The new Pioneer CDJ-2000
Friday, September 18, 2009 at 2:00PM 8 years ago the clubbing scene was revolutionised by the arrival of the Pioneer CDJ-1000 and they soon became a benchmark in the world of DJing. Since then this area has developed vastly and DJs are begenning to discover new ways of playing, mixing and even creating music to a live audience.
This is why Pioneer's latest control unit is so important. Will it have the success enjoyed by it's predecessor? Have a look at the product video released yeaterday...
I have caught up with DJ Not Quite Tom to get his professional point of view...
Q. What's your name/who you are/where you come from?
A. My name is Tom Pardhy, I grew up in Dubai but have lived around the UK for the last 11 years but now I'm based in Leeds. I've been Djing for 18 months and things have gone pretty well so far, it's highly addictive! I play mainly electro and techno with healthy doses of house, disco and dubstep. I love loops. 
Q. What do you DJ with at the moment? What do you like about this set up?
A. I've recently just bought a Novation Remote Zero SL which I'm running through Traktor Pro. This setup works for me because there are so many knobs and buttons and faders on the controller and I can do whatever I want! I find there's nothing more frustrating than not being able to play how you want because you're limited to what your djing medium can do, and not what you can do. I like to dabble with CDJ's now and again.
Q. Where do you stand on the whole Laptop/CD debate?
Obviously I'm all for laptop DJ's being one myself. Some people say it's cheating but it's not really, it's just another way to do something. And to be honest, the only people who think its not legit are the vinyl purists! Digital DJing has opened a lot of doors to almost all DJ's, people like James Zabiela wouldn't be able to do half the things he does without CDJ's or a laptop, but he has these things and he's amazing! At the end of the day, if it sounds good, people are dancing and it's not a pre-recorded mix, no one can complain.
Q. Are there any particular aspects of the CDJ-2000's you are particularly excited about?
A. I love the fact that 4 cdj's can be linked up over LAN so you can have access to all your songs across 4 decks just from 1 USB stick or hard drive. Carrying, organising and burning CD's is a lot of effort when you compare that to dragging songs onto a tiny USB stick and plugging it in to a CDJ when you arrive. That new, big colour screen is fantastic too, it's a lot easier to see what you're doing with the tilted angle. I also like the quantized looping. Trying to set a perfect loop on the fly when you're pretty boozy is no easy feat.
Q. What sort of impact do you these new machines will actually have on the clubbing circuit and for DJs?
A. The trouble about CDJ's is that they're very tough and don't depreciate much. I don't see many clubs trading their perfectly working 1000mk3's for a new pair when they're working fine. Clubs like Fabric, SAnkey's and Digital will have them as soon as they're released, but I think it'll take a long time before these have replaced all the 1000mk3's. Don't expect your local jaunt to have them by December, you'll only be disappointed.
Q. So are you going to be buying a pair?
A. At over £2700 for a pair I'll have to say no. Hopefully I'll get to have a go on them soon though.
He's kindly shared with us a little banger that he's playing at the moment!
Check out Tom DJ in Leeds on these dates:
Wax:On After Party @ The Fav - 27th Sept
Kill The Rhythm @ Nation Of Shopkeepers - 2nd Oct
Savage (Residency!) @ Wire - 6th Oct
Thanks Tom!
News
Reader Comments (1)
http://soundcloud.com/etc-etc/felix-cartal-drone-etc-etc-noise-remix