Pioneer DJ DDJ-RX Review

[section_title title=”Introduction & Closer Look”]

Introduction & Closer Look

Brand: Pioneer DJ
Model: DDJ-RX
UK Price: £887.95 @ Amazon UK (At time of review)
US Price: $996.98 @ Amazon US (At time of review)

If you’re into slamming out some fat house beats, mixing some fast and crazy hardcore, or even some jungle is massif love, well then you’re going to love what we have in store for you today. In a quite un-orthodox review to what we’re used to, Pioneer DJ got in contact with me and wondered if I fancied taking a look at an established, but hot 4 channel DJ mixer; the Pioneer DJ DDJ-RX 4 channel professional DJ controller to be exact.

Before we take a look at it, watch this short video from Pioneer DJ before you dive into our DDJ-RX review to get your mouths watering…

So what’s so special about the DDJ-RX controller? Well this particular model was designed and made for use with the Rekordbox DJ software; this comes inclusive with the controller. It features 4 channels and is supported by a dual deck control system, with the 132.5mm jog wheels being made from durable aluminium.

Underneath each of the jog wheels, we have a multitude of buttons and switches which include buttons for quantizing, a sync button which we will discuss later on, cue button with up to 8 different hot cue’s available to use and of course, the 8 pad FX buttons. To the right hand side of the 8 buttoned pad, we have sequencer and loop function buttons; these allow users to not only create sequences, but set up boot loops which could be used to incorporate fat hard beats, or even synthesised vocals, the choice is endless.

Above the fold, we have a needle search bar which is touch enabled and can be swiped at your pleasure. Above these, we have the FX select dials and buttons; the buttons turn the effects on and off and the knobs twist to increase the frequency/intensity of the desired and assigned effects. Each side has a different FX layout which offers a much broader variety of effects on the fly.

Now as you can see, the DDJ-RX is a pretty comprehensive bit of kit, but nothing is more comprehensive than the centre (mixing) panel. Here we have the key controls and functions which allow for sound tuning, channel control and of course, booth monitoring via an external source. With variable cross fader channel switches, you can set each of the channels to either pass through, channel A or channel B, depending on the type of mixing or type of sound you’re looking for. As with all DJ mixers, full control over the Hi, mid and low ranges is present and each channel has its own cue section for monitoring/mixing through headphones.

Above the mixing panel, we have the FX panel select switch; you can have them enabled at will, with the option to even carry the FX over all 4 channels if you wish! There is also a knob which allows for direct Rekordbox control which means you can pre-load tracks or effects into the channels without the need for a keyboard and mouse; you will still need a screen as the DDJ-RX doesn’t possess a monitor of any kind.

At the front of the DJ controller, there is the option to plug headphones in to monitor your mixes via the cue function, with solid options available to use either a 3.5mm, or 6.35mm jacks; pretty good in my opinion! Of course, we have knobs for controlling the volume of the headphones jacks, as well as a mixing knob for changing and balancing between cue and master.

Also featured, each channel has its own input select switch which allows for using between PC, MIC1, CD and phono; please note, channel 3 and 4 support a microphone, whereas channel 1 and 2 support for phono and line.

Probably one of the main deal breakers when looking for a DJ controller is the supported range of inputs and outputs present. We can safely say that the DDJ-RX delivers with a wide array, including master outputs featuring XLR and phono, with 6.35mm booth in and out ports. Each channel as we mentioned on the front features different levels of support, with mic ports available on 2 channels and all channels having 2 way phono jacks. There is also a signal grounder present in-between the 2 sets of channel inputs.

So we have seen what the Pioneer DJ DDJ-RX has in terms of buttons, switches, knobs, whatever you want to call them, but what can it do in the hands of an inexperienced DJ who hasn’t mixed in nearly 10 years? Let’s find out…but first, a full list of specifications from Pioneer DJ!

Specifications

Click here to see them on the Pioneer DJ Site