The Pioneer DDJ-RX is the finest example of hardware–for-software engineering out there. Pioneer has designed the DDJ-RX controller to visually unite with rekordbox software through colour co-ordination. The colour coding on mac and PC screens immediately match with that of the pads, knobs and buttons of the RX controller, creating intuitive, stress free play. If you can’t get your head around the jog-less rigidity of Native Instruments’ S8 & S5 then this strikes a good balance between the “real” feel of DJing with CDJs, combined with the most useful (and fun) functions of controllerism. The Pioneer DDJ-RX is built for the road with a rugged metal chassis, in addition to this the unit offers high quality audio circuitry and offers standalone mixer functionality.

Unlike with DJ controllers, these are hardware FX, meaning the clever stuff happens in the unit, not in the software (as of course there is no laptop attached running software…) I already have a very powerful laptop (rMBP 15”) so I am not counting this cost at all – it’s there already It’s when you browse your library that the feeling falls apart a bit. Now don’t get me wrong, browsing is pretty good, and its shortcomings are not a deal-breaker, but one of the big strengths of software DJing is that browsing and searching your music – and crucially, using a Qwerty keyboard – are easy. But with no keyboard here, and no touchscreen version of it like on the XDJ-1000, you have to resort to entering search words letter-by-letter, in the excruciating “TV remote control” style: This is a no-go for me. By pressing and holding the Menu button under the screen, you can access the system preferences, which contain a lot of choices, of which I’m going to highlight a few here. I also suppose that all mixers(djm series)/controllers(DDJ series)/all in one units(XDJ series) made by Pioneer handle the sound in the mixer section (or in ‘standalone mixer’ mode with DDJ/XDJ controllers) in a digital way ?? In that case is this the right thing to say that Pioneer’s equipment will never be able to rival pure analog architecture that some competition mixer’s offer (for example some of the mixers made by allen and heath)?Have the ability to learn at home, on this gear the rekordbox system/DJM CDJ club standard way of playing – so that when I go to DJ in a club I will not shit my pants 🙂 But also you can set the unit into Midi mode for use as a “traditional” DJ controller with DJ software that can be mapped such as Traktor or VirtualDJ (great if you want to make the transition to Rekordbox gradually), and – my personal favourite – a highly useful brightness control for the display, so you can set it to be clear and easy to read in broad sunlight, while also so as not to dazzle you in a dark DJ booth. The XDJ-RX is not compatible with Serato DJ at the time of this writing.

The XDJ-RX, though, is the first controller to come close to hitting the spot with Rekordbox – close enough for us to feel excited about using it. Aside from the library searching issue, there’s not much I missed here from DJing with Traktor, Serato or VirtualDJ plus a controller – and I did like the Pioneer look and feel.

And another final point, trying to be really clever last year, I got a thunderbolt drive by La Cie, these DO NOT work with Rekordbox. They mount to the computer in a different way than USB and so their mount point changes, meaning your playlists will disappear or lose their path. Worth more trouble and really no need to have that kind of speed for audio, now I use it for VJing and Serato The DDJ-RX comes with four inputs which enables easy connection to DJ equipment along with using it as a four-channel stand-alone mixer. The controller has enhanced low-latency jog wheels for perfect scratch response every time. The Pioneer vs Traktor discussion is v interesting. I have used CDJ 2000 nxs a lot and I simply don’t find them as intuitive as the traktor system, both Manually and in SYNC mode.

You get a free rekordbox dj licence key bundled with this controller. Simply activate your licence key for our DJ software, connect the controller and start DJing.Basically what you have here is two CDJs minus the CD slots and a two-channel Pioneer mixer, so the set-up is very reminiscent of any Pioneer DJ booth set-up you can think of. That said, the XDJ-RX has the biggest nod towards DJ controllers yet from any Rekordbox gear (notably the performance “pads” underneath the DDJ-SX-style jogwheels, and of course that big screen). A lot of DJ’s first comment on seeing this unit from NAMM was finally a laptop free system, oh but wait only 2 channels. I guess we will have to wait and see if Pioneer are listening to that. Thank you very much and sorry for writing so much. 1. I am just passionate about it as hell. 2. I am about to spend a lot of money on my new rig (used to have DDJ-SZ but sold it as I was moving 10000 kms) so wanna be sure I am making an informed decision. In the mixer section we’re in reassuringly familiar Pioneer territory – standard bass / mid / treble kills for each channel plus full kill trim / gain knobs. Each channel has a silver control knob for the built-in hardware colour FX with the FX selector buttons in the middle giving you a choice of the “noise”, “crush”, “pitch” or “filter” FX that features on a lot of Pioneer gear. With the levels for booth output, master level meters and mater level control lined down the middle, everything feels ergonomically laid out with just enough space to get to grip with EQ, filters and so on. In the middle of the channel faders sits the fader for the volume level of the sampler output and buttons to sync and cue the sampler too, more on the sampler in a bit… It will be interesting to see what comes next. I would like to see Pioneer release a controller like this with four channels and a touchscreen priced a bit higher, and another one, again with a touchscreen (leaving that off the XDJ-RX was a mistake), but without all the complicated inputs and outputs of this unit, only controlling two software channels, and so coming in cheaper.