Pioneer is cracking open an even lower price point than their multi-color DDJ-WeGO launched last year with this new Serato DJ Intro controller that’s designed to look and feel similar to the DDJ-SX and DDJ-SR controllers that have been increasingly popular over the last year. The new DDJ-SB starts out with a MSRP of $299, and sports two large Pioneer jogwheels, 16 performance pads, and basic FX, tempo and mixer controls.
Editor’s Note: We’ve asked Pioneer to clarify if the pads and jogwheels will be the same components and quality of the two bigger brother controllers, but no answer yet. We’ll update the article with details!
From a size perspective, the unit is significantly lighter (at 2.1 kg/4.6 lbs, it’s about half the weight of the DDJ-SR) and smaller in dimensions than the other controllers in the DDJ-S line. Here’s the full hardware featureset:
- USB powered
- Combo HP/LP filter for each channel.
- Hot Cue, Auto Loop, Manual Loop and Sampler modes
- Dedicated Serato software FX Control
- Single Mic Input (1/4” jack)
- Master RCA output
- Both 1/4” and 1/8” mini jack headphone outs
- High resolution, touch sensitive jog wheels
There’s only one new feature on the DDJ-SB that we haven’t seen on any other Pioneer unit before, called “Filter Fade” – similar to the Fader FX of DJTT’s VCI-100 mappings long ago. Pioneer details the Filter Fade feature:
For extremely smooth blending transitions when using the cross-fader, a new “Filter Fade” function can be turned on (via a button in the center of the mixer) even with music that has vastly different styles. The high-pass filter of the left and right decks is linked with the actions of the cross-fader, and the deck’s volume output automatically adjusts while applying the bass filter, resulting in natural sounding mix effect.
The DDJ-SB will be out in January 2014 with a suggested price point of $299, including a license for Serato DJ Intro. Learn more on Pioneer’s site.
