- petition when they released the DDJ-RX, and then beat their own record with its bigger brother the DDJ-RZ, but wait… what’s that coming over the hill? Oh my… The new Pioneer DDJ-RZX, ladies and gentlemen, is without doubt, hands down the world’s biggest and heaviest DJ software controller. At just under a metre wide, over half a metre deep, and with its own gravitational pull, you’re going to need a few sessions down at the gym to move it around, but is it worth it?

7722 Created specifically for use with Pioneer’s own rekordbox dj software, the DDJ-RZX is a fullyfeatured four channel DJ playback controller and mixer. It has been designed to have a familiar feel for anyone who has experience of using the company’s flagship CDJ media player and DJM mixer range. The very first thing you will notice about the DDJ- RZX is the inclusion of three 7” high-resolution touch displays, one placed above each deck and one central to the mixer.

These give you the ability to preview/monitor video and image files, trigger FX and adjust parameters by tracing with your finger using an X/Y axis on the display. As well as this, you can also use the central screen to see enlarged waveforms for the tracks you are playing and the outer screens can show track information in a variety of different ways. The large jog wheels have been further upgraded from the smoothly rotating type you will find on the rest of the DDJ line to the more tactile variety from Pioneer DJ’s CDJ line.

On the DDJ-RZX you’ll find that familiar feeling of plastic rubbing against plastic, certainly a welcome move in my opinion. While retaining the same ‘happy slappy’ RGB LED- lit pads, which give you access to tons of performance options such as Hot Cues, Slicer, Sampler FX and more, the FX unit has been completely overhauled to bring in combo FX. This allows you to control Sound Colour FX and Beat FX at the same time by using the touch screens. Release FX are now also possible, allowing you exit out of complex mixes with a Vinyl Brake, Echo or Back Spin.

The mic section too has been upgraded. On the back you’ll find a pair of combo XLR/jack sockets, while on the front panel there is a dedicated 3-band mic EQ along with the individual level controllers for each mic input. And, if that wasn’t enough, you also get dedicated mic FX – Echo, Reverb, Pitch and V-Tune – allowing you to add that little extra to your voice. So, the RZX has a lot to offer as a ‘regular’ DJ controller, but, let’s be honest, where it is really intended to excel is when used with the new rekordbox video Plus Pack.

This is available right now as a £99.00 upgrade to rekordbox dj, but if you do decide to invest in an RZX, you’ll receive a licence included with it (in fact you'll get rekordbox dj, rekordbox dvs and rekordbox video - a package worth over 350!). THE APIROTN OEFE RA DDVJ EDRDTJIS-RINZGX As the DDJ-RZX itself lacks any kind of AV outputs, all the processing is done on your computer. With that mind, you don’t really need to have an RZX to incorporate video into your sets using rekordbox video, but you won’t have those glorious screens in front of you to manipulate the output with your finger, and that quite an advantage to have!

When you enable the video Plus Pack, a new section will open up within rekordbox dj containing three screens. Two smaller ones to preview each deck, and bigger central one to show you the main output. You have access to a number of built-in transition FX allowing you to use the crossfader to apply that effect as you switch between two videos. You can also choose from a variety of touch FX to make the output a bit more interesting.

Not only can you select different touch FX for each deck, but you can also apply them to the master output, which can make for some really interesting effects! On top of the video FX you can also apply audio FX for that ultimate mix! Now, some of you may be sat there thinking “but why?”. I first looked into offering video to my clients many years ago, as I’m sure a lot of you did, and I very quickly decided that I didn’t want people sat down watching the music videos instead of dancing.

So, whilst the PIONEER DJ DDJ-RZX Pioneer DJ DDJ-RZX music video mixing potential of the DDJ-RZX might in appeal to pub and bar DJs with an existing array of monitors to tap into around the building, does the DDJ-RZX have anything up its sleeve for the rest of us? is Well, yes it does! Firstly, rekordbox video also supports image files, so you can show a single image on its own or run a never-ending slideshow from a folder of images on your computer.

It is also easy to adjust the order in which the images are shown and the length of a time they are displayed before moving to the next one. I thought this was a really cool addition, especially if you run a photo booth and can somehow link into the folder containing all of the images as they are taken! Camera input is also supported, so you can include live video footage from your dancefloor. I found that this only works with devices that can be used as a webcam (type UVC, USB Video Class) so, as a GoPro owner, I had to do a bit of jiggery pokery first to get it to pretend it was a webcam but once it was set up it was pretty amazing!

Another great feature is the ability to easily overlay custom text. You can adjust the font, it’s opacity and size, where it is displayed and also how it is animated on the screen. This is really useful if you have a message to pass on, or to display the Bride & Groom’s name, for example. THE EARLY DAYS 73 Pioneer DJ DDJ-RZX Linking of audio and video files together is also supported.

This means that if you have a promo video to I play, whilst working a pub or bar for example, you can link an audio and video track together so that whenever that audio file is loaded it will play the associated video. When I first saw the DDJ-RZX, yes, I have to admit that I got a bit gooey at the thought of re-introducing video as well as the possibilities of incorporating slideshows, etc. However, after giving it some thought, I also recognised real value in something that the guys at Pioneer didn’t really see.

Some time ago I wrote in Pro Mobile about how we might’ve inadvertently dumbed down the appearance of our own profession by using laptops to play music. Guests see these computers and usually think that they are doing all the work and the DJ is just sat there in twiddling his or her thumbs and looking at Facebook. Now, whilst that might be true for some DJs, I’m really against having my laptop on display, especially positioned in front of my face which appears to be the standard position that most DJs use.

I hate people seeing my laptop, and go out of my way to hide a it wherever possible, while accepting that it needs to be there. So, back to the DDJ-RZX, I discovered that rekordbox in dj has a super-cool split-screen feature that allows you to ‘detach’ the browser from the main interface into its own independent window. You can then run this full screen on your laptop, completely hiding all of the other deck controls for the software… or you can drag it onto an external screen.

In testing I was able to position my iPad above the central display on the DDJ-RZX. This in turn was connected to my Macbook using a standard USB lightning cable. I then used an app called ‘Duet’ to allow my iPad to be seen as an external monitor onto which I could display the detached rekordbox dj browser. The resolution of the retina screen on my iPad was more than sufficient for browsing through my music library, all of which can be 74 done using the hardware controls on the DDJ-RZX.

If did need to use my laptop for searching it could be positioned somewhere else, not directly in view of the party guests. Not fully content with this, I went a step further, connecting a Bluetooth keyboard to the Macbook and closed its lid and put it under my booth. I didn’t need to use the screen of the laptop at all because the 7” touch displays on the DDJ-RZX show all the track information you could ever want, including scrolling waveforms. It was a real joy to not have the laptop on display at all!

I’ve used the DDJ-RZX in this configuration now for a few events, and I’m very pleased with the results. I get all the benefits of using a laptop, but without it being on display and I really do believe it makes a difference how I am perceived by party guests. To sum up, the DDJ-RZX is a phenomenal piece of kit; Pioneer DJ really has gone all-out on this one. There are literally tons and tons of features that I’ve not been able to cover in this review, to get them all in I’d need whole issue I’m sure!

So, finally, the price… are you sitting comfortably? £2,369.00! Like Apple, Pioneer DJ is positioned well the market with a huge number of fans around the globe who will reach down deep into their pockets to get the DDJ-RZX, currently the biggest controller on the street. Pioneer DJ has already previously invested heavily into the video scene at the highest level (remember the SVM-1000 mixer and DVJ-X1 Pro DVD decks?) and even now video still isn’t mainstream, even in clubs and bars, so this is a very brave and bold move from Pioneer.

However, even if you aren’t considering the inclusion of video in your sets anytime soon, think about using it like I do, with your laptop hidden away… in my opinion, it will be one of the best things you ever do! PIONTEHERE EDAJ RDLDY JD-RAZYXS P O W E R DBR15 *max. amp power / max. SPL LIGHTWEIGHT 2-CHANNEL DSP FOR HIGH RIGGING AND PORTABLE MIXER DEFINITION SOUND INSTALLATION #41290 - DBR ad - PMM.indd 1 4 YEARS GUARANTEE dB* dB* dB* POINTS FOR SMART SYMMETRICAL DESIGN APPLICATIONS FOR FLOOR MONITOR USE 08/12/2014 15:11