rmundell
So, I fulfilled a fantasy of mine (and that probably of many bedroom-based VirtualDJ users) and got to play on a pair of brand new Pioneer CDJ-2000nexuses (nexii?) that a friend of mine has just splurged £3k on, and I thought I'd share my experience...
I was expecting a sublime experience which would blow away what I can do on VDJ with my VMS4.1 controller but... nice as they were, I definately still prefer VDJ.
The pros of the CDJs:
Instant response - pressing play is instant. No slight lag caused by the PC or the latency of ASIO drivers, it's just instant.
Great master tempo/key lock - seemed to my ears to do a better job at extreme pitch changes than VDJ does, but again this might be down to my PC being a little old now
The cons:
No side-by-side wave forms
Can't analyse tracks you haven't pre-processed through Rekordbox. (I have 30GB of tracks - it's just not practical to analyse them all)
Didn't think looping was that great - if you start a 4 beat loop you can't extend it to 8 beats without the loop restarting. The interface just felt a bit clunky to me.
The surprising thing...:
I actually thought the CDJs felt a little plasticy. And the top of the jogs, the main platter disc feels like it's a little loose (due to the fact it's touch sensitive so is basically a big circular button) and while they felt more quality than my £300 controller, they didn't feel 100% solid to me.
So, for those of us who think that VDJ (or any DJ software) plus a controller is a compromise because we can't afford top-of-the-range CDJs, think again. VDJ has more functionality, far more flexibility, and critically, the ability to play with any MP3 straight out of the box without having to pre-analyse it!
I was expecting a sublime experience which would blow away what I can do on VDJ with my VMS4.1 controller but... nice as they were, I definately still prefer VDJ.
The pros of the CDJs:
Instant response - pressing play is instant. No slight lag caused by the PC or the latency of ASIO drivers, it's just instant.
Great master tempo/key lock - seemed to my ears to do a better job at extreme pitch changes than VDJ does, but again this might be down to my PC being a little old now
The cons:
No side-by-side wave forms
Can't analyse tracks you haven't pre-processed through Rekordbox. (I have 30GB of tracks - it's just not practical to analyse them all)
Didn't think looping was that great - if you start a 4 beat loop you can't extend it to 8 beats without the loop restarting. The interface just felt a bit clunky to me.
The surprising thing...:
I actually thought the CDJs felt a little plasticy. And the top of the jogs, the main platter disc feels like it's a little loose (due to the fact it's touch sensitive so is basically a big circular button) and while they felt more quality than my £300 controller, they didn't feel 100% solid to me.
So, for those of us who think that VDJ (or any DJ software) plus a controller is a compromise because we can't afford top-of-the-range CDJs, think again. VDJ has more functionality, far more flexibility, and critically, the ability to play with any MP3 straight out of the box without having to pre-analyse it!
Mensajes Mon 14 Oct 13 @ 4:15 am
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
With todays controllers, many of them are starting to feel just as good as 'pro gear'.
So I'm not surprised you got a little disappointed if you felt the cdj 2000 would be insane much better, after all they cost a LOT ;)
Sure they are extremely nice, but you can do great on a far lower budget too..
Mensajes Mon 14 Oct 13 @ 9:15 am
rmundell
Yeah, I did tell my buddy he'd have been better off buying a DDJ-SX (and giving me the £2,000 left over!) but he thought it lagged slightly when he tried it out in the shop. I suspect it was hooked up to a PC which wasn't fast enough (or well enough configured) for the Serato software which it's bundled with. Anyway, he's happy enough with it, and I'm more than happy to stick with VDJ and keep my hard-earned cash in the bank!
Mensajes Mon 14 Oct 13 @ 9:21 am
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
+1
A few years ago I might have said "use timecode CD and CDJ 1000"
But with todays top notch controllers, the DDJ-SX vs CDJ's .. I see good value in both... Personally I'd probably get SX.
Mensajes Mon 14 Oct 13 @ 9:27 am
dj ho productions
I have dj countless times on the CDJ2000's, and I must admit that the very first time I touched them I was in AWE!!! However, as times goes by, and you see how the quality of other controllers have improved vastly, you realize that they are simply overrated.
Nowadays, even some clubs that would strictly enforce the use of their CDJ's, are now allowing DJ's to come in with controllers, this pushing the CDJ2000's to the side.
They are pretty nice unit, and from an aesthetics point of view, they look amazingly nice, however, I've dj-ing for the past year and a half with the Gemini CDJ700's and (aside from all the critics) they perform as well as their most expensive counterpart.
My point is, just because the label reads TOP OF THE LINE BRAND, does not always mean it's the only choice, nor the best and or only one to go with.
Nowadays, even some clubs that would strictly enforce the use of their CDJ's, are now allowing DJ's to come in with controllers, this pushing the CDJ2000's to the side.
They are pretty nice unit, and from an aesthetics point of view, they look amazingly nice, however, I've dj-ing for the past year and a half with the Gemini CDJ700's and (aside from all the critics) they perform as well as their most expensive counterpart.
My point is, just because the label reads TOP OF THE LINE BRAND, does not always mean it's the only choice, nor the best and or only one to go with.
Mensajes Mon 14 Oct 13 @ 11:45 am
Caliente123
@ rmundell. The DDJ SX controller does have some Lag. Its Not The PC. A lot of people are buying it because it looks nice and some end up selling it because they don't like how it feels. If he like the DDJ SX, he would like the NS6. The NS6 actually responds better.
Mensajes Mon 14 Oct 13 @ 6:07 pm
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
No lags here, the SX works extremely well my end .
Mensajes Tue 15 Oct 13 @ 10:20 am
938MyDJ
I don't know what mixer you use with your CDJ2000Nexus... I use DJM900Nexus.
If you already tried this combination and still don't feel that magic, then they really are NOT your kind of thing.
As many DJs say, "stick with the gear that make your sets great!"
But since you already have the most expensive players on the planet (which alot claimed to be the BEST),
I wish you will discover and feel that magic out of them.
Cheers!!!
If you already tried this combination and still don't feel that magic, then they really are NOT your kind of thing.
As many DJs say, "stick with the gear that make your sets great!"
But since you already have the most expensive players on the planet (which alot claimed to be the BEST),
I wish you will discover and feel that magic out of them.
Cheers!!!
Mensajes Tue 15 Oct 13 @ 6:07 pm
Caliente123
Being more specific about the DDJ SX. The Jogs feel alittle off but everything else is really good. It would have been nicer if the controllers headphone volume was on top and in the middle like the DDJ S1 instead of it being on the front side.
DJ ing on a controller is good but, I find DJ ing on a Bigger setup feeling more comfortable. Controllers are getting better and better as time goes by. I wonder if Numark will make a Version 2 of the NS6.
DJ ing on a controller is good but, I find DJ ing on a Bigger setup feeling more comfortable. Controllers are getting better and better as time goes by. I wonder if Numark will make a Version 2 of the NS6.
Mensajes Tue 15 Oct 13 @ 10:46 pm
PachN
dj-in-norway wrote :
No lags here, the SX works extremely well my end .
No lags here, the SX works extremely well my end .
Confirm this.
But I have to admit, that I could use even lower latencys (buffer lvl2 instead of 3) with SDJ :/
With VDJ it starts crackling at buffer 2.
Mensajes Thu 17 Oct 13 @ 11:15 am