The Pioneer DJ XDJ-XZ Is as Good as a Set of CDJ and DJM Mixer Do You Agree?

0:00 A couple of things I want to talk about here

Alright, so a couple of things I want to talk about here. One very, well in fact it's all quite important and I'm going to cover many subjects. Now behind me I have got the Pioneer XDJ-XZ. So if we step back in time a little bit to when let's say the RX1 came out, the RR and the RX2, they were great. Download the rekordbox files or you know From your computer, you've got your mp3 files, stick them into rekordbox, they get analysed from rekordbox, export them onto your thumb drive, stick them in and guess what? The screen is there! So I still to this day don't really understand why a lot of people, well I do and I don't, but if you're just going to do a set with your mates, an hour set, couple of hours, you're going down the road or whatever, there's no real need to take a laptop. But what I want to talk about here is the stigma...

2:16 Yes and no, because we seem to have this snobbery about kit

Behind using a controller and if you think you're being a real DJ. And does using a controller look a bit tacky? Now, where am I going here? Well, let's imagine I have an analogy here, but it all fits in. You've got a set of Technics SL-1200 Mark II. You've got... I don't know, a Zone mixer or you've got a Pioneer mixer. And then the person next door has got a set of Newmark decks and they've got a Citronic mixer. Now, you may think that, well, the guy with the Technics is far superior, better quality, the mixer's better, and the other setup looks a bit tacky. Yes and no, because we seem to have this snobbery about kit. If it's not Technus, if it's not Pioneer or Denon then it's nothing. But you see a lot of it is about the user, how good they are. So for example, you could have the likes of a superstar DJ on some really dodgy kit and they do a far better set I'm sure than someone who was a random bedroom DJ only just sort of dipped their foot into the industry very, you know...

They're able to use a controller and, I'll start again, they're able to use the laptop but not very good with actual hardware without a laptop. But they've got the best kit. Well of course, the big DJ is going to far outweigh them because they have the talent and the experience. So firstly, it's not about the kit you're using, it's about the experience and about How professional you are and knowledgeable in music and the whole mechanics behind DJing. So just bear that in mind. Now let's get to the kit, to modern day kit. We're looking at December 2020 and at the moment Pioneer, they have released a new controller recently but the XE is still really the controller that's out there that people are talking about because it's all in one.

That controller, now this is my perspective, not yours, maybe yours, maybe someone else's, I don't know. But I honestly think now what we've got into or what we have with the XZ is we now have a product, even though it is theoretically a controller. It is suitable for big nightclubs. I would hazard a guess to say that if a big DJ turned up at an event and saw that controller and had like thumb drives and a laptop, they may all right want to plug the laptop into the controller, but they've got their thumb drives with the music files and they wouldn't be embarrassed by using it because it is big, it's substantial, it's four channel. The jog wheels are big, the hot cues are there, it's robust, it looks good, it's not tacky, it's not small and petite. So let's say for example if you had the DDJ-400 and you wanted to take the jump to going to a controller with nothing else plugged in, then look at the RR or maybe look at the RX and then maybe you go to the RX2.

4:55 XZ because you now have four

Little differences but not much to be quite honest. Alright, touchscreen, yeah, the thumb drives are different sides, more pads for hot cues etc. But then there's a big jump then to go to the XZ because you now have four channel functionality. So you've got the two channels on the controller and you've got another two channels that you can use... From your laptop or you can use from external CD players, you can also plug in vinyl turntables so you can have a myriad of kit and switch from one to the other without having to plug and unplug switches from the back. You see also small things like XLR out. Now if you want to know about good and bad kit that's one thing I was not so much good and bad but professional and let's say more bedroom is

If the mixer you've got or the controller you've got has got an XLR out as well as an RCA out, then that does put it a little bit higher up in the pecking order because that means that when you do output from the mixer into your PA, you know, you're going to have a balanced output. So what that means is that over a long distance, you're not going to lose any signal so long as you use good quality XLR cables. Out into the PA amps and speakers and whatnot. So really this is part of the video explaining that, by all means please comment, let me know what you think. If you think first part of the video what I'm talking about now is a load of rubbish or if you actually agree with me that the XZ is indeed a good player. And also there's Denon products out there that is great.

7:09 Into the speakers and you've basically

It's all in one. I mean, for example, I do like the Go. It's battery powered. I haven't used it yet. I've seen it being used and I'm thinking that's a nice piece of kit. Alright, jog wheels are very small but the benefits of that is it's battery powered. You can take it anywhere. The DDJ-200, even though that is definitely a complete entry level sort of controller, if you've got... A battery pack, USB battery pack. You plug it in, USB cable from the battery pack into the 200, you Bluetooth from the 200 to your phone, your Android, to your tablet and then you have a cable, you go from that into your headphones that splits and then the next one into the speakers and you've basically got a mobile disco setup.

All right, so that's the first part of the video. Let me know. By the way, don't forget, please like and subscribe. Hit that bell notification. Generally, I do videos sometimes every day, but at least two or three a week. Always, I try and make sure they always go out at six o'clock UK GMT. The next part of the video is a little bit more about what's going on at the moment around the world. Now, I'm not gonna talk about that thing, but what I am gonna talk about... is the eggs in one basket. It's an old saying from years ago, you know, you do not want to put your eggs in one basket. So if you don't know what that means, hopefully you do, but if you don't, if you have all of your physical eggs in one basket and you drop that basket, sure enough, they will all crack. Okay, I don't want to go into like what it falls on and where,

The theory behind eggs in one basket is if you drop that basket because eggs are very fragile, they're all going to break. So you have to look at yourself now and the position you're in in relation to what's going on around the world. Do you just have money in just the bank? Do you just have money underneath your mattress? Do you just have money or you don't? Maybe your supplies are limited in your house for like a week and that's it. My advice, and again please take this advice as face value. I am not a financial advisor and please don't follow what I say. This is strictly for entertainment purposes. But what I would be doing is I would make sure that I am looking in different avenues and different ways to survive if let's say the proverbial in the future did hit the fan. We are now in unprecedented times.

9:26 Businesses are closing, financial establishments are feeling the brunt

Businesses are closing, financial establishments are feeling the brunt. There are certain banks out there that are doing what's called helicopter money which is just making it from thin air to try and keep the economy going but it's working to an extent but then a big bubble can only last for a while being a big bubble while air is being pumped into it and there's a big hole at the other end where so one Side the air is being pumped in, big bubble. The other side there's a hole where the air is just being released and at some point whatever is pumping that bubble it's going to run out of fuel, it's going to run out of energy and it's going to stop or the bubbles hole may get so big that the amount of air being pumped into that bubble will not equate to the amount of air leaving the bubble and in the end it's going to collapse.

So just make sure that you are preparing and looking after yourself. So back to the DJ kind of thing, and this is in part with what I said just then. So the first part was of course about the XZ, the second part was about being prepared. The third part I've sort of talked about a little bit anyway, and that is look at the kit you've got as a DJ. Do you still use it? When was the last time you used that piece of kit? Could you convert that into something that you can use now? So in other words, if you've got four CD players, maybe you just need three. Okay, you're not going to end up with one. Two is great, but it's always nice to have a third. But do you need four? Have you got three spare mixers in a room somewhere on a shelf because you like the look of them? Because if you feel that if you don't have...

4 or 3 mixers, the DJ next door is going to be better than you because they've got 5 or 6. In fact now in this climate it's actually the opposite because if the proverbial did hit the fan then that said DJ with 5 mixers what is he or she going to do with them? Stick them in a carrier bag and take them with them while they travel over the hills trying to find shelter. It's not going to happen. So, look at your kit and maybe consider starting to invest in some of that kit. Put it on Facebook Swap Shop, put it on eBay, sell it to friends, get what you can for it. And I'm not saying just get rid of it and sell it. Not at all. Again, this is not financial advice. This is just a bit of information for you. For you to ponder about and you make your own choices, do not...

12:16 Take this information and say Jonathan said

Take this information and say Jonathan said. No, you're your own person with your own free will. You do as you want to do. I'm just explaining what it could be a good idea. So there you go. So I hope this video has been a help. Please like I said, like and subscribe and let me know in a comment what you think about what I've just said. Now also recently I did a video, I think it was yesterday. And that was the second video I've done on asking me questions regarding DJing, music, DJing kit, anything you want. So go back to that video. It should be, if you can't find it, go to youtube.com forward slash Ellaskins and you should see that video questions and answers. Now post your questions in that video in the comments.

Now, because of the time difference, what I've done, I've asked people, including you, to put A or B. I think it's A or B1 or 2. Because I'm going to be doing a live stream, I believe it's Friday morning and or Saturday evening. The times are, I think it's like 8 o'clock. It's probably going to be, yes, 8 o'clock in the morning. No, no, sorry, start again. See, I don't edit videos. I think it's something like 10 o'clock in the morning UK GMT time and 6 o'clock in the evening UK GMT time. So what that basically means is that depending where you are around the world, you know, you're not going to have to get up really early or stay up really late. Alright, so... Thank you for watching and as ever, just look after yourselves. Pay attention to your surroundings. Watch what's going on. Do not always try and follow the news narrative because there is other news out there. And all I can say is God bless and practice and enjoy. Thank you.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.