Pioneer Bridges the Gap Between Computer Jocks and CD Jocks with the New CDJ-400 Digital Turntable
(Pioneer | Posted 2007-11-30)
Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. Professional Sound and Visual Division, the leader in Pro DJ products and the innovator of the CD turntable, unveiled the latest addition to its family of CD turntables, the CDJ-400. The CDJ-400 combines a sampling of features found in the different levels of Pioneer’s CDJ series with the simplicity of a standard CD turntable, including USB1 integration and MP3 playback, MIDI support, scratching capability, scratch jog effect and a variety of looping functions.
“We’re making it versatile and easy to get more control of digital music mixing by developing products like the CDJ-400,” said Matt Dever, vice president for Pioneer’s Professional Sound and Visual Division. “We’ve made the player very affordable for DJs. The CDJ-400 is packed with features that are ideal for different levels of DJs, from the ‘newbies’ to the professional DJs who want to better manipulate their DJ computer software.”
USB Integration and MP3 Playback
The CDJ-400’s cosmetic design is simple and compact yet elegant with all of its various controls and features located directly on top of the unit. A USB port found on the face of the player allows DJs to play their MP3 music collection from a wide variety of portable music devices such as thumb drives, MP3 players or external hard drives. With the use of a multi-function selector knob/button and its large, bright, dot-matrix LCD display, locating and accessing of files from these types of music devices as well as MP3 music files on CD and CD-R/RW through the CD slot are done with a turn and press of the knob.
DJ Software Compatibility and MIDI Control
With more of today’s DJs utilizing different DJ software for their
performances, the CDJ-400 is also equipped with a PC mode. In this mode, the CDJ-400 is a native controller for software such as Pioneer DJS2 computer software and SERATO® Scratch LIVE3. For example, the movement of the pitch slider on the CDJ-400 can control the pitch slider on the computer software and no timecode CD is required for audio control. The player can also act as a MIDI controller where the user can assign virtually every button on the player to trigger functions of various DJ software programs.
World’s First Scratch Jog Effect
A highlight and an advancement of the CDJ-400 is its scratching capability. In addition to traditional “vinyl” mode scratching, Pioneer implemented the World’s First Scratch Jog Effect. Three highlighted buttons, each assigned to a special effect, Bubble, Trans and Wah, creates unique scratching sound effects that can be enabled by the DJ on the fly. A “hold” button was also added to retain the different effects throughout the session or until its release, which can also be triggered at any point of play.
Additional features in the CDJ-400 include:
Digital Loop functions: A variety of loops can be created for additional audio effects.
Beat Loop: Automatically creates four beat loop based on the beats per minute (BPM) of music currently being played.
Loop Divide: Rhythmically divides the loop in halves to create different patterns.
Hot Loop: Restarts the loop seamlessly from its entry without interruption of the music.
Digital Jog Break: In CD mode the CDJ-400 contains three effects, Jet, Roll and Wah, which further enhances the audio by simply rotating the jog dial. The same buttons for the Scratch Jog Effect are assigned to the Digital Jog Break which are accessible at any point of play.
Tempo Control: Four tempo modes, ±6%, ±10%, ±16% and WIDE4, provide additional speed control with a resolution of 0.02% in the 6% range.
Cue/Loop Points: Up to 10 cue/loop points per disc, for up to 920 discs can be stored in memory.
Jog Indicator: A break in the red halo illumination around the jog wheel provides instantaneous feedback to the DJ.
Customizable Jog Wheel: The top of the jog wheel can be removed enabling the user to add their own customized image.
Digital Output: A digital output is available for a direct connection for clearer sound to a connected mixer.
Resume Function: The function takes effect if a CD is ejected accidentally. Once the DJ re-inserts the disc, it automatically starts playing from exactly the point where it stopped.
The CDJ-400 will be available in January 2008 with a manufacturer suggested retail price of $750.00.
