Hi everyone,
I am a newbie and ready to buy a DJ controller but my budget is low so I am looking for a cheap controller. I read an article on the best DJ controller under 500 but am confused between Pioneer DDJ and Numark MixTrack. I really like both of them. Can someone guide me as to which of the two is best?
Thank you so much!
I am a newbie and ready to buy a DJ controller but my budget is low so I am looking for a cheap controller. I read an article on the best DJ controller under 500 but am confused between Pioneer DDJ and Numark MixTrack. I really like both of them. Can someone guide me as to which of the two is best?
Thank you so much!
It will work also with VirtualDJ or Traktor, but perhaps You'll have to create the mappings if there isn't one already created. You will need the MIDI chart as it makes it much simpler.
I own a Numark Mixtrack Express & I find it rubbish (repaired two or three times) compared to the other also owned Pioneer Consoles DJ-R1, SB2;SB3; Ergo.
If You want to party, Numark is OK, but for real DJ stuff go for the Pioneer.
There’s an old saying “buy once, cry once”. Before spending any $ on DJ gear in this economic environment, suggest you rent a couple of them within your price range for the weekend and try them out. The one you feel most comfortable to should be your purchase.
It also will help you decide if dj’n is what you want to do - whether it’s for fun or business. If the latter, it can quickly become a money pit UNLESS...you’ll build a business plan.
Also definitely search for your used DJ gear re-sales, bought my own controller used 3-4 years ago and still works fine, for -70% of the original price.
And as kip said it depends on the program you wish to use, I am currently using Traktor + Serato DJ PRO. Other than that, all controllers are pretty much the same, more expensive ones will have a less cheap/plastic feel to them though.
From my experience the only real difference between traktor and serato (I've been using serato for a few weeks now, not an expert); Traktor analyzes things quite decently, sync works flawlessy most of the time. Great for beginners to start mixing techno/house. Serato doesnt really know how to analyze beatgrids and doesn't know how to sync at all. All the sync does is match the bpm on serato, it would probably work if I set the beatgrids myself on every single song but I am not keen on doing that to my whole library. Other than that, as with most controllers and softwares, not too many differences between them. And that doesnt mean serato is bad, it gave me the motivation to start learning how to beatmatch by ear when I couldnt just sync every song flawlessy together, which I guess everyone should learn eventually.
It could of course be beneficial to use Pioneer gear with recordbox, so if/when the time comes to move over to CDJ's, you'll be a bit more familiar with the gear. But again, since everything is pretty much the same ****, you shouldnt have problems moving there anyways no matter what gear you use
And as kip said it depends on the program you wish to use, I am currently using Traktor + Serato DJ PRO. Other than that, all controllers are pretty much the same, more expensive ones will have a less cheap/plastic feel to them though.
From my experience the only real difference between traktor and serato (I've been using serato for a few weeks now, not an expert); Traktor analyzes things quite decently, sync works flawlessy most of the time. Great for beginners to start mixing techno/house. Serato doesnt really know how to analyze beatgrids and doesn't know how to sync at all. All the sync does is match the bpm on serato, it would probably work if I set the beatgrids myself on every single song but I am not keen on doing that to my whole library. Other than that, as with most controllers and softwares, not too many differences between them. And that doesnt mean serato is bad, it gave me the motivation to start learning how to beatmatch by ear when I couldnt just sync every song flawlessy together, which I guess everyone should learn eventually.
It could of course be beneficial to use Pioneer gear with recordbox, so if/when the time comes to move over to CDJ's, you'll be a bit more familiar with the gear. But again, since everything is pretty much the same ****, you shouldnt have problems moving there anyways no matter what gear you use
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I've used Mixxx. For what it is, (as in free), it's outstanding. I mainly use Cross (audio and video), sometimes Serato (audio only). I can highly recommend it. It may not look as polished as others (in fact, I sometimes think it looks like an old program running in DOS!), but that doesn't worry me.
Does Mixx actually work with more advanced controllers, like the Numark NS7? I have a buddy that’s been bugging me to move all my stuff over to Linux. And I’d really love to get rid of Winblows, and pay as you go Office, be able to operate without an internet connection all the time, and to continue to use my old perfectly good PC hardware. I sort-of got my old mini Hercules controller to work with Mixx, but it was still better on my old winXP box. I haven’t tried in a couple years now.
Do not buy used unless this will be a hobby, I've been doing this since 1977 and have 2 controllers and also vinyl system too. My friend that Dj's with me sometimes bought about 5 controllers from used market and a few times there's s glitch in the controller now he has to mix on his cellphone. LOL its not funny but he never listens to me. Its embarrassing trying to fix this on a full dance floor having a good time. Don't buy USED!
Absolutely nothing wrong with buying used gear. If you dont know what you are buying, maybe dont, but there is plenty of full working gear being sold. Always ask the seller questions & try it before buying, but there are plenty of bedroom djs selling perfectly fine gear that has never even left their house.
Of course there are the same risks that are present no matter what it is that you are buying used, so you could argue you should never buy anything at all if its used, but do your research and wont be stupid about it youll come out fine. Maybe buying 5 broken items in a row says more about the buyer than the sellers?
Venues will usually have their own gear anyways, of it is a party a lot of people will bring their own gear that you can surely use if you ask, but if youve bought a controller for starting out youll notice if theres something wrong with it before a gig anyways.
And if you are just starting out, no reason to spend 600$+ on a brand new controller that you are not yet sure about, but if you bought the same (and fully working) controller for 200$ it would be less costly to re-sell it and try another one. Of course you need to be a little patient on not jumping on the first and cheapest controller of the model that you want, wait a bit to get perhaps a year or two old models that havent seen too many gigs/never left their home. They'll be a bit more expensive than the heavily used ones, as can be expected.
Sometimes they are easy to repair aswell. This year the headphones jack broke from my Traktor S4mk1 (I think it retailed for ~700-800? Bought it 175$ early 2017), it was giving audio only to the left ear. Even if it hadnt been repaired, I think it wouldve been worth for the price I paid and the time I used it. But a friend of mine took it apart and resolded the connectors on the electronic board for the headphone jack & it started working again. It was a ~15 minute job taking it apart, resolding it, and putting it back together. Now that I watched him do it, I could do it myself. Using isoproly alcohol that is meant for cleaning electronics is also advised for keeping them working for as long as possible.
Of course there are the same risks that are present no matter what it is that you are buying used, so you could argue you should never buy anything at all if its used, but do your research and wont be stupid about it youll come out fine. Maybe buying 5 broken items in a row says more about the buyer than the sellers?
Venues will usually have their own gear anyways, of it is a party a lot of people will bring their own gear that you can surely use if you ask, but if youve bought a controller for starting out youll notice if theres something wrong with it before a gig anyways.
And if you are just starting out, no reason to spend 600$+ on a brand new controller that you are not yet sure about, but if you bought the same (and fully working) controller for 200$ it would be less costly to re-sell it and try another one. Of course you need to be a little patient on not jumping on the first and cheapest controller of the model that you want, wait a bit to get perhaps a year or two old models that havent seen too many gigs/never left their home. They'll be a bit more expensive than the heavily used ones, as can be expected.
Sometimes they are easy to repair aswell. This year the headphones jack broke from my Traktor S4mk1 (I think it retailed for ~700-800? Bought it 175$ early 2017), it was giving audio only to the left ear. Even if it hadnt been repaired, I think it wouldve been worth for the price I paid and the time I used it. But a friend of mine took it apart and resolded the connectors on the electronic board for the headphone jack & it started working again. It was a ~15 minute job taking it apart, resolding it, and putting it back together. Now that I watched him do it, I could do it myself. Using isoproly alcohol that is meant for cleaning electronics is also advised for keeping them working for as long as possible.
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All the glitches I’ve ever experienced with DJ controllers were SOFTWARE problems. usually Windows itself. The ONLY Windows that has been trustable not to blow up or do something stupid in the middle of a show is XP. And I only have that on an ancient 15 year old boat anchor desktop which I can’t use to connect to the internet anymore. One of these days, when I get back into DJing again i’ll just.spend the two grand and buy a Mac. Right now the need isn’t critical.
Just a note:
To run some disco events for the kids I ended up with a Numark DJ2GO2, it is very cheap and build quality is not comparable to "proper" controllers. But it's everything needed to do a bit of DJ'ing, it's very small and easy to have in a backpack together with the laptop and a proper external soundcard. I've seen some world class DJ's resort to having one for use on the go, or even just laying around for emergency backup in case the worst happens.
After trying out various software I eventually ended up purchasing a license for "Virtual DJ", it's very good for my use, works with just about any kind of controller. Very easy to route outputs and inputs to get it all just right.
To run some disco events for the kids I ended up with a Numark DJ2GO2, it is very cheap and build quality is not comparable to "proper" controllers. But it's everything needed to do a bit of DJ'ing, it's very small and easy to have in a backpack together with the laptop and a proper external soundcard. I've seen some world class DJ's resort to having one for use on the go, or even just laying around for emergency backup in case the worst happens.
After trying out various software I eventually ended up purchasing a license for "Virtual DJ", it's very good for my use, works with just about any kind of controller. Very easy to route outputs and inputs to get it all just right.
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Mixtrack is a piece of junk. Ive had 2 of them and both failed in one way or another. The DDJ is a much better quality bit of kit and of the 2 Id go for this one.
RE software: I find rekordbox much better to use than traktor. They are very similar but rekordBox is more slick and just seems to work without glitches.
I'm a beginner DJ and I recently got a Traktor S2 MK3. It's their "bottom of the line" unit.
pros - it's inexpensive, nice layout and solid build quality, small size
Traktor software is really good IMO
internal processing sounds way better than their previous models
cons - low line level output (RCA only)
only 2 decks (I didn't think this would be a limitation I would outgrow
so quickly. Traktor now makes an S3 model that has 4 decks but is
still smallish and relatively inexpensive)
Even though the sound quality of the internal processing is way ahead of the previous Traktor S2 which I had been gifted from a friend, I still find that the line output gets fatiguing for extended sessions. It really became annoying...
I got a ZOOM U-44, a 4 channel external mixer/digital interface and I am very impressed with how much better it sounds! This thing is really a great problem solver, and inexpensive for all it does:
U-44 Handy Audio Interface | ZOOM
pros - it's inexpensive, nice layout and solid build quality, small size
Traktor software is really good IMO
internal processing sounds way better than their previous models
cons - low line level output (RCA only)
only 2 decks (I didn't think this would be a limitation I would outgrow
so quickly. Traktor now makes an S3 model that has 4 decks but is
still smallish and relatively inexpensive)
Even though the sound quality of the internal processing is way ahead of the previous Traktor S2 which I had been gifted from a friend, I still find that the line output gets fatiguing for extended sessions. It really became annoying...
I got a ZOOM U-44, a 4 channel external mixer/digital interface and I am very impressed with how much better it sounds! This thing is really a great problem solver, and inexpensive for all it does:
U-44 Handy Audio Interface | ZOOM
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