SL4 & CDJ2000 ..?

bumping ...

I'm a rekordbox fan, but some people prefer to see the waveform such as in Traktor and in Serato, because it helps them see what's coming up in their tracks. They might also prefer Serato or Traktor because they think rekordbox or the CDJ's alone are still a little faulty with the Master Tempo or the quantized feature. rekordbox also does not allow DJ's to preview both tracks on a screen and line them up properly, they might find Traktor and Serato easier because they only have to look at their computer screen and match things up. Lastly, a lot of people prefer the "sync" feature on Traktor, (not sure the name of it on Serato) but this automatically sync's both tracks that are playing and thus makes DJ'ing and matching tempo quicker (a hell of a lot easier). It's not the way I prefer to DJ because I don't like the "sync" function personally. It takes all the work and fun out of it, and makes it way too easy for people. But if someone who is quick mixing with loops or between tracks ever 30 seconds, these features are extremely handy and efficient because it allows them to do more a lot quicker because they aren't wasting time beat matching.

Hope this helps a bit. Was kinda rushed as I'm in class. ;)

Let me know if you have any more questions about it or would like things explained in a little more detail.

Foster

Serato also offers the Bridge with Ableton, which is a pretty cool way to record your mix sessions for editing later in Ableton Live.

If you are already comfortable in Serato and want to use CDJs then HID is for SURE the preferred method.

I'm using my CDJ2000's with Serato in HID mode as my primary setup and it is absolutely sublime. I tried using the control CDs at first (had to wait for the USB cables to come in the mail) and its VERY different. To get the majority of the decks functionality you need to be in "absolute mode". Its a trade off though because "relative mode" has the benefit of not having to worry about the CD's track running out. Worrying about having to switch was frustrating and felt very unnecessary. The tempo and waveform displays also have a distracting delay when reading and adjusting tempo from the CD's signal. With HID, the display is more fluid that I have ever seen it and can be manipulated regardless if the track is paused or being scratched at the time.

Basically the advantage of HID is getting rid of all the vinyl/cd conversion BS that normally comes with a serato vinyl/cd setup.  It gives you much faster response and freeing your workflow to focus on the music, not the way the gear is communicating.

Less we forget, everything that is capable on the CDJ-2000's with Serato is pretty much capable on the DDJ-S1, CDJ-350's and CDJ-400's (with a few extra buttons on the 400's). The only difference is, the CDJ-2000's cost a crap load more and do the same thing. ;)

I personally don't understand how someone can spend $4000 on 2 CDJ-2000's, then use them with Traktor or Serato. A DDJ-T1 or DDJ-S1 costs almost 1/4 the $$ and does the exact same things, except the DDJ series were built specifically for running the software and the "software only".

Valid points, but I don't completely agree. the S1 is only a 2 channel mixer and can't play CDs. If you are the main DJ bringing gear for a night, then having a 4 channel mixer and decks that can support CDs/Thumbdrives is an advantage. Its a bit different than showing up with a controller to plug into somebody else's channel 3 or 4.

@ DJ Cubed

If you only buy 2 CDJ-2000's then you would only use 2 channels to begin with anyways. Play CD's... hence why I said "Software Only" on the DDJ series. ;)

I thought we were referring to home use and not club use with multiple DJ's... but in that case, I suppose you're right that it's best to have a 4 channel mixer, which is why I sure as heck hope the club has it's own to begin with or at least rents one and does not require the main DJ to bring his own gear and let everyone else use it for the night! Definitely not my choice and if the club requested that, I would charge them double for my gear than renting it from a local source!

(I guess I'm pretty anal about my belongings and gear; but come on, I didn't spend $7500 on my DJ gear to let some new punk DJ eff it up in a club because he doesn't have any respect because it's not his. Seen it happen before and have had other similar situations. Nope, my gear is my gear and only used by very limited people whom I can trust will respect it. :)

Also, if you want/need decks that support thumb drives, the DDJ series is still capable, but as for CD playback, the CDJ-350's and 400's still stand their ground. But as for beginner DJ's, what is the purpose of buying CDJ-2000's that have every single capability of playback, meanwhile they only use it as a controller for Traktor or Serato? Just that the players look cool and they are top of the line? I really don't know another reason for it personally...

If you have an idea why, please let me know your thoughts because I'm curious. lol

@ foster - good points, but i doubt many would buy 2000's and use them exclusively with traktor/serato. the beauty of these players is that you can pick and choose formats whenever you want. somedays i like getting out the cd wallet (remember them? ha ha), other days stick a usb key in, others fire up rekordbox and play via link and now experiment with traktor another day and get lost in all the crazy extra things you can do with that sync button on and a mixer that syncs effects to the midi clock.

all those controllers & software only give you one option and tie you into one way of playing. for me, the flexibility is what makes these players worth the money.

@Phil - Well put mate. But I wasn't referring to well experienced DJ's like yourself and many others on the forums. lol 

I was talking about people who buy the CDJ-2000's as their first DJ set and don't know much about DJ'ing. They are usually the ones who only use Traktor or Serato, and I personally see it as a waste of money. lol

It's great to see you using all the functionalities of these amazing players! You use more than myself actually! lol I have yet to use Traktor / Serato or SD cards. lol I'm glad to hear you enjoy the extra features Traktor can provide too! You're the perfect example of how these players should be used mate! lol