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View Full Version : Modded DJM900 with rotary kit and CDJ2000 LED mod



brichi
02-06-2012, 07:23 PM
complete setup with DJM800 - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/IMAG0596.jpg

Modded DJM900 I just finished - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/done%20final/photocleaned.JPG

mostapha
02-06-2012, 07:38 PM
I'd use that, and I notoriously don't like pioneer mixers.

LoveBass
02-06-2012, 08:08 PM
The EQ would have to get fixed for me!

brichi
02-06-2012, 10:29 PM
The EQ would have to get fixed for me!

just curious, How would you fix the EQ? I like hearing others opinions on what they like/dislike about gear

oh, and pay no attention to the maxed out channels, I cranked everything on purpose to heat the mixer as a test after I modded it

brichi
02-07-2012, 07:42 PM
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/done%20final/photocleaned.JPG

Freddy Lozano
02-07-2012, 08:10 PM
was the wiring straight forward?

Liam
02-08-2012, 03:16 AM
That's some amount of balls to mod a 900 and 2 CDJ2000's man. +Rep for it!

I like the LED mods on the CDJ's and like the rotary kit in the 900. Was it a difficult task?

brichi
02-08-2012, 10:05 AM
thanks guys,

yeah the wiring is kinda straight forward for the 900 mod, its just 3 wires on the rotary kit (in a 4 pin connector), and 3 pins on the 900 board, i swapped the white connectors from the 900 faders to the rotary because the rotary knob used a 4 pin connector even though it was only 3 wires, the middle remained in the middle and the other 2 (pin 1 and 3) were hit or miss, if you missed, the volume was just backwards so you swapped the cables so it was correct, I also had to extend the 1 and 4 rotary knob cables a little longer because they were further away. After the mod everything works perfect including the on air feature if you have the cdj2000's or 900's, Also midi was tested and all works fine and is mappable too so the mod does not have any effect that would eliminate a feature of the mixer

as far as the led mod, that was easy "if" you are good at desoldering and soldering, Its a matter of desoldering and pulling out an led, then soldering in a new one. Just tedious because some are close together like the search buttons so you have to be careful not to have the solder joints connect to each other. The easiest part is the play and cue buttons because they sit on their own board thats easy to pull out. The search buttons and loops were a little bit of a pain because you need to pull one of the main boards

Liam
02-08-2012, 10:18 AM
Good stuff man! If i had balls to open up a 900 and 2000 i would definitely try this..

Doing the jobs wouldn't be a problem as i'm a time served electronic engineer and do this kinda stuff for a living but it's just having the guts to do it i suppose. But it looks brilliant overall man!

brichi
02-08-2012, 10:23 AM
thanks man, yeah, I have balls with this shit, i do a lot of this for a living also so I new a little about it

Marc S
02-08-2012, 10:27 AM
just curious, How would you fix the EQ? I like hearing others opinions on what they like/dislike about gear

oh, and pay no attention to the maxed out channels, I cranked everything on purpose to heat the mixer as a test after I modded it

the EQ on modern djm mixers drop off is too steep and they seem harsh when you boost, ive always hated the eq's on their digital mixers, the sound in general sounds flat and "cold", its why ive never bought one, its a shame because they are very intuitive and well laid out. and the fx is a powerful tool. always enjoy using them at gigs, but never enjoyed the sound.

brichi
02-08-2012, 12:19 PM
the EQ on modern djm mixers drop off is too steep and they seem harsh when you boost, ive always hated the eq's on their digital mixers, the sound in general sounds flat and "cold", its why ive never bought one, its a shame because they are very intuitive and well laid out. and the fx is a powerful tool. always enjoy using them at gigs, but never enjoyed the sound.

ahhhh gotcha, the 900 does have a switch though now where you actually have a choice to make them full out isolators, Not sure if that would help you out at all

Marc S
02-08-2012, 03:40 PM
not really, ive used the 900, it's better, but the eq ranges are just muddled, hard to explain, but they adjust frequencies they shouldnt, in a club i guess its ok, but i think ive been spoiled by rane, formula sound, rodec etc mixers that have such wonderful eq's, and allen and heath too have a nice 4 band one.

DTR
02-08-2012, 06:07 PM
Nice mods :)

brichi
02-08-2012, 06:58 PM
thank you.

I cleaned up the rotary plate so all the numbers and dashes are gone that were worn out, looks a lot more clean now

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/done%20final/photocleaned.JPG

Wakka
02-08-2012, 07:20 PM
i am not super savy at this... but would you post up a diy on all this? both the cdj and the djm mods. I wouldnt feel comfortable mussing around in it unless i had a guide to follow.

brichi
02-09-2012, 07:33 AM
to be honest wakka, If you are not that great with stuff like this, I wouldn't even attempt it. The cdj's have to be ripped completely apart and desoldered VERY carefully or you can easily damage major parts, A DIY guide really wouldn't help if you are not perfect with soldering skills

scottie the goonie
02-09-2012, 07:21 PM
to be honest wakka, If you are not that great with stuff like this, I wouldn't even attempt it. The cdj's have to be ripped completely apart and desoldered VERY carefully or you can easily damage major parts, A DIY guide really wouldn't help if you are not perfect with soldering skills

I can imagine just how cramped the joints are in a digital mixer like that... Looks good

brichi
02-09-2012, 07:59 PM
exactly, very cramped!!! Thank you

DJStevieRay
02-09-2012, 08:56 PM
How much would you charge for that mod, I can't let my 800 go because I love my rotaries soooooooooooooooooo much.

brichi
02-09-2012, 09:45 PM
not even sure Stevie, haven't thought about doing it for other people, I wouldn't want to be responsible god forbid something went wrong during the mod

DJStevieRay
02-09-2012, 09:49 PM
But I need a rotary mixer with sound card and midi. So I need you to make me one. I'm about 2 hours aways in the Pocono's. Maybe I could buy what's neccessary, and we can meet up, and you could help me make it myself. It looks like the 800 Rotary kit correct?

DJStevieRay
02-09-2012, 09:50 PM
Hell I would take a Rane Sixty Eight rotary but it's hid not midi, and no way I know how to make it rotary.

brichi
02-10-2012, 07:26 AM
I would be fine with making you a quick tutorial with pics if you want stevie, Main thing is you need to get the DJM800 rotary kit and then have the djm900 plate cut by a machine shop right above the A THRU B switch so the rotary kit would fit right in, the rest is easy wiring

DJStevieRay
02-10-2012, 04:21 PM
I have the rotary kit in my 800 already.

B.Frank
02-10-2012, 05:36 PM
Looks great.

brichi
02-10-2012, 10:13 PM
thank you!

latest pics as of tonight, Pulled the rotary plate back out and painted it gloss back with a little metallic, also put dark purple led's in all the cues, thats a lot of led's!!!, 2 per cue. The purple is a lot darker then what you see in the pic, the blues and reds also look so light for whatever reason, but you get the point :)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/done%20final/complete/latestcoffin.png

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/done%20final/complete/photo%201.JPG

Freddy Lozano
02-12-2012, 05:06 PM
what size led's would i need to get

brichi
02-12-2012, 05:59 PM
you would need 3mm , nothing bigger or they will not physically fit

Freddy Lozano
02-12-2012, 06:14 PM
how many total?

brichi
02-12-2012, 07:33 PM
depends on what you want to change, lol

I did roughly 13 total on each cdj

added 2 blue to platter
added 2 red to platter "on air" mode
red cue
blue play
loop in - blue
loop out - blue
reloop/exit - white
4 white for the searches

14 on the djm900

each channel cue is 2 per so 10 purple
RB cue - 1 purple
efx cue - 1 purple
efx button - 2 blue

brichi
02-19-2012, 01:19 PM
think next I may have to change the yellow volume meters to blue, I like the way that looks in the A&H mixers :)

Raindance Rob
02-19-2012, 02:55 PM
nice, does anyone know if you can get a rotary kit for the DJM-500 ?

brichi
02-19-2012, 03:08 PM
thanks

I doubt it, it doesn't look like they made an easily removed panel to drop in a rotary kit

Estacy
02-19-2012, 03:34 PM
you could mod it though. get a multimeter to check the specs on the faders and buy similair rotary potentiometers, hook em up, buy some knobs, drill a few holes in the frontplate and you've got yourself rotary faders

brichi
02-19-2012, 04:53 PM
100% Estacy, If I were doing it I would just get the djm800's kit, the rotary from that is great, just drill them like I did here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/done%20final/900knob.jpg


I then decided to get the plate cut properly because I didn't like the way that looked and now it looks like
this

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1184069/CDJ2000/led%20mod/done%20final/photocleaned.JPG

, It comes down to the wiring though, that was the tricky part when I put the rotary into the 900, the 900 was easy because it was very similar to the 800, just 3 pin vs 4 pin connectors which I changed. Just not sure how the 500 is

Estacy
02-19-2012, 04:58 PM
well, the 800 rotary kit would only work if the faders in the djm 500 are the same as in the 800, which I doubt. theres even a difference in the channel faders on DJM's because of the faderstart

brichi
02-19-2012, 05:04 PM
well, the 800 rotary kit would only work if the faders in the djm 500 are the same as in the 800, which I doubt. theres even a difference in the channel faders on DJM's because of the faderstart

they definitely don't look it, i just looked inside a djm500 and the ribbon cable and connections are totally different, I wouldn't mess with it unless you really know what you are doing. The faders in the 800 and 900 are different, but they used a similar wiring scheme I guess so that way all the options work like fader start, midi, "on air", etc...

Raindance Rob
02-19-2012, 07:25 PM
you could mod it though. get a multimeter to check the specs on the faders and buy similair rotary potentiometers, hook em up, buy some knobs, drill a few holes in the frontplate and you've got yourself rotary faders

although iv modded my Technics thats far beyond my skills sadly :(

Raindance Rob
02-19-2012, 07:28 PM
they definitely don't look it, i just looked inside a djm500 and the ribbon cable and connections are totally different, I wouldn't mess with it unless you really know what you are doing. The faders in the 800 and 900 are different, but they used a similar wiring scheme I guess so that way all the options work like fader start, midi, "on air", etc...

id be much more comfortable buying a kit thats designed for the DJM-500 iv searched online but couldnt find anything

brichi
02-19-2012, 08:00 PM
there definitely is none, only kits are for the djm800/1000/3000

Raindance Rob
02-20-2012, 11:19 PM
there definitely is none, only kits are for the djm800/1000/3000

oh well never mind, thanks for confirming

shepe
03-02-2012, 04:09 PM
For those of you that prefer the rotary kits, what styles do you mix? im curious as I couldnt imagine changing my upfaders to rotarys as I dont really use the crossfader its all about the upfaders for me!

DJNR
03-02-2012, 04:31 PM
For those of you that prefer the rotary kits, what styles do you mix? im curious as I couldnt imagine changing my upfaders to rotarys as I dont really use the crossfader its all about the upfaders for me!

I usually hear that people who use rotaries usually play EDM (not dubstep usually). I think it is because you don't really have any immediate response with a rotary like you do with line faders.

Andrew B
03-02-2012, 04:46 PM
For those of you that prefer the rotary kits, what styles do you mix? im curious as I couldnt imagine changing my upfaders to rotarys as I dont really use the crossfader its all about the upfaders for me!

I don't necessarily prefer rotaries, but I like them. I've only used them a few times, for House, Breaks, and Dubstep. I usually keep the crossfader turned off. Rotaries are great, you don't even have to use EQs.

brichi
03-02-2012, 06:34 PM
I mainly love the rotary because thats how I started and always knew back 25 years ago, I mix mainly dance/house music but either way, I prefer the smoothness of rotary.

Estacy
03-02-2012, 06:39 PM
[QUOTE=DJNR;33725. I think it is because you don't really have any immediate response with a rotary like you do with line faders.[/QUOTE]

Im not sure what you're on about? they react just as fast? the thing with rotaries is that its what dj mixers used to have. people stick with it or go try it out. It makes for long and very smooth transitions with the music doing the work. For techno or top 40 rotaries aren't all that great because faders would be the preferred option, but for house, its great!

Budzak
03-02-2012, 07:21 PM
Im not sure what you're on about? they react just as fast? the thing with rotaries is that its what dj mixers used to have. people stick with it or go try it out. It makes for long and very smooth transitions with the music doing the work. For techno or top 40 rotaries aren't all that great because faders would be the preferred option, but for house, its great!

I think he means more like you can't flick a rotary around like you can a fader.

DJNR
03-03-2012, 03:23 AM
Im not sure what you're on about? they react just as fast? the thing with rotaries is that its what dj mixers used to have. people stick with it or go try it out. It makes for long and very smooth transitions with the music doing the work. For techno or top 40 rotaries aren't all that great because faders would be the preferred option, but for house, its great!

Yeah sorry, I was a little vague. What I mean is techniques like fader throws are a little more difficult. :)

reactive
03-03-2012, 10:02 PM
do you have any pics of the cdj2000 open?

Johbremat
03-04-2012, 08:55 AM
Using a Rotary Empath I'll mix techno, disco, house, dubstep, trip-hop, drum'n'bass...

Bought a regular Empath because mixing hip-hop was a pain, and being able to cut with upfaders is a little more fun with tech and d'n'b.

That said: depending what mixer you're using you can still mix many styles. If I want a quick cut on the rotary, I'll use the input selector on the channel, or the EQ toggle.

LoveBass
03-04-2012, 01:44 PM
Can't stand what frequencies the eq is based at. There are like no mids and the bass takes out way to much in my opinion. In my mixer (evo 5) thats ajustable

DJNR
03-04-2012, 01:56 PM
Can't stand what frequencies the eq is based at. There are like no mids and the bass takes out way to much in my opinion. In my mixer (evo 5) thats ajustable

Are you talking about the DJM 900? I guess it's semi adjustable with the EQ and Kill feature, but I haven't noticed anything you mentioned.

Era 7
03-04-2012, 02:47 PM
Are you talking about the DJM 900? I guess it's semi adjustable with the EQ and Kill feature, but I haven't noticed anything you mentioned.

i guess he means the frequency range of the single EQ e.g. mids EQ from xxx Hz - xxx Hz :shrug:

dj daywalker
08-28-2012, 01:38 PM
The play lights on both my cdj2000s are out. Is this probably just an issue with bad LEDs or something else?

brichi
08-28-2012, 01:53 PM
definitely bad LED's, that's what got me on the whole modding kick :)

if you are comfortable soldering in new ones, the led's on the play/cue board are 3mm, I used the ultra bright clear ones and they are perfect, I used led-switch.com. http://led-switch.com/Ultra%20Bright%20LED's.htm

if not, the boards from pioneer parts are easy to replace but are about $45 (US) a piece vs doing the led's yourself for like $2 total

dj daywalker
08-28-2012, 04:47 PM
Thanks for the link, I was looking at them on ebay which probably would have been a bad idea. So am I able to put any color anywhere? It specifies certain voltages for certain colors but you seem to have mixed them around.

I will probably just replace the cue and play with the original colors. I was thinking green for loop in and red for loop out could be cool.

brichi
08-28-2012, 05:04 PM
you can pretty much do any color as long as you stick with 3mm and between 2-5v. I did both my cdj's and djm900

http://db.tt/ec8YHOIJ

dj daywalker
08-28-2012, 05:57 PM
sounds good man. I am going to get a pack of green and a pack of red. Red for cue, green for play. And maybe do the loop buttons too