Is it worthwhile purchasing CDJ's?

Roddus · Post by **Roddus** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 2:51 am

Or just perfect using Ableton?

I was considering buying a set of CDJ's, but now, after having looked at what live can do, i'm no longer sure that its a wise investment.

What do you reckon? Apart from scratching, what can CDJ's do that live can't? (i'm guessing nothing)

seguesam · Post by **seguesam** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 7:22 am

You can always just buy one and use it in tandem with Ableton. Theres always something to be said about utilising different interfaces and equipment to acheive different results by virtue of control nuances. I like the Pioneer CDJ1000 MKii's looping functions and the cuing is useful. Ive no idea what these new Denons are like but i do intend to add a CDJ to my rig soon... Doo you have any friends with them? Can you hire one for a night/weekend? Best thing is to have whatever youre interested in in your own studio space and decide for yourself.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 10:22 pm

I have 2 Pioneer CDJ-1000 MKII units, and 2 turntables... and find I never use them anymore now that I have Ableton.

But the answer to your question is up to you. Do you want CD players? If so, get some. If not, don't. Seems simple to me.

klarky · Post by **klarky** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:27 am

only thing i can see a use for a cdj would be for scratching, other than that live is like having many cdjs

qmanvox · Post by **qmanvox** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 12:26 pm

It might be a good idea to purchase 1 CDJ1000.

My current setup is 2 CDJ1000 + 1 Technics 1200 + G4 powerbook running Live 5 and all connect to XONE 92 which has midi capabilities.

The reason why I wrote my setup is to show what it can do all together..I use CDJ1000 for my CD collection i.e getting samples by using the cue,looping,scratching and memory card ang going in directly to LIVE via XONE92 for recording the samples. Same for turntable i.e samples from vinyl or record full songs for Live set .Djing with Live alone is boring (my opinion) but connect it with the usual DJ gear gives you a buzz and also if the laptop freezes, I have backup of a vinyl/cd a fingertouch away

I have had endless fun with my CDJ1000 and expect it to play a big part still in next few years

peace

Qman

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 1:03 pm

My current setup is 2 CDJ1000 + 1 Technics 1200 + G4 powerbook running Live 5 and all connect to XONE 92 which has midi capabilities.

How limited are the MIDI capabilities of your Xone 92? What controls can be assigned to Ableton?

Roddus · Post by **Roddus** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:06 pm

Cheers, I'll bear your opinions in mind.

DJSK · Post by **DJSK** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 11:16 am

CDJ's are great if you use them for scratching or for their hot cue samplers abilities. However if you find yourself not even using these features then don't bother. It also depends on what type of music you play and your style. For right now live doesn't offer these features so if you like the hands on feel with a cd player 1 wouldn't hurt.

DJRetard · Post by **DJRetard** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 11:30 am

qmanvox wrote:It might be a good idea to purchase 1 CDJ1000.

My current setup is 2 CDJ1000 + 1 Technics 1200 + G4 powerbook running Live 5 and all connect to XONE 92 which has midi capabilities.

The reason why I wrote my setup is to show what it can do all together..I use CDJ1000 for my CD collection i.e getting samples by using the cue,looping,scratching and memory card ang going in directly to LIVE via XONE92 for recording the samples. Same for turntable i.e samples from vinyl or record full songs for Live set .Djing with Live alone is boring (my opinion) but connect it with the usual DJ gear gives you a buzz and also if the laptop freezes, I have backup of a vinyl/cd a fingertouch away

I have had endless fun with my CDJ1000 and expect it to play a big part still in next few years

peace

Qman

Thats a great setup. How do you overcome dragging all that stuff to gigs and the setting up of it when you arrive at a club at 2 in the morning. I would buy a CDJ1000 tomorrow but carrying that, vinyl, and a laptop is to much for me'. I carry records and a laptop and even thats a hassle.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 1:29 pm

DJRetard wrote:
qmanvox wrote:It might be a good idea to purchase 1 CDJ1000.

My current setup is 2 CDJ1000 + 1 Technics 1200 + G4 powerbook running Live 5 and all connect to XONE 92 which has midi capabilities.

The reason why I wrote my setup is to show what it can do all together..I use CDJ1000 for my CD collection i.e getting samples by using the cue,looping,scratching and memory card ang going in directly to LIVE via XONE92 for recording the samples. Same for turntable i.e samples from vinyl or record full songs for Live set .Djing with Live alone is boring (my opinion) but connect it with the usual DJ gear gives you a buzz and also if the laptop freezes, I have backup of a vinyl/cd a fingertouch away

I have had endless fun with my CDJ1000 and expect it to play a big part still in next few years

peace

Qman
Thats a great setup. How do you overcome dragging all that stuff to gigs and the setting up of it when you arrive at a club at 2 in the morning. I would buy a CDJ1000 tomorrow but carrying that, vinyl, and a laptop is to much for me'. I carry records and a laptop and even thats a hassle.

pfft your cheap-arse club don't have their own cd/wax dex?

DeadlyKungFu · Post by **DeadlyKungFu** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:06 am

if you want to scratch and beat juggle are external decks are the only way to go? Is there anything Live compatible (controller + vst) that works as well?

DJRetard · Post by **DJRetard** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:04 pm

sweetjesus wrote:

pfft your cheap-arse club don't have their own cd/wax dex?

yes they have turntables but you could end up using any mixer and any type of CD player. Ever had a bash on those Denon ones? Not nice. I dont Dj at the same club every weekend. But believe me, most clubs DONT have CDJ1000 as standard. A couple of weeks ago I ended up using a 120 euro Numark pile of crap mixer. Thats the reality when you travel for gigs.

DeadlyKungFu · Post by **DeadlyKungFu** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:22 pm

I'm bumping this topic because I LOVE Live, I have vinyl turntables and want to go to CD so I can scratch over my own beats and random finds. I scratch, beat juggle and generally enjoy abusing wax.

Is there a .vst and controller combo out there or on the horizon that will work with Live?

I'm in 'save money' mode now and will drop a few $k in a few months.

Many thanks for any replies...