Pioneer DJ DDJ-800 2-Deck Rekordbox DJ Controller

Product Information

The DDJ 800 is a massive step up from the previous generation of Pioneer DJ controllers. Compared to its rivals from other brands, Pioneer has played on its strong, almost monopoly-like hold on the professional club market. By diluting the image and layout of the standalone professional players and combing them with the performance features digital DJ’ing has to bring, Pioneer has created a powerful controller that everyone will want to be seen with. The DDJ 800 isn’t perfect however and truth be told, we expected it to be a little cheaper. How much is the DDJ 800? Take the DDJ-800 wherever you want thanks to its portable design, which is smaller than the DDJ-1000 by 22% in volume and 1.3 kg in weight. I’m sure you can find your unique style with an array of Pad FX performance modes. Best Alternatives to the DDJ-800

There are two mic inputs on the DDJ 800, which is somewhat uncommon for most DJ controller units. You can have an MC and a vocalist join in on your mix at the same time. Dedicated buttons for Key Shift and Key Sync – take direct control of rekordbox dj keyrelated features You can use the DDJ-800 as a mixer to control the volume of audio input from an external device – even when you’re using it on its own*3 – by adjusting the trims, channel faders and EQs. And, when the controller is connected to rekordbox dj, you can use Sound Color FX and Beat FX too.The DDJ-800 jog wheels are smaller than those on the CDJ-1000 but have the same superb technology and features.

Performing on the DDJ-800 feels like you’re using a professional NXS2 set-up. The controller’s buttons, knobs and faders are arranged in the same way as those on our club-standard CDJ and DJM gear. Audio Mixer Feature Before connecting the DDJ 800, ensure you have the latest version of Rekordbox installed on your computer, available here . x Color FX, 16 x Beat FX; Echo, Multi-tap Delay, Spiral, Reverb, Flanger, Phaser, Pitch, Slip Roll, Roll, Filter, NoiseWithout a complete breakdown of the controller’s features, DJs wouldn’t know how the controller might benefit them. Let’s take a closer look at what the DDJ 800 has to offer. Build & Connectivity A large Beat FX on/off button indicates when an FX is active by blinking, whilst a level/depth control allows you to shape your sound and set the intensity of the effect. An FX selector will enable you to choose which channel is affected, while beat buttons let you change the speed/tempo of an effect. The mixer can be used as a standalone DJ mixer if needed, and offers RCA/Phono inputs for connecting media players and turntables; however, the effects will only work when using the Rekordbox software.

In what can only be described as a very odd decision, absolutely none of the effects on the DDJ 800 work without Rekordbox plugged in. Rendering the standalone feature of this mixer, extremely basic. Add to that the fact you can’t disable the crossfader in stand alone mode and you might want to look elsewhere if you wanted to use the 800 as a just a mixer at anytime. By offloading the performance features to the computer to process and control, the 800 is rather dumb without it plugged in. Mic effects… Move onto more advanced techniques. Start setting loops and use the Performance Pads to trigger Hot Cues, Pad FX, Beat Jump and more. Get creative with Slip mode, Sound Color FX, and Beat FX. How to change settings on the DDJ-800If engaged, rekordbox DJ will time-adjust loops to fit with the tempo and proper beat placement. I’d recommend keeping the quantize button on while making your loops. Performance Pads Use Feeling Adjust to set the resistance on the jog wheels to your preferred weight for scratching and spice up your sets with the popular Sound Color FX and Beat FX from our DJM mixer series. You can instantly reference BPM and the name of the selected FX without looking at your PC/Mac thanks to the dedicated Beat FX display, making it easy to use the FX whenever inspiration strikes. The mixer also features 4 colour effects with dub echo, noise, pitch and HP/LP filter all being included. You can change these colour effects in the Rekordbox software and adjust their parameters too, we found this necessary with the Noise as the most recent Rekordbox update has made it unbelievably subtle and far too quiet. The Pioneer DDJ 800 features a whole host of performance features and club style mixer.