Pioneer DJ

DJ IKU, the 2010 Red Bull 3Style Japan Champion, has put down a trap-inspired routine for Pioneer DJ. His performance, which was shot outside in Tokyo, shows the turntablist demonstrating the features of the company’s DJM-250MK2 entry-level mixer. IKU also makes use of their PLX-500 turntable, DDJ-SP1 sub-controller, and Rekordbox DJ software.

Pioneer recently released the public beta of Rekordbox 5, which includes support for their popular DJM-S9 mixer.

Watch the three-minute video above.

Related: Pioneer DJ Announces DJM-250MK2 Mixer

Rekordbox 5’s new GUI. (Photo credit: Mojaxx)

Pioneer DJ has released the public beta of Rekordbox 5. The version includes support for the company’s DJM-S9 mixer, a renewed GUI, and other new features and improvements.

The announcement was made on Thursday on Pioneer’s official forums.

Below is the full list of changes. You can download the beta here.

New features

– DJM-S9 support
– Renewed GUI
– Key shift and key sync
– 16 hot cues and pad FX support
– Keyboard mode (key-shifted hot cue play)
– Beat Loop mode
– Play hot cue before reaching the next beat
– Set quantize beat value for each function

Improvements

– Display 16 or 8 slots of the sampler
– Set beat grid even for short or no beat sampling sound
– Quantize hot cue to the closest beat while playing
– Display remaining and elapsed time at the same time
– Sync with a track which has a BPM double or half of a master deck
– More choices for font size and line spacing
– Display original BPM on decks

Related: Pioneer DJ Announces Rekordbox Audio Interface

Pioneer DJ Interface 2 (Photo source: Pioneer DJ

Pioneer DJ has announced the Interface 2, the missing piece of the Rekordbox DJ puzzle.

Until now, the company’s Rekordbox DJ software and DVS plugin only worked with some of its mixers and controllers. Older Pioneer models and those from other manufacturers were not supported.

However, the Interface 2 enables DJs with any setup to use Rekordbox DJ in a DVS system with control vinyl (a pair is included with the interface), CDs, and USB drives.

As its name implies, the Interface 2 has two stereo channels, which limits it to two decks. Many DJs will find that to be enough, although the product’s name has already sparked speculation about future models with more channels.

The Interface 2 is due to be released in early July with a price tag of $299. It appears to be a great value, considering it includes a license for Rekordbox DJ and the DVS plugin.

Watch Pioneer’s promo video below and stay tuned for a review on DJcityTV’s Tips and Tricks.

Key features:

– Club-standard sound quality
– Compact, robust aluminium chassis
– LEDs to indicate signal flow and problems with signal/connection
– Includes Rekordbox DJ and DVS licenses, plus two timecoded control vinyl records
– Mains or USB power options
– Works as a stand-alone audio interface
– Large signal GND terminal
– Supports DVS via control vinyl and turntables or multi players and custom WAV file

Related: Does Rekordbox DJ Live Up to the Hype?

Pioneer DJ’s DJM-450 is a 2-channel mixer designed for bedroom use. However, it comes with many of the features required by club DJs, including DVS integration, excellent sound quality, smooth faders, and built-in effects.

On this week’s episode of Tips and Tricks, Mojaxx determines if the DJM-450 is actually suitable for the club — in addition to the bedroom.

Related: Review: Reloop RMX-90 DVS Mixer for Serato DJ

Israel’s BrainDeaD recently dropped a routine for Pioneer DJ to demonstrate the features of company’s DDJ-RX controller and Rekordbox DJ software. The performance makes use of his and The Kemist’s future dancehall track, “Incredible,” which was released on Mad Decent in October.

Watch the three-minute routine above.

Related: Skratch Bastid and DJ Puffy Perform Soca Routine

Pioneer DJ has announced a new version of its popular entry-level mixer, the DJM-250.

Although it sits at the bottom of their range, the two-channel DJM-250MK2 adds two major improvements to its predecessor.

The first is an integrated, multi-channel audio interface, which enables the use of DVS in Pioneer’s Rekordbox DJ performance software. The second is the crossfader, which is the same as the one found on the company’s professional DJM-900NXS2 club mixer.

The DJM-250MK2 also comes with a full license for the Rekordbox DJ and the DVS Plus Pack. Both of those products have a combined value of around $250 on their own, which makes the DJM-250MK2 an impressive deal.

The mixer is due to be released in early March with a suggested retail price of $350.

Keys features:

– Rekordbox DVS ready; Includes Rekordbox DJ and Rekordbox DVS licenses
– Magvel crossfader from the DJM-900NXS2
– Smooth channel faders
– Three-band isolators
– Sound Color FX filter with parameter control from the DJM-900NXS2
– Built-in sound card
– Easy recording
– High-quality sound
– XLR terminal
– Two headphone outs
– Signal GND terminal
– Independent MIC section

Watch Pioneer’s promo video below and stay tuned for a review on DJcityTV.

Related: Reloop Introduces RMX-90 DVS Mixer

Pioneer DJ’s four-channel DDJ-RZX is the flagship controller for the company’s Rekordbox DJ software. It’s the largest and most expensive controller on the market, but is bigger always better? Watch Mojaxx‘s review to find out.

Related: Pioneer DJ Unveils TORAIZ AS-1 Synth

Pioneer DJ is best known for its digital hardware, but today at the NAMM trade show they showed off an addition to their production range that’s resolutely analog.

Designed in collaboration with Dave Smith Instruments, the TORAIZ AS-1 is a monophonic analog synthesizer. It has a touchpad-style keyboard and slider control and includes seven onboard FX.

Although the AS-1 doesn’t come with a Pro DJ Link port to synchronize with the company’s DJ gear, it can connect to the TORAIZ SP-16 sampler to enable control via MIDI. With that connectivity, the AS-1 can be used in hybrid DJ-live setups.

Key features of the AS-1:

– True analog sound from Dave Smith Instruments’ Prophet-6
– Two voltage-controlled oscillators
– Two voltage-controlled filters
– Two envelope generators
– Voltage-controlled amplifier and low-frequency oscillator
– Full programmability with 495 presets, 495 user programs and Quick Program
– Dual FX engine with seven FX (six from the Dave Smith Instruments Prophet-6 synth)
– Touchpad-style keyboard and slider
– Scale mode
– Arpeggiator
– 64-step sequencer with Sequence Lock
– Bright OLED display
– Easy connection to a PC/Mac or an external MIDI device

Watch Pioneer’s promo video below and learn more about the synth on their website.

Related: Pioneer DJ XDJ-1000MK2 Review

Pioneer DJ’s XDJ-1000 was an important step forward for the company in a couple of ways.

For starters, it was the first player to ship without a CD drive, relying solely on playback from a USB drive or connected computer. It was also Pioneer’s first player to include a touchscreen for advanced features like Beat Jump and full QWERTY keyboard search.

Nearly two years later, the company released the XDJ-1000MK2, which at first glance appears to be similar, but has some improvements under the hood.

On this week’s episode of Tips and Tricks, Mojaxx looks at the XDJ-1000MK2 and determines if the new features are worth the upgrade.

Related: Pioneer DJ Introduces DDJ-SZ2 Controller

Pioneer DJ has introduced the DDJ-SZ2, a new four-channel controller that adds dedicated controls for Serato DJ’s latest features.

DJcity’s Mojaxx says, “With Serato’s support for Pioneer’s NXS2 range of hardware, the release of the SZ2 is another positive sign that the relationship between the two companies is still strong and will continue.”

In addition to native support for Serato DJ, the SZ2 includes the following key features:

– CDJ-style setup
– Dual USB port for smooth DJ changeovers
– Magvel crossfader
– High-quality sound
– Professional performance features and FX

The suggested retail price is $1,999 / €2099.

Watch Pioneer’s introductory video below and learn more about the SZ2 on their website.

Related: First Look: Pioneer DJ’s DJM-TOUR1 and CDJ-TOUR1