worth the extra for the reloops since i'm trying to spend the least amount of money.
The 400s are a little aged though... and I want something that can work with both traktor and serato and without a laptop.
My main concern is in storing loops/cue points on the CDJ 400s.I think you can only store one cue point or something in the memory of the cdj 400.

Let me know your thoughts, I have never used CDJs or either units, so it's hard for me to make a decision.

echa1945mf 6:39 AM - 22 February, 2012

i respect your taste in music,but you do realize that this is a serato forum? saying the T word will get you eaten alive here braah

Voltmod 6:47 AM - 22 February, 2012

haha, yes. I'm all about serato over traktor, but the dnx600 has a built in soundcard allowing me to use it with traktor. I'd have to spend serious cash to get a serato box in order to use serato. But as mentioned above, i'd like to ditch the laptop all together. I want to see how it goes without any software and if it ends up software is easier just for music collection, then i will end up getting a serato box. I imagine I could get an SL1 eventually for a fair price.

I'm currently leaning towards the CDJ 400s btw. SInce pioneer cdjs are everywhere, it seems they are reliable and are closer to a club setup.

djbanno 8:51 AM - 22 February, 2012

Quote:

I currently run traktor pro.

Maybe not such a good start to anyF. question on the Serato forums?

djbanno 8:52 AM - 22 February, 2012

*any

Voltmod 3:47 PM - 22 February, 2012

I mean i posted here because I have more respect for serato users and their judgement towards DJ technology, especially since i want to end up using serato or no laptop. Straight hating if you don't want to answer my question just because of that... thought the serato community was more respectable than to just give me shit instead of advice. Shame.

echa1945mf 4:10 PM - 22 February, 2012

Quote:

I mean i posted here because I have more respect for serato users and their judgement towards DJ technology, especially since i want to end up using serato or no laptop. Straight hating if you don't want to answer my question just because of that... thought the serato community was more respectable than to just give me shit instead of advice. Shame.

you thought wrong my friend,people here are mostly cuthroats.... im one of the nice one LOL

WarpNote 4:33 PM - 22 February, 2012

Personally Id get the CDJs, then save up for a SL2 box...

Then get as many gigs as possible, save some more,
ditch the cdj's and get technics turntables... but that's me....

DJDBAG 4:34 PM - 22 February, 2012

yep, get turntables.

Voltmod 4:48 PM - 22 February, 2012

turntables are what I want, but I have limited desk space and space in general for my apartment. Plus lugging them around is impossible without a car.

I'm thinking the 400s... cheapest yet quality units. I hear they have some latency problems with traktor. Is this the case with Serato?

DJDBAG 4:53 PM - 22 February, 2012

you will outgrow cheap very quickly if you are serious
about djing, remember that

Voltmod 5:14 PM - 22 February, 2012

I already know this, i only say cheap because the 400s aren't cheap LOL. just cheap for the price i'm getting brand new units.

So... CDJ 400s for $350 a piece or reloop RMP 3 for $500 a piece? Reloop have more, some unnecessary features, but the 400s are Pioneer CDJs. I feel I should get them... thoughts?

DJDBAG 5:21 PM - 22 February, 2012

you can get used techs for the price of reloops idk i have no thoughts on cdj's good luck

WarpNote 5:56 PM - 22 February, 2012

Quote:

I have limited desk space and space in general for my apartment.

I have a real small appartment, where there is a will there is a way. Turntables in battle position with dnx600 doesn't really take THAT much space.

Quote:

Plus lugging them around is impossible without a car.

Not really, Ive lugged techs for 15 years, and just got a car this december.

But I do get the "travel light" argument, got to admit, sometimes I bring my cjd's and leave the techs at home www.flickr.com

Voltmod 6:22 PM - 22 February, 2012

shit. Tunrtables would be amazing. I actually have some Numark TT1625s, but they have no needles and I have not a clue where to get some. They don't seem like the greatest either. I'm also considering getting a DNSC2000 for the meantime while I save up for large items.

So, perhaps I should try and get these turntables going and buy a desk? haha. I don't understand how you would take your technics with you without a car though, that's some serious street hustlin.

WarpNote 6:40 PM - 22 February, 2012

About the hustlin, I live near the centre of my city.
If I need to bring tables there's is always the option of taxi ;-)

But yeah, its actually not that hard to bring them both on a small trolley.

And basically, if an event wants me to bring speakers/decks I normally work out either a transport plan or get some extra cab fare. If the customer is cheap, I say to hell with it, get another dj ;-)

Voltmod 6:54 PM - 22 February, 2012

Throwing my DJ gear in a taxi is the last thing i'd ever do... any chance they get they could drive off with your shit! That's not beyond them either haha. I'm sure you have a system for that though... hopefully.

I see what you're saying though... you love your ttables.

WarpNote 6:58 PM - 22 February, 2012

Taxis in my country have a number on the roof, very safe indeed.
My country is a very calm safe place normally. But I get what you're saying...

Solidsnake 7:06 PM - 22 February, 2012

If you plan on moving up to the Club gigs, I'd recommend trying to save for a CDJ-850 or used 1000. The 400's are great but, most clubs use 800's, 850's, 900's, 1000's, and 2000's, all of which have the bigger jogwheel, just to get used to the bigger jogwheel was my reasoning of choosing the 850's over the 400's or 350's. If you are staying mostly parties and bedroom though, the 400's are great, and they are Natively Supported in HID with Serato so latency is a minimum. Actually a few bars I know have 400's as their house system.

In that price range for $350 for CDJ-400's, if you were in the least bit considering turntables, take a look at the Numark TTX-USB decks, have been using these since the USB model launched, great decks, I still play with my 1210 M5G's at home, but the TTX's get used both at home and at gigs.

Voltmod 7:22 PM - 22 February, 2012

Well for turntables, I would just find needles for the Numark TT1625s that are sitting in my closet before I actually purchased some.

My main dilemma with turntables is that I really don't have the desk space to setup in my apartment or my room where the speakers are, and I own a lot of electronics already due to PC hardware, so i'm trying to keep a compact setup. Yes I could make it happen, but i'd prefer to roll with a compact setup.

Solidsnake 7:24 PM - 22 February, 2012

Ah, I gotcha. 400's are great compact, 800's on up are bigger but still very light setup as far as weight goes. If you can, give them a try before you buy!

Voltmod 7:26 PM - 22 February, 2012

I just really need some jog wheel support right now is basically what it comes down to, or else I can't manual beatmatch. So, I believe I might get a denon dnsc2000, roll with that for a bit and then get a serato box. The dnsc2000 can work with serato and traktor, so that would be compact and ideal AND the fastest solution to get me beatmatching. It would also ensure that I stick with the hobby a little longer to make sure I keep rolling with it long enough to buy some CDJs.

If someone can confirm that only 1 cdj 400 can be MIDI mapped to control both decks, then I would buy just one of those and stick with it for now.

Voltmod 7:28 PM - 22 February, 2012

hmm, i recall reading somewhere that someone said you can get used cdj 850s for very cheap. Would this be a better idea than getting new 400s? Are used 800s much different from 850s/400s and can they get cheap when used?

Thanks for all the responses, this is a hard decision.

Solidsnake 7:40 PM - 22 February, 2012

I use just one CDJ-850-K with Serato Scratch Live. Great unit and works perfect with SL. A lot of the local bars/clubs pretty much have CDJ only, and having only owned turntables and a VCI-300, decided it was time to pick up a CDJ for at home. In Serato with instant doubles you can DJ all night long with just one deck and a mixer plus the SL box of choice.

Voltmod 7:50 PM - 22 February, 2012

Interesting. So the best thing for affordable price would be to get a CDJ 850. The only problem with that is that it works great with serato, but it doesn't work with traktor except with timecode. This is only a problem because I use a DNX600 on OS X, and the x600 is not traktor certified, so i'd have to use a windows partition or a different soundcard.

I want to buy 1 CDJ right now. It needs to be able to control both decks in traktor via MIDI/HID with just 1 unit, until I can afford a second one and a serato box.

It's looking like the CDJ 400 is the best option or the DNSC2000.

Dj Bacik 11:19 PM - 22 February, 2012

I say start with a used pair of cdj 800's. Then move on from there. Either that or go with the pioneer ddjs1 itch controller and lose the ability to mix without a laptop.

Voltmod 12:07 AM - 23 February, 2012

controllers aren't really my thing... i like a custom setups. Plus I love my DNX600 and I got it brand new for $100, so serious sentimental value there. I used a shitty Numark 2 ch before that which I had to ghetto splice the correct head for the power adapter.

It's hard to just buy some CDJs without lots of research as a lot of them aren't supported with both traktor and serato or some can be controlled with the other but only through timecode, etc. So far, it's looking like the 400s would be best since I can get brand new ones for a decent price and they for sure work with both traktor and serato and without software. They are smaller too which is an upside in my opinion, since I'm not coming from vinyl or anything. They're surely larger than the DNSC2000 platter/jog wheel.

Or I could still get this DNSC2000 as it's basically a CDJ except controls software.

How long does it typically take to get decent mixing with no laptop?

Dj Bacik 12:41 AM - 23 February, 2012

Ok. How about the cdj 350. Its HID works with Serato and there is a midi map file provided by Pioneer for it to work with Traktor. Plus it would be a sound card as well.

Thats a 3 fer.

1. Independent
2. Works with sera to HID (With box)
3. Works with traktor midi.

Voltmod 1:47 AM - 23 February, 2012

I think the CDj 350 is overpriced for what you get.... I would get a reloop RMP 3 or 2.5 before a CDJ 350. I agree it does fit the criteria, but a reloop is much more affordable for what you get. Only heard awesome things about it too.

So why don't I get the reloop you ask? Because it's still $500 a unit for new ones and most people succumb to pioneer so there aren't many used ones out there for sale, and 500 per unit is a little much for me.

Shame all this is so damn expensive. Probably going to get a dnsc2000 for the meantime until I can save up. It's so fucked because I need a serato box as well, but I already have a nice soundcard, so it just seems like such a waste. I think that's the main reason people use traktor, what does serato think about this?

Voltmod 1:49 AM - 23 February, 2012

I think that's the main reason people use traktor, what does serato think about this? *** By that I mean why doesn't serato allow any soundcard to be used? Software piracy? It's not like traktor or virtual DJ are doing too poorly and I imagine they get pirated out the wazoo. And if they don't, then I don't see why serato would get pirated more so. Any serious DJ will purchase the software so they don't have to deal with cracks and that's a serious stability issue.

Solidsnake 1:59 AM - 23 February, 2012

I'd stay away from 350's. The 400's have effects and have the ring to show where the track is on the deck. Plus you are getting them for a good price.

DjWoody 2:25 AM - 23 February, 2012

For the price you're going to get a pair of 400's, you can buy a used pair of 800's. I would do that instead. 800's are all over the place, I've yet to see a CDJ 400 at a club.