Pioneer DJ DDJ-400 2-Channel Rekordbox DJ Controller

Pioneer DJ has released the perfect DJ controller for both new and beginner DJs to learn on, in the form of the DDJ-400. The DJ controller has been created for dedicated use with Pioneer’s rekordbox DJ software and is designed to give you the best control over all the newest rekordbox features. The DDJ-400 is perfect for first-time DJs with controls that allow you to quickly learn all the essential DJ techniques, as well as features and controls that enable you to develop your skills.

There is a new Tutorial feature within the Rekordbox software that helps you learn by explaining the basic equipment operations step by step, so even if you’ve never gotten behind the decks before you can instantly start learning all the professional techniques required for a professional sounding mix. The DDJ-400 is ideal for new and beginner DJs thanks to the simple, intuitive layout and excellent hands-on controls.

The layout of the dedicated play/pause and cue buttons, beat FX, and CDJ-style looping controls are all borrowed from the NXS2 setup, allowing you to feel comfortable when you finally step into a club DJ booth. The two slick jog wheels let you quickly search through a track and even scratch your records, while the new 60mm tempo faders allow you to precisely adjust your tracks BPM for smooth beat-matching. If you’d like to take your mixing to the next level then you’ll feel right at home in the DJ booth thanks to the design traits that have been inherited from Pioneer’s professional range.

Each deck is equipped with eight backlit performance pads that allow you to trigger hot cues, hot loops, beat jumps and samples, and there are also secondary functions to the pads that let you access pad FX 1 and 2 as well as key shift, and a keyboard function that allows you to play hot cues like a keyboard. There is also NXS2-style looping controls that let you manually loop or use the auto-loop feature. This means that you can instantly loop four beats, and while using the synchronise button you can be sure to always stay in beat, perfect for new DJs learning to beat-match.

The mixer section on the DDJ 400 comes equipped with 3-band EQ controls for each deck, trim pots and a dedicated filter knob that gives you a low-pass and high-pass filter alongside a channel level VU meter, so you can see when you’re overloading the mixer with too loud a signal. There is a dedicated headphone output with a level control as well as a mixing knob that blends the master channel with your monitored track so you can clearly hear when the two tracks are perfectly matched up.

The DDJ-400 also features a Beat FX section that allows you to access the extensive range of effects that are available in the rekordbox DJ software, the beat FX section offers an on/off button as well as a dry/wet knob, level control, FX select, and beat controls for switching up the beat values of the effects. At the top of the mixer, you will find controls for searching through your digital music collection within rekordbox and loading them onto your decks.

The DDJ400 comes with a lightweight, super-portable design with conveniently placed grab handles on the sides for easy manoeuvring. It can easily be placed inside of a travel bag or flight case so it can be taken to house parties, garden parties, and small venues for performing. The compact and highly-robust construction has been designed to withstand heavy use and feels great to use thanks to the sleek, professional controls that are intuitively positioned so you can instantly grab whatever you need. Finally, there are dedicated transport controls that are inherited from the professional NXS2 set up.