10 years ago, learning to DJ was affordable. A couple of turntables and a mixer could be acquired for a reasonable price of just a couple of hundred pounds. It didn’t matter if it was cheap and the track drifted, because it was all part of the learning experience. Get into the club and you’re faced with the mighty 1210s, superior in many ways but with the same controls as an entry-level turntable. This meant that anyone with the passion could learn to mix, and only the most talented shone through.
Fast forward to today and you’re faced with £2000 mixers, £3000 CD Players, £600 remix stations, controllers, iPads and a whole variety of expensive devices. You have “DJs” like Paris Hilton headlining major events in Ibiza’s Amnesia, while pure talent sits at home frantically saving their pennies in the hope they can move to the DJ equipment now installed in clubs worldwide, a standard which once was the simplicity of just 2 turntables and a mixer. Great talent will always shine through, but landing that key first set has become a lot harder.
When Pioneer announced their limited edition gold model of their “Serato DJ” controller today (complete with “Sync” button, of course!) I couldn’t help but feel as though too much emphasis is now being placed on the equipment and not the DJ. I feel the industry is starting to lose focus on what real talent is, only allowing those with a decent financial backing to shine through. Please don’t get me wrong though, I still think this is an incredible piece of kit.
Key features of the DDJ-SX controller include native control for Serato DJ, professional build quality, multiple input and output options, high audio quality and plenty of buttons, dials, faders, jog wheels and performance pads. The new gold edition of the controller will be available at the same price as current colours, from November at an SRP of €999/£809 including tax.
