Pioneer DDJ-S1 DJ Controller Designed for Serato

A few months ago, I bought a controller from another brand. It was really ok, but after a little while, it turned out to be quite basic, so I quickly outlearned it and started thinking about buying some professional cdj's and a djm from Pioneer. However, there were some problems with that idea. Besides the obvious budget obstacle, there was the fact that my entire music collection is in MP3's in my laptop, not in cd's nor in flash drives or SD cards.With this in mind, it was really futile for me to spend that much money buying a CDJ bundle like the 350's, the 900's and specially the 2000's, if I was only mixing from my laptop.Fortunately, I accidentally stumbled upon the DDJ-S1, a dj controller that performs almost all the features presented by any of the professional CDJ's, like saving hot cue points, editing loops (not just making and doubling/dividing them), enabling master tempo mode, which allows you to change the pitch without altering the track's tonality, and even counting among its prowesses the slip mode, which lets you resume the track from the point where it would be if no loop had been made when you exit the loop mode, because the song would have actually been playing in the background. And many others!!!And if that's not enough, then there's the look. Other than the weight, which is significantly lighter than the CDJ's, and the fact that it is a complete unit and not split into three components (two players and a mixer), it has the appearance and the feel of the professional relatives from Pioneer.Oh, and it costs half as much as the CDJ-350 and the correspondant mixer. Imagine how much less compared to the higher models, like the 850's and the 2000's.In all, there simply isn't any better option, except perhaps the DDJ-T1 (not the DDJ-SX, by the way), if you want a controller that lets you perform like a professional, either in your own home or in larger gigs, but don't really wanna spend a fortune in your gear.

5 stars AND a buyer beware? Read on!The Pioneer DDJ-S1 is a fantastic, robust unit that runs most of the Serato DJ functions out of the box. The lone 'issue' is that it has 5 hot cue/sample controls vs the full 8 like the newer DDJ-SR and DDJ-SX models - hence the 4 stars and not 5. I prefer the balance and weight of these platters as opposed to the SR and SX though - with the key word there being prefer - it is really just that... preference. I also liked that the layout was very similar to using a pair of CDJs and a Pioneer mixer so the learning curve was little to none.Where's the buyer beware?Pioneer made 2 versions of the DDJ-S1 - the original DDJ-S1 Serato ITCH DJ Controller which was discontinued at some point [...] and replaced by the current DDJ-S1 Serato DJ Edition[...]. I originally bought a DDJ-S1 in September of 2013 and was supplied with a DDJ-S1 Serato DJ Edition by Amazon LLC. I was pleased with the unit and the purchase. As advertised on Amazon.com AND pioneerdj.com that lists Amazon as a reseller. In December I decided to buy another unit and waited until the christmas period was over to do so. I went back into my orders and found the original order, opened the page, was notified that I had previously purchased the item and click buy. WHY all that trouble? I wanted to ENSURE I got the DDJ-S1 **Serato DJ Edition** and NOT an old stocked ITCH.Here it comes. **BUYER BEWARE**THE 3RD PARTY SELLER, Quality Electronics2, SOLD ME THE DISCONTINUED MODEL!!! They slapped a sticker on the outside of the box saying "Ready For Serato DJ"! The unit can and does work with the latest software via a firmware update but I found this to be disingenuous at best ESPECIALLY considering the lengths that I went to avoid getting the discontinued model. After contacting the seller, they continue to hide under the guise of selling me what I bought - the DDJ-S1 as according to Abbey (who responded to my email), "we found out that we sold you what you ordered , As per out experience we do have video of every item packed in our warehouse to make sure that we shipped the correct model so we shipped the Pioneer DDJ-S1 , Pioneer does not make 2 versions the make only one version".Again the buyer beware. The seller is 'unaware' in their first email that there are 2 versions but they go on to state in their next email,"I understand your frustration But we still believe that we did not do anything wrong we sold the pioneer DDJ-S1 , if the unit is discontinue by pioneer that does not mean that we cannot sale it , we have been in this business for 30 years and we do have item that the are old but we still can sale them with the full one year guaranty from the manufacture y . And just to remind you that you did receive it for $550 plus $25 shipping cost which is $150 less than the original MapI'm not trying to fight with you or not agreeing with you but you need to understand are side as well we sold the pioneer DDJ S1 .Abby"So now they know that they are selling the old one, they insist they can, they bundle it under the DDJ-S1 banner, EVEN THOUGH ITS DISCONTINUED OLD STOCK, and claim to me that I got it at a reduced cost... Guess what? All I asked repeatedly was for a straight acknowledgement that I got the old unit and really wasn't given a choice on purchase with the correct information.I've already updated the firmware and I'm using the latest version of Serato DJ, 1.5.2 currently, but I'm VERY disappointed in Quality Electronics2. Their final email after I responded to that garbage above?"Well , we still believe that we did nothing wrong"BEWARE OF WHO YOU BUY THIS FROM. If you can contact the seller and ask for more detail than just Pioneer DDJ-S1 do it!!!

I had the Vestax VCI-300 since 2009 but when i saw Pioneer released this DDJ-S1 i had to get it! Having CDJ 800's in the past i knew the quality of Pioneers and this product is no exception! It's practically a pair of CDJ's and a very high end 2channel mixer. Platter scratch is just how all pioneers feel, mixer effects are very cool, and the product looks and feel very strong and durable.I can't bash the Vestax VCI 300 too much cause that was faithful to me for the 2 years i had it buttttttttt it can never be in the class of this Pioneer DDJ-S1!

All in one mixer and dual CDJ-like controllers with effects and all the tweaks you need for mobile DJing. Once the software is installed it is plug and play. Quick to get setup and start playing. The time it saves you in setup will pay for itself in just a handful of gigs. Imagine the time it takes to setup a mixer, CDJs, etc. This thing is up and running in seconds. Yes. Seconds!!JM

Not what i was expecting at all. I had to do lots of software updates and at the end it still didnt work. I ended up teturning it but they did a great job with customer service handling my refund. Now I have the DDJ-SX2 it is the best.

This was exactly what I was searching for. A very reliable DJ controller and a very reliable name brand. Although I have not had time to really figure out all the "bells and whistles," so far it has done the basic functions just fine. Only used once at a birthday party celebration and everthing went smooth. Thank you Pioneer and long live Amazon!

Very Poor...the item never worked properly. It was a wast of money . I did not have the time to send it back

I own a mobile DJ service and have a few complete setups including this board. I train new djs on it and send them out to get familiarized with a mixer. It works well but can't touch the new DDJ-SX. If you have the extra cash, upgrade to the SX!