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Best affordable CDJ's?
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 6:08 pm
by monstaman
Well recently I DJ'd at a party, left my vinyl and turntables in a locked up room, woke up the next morning to clear everything up and skidaddle, when i found half my vinyls gone along with one of my turntables. Got the police over to take finger prints of the window they'd broken into but they got nothing. Bastards also got my iPod earlier on in the night
Because of me now lacking a second turntable till i get the replacement sorted, as well as not wanting to buy back all my vinyl plus more, I've decided to give cd dj'ing a shot.
So I was just wondering if anyone had any good, affordable recommondations to get me started. I considered something like Serato Scratch..but it would require a freak accident where all my uncles and aunts die and EMA add an extra zero or so to my usual amount. So CDJ'ing it is!
Any suggestions? Maximum price would ideally be about 250 squid
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 6:52 pm
by actraiser
Hey dude.. Sorry to hear about your losses due to thieving stnuc.. maybe you should leave the other deck on display somewhere rigged with an explosive charge.. that'll teach the bastards!
As for CD djing.. mate I was a vinyl DJ through and through for 10 years.. and was the most vocal in defending vinyl and 'real' DJing at the pub..
Finally made the switch due to more tunes being available digitally as well as being about to play my own tracks straight after Ive finished them.. and it was the best thing I ever did..
Once you get used to them they rock.. the level of control over them is excellent and you can be more creative with your mixing thanks to effects and looping / hot cues etc (depending on which deck you have)
Thing is you wont get fuck all for £250.. I was very lucky and bought a second hand (yet MINT) pair of CDj-400s for £650 .. One week before Pioneers boosted the price to £1200 a pair..
They really are the mutt's danglies.. the feel of them is awesome, you can plug USB sticks filled with your tracks and mix them.. as well as CD-Rs and MP3 CDs.
It really is the way forward.. I would highly recommend selling whatever stuff you have left and whatever vinyl you are willing to part with and invest in CD-Js.. Pioneer are top of their game here, but there are cheaper models that are worthy of attention from Stanton and Denon (DNS1200)..
Once you make the switch you wont ever look back.. although for christ sakes dont leave them out of sight ANYWHERE haha
hope this helps
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:06 pm
by monstaman
Thanks for the advice man. I'm a bit hesitant to sell everything just yet as out of my group of friends who all DJ, i was the one who started it all and got them all into Dj'ing, dubstep etc. I also preached the use of vinyl over mp3s/cds..and now everytime we go to a club they always comment on how the dj is using cd's and mp3s over vinyl...so I'm quite scared to sell everything and start dj'ing the exact thing i've made them all hate
I guess i could just wait till a couple of the older branches of the family tree fall off...
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:31 pm
by promo
Wow that fucking sucks .... I think that's every dj/artist's worst nightmare to have his equipment stolen.
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:35 pm
by actraiser
Hey man, dont worry what people say.. who cares!! Its all about skills anyway.. I got a bit of stick about it too, but then they saw my setup and were jealous as fuck.. plus I just played the 'I showed you how to do this so bollocks' card and they soon piped down!
Ive still got my turntables though as I have tonnes of vinyl still but I never use them.. Just figured I'd get sweet F.A. for them so might as well hang on to them.. you never know when you may want a 'nostalgia' Mix haha..
I say save up a bit.. hang on to your vinyl + decks and buy some second hand cdjs from someone decent (dont buy anything expensive of anyone who sounds like an arsehole (I made this mistake once - ended in a huge brawl involving 5 people.. not cool!)

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:41 pm
by monstaman
Promo wrote:Wow that fucking sucks .... I think that's every dj/artist's worst nightmare to have his equipment stolen.
Yeah it was horrible, hangover + missing turntable/vinyl and iPod was not how i would describe my perfect morning...what's more annoying than them actually taking the turntable is the unanswerable question of why they only took one!! Got 5 bookings at that party and loads of positive feedback as well so it killed me when i saw someone had nicked my shit
Thanks again for the advice, actraiser, mucho appreciated.
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:48 pm
by Pada
CDJs are more expensive than turntables - I say buy another deck for 200 ish (assuming technics second hand?) and use it as an excuse to buy more vinyl rather than buy silly things like food and rent.
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:57 pm
by wibblewobble
adisize wrote:CDJs are more expensive than turntables - I say buy another deck for 200 ish (assuming technics second hand?) and use it as an excuse to buy more vinyl rather than buy silly things like food and rent.
yes!

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:57 pm
by frebentos
adisize wrote:CDJs are more expensive than turntables - I say buy another deck for 200 ish (assuming technics second hand?) and use it as an excuse to buy more vinyl rather than buy silly things like food and rent.
the whole truth and nothing but....
youl pick up another secon hand technic for about 150-200 quid...
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:13 pm
by monstaman
With any luck I'll be able to get a free replacement turntable as the police treated the theft as breaking and entering etc etc, just need to find the receipt etc which is lying around somewhere..
The reason i started thinking of moving on/trying out CDJ'ing after this party is because CDJ's would be easier to take to a party (although not as easy as laptop dj'ing) and having all those cds in a compact place would be a lot nicer than bringing my (now small) collection of vinyl. ALSO mp3s are so much easier.
But my main reason behind wanting to switch was when i went to Shit the Bed 9 and watched Brookes Brothers and during the intervals of feeling my hair and hogging the fan, i promised myself i would be just like them....
......yeah....it was a heavy night.....
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:18 pm
by frebentos
unless you got a whole bunch of unreleased stuff that you cant get cut, id stick wae vinyl.
better sound, better feel....just better.
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:19 pm
by triptych
I spent my student loan on a second hand pair of CDJ 400s for £400 and my parents had to bail me out of my rent so they didn't get taken to court as guarantors. I also now have to hide them when my they visit in case they think I'm dealing to fund myself or some shit.
Money well spent.
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 11:32 am
by 0rtg
Triptych wrote:I spent my student loan on a second hand pair of CDJ 400s for £400 and my parents had to bail me out of my rent so they didn't get taken to court as guarantors. I also now have to hide them when my they visit in case they think I'm dealing to fund myself or some shit.
Money well spent.
my plan exactly for next year !
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 12:12 pm
by manuel
Selling my CDJ's if your still interested (Shameless advertising ha

)
Check the buying/selling thread in the Hideout.
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 12:18 pm
by deadly_habit
cdj 400s on local classifieds
always a crackhead selling a pair with no clue to value least stateside
otherwise new stanton c.234s i think or 324s
...
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 1:24 pm
by Dodger Man
I got a pair of Denon DNS1000 CDJS from ebay for 330 pounds. They are very very very good for the money!!! Highly recommend

Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 2:21 pm
by jonnyrebel
Im not being funny or anything but THE ONLY cd turntable's are the pioneers cdj 800(mk2) or cdj 1000's. Any other cdj is just shit, they either dont work the way you expect them to (especially the dennon ones). And they are not expensive when you factor in the cost of vinyl, plus youl have people queing round the block to hire them at 50 quid a pop.
Get on ebay you can pick up a cdj800mk2 for around 350quid...
Re: Best affordable CDJ's?
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 8:19 am
by masterchief
hi i am about to buy cdjs.. I have only been looking at 1000s and 800s but now i keep reading about denons being as good for half the money... i dont really believe that but am not sure now????? is it true or what???
Re: Best affordable CDJ's?
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 12:19 am
by Walka
masterchief wrote:hi i am about to buy cdjs.. I have only been looking at 1000s and 800s but now i keep reading about denons being as good for half the money... i dont really believe that but am not sure now????? is it true or what???
I wouldnt Bother With Cdj's ive allways been a Vinyl man myself !

Re: Best affordable CDJ's?
Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 11:12 am
by masterchief
yes mate so have I for 7 years but i am fed up of 1. paying so much for tunes that cost 99p on digital and 2 im not the tidyest person and therefore i have vinyls all over my living room, in and out of cases, some have scratches which is also the most annoying thing ever when u go to play a tune and a little scratch on it makes its completely worthless.. therefore Im getting cdjs ......