Thread: are cdjs any good ?

ive always used vinyl but it getting so expensive ,so looking in getting a pair of cdjs ( dont have a clue which) i have never used them before is it very differant mixing cd , any sugestion on what cdjs to get , thanks

Originally Posted by topbuzz

ive always used vinyl but it getting so expensive ,so looking in getting a pair of cdjs ( dont have a clue which) i have never used them before is it very differant mixing cd , any sugestion on what cdjs to get , thanks

I have heard some of the cheaper models don't play mp3 only wav only more expensive ones do. Ever seen the technics SLDZ1200?
If I were ever to get any cdjs myself, I would have these I think, pretty much like a normal deck

Give it a couple of hours and i'm sure China will be all over this with his Pioneer plugging

Speaking as somebody who stuck with vinyl until a few weeks ago, I would suggest skip the CDJ's thing totally, and just head straight for traktor or serato

No need to burn cd's, and you can still mix with your super-accurate turntables.

Ive recently bought some cdj400s second hand off ebay. I havent used em yet as I cant set em up until I move house later this month/early next. Have used a mates briefly in the past and they do mp3s, even have a usb port for input.
Im gonna be like a kid at christmas when I finally get em set up I will still be setting up the 1210s too though so I can play all me old vinyl, couldnt get rid of them if ya paid me..

Originally Posted by Ray Sparra

I have heard some of the cheaper models don't play mp3 only wav only more expensive ones do. Ever seen the technics SLDZ1200?
If I were ever to get any cdjs myself, I would have these I think, pretty much like a normal deck

i have seen them on ebay defo look into them thanks

Originally Posted by dodders

Give it a couple of hours and i'm sure China will be all over this with his Pioneer plugging

Originally Posted by Nik-Gnashers

Speaking as somebody who stuck with vinyl until a few weeks ago, I would suggest skip the CDJ's thing totally, and just head straight for traktor or serato

No need to burn cd's, and you can still mix with your super-accurate turntables.

going to sound like a right tool here but havent heard of either so will have to look in to that cheers mate

Originally Posted by junglejim

Ive recently bought some cdj400s second hand off ebay. I havent used em yet as I cant set em up until I move house later this month/early next. Have used a mates briefly in the past and they do mp3s, even have a usb port for input.
Im gonna be like a kid at christmas when I finally get em set up I will still be setting up the 1210s too though so I can play all me old vinyl, couldnt get rid of them if ya paid me..

i think im in the same sort of mind frame , i cant sell my decks ( its the law) but have usb turntable and been putting all my tunes in mp3s . its the cost of old tunes , the classics cost a bomb and as much as a would love to own everything on vinyl i think its going to be easer to buy cdjs and get mp3s from here and off friends ,

thanks all for help everyone , food for thought ,cheers

mate, if ur already converting everything & u wanna keep the decks then as the Gnash has said, Traktor or Serato is the way forward. Plenty of threads in here on the subject & plenty of owners of both to ask advice from

I've tried CDJ's recently and couldn't get used to them.

I'll just stick to my lil old 1210's and Serato

Originally Posted by dodders

mate, if ur already converting everything & u wanna keep the decks then as the Gnash has said, Traktor or Serato is the way forward. Plenty of threads in here on the subject & plenty of owners of both to ask advice from

Got to agree with Dodders here (And Nik of course for suggesting it in the first place)

But here is a little info on CDJ's:

I'm a massive vinyl lover myself, got over 10'000 records so I have quite a hefty collection.

But a few years ago....well ok, over 10 years ago, I wanted to try out CD mixing and I bought myself a cheap Gemini CD deck to go with my 1210's.

It took a bit of getting use to at first, it's the same kind of learning curve as decks, so it was like learning how to mix all over again.

After a couple of years I wanted to digitize all my vinyl, plus I was buying more and more CD's and decided to get myself a very expensive Denon deck (nearly £900) It was either Pioneer or denon, but the deon had a very nifty feature called Alpha track, which meant it could mix 2 tracks from the same CD.

Then my Gemini bit the dust and I invested in a Pioneer CDJ-1000MK2 which at the time were the industry standard. They still are in fact but obviously they are the CDJ-2000's now.

I love mixing on CDJ's and if you have the time and money to start burning CD's, putting some of your Vinyl on CD's then go for it.

But if you are still really into your Vinyl, a cheaper option would be the serato route which lots of folks on here use and it works very very well by all accounts.

If you do go for CDJ's, it just depends on your budget, but obviously Pioneer are the leaders here and the price shows that. But there are now lots of different pioneer models out there and at various prices. Plus, all of them now play MP3's and on some of the models you can even attach USB sticks with all your tracks on, and even External Harddrives.

Have a look on this site for all your DJ gear, and have a look at the pioneer stuff, also the denon stuff as well: DJ Equipment, Digital DJ Equipment, DJ Mixers - decks.co.uk this is where I buy all my stuff from, great place.

Originally Posted by dodders

mate, if ur already converting everything & u wanna keep the decks then as the Gnash has said, Traktor or Serato is the way forward. Plenty of threads in here on the subject & plenty of owners of both to ask advice from

Originally Posted by Curly

I've tried CDJ's recently and couldn't get used to them.

I'll just stick to my lil old 1210's and Serato

cheers lads i think i best have a look into this , this forums mint and dead friendly thanks again

Originally Posted by China-Rising

Got to agree with Dodders here (And Nik of course for suggesting it in the first place)

But here is a little info on CDJ's:

I'm a massive vinyl lover myself, got over 10'000 records so I have quite a hefty collection.

But a few years ago....well ok, over 10 years ago, I wanted to try out CD mixing and I bought myself a cheap Gemini CD deck to go with my 1210's.

It took a bit of getting use to at first, it's the same kind of learning curve as decks, so it was like learning how to mix all over again.

After a couple of years I wanted to digitize all my vinyl, plus I was buying more and more CD's and decided to get myself a very expensive Denon deck (nearly £900) It was either Pioneer or denon, but the deon had a very nifty feature called Alpha track, which meant it could mix 2 tracks from the same CD.

Then my Gemini bit the dust and I invested in a Pioneer CDJ-1000MK2 which at the time were the industry standard. They still are in fact but obviously they are the CDJ-2000's now.

I love mixing on CDJ's and if you have the time and money to start burning CD's, putting some of your Vinyl on CD's then go for it.

But if you are still really into your Vinyl, a cheaper option would be the serato route which lots of folks on here use and it works very very well by all accounts.

If you do go for CDJ's, it just depends on your budget, but obviously Pioneer are the leaders here and the price shows that. But there are now lots of different pioneer models out there and at various prices. Plus, all of them now play MP3's and on some of the models you can even attach USB sticks with all your tracks on, and even External Harddrives.

Have a look on this site for all your DJ gear, and have a look at the pioneer stuff, also the denon stuff as well: DJ Equipment, Digital DJ Equipment, DJ Mixers - decks.co.uk this is where I buy all my stuff from, great place.

cheers china great help , thanks for the link going to check it all out , i think i will way up all the options then see what the bank balance is like , went on ebay and some of the better cdjs were going for a grand ( prob the same as 1210s back in the day) i think i would have to get some that have mp3 on them cant be arsed to put everything on discs ( lazy ) .but will defo have look at serato route , thanks again for help cheers

Most dj shops have cdjs in the showroom so you can have a try and see if you like them or can get used to them - i know you might not mix as tight as you would on turntables but you should definitely try before you buy

Like many others I've always mixed using vinyl, other than a brief spell when I had a USB mixer as a stop gap 'till I could afford to replace my stolen Technics! Anyway only last weekend I had my first ever go on CDJ's at a house party & I thought they were ok. After my first mix I was comfortable using them & had great fun! I can't remember what make they were though as I was steaming But, all said & done personally I still prefer vinyl, & now have traktor scratch pro running along side my trusty wheels of steel

& like I think Dodders said, if you're keeping your decks & ripping your vinyl to mp3 anyway, surley furnishing yourself with Traktor or Serato is the next logical step (personally I think Traktor pisses all over Serato!).

Originally Posted by msprim

Most dj shops have cdjs in the showroom so you can have a try and see if you like them or can get used to them - i know you might not mix as tight as you would on turntables but you should definitely try before you buy

thanks for reply there a few shop near me so will pop in and have a quick mix see how i get on

Originally Posted by Rogue_D

Like many others I've always mixed using vinyl, other than a brief spell when I had a USB mixer as a stop gap 'till I could afford to replace my stolen Technics! Anyway only last weekend I had my first ever go on CDJ's at a house party & I thought they were ok. After my first mix I was comfortable using them & had great fun! I can't remember what make they were though as I was steaming But, all said & done personally I still prefer vinyl, & now have traktor scratch pro running along side my trusty wheels of steel

& like I think Dodders said, if you're keeping your decks & ripping your vinyl to mp3 anyway, surley furnishing yourself with Traktor or Serato is the next logical step (personally I think Traktor pisses all over Serato!).

defo checking out traktor seem a lot cheaper than the cdj route cheers

if u are getting some i suggest saving and getting a pair of pioneer 1000s dont bother with cheap shit. i got 1000s and ive no grumbles about them

my 2pence worth....

stop being a faggot and use turntables and vinyl, cdj's/cd decks are officailly for gender benders with a penchant for cock. only play the original tunes, never buy represses and insist on resfusing to listen to anybody that tells you to stop living in the past. this is 1991 not 2011.

fuck you all and your science!






















or try serato, its very good

Originally Posted by dj Euphoria

my 2pence worth....

stop being a faggot and use turntables and vinyl, cdj's/cd decks are officailly for gender benders with a penchant for cock. only play the original tunes, never buy represses and insist on resfusing to listen to anybody that tells you to stop living in the past. this is 1991 not 2011.

fuck you all and your science!






















or try serato, its very good

lmao.....

Originally Posted by dj Euphoria

my 2pence worth....

stop being a faggot and use turntables and vinyl, cdj's/cd decks are officailly for gender benders with a penchant for cock. only play the original tunes, never buy represses and insist on resfusing to listen to anybody that tells you to stop living in the past. this is 1991 not 2011.

fuck you all and your science!

Oi!

Stop living in 1991 ya geriatric.

Now where did I put my pink shirt????

Originally Posted by China-Rising

Oi!

Stop living in 1991 ya geriatric.

Now where did I put my pink shirt????

on a side note do you remember them t shiirts that changed color when you sweated , they were the days

Originally Posted by Ray Sparra

ver seen the technics SLDZ1200?
If I were ever to get any cdjs myself, I would have these I think, pretty much like a normal deck

I owned a pair of these when they first come out
what can i say about them; They're really pretty and nice to look at
thats about as far as it goes !

read up on em you'll find millions of complains
i sent mine back & forth to repairs centre so good job i bought them new
as you'd be fucked as the repairs is in Japan so good luck with buying em
secondhand there is still bugs on them units that are just ignored
and they sound really digitized say compaired to any DVS or any newer CD /
Midi products. Technics definitely failed at the CD Market hence why we havent
seen anything else out since the DZ But aslong as it has the brand name Technics
people will still buy them ! i sold my pair for fuck all on ebay made a great loss
but thats my own fault for been sucked into the brand marketing snobbery.

2 turntables and serato anydays over cd decks

The Denon DJ DN-S3700 seems ok for cd / midi deck
im using a Numark V7 at the moment with serato itch

Originally Posted by topbuzz

on a side note do you remember them t shiirts that changed color when you sweated , they were the days

remember the scratch & sniff ones to !

Originally Posted by J3D

remember the scratch & sniff ones to !

i think that was my t-shirt , can i have it back please

i dont mind using cdjs but i find them a little boring at times to use i definatly prefer mixing vinyl especially scratching with vinyl is second to none

Originally Posted by Karl Gibson

i dont mind using cdjs but i find them a little boring at times to use i definatly prefer mixing vinyl especially scratching with vinyl is second to none

i know what you meen karl about vinyl but i think it would cost thousands to get all the old tracks i want so going to get a pair of cdjs ( when got enough money) and move with the times

I've got a pair of 1210's and a pair of Denon DN-S3000 CDJ's

There are advantages to both really. Anyone my age or around, grew and learned to mix with vinyl. It still has 'that' feel to it I'll always prefer mixing on vinyl I think...

But !!!

As said, you can get some decent quality MP3s for naff all off the net so CDs cost you a fraction of what you'd pay on vinyl. If you play current music like D&B etc, not just Old Skool, pretty soon you will have a hard time buying the latest tracks on vinyl. I reckon within the next 18 months or so they will be near to non existant. Another record shop closed down in my town last Saturday. The last one that was still trading (Had been going for 20 years) But people just aren't buying the latest stuff on vinyl any more. It's sad to say, that we are coming to an end of an era. But as people say - evolution etc, things are always updated. Just like we don't record our mixes onto cassettes anymore, we record them digitally onto MP3/WAV.

I thought hard about which direction I wanted to take as far as CDJ's or Serato. I chose CDJ's for one reason really... Because I get to play out now and again in clubs, I thought it would be SO much easier to take a couple of CDs with me as opposed to a laptop and wires and interfaces etc. Plus I know, with my luck, my shitty laptop would probably crash during the set and I'd start a riot of angry ravers wanting tunes, whilst I re-boot the thing lol.

99% of clubs have CDJ's now so it shows you the way things are going. I had a set on Friday night and was the ONLY person to turn up on the night with vinyl. (I knew the club had turntables and CDJ's already installed )

My only downside to the CD decks is that you can't see when the break is coming up on a tune. (Except on the Pioneers, they have a small waveform display) But unless you have some serious £ to buy a set, then your stuck without. You either have to learn the music VERY well or possibly jot down the elapsed time on the track, so you know when to mix out

Good luck with whatever you decide mate