Pitch Problem

@Phil > This is due to the resolution of the fader over the distance; try adjusting it a bit to one side or the other and it may stay at that value.

Thanks for the reply.

By one side or the other do you mean left or right? What I meant was that no matter how slightly/slowly I adjust the pitch fader, the pitch sometimes changes in increments of 0.04% instead of 0.02%. For example, If the pitch is at +0.78% and I want to decrease it to +0.76%, it often skips straight to +0.74%.

You may find moving away from that value and then coming back you will be able to more accurately hit the position you need.

That does sometimes work, although obviously I can't do that whilst actually mixing. Will this be resolved by a future firmware update?

Also, is this problem exclusive to the CDJ 850 or do all CDJs behave the same? I don't remember having this issue with the CDJ 1000.

No, it's not a firmware issue - it's just the resolution of the fader used on the pitch control, sometimes it's just a bit off.  I used to have a problem I labeled "pitch twitch" where the fader would straddle two points on the run and thus the pitch would hop back and forth between two values.  It's not the end of the world if you're off by 0.02% - when I started DJing I had 0.1% resolution on CDJs (5x worse) and I was able to do long mixes without much adjustment on the jog!

Well that's frustrating. The least I would expect from a deck of this price is an accurate pitch fader.

Thanks anyway.

I have this happening with me as well, I agree with Phil...

A deck of this price should be able to hold & maintain the value you meant to set it to and ultimately, that it is DISPLAYING..but instead is FLUCTUATING

This was an issue when I was DJing back in 1996 using a CDJ-500II where the pitch would fluctuate between 0.1% and 0.2%, we called it "Pitch Twitch".  If you're having a problem with the pitch going between 0.02% and 0.04%, just remember, I had it 5x worse yet was still able to mix.

Yo. Straight up we aren't in the year 1996, its gonna be 2012. And your experience in the past in completely irrelevant..no one is going to relate their ability to mix with yours and decide they just need to step it up...because it doesn't solve the cheap resolution of the fader on the pitch control

@quistuhpha > A good carpenter never blames his tools.

At 128BPM, a difference of 0.02% would be 0.0256BPM.

Chances are good that you wouldn't know you were 0.02% off the perfect pitch for several seconds of smooth mix, and you'd likely use the jog to correct it anyhow.

Just for reference back to 1996, at 128BPM, a difference of 0.1% would be 0.1280BPM -- so yes, a DJ should step it up and use their ears rather than being so finicky that the pitch in the display of their CDJ is varying by 0.02%.  Oh, and if you still believe that 0.02% is a problem, DJs who use turntables don't have a display showing them where their pitch fader is at -- they use their ears.

By the way, defending and justifying janky technology never got anything anywhere...especially with unrelating autobiographic tales of yesteryear

You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.

The pitch faders on the 850 are just fine.

I never blamed my "tools" and I agree with that phrase, although once again your reply is unrelating to the original topic and just another sway in response and not solving anything. The problem that has been brought up is NOT the DJ, but about the product. REREAD the original post

Thanks, I did.

@quistupha > There isn't a problem with the CDJ-850 tempo faders, as that is sometimes how the product reacts and handles such minimal increments at times.

But it also shouldn't be a problem, because the the tempo screen values are simply a guide for DJ's to know where their tempo is at. DJ's should always use their ear to mix and beat match tracks no matter what. Even if you use Traktor, Serato, Rekordbox, VDJ etc... I would still recommend checking your tracks via headphone cue before trusting they are beat matched. 

You can also try using a different tempo range such as +/- 6% instead of +/- 10% as it should provide more fine adjustments.

Thank you for your input. Yes I am aware of that, I just thought that the 850 should be able to maintain the value and like the original poster mentioned, be able to set it more accurately.

I heard master tempo is less accurate, is that true?

Less accurate than what?

Just to clarify, it's not just the display of the 850 that sometimes has a 0.04% resolution, it's the actual pitch itself.

The problem is that you can know exactly what speed the track needs to be to be as close to being in sync as possible but, because of the temperamental resolution of the pitch fader, you will often be unable to set the track at that speed.

At the end of the day a product that is advertised as having 0.02% pitch resolution should have 0.02% pitch resolution, 100% of the time.

Does anyone know if the CDJ 350/900/2000 have this issue?

I think I might know what you're talking about. I've double checked that my cue is set perfectly on the spot, everything is where it should and possibly could be, yet they fail to remain in sync for even the slightest of time..

I just came across this thread whilst researching the cdjs before I purchase them & I just wana say the way in which you (Pulse) are dealing with this problem is completely unacceptable!! 

I am assuming you are an employee of Pioneer? Please correct me if I am wrong.

If you are, when a customer is asking for help on an issue that is advertised as part of the CDJ's features (yet isn't fully working) - talking down to them and arguing about whether they need the feature or not is a joke!!! 

Next you'll be telling people how id doesn't matter that the cdj screen doesn't turn on because you dj on vinyl.

SO, is this issue just with the 850's?? I switched to cdjs a few years ago but never had the issue with the 1000's in clubs. I have noticed it once before when using some 2000's tho, but i assumed that was a one off..

If this is the customer service that Pioneer offers then I am very worried about getting my cdjs now..

 

People come here for product support, NOT in hopes of becoming a better DJ, give thanks to you.

There is NO problem with the DJ/Customer, the problem is with the product ITSELF

And if there is ANY argument and you are standing by inferior technology's side...good luck, its like war...the person siding with or defending imcompetent technology is NOT logical and is NOT going to win. Simple human logic, taking steps backward? No we strive to move foward. The first step to advance is to ACCEPT the problem, so it may be fixed and we may ADVANCE.

Do not ignore the problem and lock this, when you can accept it and fix it

@Dave > Pulse, Gavin, and Jay are NOT paid for their help and support they provide on the forums and they simply do it because they love the products and to share their knowledge.

I believe your references are a bit over the top, but it might just be sarcasm? :)

There isn't a problem with the CDJ-850 and this feature. My post above explains better.

There are a lot of considerations to be taken carefully when attempting to identify what is going on. There is the difference between using CD's/USB's and software such as Serato, Traktor, VDJ... As well there are the different tempo ranges such as +/-6%, +/-10% etc...

You will have different results when using different methods and it is not uncommon for one of the possible settings to provide a +/-4% amount even if the other amounts were only +/-2%. This is how the CDJ-850 will handle such minimal increments on a certain setting. 

I believe I also mentioned this above, but the tempo adjustment on the screen should only be used as a guide when DJ'ing. Moving the tempo fader along until the numbers match is quick and easy but not 100% guaranteed. For the best results, a DJ should use their headphones to beat match tracks for tempo, beat, and phase. :)

What CDJ's were you thinking of looking into?

@quistupha > As I mentioned in my last post and as a reply to @Dave in this post: This is not a problem with the CDJ-850 as under certain circumstances this is what will happen.