Terry_42

Wow Chicago seems to be really behind in the rest of the US then.
I was in the US a few weeks ago and gigged in high profile clubs in Phoenix, San Diego and LA.
All had zero problems with controllers and house techs all very helpful.
In all but one of those clubs they even seemed to expect that I bring something and the DJs playing sets before me also had controllers. The evening opener in SD was actually a relatively new guy which got his first chance to play in the big house and “only” used an S5 was doing awesome things with it.

Know where the cameras are.
Look which camera is active “red”
Never Look directly into the camera, look at the gaffer (the man beside the camera man holding the cables)
Position yourself that the camera does not get you “fully frontal” but slightly angled (makes you look cooler)

Thanks for clarifying Vintage.
Also it was not meant as an insult to CDJs (my comment that is) it is simple fact.
Vintage and I we have limited access to equipment. Some companies are generous and lend us stuff to try out, some even donate a piece of equipment here or there (especially software) so we can give advise.

Pioneer is not that forthcoming and I think the SX of Vintage is bought with his hard earned money and the only time I get on Pioneer gear is in clubs if I have time to fool around or in the store of a friend. Now since my friend saw sales of CDJs go down significantly (as he also sells to clubs) and he had to let go of his last Nexus setup with a loss, he does not stock them anymore (where as SX2s fly of the shelf and even the SZ does OK). So I get no playtime on NXS2 gear to date and as it is not my personal preference, I actually do not really care and will not go through serious length to get to test it (which I do for some controllers I am interested in). Also none of the local clubs I asked said they would upgrade, some are even considering selling their existing NXS gear now as long as there is still a used market looking for them.

Now that does not mean anyone wanting to use CDJs is an idiot (if you get that vibe from me). I totally understand that some want to stick to what they learned, some do not care and some value it for sentimental reasons as they have been there for a long time. Hell I still have a single Technics deck, because I could not part with it 🙂 And about a few times a year I really enjoy going to my buddies home where he has 2 old Technics and an ages old Denon mixer and we play with our old vinyls.

The only thing I feel very very strongly about is young DJs. Several young DJs get told by “old farts” that are single minded that if you want to be “pro” you need to invest in a whole NXS or now NXS2 setup. And a few of them actually buy into that myth and spend A LOT of money on such a setup, not even being able to DJ yet. Some even risk their credit, sell their cars or whatever, since they have been told this is “pro”. I saw such kids go broke and sadly most of the time I never see them again after their first audition (as I sometimes sit in on a friends club) as their DJing sucks badly, since they need to work 3 jobs to pay and have no time to practice. On the other hand I see people show up with digital setups I never heard of or thought of (last was a mix of old S2, K2 and Maschine all mapped to Traktor) and they blow me away creatively and I actually get afraid I am moving to slow. These kids are the main reason why I voice my opinion so loudly here and as we are independent, I can.

If an older DJ that knows what he is doing still uses CDJs and wants to stick with it and his performances are good, then by all means he should go for it. I just hope he does not get washed down to the jobbers.

Howdy,

Nope the LoopSlice on the XDJ-RX is totally different from the Slicer and Loop Slicer in Serato.
The XDJ can slice out part of a song (cut it out) and you can play this in 4 loops (4 pads).

The Slicer and Loop slicer work totally different. The slicer actually puts slices (cut of 4 beats) of the current song playing through at your fingers and you can re-arrange them on the fly. The Slicer-Looper can do the same, but it will loop the part of music you are in when you start slicing it up… I know this sounds weird and it is best to see it.

I made a small video some time ago. It is very old, so I am much better now with it, this is from the time I just started the whole slicer thing, but you get the idea what is happening… but in short terms: Yes the XDJ is much more limiting than the DDJ-SX series or the MCX8000 and that is why I would not consider it at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uy5UzETdlE

Your preference. Both work. I use a large stick and another as backup.
However be advised that older CDJs do not accept sticks that are too large. Check out what CDJs the club has you want to use them in and then check the manual (all manuals are online at Pioneers DJ website) what size flash drives are allowed.

And do not listen to any “DJ” telling you to get outdated hardware like CDJs.
Those are those people who are living in the past and want you to do the same, so you cannot overtake them quickly and kick their arse in public.

Trust me Jason, I tried this on the S4 and it is really bad. It will mess up your whole workflow.

Yep as Vintage said:
– stay in your genre
– mix only in your cans (a controller with split cueing helps here a lot)
– use DJ drops and/or the mic to beef things up