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Pioneer churns out another CDJ

by John Mahon • 12th November 2007 • 14 comments

The newest in the Pioneer brood, the CDJ storms into town like a greased cougar from the planet big bollocks.

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"Designed by DJs for DJ's" they say, but then again they always say that, this is Pioneer's latest CDJ serving. It looks like a slightly more futuristic version of its predecessor, the CDJ200, but it also has some nifty editions which are a first for Pioneer on their CDJs and some of which will probably be rolled out as standard on the next models of the higher end CDJ's like the industry standard CDJ 1000 series.

Some of the new features include:

USB Digital Media Reader: It has a port for you to stick in your external harddisk or USB key, which could be handy indeed.

USB Midi Control: Now this is the real kicker. The CDJ 400 has midi control, meaning you can map all the buttons and sliders to control some computer software. To put it into real world DJ terms, it means it will plug directly into your computer to control the likes of Serato without a control CD, which means no messing around with cables in the back of a mixer during gigs which anybody who has ever done it knows is like when Riggs & Murtagh have to decide which cable to cut on the bomb in Lethal Weapon. Question is, can 2 CDJ's control both virtual decks in Serato though? Either way, the smart money is on seeing this compatibility on all new Pioneer mixers & CDJ's in the future.

New Jog Wheel: You can choose what colour it glows and customise it with your own image. Cute.

New Beat Loop divide: Takes the effort and skill out of making the perfect loop on the fly. Apparently it analyses the track, quantises it, then when you selct the loop you want, it witll auto-trim it, saving you hours of practice and allowing you to drink as much as you like.

It also has some other pretty standard top features that you would expect from Pioneer. No price has been announced yet but its at the budget end of things, well, Pioneer's version of budget, but for your money not a bad piece of kit

More on Pioneer's product page HERE

Comments

  • Jev @ 13 Nov 2007 0:59

    I think the USB feature is great for someone that doesn't have the likes of Serato, just bring two external hdd's or usb keys and away you go! I'd wonder how easy browsing tracks would be though? The new loop seems good too.

    I'd imagine this will spawn a new CDJ 1200 or something with all these features

  • pissflaps @ 13 Nov 2007 2:19

    any idea how much it would cost?

  • Tayor @ 13 Nov 2007 11:01

    that looks like a potentially serious piece of gear. am i right in assuming you could hook up your ipod and play off that ? i've been waiting/hoping for something like this for 2/3 years now !!!

    new beat loop divide looks cool and different colours on the rims . holy moly batman

  • Quirk Street @ 13 Nov 2007 11:54

    I was under the impression that Serato doesn't support any MIDI control

  • Jev @ 13 Nov 2007 15:46

    Serato will once 1.8 comes out, prob by the end of the year - they're also including 2 more play modes aside from absolute, relative & internal

  • Quirk Street @ 13 Nov 2007 16:09

    Will 1.8 be a free upgrade?
    Sounds very promising!

  • Jev @ 13 Nov 2007 16:30

    Yep, it's free... they're only asking people to pay for the SSL video plugin, wouldn't mind buying it though!

  • conor_l @ 13 Nov 2007 23:35

    Whens this out and how much anyone? Im gonna be in the market for a new cdj soon and this looks nice

  • conor_l @ 13 Nov 2007 23:39

    According to the report its gonna be €550, which is a great price. What Id be curious about, is if its that good and seems to have pretty much all the features a cdj800 has, why is it much cheaper?

  • Tayor @ 14 Nov 2007 9:09

    if its a successor to the 200 ( the ones we have in the BS) means its probably alot smaller than 800. smaller cd players are a bit niggly

    not a big fan of the CDJ200's tbh. pain in the arse not having a 'vinyl' mode for cueing

  • Jev @ 14 Nov 2007 10:24

    As Trev said, due to the size of it, it'll be harder to control i.e. the bigger the radius of the jog dial, the smaller the adjustments you can make

  • conor_l @ 14 Nov 2007 12:02

    Yeah my only issue in respect of the 200/100(which I already own) is the responsiveness of the jog wheel. If this wheel is responsive to the strength of a touch, I wouldnt be bothered by the size, which I can imagine would only be an impediment if I was a scratch dj.

    Plus it might make it easier laying out the pod booth if its smaller :D

  • Quirk Street @ 14 Nov 2007 13:25

    €550 before tax - this site's quoting them already at £449- (about €632)
    http://www.decks.co.uk/products/cdplayers/pioneer/cdj400

    I was really excited about them til I saw an a alternate view pic and realised how small the jog wheel is on them, kinda put off by that

  • fraher1 @ 14 Nov 2007 13:53

    if thats the so called entry model, id wait to see what they do with the 1000 "mk4" before id shell out any money,

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