- What's the best way to get exposure on club level gear? -

**djrebelv** · 04-16-2018, 04:53 PM

Hey guys, wondering if you could help me out here.

I've been playing with my DDJ-SX for years and know the ins-n-outs and I love it but.. I need some exposure to pro-level gear. The goal has always been to play out at bigger gigs and I have an "in" with the guy who puts on most (if not all) of the DNB gigs in my area but I'm obviously not going to take a gig without knowing the gear (CDJ-2000s + DJM usually, it seems). Do any of you guys have any suggestions? How did you get your first exposure to it?

I don't know any other DJs who would have access to that kind of gear and after looking into possibly renting it for a month or so.. realized its not viable since it costs as much as the gear itself lol.

So I'm just curious if there are other options available out there that I'm missing completely. Any ideas welcome!

Thanks in advance!

**Rek_Aviles** · 04-16-2018, 08:28 PM

Do you have a local Guitar Center or Sam Ash? They usually have gear or all levels setup and open to use/try out.

**djrebelv** · 04-17-2018, 07:11 AM

Yeah, I went to one nearest me to see how much that gear goes for and they had a bunch of different controllers but no CDJ setup. I'm gonna try another location.. but ideally I'd like some time to actually spin on em and get familiar. Not sure they'd be cool with me setting up and throwing down in the middle of Guitar center lol. (Tho I guess you never know..)

**djknowledge** · 04-19-2018, 09:51 AM

buy it on a payment plan on z z o u n d s or on american musical supply. thats how i buy most of my expensive gear since im poor.

**JackStalk** · 04-19-2018, 05:10 PM

DDJ-SX basically has most of the same functionality as CDJ/DJM series, as far as button placement and a lot of the features. I play on CDJ-2000NX2s and would feel 100% confident playing on a SZ or SX controller.

**Hygro** · 04-19-2018, 06:50 PM

What about kicking it with the dude who owns the gear so you can practice? I found it took almost no time to learn pioneer gear, just watched a couple videos and then went to guitar center and then 30 minutes later I had my chops.

**Connor** · 04-20-2018, 02:29 PM

Come on down to Arkansas and you can get as much practice as you want on my decks.

**light-o-matic** · 04-20-2018, 04:11 PM

Yea, best bet is find a friend who has them. But, there are other thing you can do:

First:

In reality the absolute hardest part of being ready to play on CDJs/XJDs is the process of bringing your music library over from Serato to Rekordbox. In Serato you probably have them all organized the way you like, you have BPM's and probably Key for every track etc... Now, because I haven't done it, I don't know what's involved in importing your stuff from one system to the other. I know Rekordbox is more or less like a black hole.. much easier to convert stuff from other systems into it, nearly impossible to get anything from it back to other systems. But that works for you in this case.

The basic version of Rekordbox is free.. so you can start by working that part out, before you even have access to the decks.
Then, when you have access to the decks, you can export your tracks from Rekordbox to a flash drive, plug that drive right into the decks, and start playing. Sure you'll have to still learn the details of the decks and mixer controls.. but since you are already using the DDJ, you'll find there's not THAT much you need to get used to.. if you just stick to the basics.. understanding how to access a flash drive plugged into a different deck or the same deck, selecting tracks, cueing, beatmatching, mixing with eq's.. it's not going to be a HUGE hurdle.. you can probably get decently comfortable in a day or so.

Second:

On Pioneers web site, it claims that the DDJ-SX is compatible with Rekordbox. This means that if you get the paid version of Rekordbox (Rekordbox DJ), then you can use Rekordbox with your existing controller, you can start playing with that instead of Serato. So you'll be more in the Pioneer groove.. more familiarity when you do switch. And then, all your music will be in Rekordbox, ready to go, so when the day comes.. you'll have that part 100% worked out.

Third:

You don't HAVE to have the CDJ2000NXS2 and DJM900NXS2 or whatever the most expensive ones are now, just to be able to play on them.. if you have a less expensive Pioneer deck in the later models and get comfortable on them, you'll be 100% fine playing on the higher model newer decks. Sure some things have changed, but you will be OK playing on them and can learn a little at a time.

So if you want to buy decks you don't have to actually spend $5K or whatever.

For example I had CDJ-100's (CD only) for the longest time, it didn't stop me from playing on CDJ-1000's. Then I had 800's then 900's.. I paid $1600 for used 900's with a used DJM800 + a coffin case and Trakto Scratch! It was a good deal. I still have that setup, but recently I got XDJ1000 mk2's. All that time I was playing at parties where they would often have decks much nicer and newer than mine.. 2000's 2000NXS, now 2000NXS2. And nicer mixers.

So yea, don't feel like you absolutely need to have the top of the line. But I'd def try to get at least XDJ700's XDJ1000mk2 or CDJ-900's are still nice.. not as nice display. Used 2000's are coming down in price.
Software wise the XDJ's will be more advanced, they're much newer, but the actual knobs and buttons on the 2000 is nice. Mixer wise, if you had a DJM800 or even a 700 and got comfortable with that, you'd be comfortable with the latest gear within a few minutes of using it. Not with every feature, but you'd know what to do.

**light-o-matic** · 04-20-2018, 04:19 PM

And yea as far as guitar center the last time I was in there, I was shocked.. the whole DJ section has dropped down to almost nothing in my local store. Not only were there no Pioneer CDJ's.. there were no separate decks of any kind, of any brand. Totally gone. Just controllers and one piece units (eg XDJ-RX, Denon etc). As Mr Trump would say, "Sad". This is in Queens NY. In the NYC (Manhattan) store, they've had a bigger DJ section and maybe they still have decks and mixers.. I'll have to go check it out. But yea.. then one of my favorite DJ gear stores in NYC, Canal HiFi, totally shrank down to 1/4th their original size. It's a bad time for retail stores in NYC....