What reasons would a DJ use a third CDJ?

For me personally I love to play around with melodies and have lots of different beats mixed together... like a techy beat playing under a proggy tune, gives it a different feel altogether but also engages the audience a little more... say if the proggy tune is a bit more known to the audience, its a lower tech way of giving the tune a slight remix but still keeping the crowd engaged during breakdowns etc... of course the 3rd cdj would be used to mix in the next track when the others are coming to their end, overall 2 cdj's are never enough to me anymore, sure they'll work just mixing track to track, but if you want diversity and expanded ability, 3 or 4 is definitely the way to go.... saving up for my 3rd cdj currently, but need a coffin first before I can even do that! :(

Not sure about Lawler or hernan cattaneo, but if you booked Joris Voorn, Nic Fanciulli, yes, they would be insulted :P

@movingzachb > first and foremost, that third CDJ is a back-up. If something should happen to go wrong, then the DJ still has, at least, two decks to see out his/her night.

i have 2 x cdj 2000 and a 900,

one reason for this is the different features they offer,

another reason is if my 2 main decks are loaded with memory sticks i use the 3rd deck as a functional deck for jingles loops & scratching and 3 way mixes aswel,

i also use it for dropping requests on from rekordbox which is attached to my library.

dropping samples and loops is excellent for the 3rd deck and additional use with the rmx unit when effecting noises over my mixes.

also the decks is there as a back up if needed.

i hope this helps....

Most big-name DJs will have a minimum of 3 CDJ-2000 players required by their contract.  So it would not be an issue of "being insulted."  It would be an issue of breach of contract on the club owner's side.

Why do DJs want more than 2 CDJ players?

Reason 1  -  In case one deck goes bad, there will be 2 functional decks.

Reason 2  -  Some DJs actually spin on 3 decks.

Reason 3  -  The DJ can use the third deck to prepare a third track in advance.  Some DJs will be thinking several tracks ahead and want to prep a third track with beatmatching while the other two decks are playing/loaded.

I use a third to actually mix with. It really depends on what style you are mixing, but with minimal or deep house, I love using 3 decks. Not so much with more overtly complex styles of music.

Mainly is for back up in case something happens so that you have an alternative player. Also you can mix more than two tracks at the same time.

Acapella's!

A good forum topic me thinks:

Personally I'm with Tasos ,The use of acapella's are always a winner with two other decks in the mix ,  also the more you get used to your kit you become able to cue up a third track faster and then your planning your next move in advance and before you know it you will end up dropping that three deck mix  which is a great buzz  if you can hold on to it (can get very complex beat patterns) and EQ it well .All in all the depth of creativity with third deck deepens with everything you have to hand : loops, Acap's, samples, hot cues, as well as mixing tracks ,so why restrict talent to two decks when u could have three or more in a club and a  remix 1000 perhaps ,Creativity is the reason for more players defo .

Everything that Mark Mills said ^

+1 to Mark !

I agree with Mark Mills & Pionix.

I got 3 because I knew I always wanted the peripheral challenge. 

Here's why I use 3:

• one playing

• one cued

• one looking for a song better than the one that's cued // playing a loop or a hook

The CDJs / XDJs only have one playback deck.