Pioneer DDJ-SZ review

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[@technologicallyinvolved2757]

By far, this is one the BEST review I have ever seen. Very professional DJ TLM, you have done a wonderful job in this review.

[@shadow7423]

Your reviews are always gold in my opinion. Thank you DJTLM!

[@djaiglesias]

i'm going to buy next week to put on my pub and for played to :-)

[@naysiploos]

Great review once again TLM! This controller is amazing and the only reason for me to change from traktor to serato dj! It is the pro feel you get with this unit as you mentioned and all the features... very cool unit!

[@djTLMtv]

Hi guys, I've been extremely busy with different projects, gigs and private life and as a result I was not able to make new video's in the last two weeks. I'm back in the lab right now and the new video's are dropping asap! Thanks for the support and patience. TLM

[@yousefi_ali]

what happened with the new video ?

[@amyinthesky]

Thank you for the thorough and clear review! I was curious to know more about the magvel fader in the SZ, and I appreciate your explanation on it!

[@nichololawale5580]

omg, what i love most in it is the fact that it can actually work with turn tables, so amazing

[@JRJames-fr7bk]

Thanks, dude. Do your thing. I can not wait until this is sold in Austin, Texas. Stoked.

[@MrDnybrasco73]

Definetly getting one. I ll be upgrading from the NS6 to this one. Thanks for the review!

[@DJLOW305]

Thank bro, I learned alot from this video. I went and got the ddj-sz and I must say I really love this controler. I do lots of mobile dj gigs and this so much eaiser and much lighter then technics lol. I’ve had it since last December 2014 and its been great for all my gigs. Thanks again.

[@LittyJonez]

Your videos are awesome man!! This demonstration was better than any demonstration that they did at NAMM or any other dj expo!!! Keep up the good work bro!!!

[@wediditjoe]

Thankssss, wanted to see this big boy in action and nobody better than you DJ TLM :)

[@traybrook]

I just picked this unit up yesterday. I know it’s like 5 years old, but it still outperforms most of the controllers offered today. I found it at Guitar Center, in excellent condition (with 12inch Skinz cover), with tax and 2-year coverage for $700 even with my Pioneer DDJ SR2 trade-in. It also had a Gator flight case. I couldn’t pass that up. This thing is a BEAST. The EFX is gonna take some getting used to but the sound this thing puts out is amazing. Thanks for the in-depth review. Holla.

[@djTLMtv]

Nice! Make sure you upgrade the firmware. I believe that added some features. Look it up first to see what it adds, but I think it added post fader fx and a couple of other things.

[@traybrook]

DJ TLM TV thanks for the advice. I REALLY hope they added post fader features. That’s all this controller needs. I’ll definitely do some research. Much appreciated

[@kerwinlacaille1394]

thank u fro making this video. it really did help me out. i just bought a ddjsz and needed a little teaching about it. and i would say ses your video made me a better dj

[@djTLMtv]

Hi guys, Due to health issues I couldn't finish video's I was working on (NS7-2 review) and I can't record new video's either. I lost my voice over the weekend and that makes it a bit difficult to record stuff ;) I should be fine in a couple of days so stay tuned! For the DJ's who would like to be part of the Saturday Super Session: Join the Saturday Super Session and send me your own video!

[@ashwinchiba2856]

Hi dj tlm just curious in your review you said you can add on cd players or turntables if you add on turntables do serato timecoded vinyl work in with the controller ?

[@djTLMtv]

Yes, just plug your turntables into the SZ and then you can use your control vinyl to control two decks and the jogwheels on the SZ to control the other two decks

[@ashwinchiba2856]

djTLMtv

[@aqaz120]

Can you really connect cdj 2000s?

[@lorigeiger1317]

hope you arent that sick again, your videos help cuz you go in depth with detail. good work man.

[@MHSG31566]

Great review as always, thank you very much for the tips, waiting for my .... Already order, just in backorder status

[@djcharliex]

thank you so much for this info. i just got this controller and i was having a hard time trying to figure it out how to make it work and finding the use of the new features ... now i know how to use it and take full control of the unit!!!

[@ashwinchiba2856]

very cool love the fact that it works with DVS (digital vinyl system)

[@DJ0rlando]

Thank you for your input ! Keep up the great work you do!

[@jeffreychristopher5619]

Thank you for the thorough and clear review! Extremely helpful .

[@djrex2988]

Awesome review djTLM!!! Helps me a lot!!!

[@digznantelle]

I love this controller glad i held out for the sz instead of grabbing the sx2... this is my first controller. I am real old skool and usually only my 1200s but i bought this to teach my 8 year old how to dj (since he loves music) and found this way easier then him hurting the technics

[@cleats1]

Great review. You answered my biggest question about the fader cut in. I know you know your stuff and scratch guys will know where your coming from. I'm like you and prefer a really sharp cut in on the fader. Thanks for the review

[@strictlyvintagebasketball354]

Man I'm late as hell messing with the Numark 4trak and you so friggin' cool when you make these vids I'm moving on up to pioneer ! Thanks bro 100% LOL! You even have cold ass body language when you hit a button LOL! You make it look nice as heck ! Thanks and God bless from Chicago (Englewood) !

[@djaramriley264]

Jason- with the DVS feature on the sz you can connect 2 cdj's , or 2 turn tables with time code vinyl, or whatever else will work and it will allow you to control serato on those as well. So you can have channels 1&2 on the sz and control channels 3&4 on your tables!

[@MixwellEventsOrlandPark]

Awesome Review. Thanks for taking the time to break it down. I can see this controller in my house very soon. =) Stay In the mix!

[@djmaverick]

Looks great. Thanks for the review!

[@GoonT520]

Man this is the best review around!! Can you do a review for the SB and SR?

[@SS71211]

Excellentt review , I'm sold !

[@DJTReinOkinawa]

Very informative unbiased review. Good job.

[@karhok]

Thanks, Very good review...SZ..coming my table next week.

[@astrale]

I like how it detects your hand!

[@djschoolboy6]

That big jog wheels means a lot if you been working with Pioneer CDJ products for a number of years. One fantastic review of the DDJ-SZ. My friend & dj partner Kool Raul has the Numark NS7-II & he blew my mind, but because of smaller jog wheels it doesn't have that cdj feel that I'm accustom to. You don't look stupid, because of the NS7-II, you know Pioneer wasn't going to take it on chin, they had to comeback strong. It looks like I'm going to transfer my SL-1 loops to Serato DJ. Once again fantastic review on DDJ-SZ. SCHOOL OUT!!!!!!!!!!!

[@arthurmuhammad6381]

Great tutorial. It was the best that I have seen.

[@gearjunkies]

Very good and very clear review! Love it!

[@djTLMtv]

Thanks!

[@Controvi]

I got the DDJ-SZ almost a week ago and it is really really awesome! I had my first controller before it (mixtrack pro) and now this.... I'm really out of words to describe it. And now that I got this one People are saying my mixes sound better now :) So yeah I hope to get into a club sometime soon :) but people I play for live on mixify are telling me my mixes sound awesome :D

[@badtzlotus]

Great review! exactly what I want to know about it compared to my ddjsx

[@ladjkaoz]

Great review bro.. fron all your waz the best thanks

[@wayneadsetts2135]

Hey man you should be working for pioneer that was by far the best presentation of the ddj sz i have seen, thanks

[@traktortips]

Nice work man!

[@TheRickJames]

This is a very good review!

[@EWhitehouse]

Thank you for a quality review

[@vidafugaz]

Great review! Thanks!

[@gymarines]

Feel better!! I just bought this one and like always, you are very thorough in your videos and they are awesome. I started watching your videos when I got my Numark N7II 3 years ago. Great job like always!!

[@Bamariku]

good video! the dvs jog-display gimmick is very cool. i bought the SX and will stay with it, cause its nice too and not sooo huge. but the SZ, of course, is a real beast! pioneer at its best :)

[@StevenSavoy]

Excellent job and very thorough! Thanks bro

[@djTLMtv]

+Steven Savoy thanks

[@bboymac84]

Nice review!!

[@TheGemsa]

Thank you!!! Best review i ve seen =)

[@DJJayspin227]

Great review!!

[@urbanprojectz]

Awesome video well done!

[@e11world]

Really nice video. I hope that Poineer updates Serato to include the color pads, some secondary pads functions and a couple of oscillator effects somehow. I just bought my DDJ-SX updating from a Numark Mixdeck but I think because of the size, I don't know if I'll take my new SX back. I think I may keep it and hope for updates for serato.

[@prestigebliss]

Great review from a purist! Nice.. I pre-ordered mine i cant wait.

[@kosmonautofficial296]

awesome video man thanks for the help :D

[@briggshightower2609]

The pitch is the most badass effect. Create your own risers. Yes please

[@spectralknights2]

You're the best bro. Keep it up :)

[@DA22YLM]

Did you know you can change the cut point of the crossfader in the settings. Its in pg24-26 of the manual. Hopefully thatll sharpen the fader up for you, it worked for me! Great videos keep up the good work

[@djTLMtv]

darryl mcerlean Yes, someone told me about it. I didn't get the chance to try it, but I've heard it from a couple of people and it works

[@EEZAL]

Great review man .. Covered everything .. I've got the ddj sx and will stick with it for awhile bit those added features have solved all the things I'm not to keen in about the ddj sx .. I've hit the touch strip a few times mid track .. Not good .. Plus the built in serato sound card for time code mixing ... Man I wish the ddj sx had those 2 features .. .. Nice bright 90's on the shelf too brother .. I'm an Air Max 1 (87) fan myself though !

[@simon4shizzle]

DJ TLM, regarding your comment on the lack of sharpness of the crossfader at the 16:30 min mark, I did some research on the full version of the manual. Pioneer has the crossfader set to a factory setting of a value of 6 out of 52(or something like that) and can be adjusted down to 0. This adjustment is under the "utilities mode configuration" in the full manual on pg. 26 section title is crossfader lag I believe.... (BTW the full manual is available online but the unit comes with only a basic edition of the manual, which only has 6 pages less, weird LOL). But this should resolve your concern about the gap in the fader for you!

[@djTLMtv]

Thanks! I should have the unit back here when I get the NS7-2 and I will see if I can fix that.

[@akinkunmicook2977]

Great video!!

[@dmoy81]

Nice and thanks for ur review..

[@tomrosselle9747]

just bought the new sz 2 and its great with serato

[@ClectaSkiMusic]

Nice review, gonna check out your channel..

[@gibbee1]

Always thorough in the reviews brother. Thanks for the indepth review.

[@illz09]

Amazing review man, thank you! Disappointed about the fader - but like you said hopefully a firmware update fixes the curve a bit better....or maybe some way to fit an innofader in there.

[@djTLMtv]

I see that (innofader) happening sooner or later. They managed to make versions for a lot of different mixers, including some Pioneer mixers. That would be a very good solution for sure

[@UnderiaMusic]

djTLMtv that´s sad .. .i´m really missing it on my SX :(

[@DJABEATZ]

What an amazing review. Thank you. I think this is the one that sealed the deal. I own the SX, but it's time to step up to the SZ. I was just on the fence cuz of the size. Anyone know the extact dimensions of the hard case that would carry this thing?

[@welcomeiamdjcivil8319]

The new needle feature just gave me life...geez accidentally skipping through the track on the SX is a horrible mistake I've made...thanks pioneer

[@gregterry1324]

ohhhhh this is nice

[@P4boot]

😂 don't thank them! They created a solution to a problem they created! Hehe

[@MoralRichMedia]

Great review! appreciate it. ;)

[@LotsaCabo]

Outstanding video! Just a bit of info, in case it ever helps someone. The "conductive touch" is basically "capacitive sensing" (the same as on a touchscreen). Basically, both the platter and the human body have a certain amount of capacitance. When one comes in contact with the other, this "normal" measurement changes. The circuitry senses this change and reacts. There are several other objects you could probably use in place of your hand (for example, styluses or gloves made for touch screens) that would allow you to keep your hands protected from the elements (in case of an outdoor gig) but still pass the capacitance to the jog wheel.

[@DjConstantin]

Very nice review man. But one thing i think you can get the same "sharpness" with the CDJs if you lower the sample rate.

[@djaiglesias]

very original review…i'm just liked

[@djmanj4061]

Once again a good review. Thank you. But can't afford this. Happy with my brand new SX

[@djTLMtv]

And you should be. The SX is great!

[@thedude1744]

Thank you !!!!! DJ TLMtv

[@rashananiyahgy7597]

It’s really one of the best mixers out there

[@danieldagreat1]

NOW 2020 and I’m still waiting on the SZ3

[@richie_dahouse]

Excelente explicación, una pregunta si me puede ayudar tengo una SZ pero no me esta haciendo bien el corte en el croosfader, se escucha un poquito la canción del otro deck, porque puede ser esto. Gracias si puedes ayudar.

[@slisgrinder]

I know that this review has been a while since uploading but its capacitive touch, not heat. Just like your iphone and most other smart phones, it uses capacitive touch. Try using those special skiing gloves or something that advertise the ability to use phones and it will work on the joggers. Great review by the way...

[@djsammyb1023]

@3:23 You said the jog wheel adjust function lets you adjust the resistance on the jog wheels, is this a new function on the SZ? because on the SX it didn't change the resistance it changed the pressure of how hard you gotta touch the top of the jog wheel to respond.

[@blkscorp]

Awesome review. Question when you connected your turntables, did you connect them to the DDJ-SZ without a Serato Box. Wasn't sure how you were able to use them. Thanks

[@DJ-OFRA]

Thanks for the DVS inputs!! Wondering if it's comfortable scratching on turntables with them being far from the mixer...?

[@wayneadsetts2135]

Hey man you should be working for pioneer that was by far the presentation of the ddj sz that i have seen, thanks

[@golombardo]

Great review thank you very much. Do you know if you can put a USB stick with your music on and play like on the CDJ 2000's? What about recording old vinyl to digital, is this easy on this unit? I know on the DJM 350 you can just put in a USB and record your set in wav format...

[@pedrofondeur3363]

Hey, just saw your video and if fact you had post fader color effects. I have the lastest version of serato dj and cant get mine to work. Is it just the echo color effect that works with the up/down faders? Thanks.

[@tr4gik11]

Dude I love your videos, such a great vibe you have. So you don't need a serato box with this like you do with the DDJSX to play dvs? Do you know when this hits the stores? Cheers

[@derinjturner]

two extra vinyl decks.i love that.

[@mrphreeze]

Yeah, I'm SOLD fam ,,, can't wait to cop this unit ...

[@Soulfrica_Vibecast]

My brother quick question? so I understand you could use the controller with Traktor as well and are you planning on doing a demo? Lastly if you wanted to include a RMX-1000 on this type of setup, can you do it? is that possible? how would that work without a return / send? Please advise! Thanks for the great tutorial!

[@koreamedia]

Hello, how are you doing? I love all of your videos. You are like my teacher for Djing. I watched youtube dj videos too much and now I'm thinking buying an equipment. It is a first time. Dj is not gonna be my professional job for future, maybe some internet radio stuff would do it, or some sound effects for my iOS app development. Do you think is this ddj-sz proper to me? Or should I buy cheaper n space-friendly one, like ddj-sx2?

[@JEL52863]

Question. So you must purchase a 4 channel controller if you want to use turntables too? Did you make or buy the shelves you store your vinyls in? What would something like thata cost?

[@djaramriley264]

Awesome review! May I ask what track you were using for this demo? I can't wait to buy my SZ!!

[@gamingheadztvMediaHeadztv]

wish they had a flag ship 2 ch with high end line faders and crossfader :) for us scratch trick mix djs

[@OnnoKaell]

Great Review! Now let's hope that Native Instruments comes out a new beast of controller to match this one for all us Traktor Users! - Oh and just to add sth. to what you said about the crossfader compared to the one used in the DJM 900: => Eventhough the DJM 900 is not a battle/scratch mixer they changed the crossfader in the SRT Version (which I'm guessing you are using) and it is now the same as used in the DJM-T1 f.ex: "High-performance faders “MAGVEL CROSS FADER” for enhanced durability and operability"! The "normal" (Traktor Scratch Certified) DJM 900 had a different / "worse" crossfader! :(

[@djTLMtv]

Yup, I have the DJM900SRT. The fader in the DDJ-SZ is a Magvel cross fader too, but the curve just isn't as sharp as the one on my 900SRT. Thanks for the info! You're right, Native Instruments should step their game up and add a full size controller similar to the NS7-2 and DDJ-SZ to their line-up

[@Frankmeulen]

@TLM, I had a DDJ-SR and some other controllers in the past to use it at private parties with some friends, it is ok and fun to play with. My current setup is a Xone DB4 and 2- K2 controllers but I miss the fun using the Jog wheels -> real mixing. There are no single deck MIDI players on the market at the moment or you have to buy CDJ or XDJ 1000 players. The thing is, I prefer to use a laptop with Traktor, it never let me down because I take care of my laptop. I'm curious: Is there a significant sound quality difference on the output of the DDJ -SZ (or nowadays DDJ RZ) and the popular DJ mixers like DJM nexus or Xone mixers? Most tracks I have are AIFF format.....

[@dotbadburn]

Bro can you make a video how you set up your ddj-sz for scratching and would be the Innofader will make a big difference to that unit?

[@churchillcoins8519]

On the hardware mixer effects (echo) can that be assigned to each channel or just the master?

[@gamingunit]

Goede review! Ik twijfel ergens wel om mij DDJ-SX te vervangen door een DDJ-SZ. Maar toch de SZ brengt leuke features met zich mee. Misschien een leuke onderwerp om ook video's van te maken is over studio monitor speakers. Bijvoorbeeld sommige vergelijken zoals krk met pioneer en met andere hoge modellen enzovoort. Maar wachten op de SZ dus.

[@Dehko]

i have the ns7ii, can i connect some turntables like your doing and control them like the sz?

[@Deloin]

I looked forward to a model like this one! Great review and u pointed out a very import part "the crossfader" For me that would hold me back to buying one. Is there any news on some sort of "innofader" that would/could fit in DDJ-SZ?

[@illz09]

I emailed sales@innofader and the reply I got was that the new innnofader mini pnp should fit!

[@Deloin]

Ah :) Good news!! Thx

[@djflakofresh]

Hey excellent review, i have one question where can i get those SAMPLES you play at 9:38 they sound really nice is there any way you can give me a link (: Thank You

[@MyCollectibleWorld]

Nice review ! Can you tell me if I can play my own records with the DDJ SX of only Serato ? Thanks man

[@SkyyDwellerr]

What's your opinion on the Mixtrack Pro 2 as a beginning controller? I've been using original vinyl records until now and I'm looking to get into more modern technology.