's a grey day here at Mole towers when a courier drops off a box. I open it, and inside is a shiny chunk of black DJ tech. Suddenly, the boy in me is awakened and the sun starts to shine as I plug in the all new Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX! 7766 As a long time user of Pioneer DJ kit, I am very used to - and love working with - a pair of CDJ-2000s and a DJM-900nexus mixer linked together with a Macbook running rekordbox using the Ethernet-based Pro DJ Link system.

This combo is quite a large and heavy solution, so when news arrived of a mobile DJ friendly solution, I got quite excited. The XDJ-RX is squarely aimed at the mobile DJ and is primarily designed to be used as a standalone device. It's an all-in-one system consisting of a dual player, a mixer and two effects modules. It plays music from a choice of two USB media devices or from a laptop connected using the Pro DJ Link.

There is a generous 7" display which facilitates searching and selecting tracks from various sources, it also displays waveforms for the currently playing tracks, amongst other things. The unit can also be used as a MIDI control surface for DJ software such as Traktor Pro 2, although this is not what this bit of kit was really designed for (check out the Pioneer DDJ range if you are just looking for controllers). PIONEER DJ XDJ-RX The Software Before I look at the XDJ-RX in detail, it's worth talking about rekordbox, which is the software this product was designed around. rekordbox is drum n bass, Pioneer's in house application which party, chill out, serves many purposes.

First, you use I then also it offline to analyse your music colfolder which lection. It automatically analyses and must plays the BPM and key as well as mapping evening. out a waveform for each track. You can then create loops and insert cue When you’ve points where you need them, which and set up your can be recalled later when playing step is to back using the XDJ-RX. rekordbox box music to a can also be used to create playlists, (or two) using which is key to DJing with the RX.

Then, when For example, I have playlists which vice (or devices) include essential garage, essential of your music PIONEER DJ XDJ-RX essential rock, essential etc. For each event prepare in advance a contains the requests for that particular with your playlists – can be easily accessed and searched. This elimianalysed your music nates the need to have your laptop playlists, the next actually at a gig, and no one can synchronise your rekordaccuse you of not concentrating on USB storage device your job by checking your Facebook the Sync Manager. status whist DJing!

This should also you connect this deeliminate those people who ask you to the XDJ-RX, all to look for their favourite list on collection – along Spotify or YouTube... 77 pioneer dj xdj-rx The Mixer is a standard ¼” and the smaller 3.5mm Let’s move on to the XDJ-RX itself. mixer, you can choose This box of tricks is basically a twin each channel individually, player with a mixer section consistor mixed with the ing of two channels with full EQ and while level and mixing gain control.

Each channel can be provided. I would have fed from either the corresponding cue function here, built-in player or an external line the top of the range or phono input. This means, for exbut what is off ered ample, that if a client provides you so it’s not really a with background music on an iPod, is also an option to you can play it. Or maybe you still mixing using booth have a dual CD player you like to of outputs is provided have on standby - just connect it!

Or panel for these with perhaps you simply must have a pair on the front panel. of Technics SL1200 MKIIs on hand to show off your ninja vinyl scratch- The mixer has two ing skills - no problem, the XDJ-RX phone channels, will work with them. So, although along with Hi and I would have loved a four channel The mic sockets are mixer section, it's actually very well ently located out of connected with just the two it has. back panel; one is a / ¼” jack and the Each channel has a three band EQ, only.

I have used these which can be switched (in the menu dustry standard Shure settings) between full kill isolation and radio mics, as or a -26dB to +6dB range. There FBT DM-29, and can is also a cross-fader, which has a at all with tone or switchable curve. If, like me, you have no use for a cross-fader, you Similarly to the will be happy to see it can also be there are essentially disabled completely! ent eff ects sections XDJ-RX. The Beat Eff To monitor your mixes, and pre- Colour FX can be view each track before you play it creative fun.

All the eff live (you do this, don't you?), two automatically, provided headphone jacks are provided. One analysed your music 7788 advance. The Beat Eff ects are Delay, Echo, Spiral, Reverb, Trans, Flanger, Pitch and Roll. The separate Sound Colour FX section then off ers Noise, Gate/Compression, Crush and Filter.

On inspection of the rear panel of the XDJ-RX I found no Record output connections, but that is because there is a very clever feature on the XDJ-RX. If you want to record your set, all you have to do is connect a memory stick to USB2 and hit the Master Rec button - your DJ prowess will then be recorded directly to the stick as a high quality WAV fi le! the other is You can even mark track transitions jack. On the as you go by hitting the Track Mark to monitor button - very simple, very eff ective. together, main output, controls are The Decks loved a split as provided on The players are very intuitive to use DJM mixers, and inherit much of the pro CDJs’ does work well, standard features, so if you are problem.

There familiar with the club standard CDJ- monitor your 900, CDJ-2000 etc. you will have no speakers; a pair problem adjusting to the XDJ-RX. on the rear The usual Cue / Play / Search and a level control Track Search buttons are there, together with a CDJ-style jog wheel. This wheel has an internal display separate microto mimic vinyl spinning, and a welleach with Level balanced feel with touch and edge Low EQ controls. control. Although it's a little smaller both convenithan I'm used to on the CDJ-2000, the way on the it works very well and, unlike many combination XLR controllers, responds instantly.

The other is a ¼” jack Tempo slider is full size, with a cenwith the intral click at zero, and allows for ±6%, SM58 cabled ±10%, ±16% and ±100%, with a well as with an Master Tempo button to freeze the report no issues musical key. Additionally, you can clarity. Reverse the track playback and a Slip feature is also provided so you can, DJM-900nexus, for example, scratch or back spin and two independthen return to the track keeping in included on the time. ects and Sound combined for some Loops stored in rekordbox can be ects keep time recalled, deleted or added by the you have XDJ-RX.

As well as the well-known in rekordbox in CDJ loop system, with it’s In, Out and PIONEER DJ XDJ-RX Reloop buttons, there are also four function also illuminated pads on each player, poing DJs to keep sitioned below the jog wheels. These changing tempo, have several modes, the most useful ful feature. being Auto Beat Loop. For analysed tracks, a seamless loop can be easily created on the fl y. These can be one, The Display two, four or eight beats in length and, using a shift button, you can Finally, let's set a 1/16th, 1/8th, 1/4 or 1/2 beat Maybe it should loop too.

The next function for these thing I talked blue buttons is a new feature called fi rst thing everyone Loop Slice. The easiest way to delook at the scribe this is to imagine you have set 7" wide anyway. a loop which goes "one, two, three, to DJing with four". Try it with the intro to Gloria connected to Estafan's ‘1-2-3’ track! Basically, the rekordbox, and XDJ-RX will then assign each button on my 13" to a split of that loop, so hit the fi rst, sending them and Gloria sings “one”, hit the second, So, I was a little Gloria sings “two”, hit the third and 7" screen.

But I Gloria sings “three” - you get the idea! ried as the The clever bit is that if you hold down an incredible one of the buttons, the correspondscreen is very ing slice will be repeated in time. incredibly clear This is a great new eff ect which the best I have seen more creative DJs will have a bit of kit. There are a fun with in the mix, although maybe dotted around not with Gloria! Hot Cues and Loops wheel under it created in the XDJ-RX or rekordbox tracks and menus can also be recalled and played using these four blue buttons.

This is You can easily a useful feature for those of us who, select tracks for instance, do the wedding ‘Mr and from storage Mrs Game’ or quizzes where specifi c USB1 or USB2 sounds accompany a right or wrong top connected answer. rekordbox using you use a network The 'marmite' feature which someeven connect two times splits the DJ community has rekordbox). The been provided on the XDJ-RX - I am is also very of course talking about the Sync the click wheel, buttons!

I have to say that, despite a collection of strongly believing that there is no actually quite substitute for learning how to mix, I I was very pleased have used the Sync function on the found it to be a XDJ-RX. It makes mixing a breeze, vices that I have as well as being quite useful in an unexpected way, so my thoughts on Sync are changing a little. Basically, tracks which have been analysed in rekordbox can be blended seamlessly together as you would expect but, for loops and tricks, the Sync PIONEER DJ XDJ-RX pioneer dj xdj-rx allows creative mix- The display also shows all of the them in time whilst information you may want to see which is a very userelating to the tracks that are currently playing, as well as fantastic wave representations of the tracks together with their beat grids.

You can even zoom in and out, so the EDM jocks can prepare for those look at the display. 'hands in the air' moments as they have been the fi rst see them approaching! about, as this is the sees when they XDJ-RX. It's HUGE! Well, Conclusion I am actually used a pair of CDJ-2000s So, is it worth it?

Well, at £1200, a Macbook running it's a fabulous piece of kit in my selecting the tracks opinion. It's much, much, better Macbook screen before to use than the XDJ-AERO or R1. to each CDJ in turn. In fact I’d say that it is not too far skeptical about a off the experience of using a pair of need not have wor- CDJ-2000nexus players and a DJM- designers have pulled off 900nexus mixer, which would set achievement. This 7" you back the best part of £4300, high resolution and and potentially give you a sore back - it's certainly the too!

The Pioneer DJ team have done so far on any DJ their research and produced a bit of number of buttons kit which not only works well, but the screen and a click looks and sounds good. If I were to to navigate through be picky, I would have loved a slightwith ease. ly bigger jog wheel, and a split cue feature, but little things like main navigate playlists and outputs on XLRs and not having a shown on the display silly mains adapter but instead using devices attached to an IEC mains inlet straight into the as well as from a lap- XDJ-RX make up for it.

The philosoby Ethernet running phy of not having a laptop whilst the Pro DJ Link (if DJing also seems to work well with switch, you can this unit. I have used it several times computers running live without the need for my laptop search functionality in a mobile DJ scenario, which is a cleverly integrated using fi rst for me, and the experience was so searching through very positive. I will grudgingly return thousands of tracks is this unit, and look forward to purstraightforward.

This chasing and using my own XDJ-RX to see, as I have very soon. fl aw on previous detried. 79