CDJ-1000 vs 2000 vs Denon

Rglrguy · 20-10-2009, 08:08 PM

I'm an old vinyl DJ and just recently went digital via Traktor Scratch Pro. I have TSP installed on both my Macbook Pro and my Window Vista Desktop. Beyond contrary belief, I see better performance on my PC using TSP.

I'm looking to start playing out again, but realize venues these days mostly have Pioneer CDJ/Serrato setups and use the turntables as CD album rests. That being said, what is the best CD deck to practice with at home?

I've never used a CD deck for mixing and I'm used to seeing upcoming break points on either the Traktor screen or the actual grooves of a record. aside from counting beats and listening, how does one tell if there is an upcoming break in a track or if it is running out of time?

As the CDJ 1000s are still pretty much standard in all of the clubs I frequent, what would you buy to practice if you had a choice? for example, is it worth buying a CDJ-1000 MK3 for @1,200 each or would you save up and wait for the CDJ 2000 to be released and spend $1700 each. While the Denon 3700s have great features and can be had for half the price of one CDJ 2000, a couple of pro DJs I've spoken to said they're harder to work with when they tried them out at a music conference.

On the other hand, you can get 2 Denon DN S1200 for the price of one Denon 3700 and it's fully compatible with Tractor Scratch Pro as a MIDI/HID controller.

So I guess my question is, do I abandon my TSP/Vinyl setup and go CDJ to work like the pros?

Thanks

apocalypse_now · 20-10-2009, 08:46 PM

I can't really help you with your CDJ dilemma, I just wanted to say that there are pros that still use a TSP/Vinyl setup

PhilMetcalfe · 22-10-2009, 05:40 PM

First of all, welcome to AH!

I can't really comment on the TSP side of things really. Never used it and it's never really interested me too much. There are still DJ's out there that use vinyl - I used it myself for a bit a gigs and stuff, but the bulkiness of it started to become annoying. Lugging a heavy record bag too and from the venue wasn't fun. I opted for CDJ 1000's MK III's when I decided to switch to CD. Yes they were top of the range but I reckoned if I were to be using them in clubs then why not buy them and know what I'm doing with them!? And the money I've saved from not buying expensive vinyl any more has probably paid for them by now. Admittedly there's not a huge amount of difference between those and the CDJ 800's. They do a lot of the same stuff, just without a few of the features of the 1000's.

The 1000's have a 'wave' display on them so you can see the breaks in the tracks just like you can on vinyl.

Personally I don't see the point in buying the 2000's straight away. Yes they have some cool feature like that touch tracking pad and some cool other stuff, but will you use them? I can skip to a rough part of any track in about 1 or 2 seconds. And half the features on my CDJ's I don't even use anyway. They do look very pretty and colourful though

If you're quite creative though in your mixes, then the 2000's may be more to your liking?

Just my two pence like....

Rglrguy · 25-10-2009, 02:25 AM

Thanks for the responses guys. Though it looks like I'll be finding out first hand on the Pioneers. I picked up a pair of used CDJ 1000 Mk3s I found on Craig's list from a night club that's going under in NYC. I paid $1700 for the pair. I should have negotiated a better deal but didn't want to be out bidded.

In a way, I'm now feeling a little bit of buyers remorse. I expected the players to be a little more rugged. These things are lightweight and feel cheap - like a game console. Having lugged around 1200s for so long, i was surprised about how plastic they feel. Considering they're only a CD/mp3 player, I kind of regret not buying something more future proof. Even though I'll probably be using them with my TSP, having the ability to plug in a USB drive would have been useful.

Some of my initial experiences with the CDJs took some getting used to. It took me a little while to figure out the differences between Play/pause; CDJ and vinyl mode. I also kept finding myself reaching for the platter to try to slow down the pitch - an old habit from playing on turntables. Yes, you can adjust the jog dial, but it's a different feeling.

One of the things I like is the WAV display, though I thought it would have better resolution. I also noticed CDs recorded in CD format automatically generate a wavform, whereas, you need to have the SD cards loaded when using MP3 formatted disk to read the display. One of the things I was hoping the WAV form would show are cue points or markers so you know where to start mixing out. Since I don't have the SD cards installed, I can't record the cue points and curious to see how they show up on the display.

Tomorrow I'll try to hook them up to my Macbook and TSP and see if there are any latency issues. At least with TSP, I can set my cue points and read the high resolution WAV form directly from a big screen.

BTW - Can anyone tell me if the drive mechanisms are typically noisy? Mine seem pretty loud when the CDs are loaded and playing. Not sure if it's because my units have a lot of milage on them or is this noisy operation normal. You would think that a precision musical instrument like this would have quiet operation.