Gemini CDMP-7000 or Pioneer XDJ-RX?

You say they make you use Pioneer gear, next line you say you have no choice but to bring your controller.

IF they let you bring your controller, what do you want to bother with Pioneer gear for?

Frankly, moving from controller to CDJ setup because some backwards clubs won’t let you bring your controller is a big step backwards. Spending money to buy lesser gear than you already have (by way of features/options) just to be ready to play on gear that will be obsolete in a few years (when club gear is written off and starts to fail, it probably won’t be replaced again by club gear) is not good business.

Then there is the thing about using non-Traktor gear with Traktor software. Much has been written on that topic. Read up on it.

Finally, and I keep being amazed by this, you say “looks familiar with” and “transition to” when talking about club gear.
Having been everywhere in the last 38 years on the decks, I can say that NO MATTER WHAT GEAR you use, it all boils down to the same. Two jogwheels, play/cue buttons, pitchfader and a handful of other buttons (loop, cue, etc,) and maybe a small screen). Per channel a volume fader, few EQ buttons, gain/trim, cue button for headphones, maybe a crossfader, a few other knobs and buttons.

It’s the same on a set of ancient TTs with a 2 channel battle mixer, a NEXUS 2000/900 “club setup” and a DDJ-SB or Mixtrack Pro 3 controller. Buttons may look different, feel different and be in a different location, but trust me when I say they do exactly the same on all!

It is my belief that if you need to practice on different gear from your home gear in order to play out, you are not ready to play out by a long shot.

Here’s another thought for you. Let’s say you get to practice on Gemini CDJs, you are lucky in that they are exact replica’s of a certain type of Pioneer CDJ. So if you happen upon that exact same setup, good for you. But if they have a Nexus set there or a 350 set, it;s all gonna be different again. Or if you happen on a club that has Denon gear (they do exist) or Numark double rack built CD players? If you really feel uncomfortable about club gear, rent a set for a mid-week (probably cheap) and you will quickly notice that what I said checks out. It will take you about 15 minutes to figure out the important buttons and maybe another half hour to get to the more hidden functions. After that, it is no different from what you were using.

Hope that helps some.

if you need to practice on different gear from your home gear in order to play out, you are not ready to play out by a long shot.

DJ Vintage you have 38 years of experience and I respect that, but when you (and I) started it was all TT and Vinyl. We didn’t have these dilemma’s when we started DJ’ing. So even tho I mostly agree with what you say we need to approach this from Michael’s perspective. I can understand coming to DJ’ing now feels like opening your first DAW, even tho the basics are all the same. I think the real problem is more psychological then it has really to do with gear.

Building up confidence is as important as building up your skills. Michael just wants to have that extra bit of confidence when he goes to his first gigs. In my opinion the way to become a ‘pro DJ’ is trough experience playing outside your bedroom. That experience gives confidence. The confidence that at one point builds towards him feeling confident towards every gear that he might come across playing outside.

Until that point comes why not choose a product that next to the fact that its a good quality product, gives you a little feeling of confidence when approaching your first gigs?

Guys, come on. There is no “club setup”. Trust me, if you are fluent on a Nexus2000 setup and you are dumped in a place that has 350, 450, 800s or even old 1000s they all LOOK the same, but many functions are not the same, not available or in a different place. Oh, and not always in the same working state. You might show up to a place to find that the pitch fader is out, or the loop button, or … you get my drift. Yes, if all you play is major events, then CDJ2000NXS with a DJM900NXS is more or less the norm. Anything outside that, you can be happy if it’s Pioneer gear 5 years or younger.

If CDJs have midi/HID capability you can use them with your DJ software (RB DJ, Serato with sound card, Cross in HID mode, not sure about VDJ and Traktor although I am quite sure the latter works also). It will allow you to setup a laptop and control the tracks with the CDJs, including track selection. Works like a charm. I played last week on a Nexus setup with Mixvibes Cross, all I brought was laptop w/ stand, two USB leads and a USB hub (not even powered). Never bothered with the CDJ displays.

Btw. I totally agree with the sentiments on single knob/small display track selection. It sucks. However, if you have your stuff organised correctly (playlists, mini-playlists, genres that make sense to you) and don’t bring more music than you need for the gig (about double of the amount of tracks that would fit in the allotted time), you should be ok. For a two hour gig this would be around 80-90 tracks total. Track selection should NOT be a major issue as you should know any and all of those 80 tracks and where they are on your USB stick. Heck, you could burn those tracks on 4 CDs (twice) and carry a small CD pouch into the gig and be done with it.

As for rental pricing. Yes, that is crazy expensive. Don’t look at the price list though. Go to the rental place in person (don’t call), explain you are a DJ looking to rent gear from time to time when you have gigs. Ask them for a special rate for a few days during the week. Most likely this stuff sits in their warehouse during the week anyway not making them any money. Don’t expect to get cheap in the weekends when it’s always rented out, you pay premium.

I had a friend once who actually offered to come and play for the guys in the warehouse for an afternoon. He got to use their gear for free and played around for 4 hours on two different setups. Everybody happy.

As for MORE clubs making you use club gear. This is very much the opposite of what we are seeing here (Central/Northern Europe). We see club setups leave the booths rapidly as more and more DJs just show up with controllers these days. You will find a DJ mixer in the booth to connect up two or more controllers for back to back transition for example. We see even rental companies getting rid of club dj setups as they are less and less rented. If places as hallowed as Ministry of Sound now expect you to bring your own gear, it is safe to say that the tables have been turned and club setups are on their last legs. Even if you can’t bring a controller, bring your laptop and a few leads. There will always be some un-/replugging of stuff in the booth, it’s part of DJ life. What do you think happens when a DVS DJ walks in?

@Kaycie: I have played in the early days on about 35+ different turntables and at least double that amount of mixers, until the SL1200 became mainstay and only a hand full of mixers stayed in the booths. And every TT and mixer was different. Some had pitch control, some didn’t. Some had faders, sliders, thumb wheels for pitch. Some had direct drive, some had belt. Some had high needle pressure, some didn’t. Some mixers had EQ, some didn’t. Some had gain/trim, some didn’t. You were there, every setup was a challenge as each one was unique. And every setup required a different workflow. Then came CD-players (I’ll skip over cassettedecks which were a different bunch as well). It took a while before Pioneer came out with the CDJs and a while before it became standard and replaced other, older CD playing equipment. Denon was a big influence in the early days of CD DJ-ing.

I’ll stick with my conviction that it does not make sense to go and buy club(like) gear for that particular purpose. If you get a gig at a place that gives you a hard time about bringing your own gear (and you’d be surprised at how you can often still put your controller somewhere, but that’s a different story), ask them if you can come in before hours one day to familiarize yourself with the place and their setup. Bring your USB sticks and toy around for an hour or two. I am 100% that you’ll get the track selection thing down well within that time frame. Yes, you will need to adapt for the lesser options on the CDJs as opposed to full screen laptop browsing and a keyboard. Again, it forces you to prepare well, don’t bring your entire collection, but just what you intend to play and make sure you know where everything is.

It’s about your workflow and your ability to adapt that to the situation more than it is about gear.

Again, the HID option with most software (even though, like DVS DJs, you have to run an extra sound card for Serato at least) on your laptop is, imho, the easiest way to get around this. It will give you all the track selection features your are used to without using your all-in-one controller. Some fiddling in the booth in a multiple DJ setup can’t be avoided. It’s a fact of DJ life. Show up early, be friendly to the other DJ and together work out the best way/moments to hook up your gear. Often there will be a house tech available to assist with that as well.

Or go “traditional” and bring your very lean gig collection on sticks or even CDs. Maybe first couple of times bring sticks, get used to where all the controls are and once you know that, bring a laptop (knowing you have the stick backup, so less stress).

Michael, if you are ok on the mixing and the track selection side (not the physical bit but the actual picking of tracks from your collection, you know “what must come next”), the gear side will work itself out.

Amazing to me that fewer club owners took this long to want to transfer cost of ownership for such a major piece of their booth off to the DJs.