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ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 9:11 pm
by Pistonsbeneath
hey guys
i really need to buy some cdjs to practice at home as i only have vinyl decks at the moment
its crucial and really the next thing i need to get a variety of obvious reasons
1 so i can record mixes for the various places that need them over the next few months and 2 so i can practice...also might do radio from here at some stage
now i know youre all gonna say pioneer cdj800s or 1000s or even 400s but i honestly just do not have that kind of money at the moment
i know every club and venue has pioneers and usually 1000s either mk1 or mk2 and theyre pretty much all ive used
so it would make sense to get the same...however....as i said i cant stretch to that price...i was shocked how much they are...1210s cost a lot less....gutted
there are many other respected brands making what appear to be similar products such as denon and numark for much much less....i have never used or seen anything other than pioneer in a club or indeed radio or someones bedroom....they appear to offer all the same features these other cdjs in principle..denon pair is as little as £205 atm on ebay compared to the grand for a pair of 1000s at least
all i want is for them to work as cdjs should...i read everywhere that pioneers are the ones and the others are all shit but why is this?
cheers guys i need advice cds are still very new to me but given my position i need to be on cds, ill still play vinyl of course i have tons of it but mainly cd sadly
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 9:13 pm
by wub
I've been using CDJs about 10yrs now, and having tried Pioneers, Denons, Geminis, Numarks etc etc, I can honestly say Pioneer or GTFO.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 9:22 pm
by mks
As you said, Pioneers are standard but they are expensive. Perhaps try to get a cheap Pioneer CDJ-100 for now.
If you can't get Pioneers, I would go Denon.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 9:27 pm
by wub
mks wrote:Perhaps try to get a cheap Pioneer CDJ-100 for now.
Disagree - the 100s (or indeed, any model up to and including the 800s in terms of release date) have only 0.05% pitch increments instead of 0.02%.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 9:34 pm
by mks
wub wrote:mks wrote:Perhaps try to get a cheap Pioneer CDJ-100 for now.
Disagree - the 100s (or indeed, any model up to and including the 800s in terms of release date) have only 0.05% pitch increments instead of 0.02%.
Yeah, you get what you pay for. With that said, I have gotten the job done on those before.
The Denons aren't too bad and they are a bit cheaper than the Pioneers. I've seen them going used for something like 3 bills. Something like this, the S3500:

Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 11:23 pm
by therzbm
only ones ive used other than pioneers were some numark or gemini or something and they were a total pile of shit, pitch kept jumping all over the place, jog wheel was worthless etc etc when people say get pioneers, its basically cause nothing else is as good, and whether you like it or not you will eventually end up with a set of pioneers at some point, might as well make them the first thing you buy rather than waste money on some shit ones for the time being.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 11:31 pm
by clifford_-
id still go with pioneer 100s, despite the pitch, if youve only got a bit of dough. the cue buttons and that are just so much nicer on pioneers, and theyre sturdy as hell.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 11:33 pm
by therzbm
oh yeh forgot to mention, the cue and play buttons on the other brand ones i used didnt even work, you had to literally smash your fist into them to get it to work. ive got 200s and id recommend getting at least 400's or 800's if you can for vinyl mode.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 12:00 am
by unwind
Do they still do 400's? Im looking for exactly the same kind of thing but i can only find 350's and 850's - nothing inbetween? Im wondering if its worth getting the 350's over the 200's when counting the pennies...
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 12:05 am
by clifford_-
get 2nd hand 400s, thats what i did, 600bills for the pair just dont keep putting shot on the platter, cos it fucks the mechanism! haha
thats why im using a 100 and a 400, and i get along with em fine.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 1:16 am
by Gewze
i swear you said last night you had 3 1000's
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:14 am
by Sonika
clifford_- wrote:id still go with pioneer 100s, despite the pitch, if youve only got a bit of dough. the cue buttons and that are just so much nicer on pioneers, and theyre sturdy as hell.
So don't you have to buy two of those plus a mixer? all in all, isnt that going to be incredibly fucking expensive?

Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:48 am
by Devry_Kaneda
a good rule to follow is more leds/lights adorned on the module=better cd player
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 7:05 am
by Sonika
Makes sense
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 8:57 am
by Sheff
it really is pioneer or nothing
BUT, do NOT get gemini whatever you do
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:24 am
by hifi
Sheff wrote:it really is pioneer or nothing
BUT, do NOT get gemini whatever you do
why not gemini? i always hear bad things about this brand i have never had hands on experience with those cdj's but why are they so bad? i know they are cheap (financial wise) and i have considered picking up a pair in the time being would it be worth it just for a good 4 -5 months till i can raise up to buy quality pioneers?
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:29 am
by Sheff
nope, that was my plan too but theyre really awful. actually unusable.
my jog wheel broke after a day, and theres like a 2/3 second delay with the pitch slider too which makes it useless
sound quality is awful out of them, theyre plasticy, noisy, afwul screen, cue button has a delay
just awful, dont do it
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:34 am
by clifford_-
Sonika wrote:clifford_- wrote:id still go with pioneer 100s, despite the pitch, if youve only got a bit of dough. the cue buttons and that are just so much nicer on pioneers, and theyre sturdy as hell.
So don't you have to buy two of those plus a mixer? all in all, isnt that going to be incredibly fucking expensive?

I said 100s, not 1000s....
Hes almost certainly already got a mixer, and the 100s are the cheapest pioneers you can get, but are still better than more expensive models by different brands imo.
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:45 am
by gwa
100's manual cueing is a pain in the arse
Re: ok i need advice from experts only please on cdjs
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:53 am
by wub
Gewze wrote:i swear you said last night you had 3 1000's
That was probably me.