My partner just bought a Pioneer DDJ SB3 controller.

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MIXMASTERMACHOM

MIXMASTERMACHOM

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Oct 16, 2011
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Yesterday I took my partner to Musically Yours in Hackensack, NJ and he bought the Pioneer DDJ SB3 controller. Nice looking small controller and the price was $249 plus tax. We have a bridal shower to do this coming Sunday and he will be using that controller. The event is for my best friends oldest daughter who will be renewing her vows on Tuesday August 31. He will DJ the event this Sunday and I will be there taking pictures. That controller was designed for Serato. He will map it to work with VDJ since he like that better. He says he can find songs faster with VDJ.
 
Nice looking controller, but it's USB-powered only. Wait until you hear how it sounds with those RCA outputs. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Wait until you plug in your headphones and find that there's only a 1/8" input for them.

Wait until you go to use the mic and - wait - there's no EQ for the mic?

You get what you pay for.
 
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Got to agree Brendan
starter controller for home use?
 
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B-Sharp said:
Nice looking controller, but it's USB-powered only. Wait until you hear how it sounds with those RCA outputs. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Not likely. If the sound output is from a card inside the controller then any buzz from the PC wall wart will be isolated to the PC's headphone jack and not present at the controller's output. A PCDI easily resolves the RCAs to a stereo pair of balanced XLRs eliminating any downstream vulnerability.

USB Bus power for a device like this poses no technical issue and it behaves just as any other audio interface including those already built in to the PC (mic and headphone.) There are no other external audio inputs making this device a mere extension of the computer. The whole point of it's design is portability and simplicity. It's Ideal for a bridal shower, but not critical commercial performance.

When the computer crashes, the controller crashes with it. Unlike some units this has no ability to remain functional with external inputs while rebooting or swapping PCs. This is only an issue if live backup is a requirement, and if other audio sources are desired than it is necessary to have an external mixer (which might also eliminate need for the IT.) That;s not an issue at all events. Dead air is not lethal - it's just quiet.

There's no need to EQ a DJ mic. If a DJ doesn't like the sound of his own voice, or it's the wrong type of mic - that's not an EQ issue. Use the talk-over feature or reduce the music while speaking and simply use good audio practice, including changing mics to match the application.

Would I pay $250 for this? No, but I wouldn't criticize any DJ would finds this kind of controller useful for the type of event being described.
 
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I see a lot of you guys bashing that controller.... I bought it's sibling (ddj 400) a year or so ago to learn on. I played with it a little and just now looking to start a small mobile dj business. In working with some other established dj's, they seem to think this will be fine for starting out and doing small gigs with. I'll be running it through a mixer. My thought was that I'd learn on this, and if I stuck with it, upgrade and use this a backup if needed. I know neither of them are "pro-level" pieces of equipment, but aren't they suitable for starting as long as you know and understand the limitations?
 
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LittleTreeGuy said:
I see a lot of you guys bashing that controller.... I bought it's sibling (ddj 400) a year or so ago to learn on. I played with it a little and just now looking to start a small mobile dj business. In working with some other established dj's, they seem to think this will be fine for starting out and doing small gigs with. I'll be running it through a mixer. My thought was that I'd learn on this, and if I stuck with it, upgrade and use this a backup if needed. I know neither of them are "pro-level" pieces of equipment, but aren't they suitable for starting as long as you know and understand the limitations?
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I run a Vestax VCI-300 also and it is a similar setup to the small DDJ boards. If you're running them through another mixer, they're perfectly fine. If you have an external power option, it helps take the load off the computer.
 
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LittleTreeGuy said:
I'll be running it through a mixer. My thought was that I'd learn on this, and if I stuck with it, upgrade and use this a backup if needed. I know neither of them are "pro-level" pieces of equipment, but aren't they suitable for starting as long as you know and understand the limitations?
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Absolutely.

Regardless of the intended designed - the moment you find one in the hands of a pro - it becomes pro level gear. :)
 
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Proformance said:
Not likely. If the sound output is from a card inside the controller then any buzz from the PC wall wart will be isolated to the PC's headphone jack and not present at the controller's output. A PCDI easily resolves the RCAs to a stereo pair of balanced XLRs eliminating any downstream vulnerability.

USB Bus power for a device like this poses no technical issue and it behaves just as any other audio interface including those already built in to the PC (mic and headphone.) There are no other external audio inputs making this device a mere extension of the computer. The whole point of it's design is portability and simplicity. It's Ideal for a bridal shower, but not critical commercial performance.

When the computer crashes, the controller crashes with it. Unlike some units this has no ability to remain functional with external inputs while rebooting or swapping PCs. This is only an issue if live backup is a requirement, and if other audio sources are desired than it is necessary to have an external mixer (which might also eliminate need for the IT.) That;s not an issue at all events. Dead air is not lethal - it's just quiet.

There's no need to EQ a DJ mic. If a DJ doesn't like the sound of his own voice, or it's the wrong type of mic - that's not an EQ issue. Use the talk-over feature or reduce the music while speaking and simply use good audio practice, including changing mics to match the application.

Would I pay $250 for this? No, but I wouldn't criticize any DJ would finds this kind of controller useful for the type of event being described.
Click to expand...

Good info, and I stand corrected. Thanks.
 
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I played on that controller last Saturday for a little while. It works but 2 things I didn't like about it. The headphone jack is only designed to use a mini adapter and the volume for listening to a song through headphones is very poor. I had a hard time cueing up a song to be played to be setup because the volume is so low and the music from the speakers so loud it's hard to hear. I saw a bunch on Ebay that are pre-owned for sell.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
I played on that controller last Saturday for a little while. It works but 2 things I didn't like about it. The headphone jack is only designed to use a mini adapter and the volume for listening to a song through headphones is very poor. I had a hard time cueing up a song to be played to be setup because the volume is so low and the music from the speakers so loud it's hard to hear. I saw a bunch on Ebay that are pre-owned for sell.
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I think someone told you that about the headphones in the above posts. You can always turn up the line gain to squeeze more out of the headphones, just make sure you lower the master volume to compensate for the increase in output. It’s not proper gain structure but if you really want your headphones to be louder, that’s the best way.
 
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djtaso said:
I think someone told you that about the headphones in the above posts. You can always turn up the line gain to squeeze more out of the headphones, just make sure you lower the master volume to compensate for the increase in output. It’s not proper gain structure but if you really want your headphones to be louder, that’s the best way.
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The controller is his. I have 2 controllers. One for backup and both work great. I don't need to use his controller.
 
Proformance said:
Absolutely.

Regardless of the intended designed - the moment you find one in the hands of a pro - it becomes pro level gear. :)
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That's not always true. Some things are just cheap junk and no matter how professional you are that item will make doing your job extremely difficult. Buying top quality gear and knowing what to do with it makes the job easier. The old saying is true. You usually get what you pay for. If you buy an item costing $1 don't expect to much out of it.
 
ittigger said:
Please stop saying this unless you're going to actually use it.
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I haven't bought a piece of cheap gear in over 2 years. They worked but weren't great. Now a long time ago my partner tried to get me to buy a pair of Mackie Thumps. I call them Mackie Junks. I knew they were cheap garbage. I bought a pair of Yamaha DSR 115's and haven't regret buying them. They are over I guess 10 years old and they still kick major butt. He blew one of the woffers in the Mackies pushing them to hard. He took out the speakers in the cabenits and replaced them with the Peavey Black Widow speakers in the other cabinets. I used to play in a place that went out of business. They had 4 of them and they all were blown.
 
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