It was definitely not standard to have hot cue buttons on CDJs and if then alone on the more expensive models (1000s had them, 800s and 850s didn’t – although the 850 has some kind of cue/loop recall if I remember correctly).
One of the reasons for this is, where do you store the hot cues that belong to tracks on a cd? In the CDJ1000 I think there was a memory card that remembered CD-track-location for every hot cue you stored.
They did all have extensive loop functionality for example as that is totally CD/track independent.
And in the good old days of vinyl there was nothing to set or save at all. Time and technology advances and I think it is fun that you have started in a day and age that allows you to wonder how you could ever DJ without hot cues! No worries, it’s done by thousands for tens of years 😀 .
A few years ago it was still frowned upon by peers and venue owners/managers if you brought your own controller. But today even the bigger venues expect DJs to show up with their own gear. My esteemed co-moderator Terry actually charges EXTRA if they make him use the club gear instead of his Reloop Terminal Mix 8.
So, in that aspect too, time and technology changes.
.
