Any modern forward thinking DJ will tell you that there is a big revolution going on in the DJ world. Digital technology means that there is a rise of a new wave of decks and equipment that are transforming the way we play. In this short article I am going to give you the low down on what I consider to be amongst the best of this new kit, the Pioneer CDJ 400.

Pioneer has a long legacy in the DJ world and is truly respected for their equipment. For a long time the industry standard in most music venues for example has been the Pioneer Mk1, Mk2 and finally the Mk3’s. As DJ’s we all love the CDJ range because quite simply they perform well are robust and look really great.

I personally have owned a set of CDJ 800 decks for the last three years (these are the baby brothers to the 1000’s) and they performed amazingly well. However in the last two years the market has begun to change with digital DJ’ing being the new way forward. The main benefit of this new way of playing music is quite simply that all your tracks are stored on hard disks. Therefore you do not have to spend a small fortune and a huge amount of time burning CD’s to then carry them with you everywhere.

The most common application I have seen to date is where a DJ will link a laptop to a small console from which he controls the music. However for me this is not the way to go. For one the solutions do not seem stable enough, as we all know PC’s freeze and crash from time-to-time. In addition to this the consoles are too small; imagine trying to drive a performance car with a very tiny steering wheel and you will understand what I mean.

This is where the lovely CDJ 400 steps in. It is a hybrid deck which means it can play both CD’s and digital media. In addition to this it offers multiple options when it comes to choosing the digital media you can play from. For example you can plug in a simple memory stick, an iPod, iPhone and of course a laptop. With the correct connections and music management software you can use the deck as a midi controller as well i.e. you do not have too touch the laptop once running.

Another important point is the price, you can pick these decks up for about $7-$800 which given what they are capable of is very good value. As they play CD’s I have been able to make moving on to a fully digital platform a pleasant transition rather than having to try and move everything over in one go. Finally and most importantly for me is the way they play. As a hands-on DJ, I like to really feel in control of my mixes and these bad boys give me all the handling I need.