A small firmware update for the top-of-the-line Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000NXS2 media players was released today. The firmware update fixes a few issues with the players, but also adds new Beat Jump functionality. Read on to find out the details of the update and what might be motivating Pioneer DJ to increase the frequency of their firmware updates.
Beat Jump Becomes Actually Useful On CDJ-2000NXS2s
If you don’t own CDJ-2000NXS2s, you might be amazed to find out that until today’s firmware, there was no way to use beat jump at any setting beyond 1 beat. This applied to Loop Move as well – so if you wanted to jump around the track in quantized increments during playback, your only option was in 1 beat increments.
With the new 1.70 firmware update, launched earlier today, this finally changes. Here’s the notes from the update:
[NEW]
- 2, 4, 8 and 16 BEAT JUMP added. (Press [BEAT JUMP] to select length).
- 16 BEAT JUMP added when used with a DDJ-SP1.
[FIXED]
- Emergency loop issue with certain MP3 files containing APE tag data.
- Wrong info appeared when showing PLAYLIST using SHORTCUT after SEARCH under certain conditions.
- Search results did not appear when moving cursor during SEARCH
Learn why Beat Jump is so useful for DJs
Continued Feature Disparity vs Other Pioneer Players?
We can’t help but continue to notice that Pioneer DJ is creating a major feature disparity between their media players. Instead of one consistent experience, the Beat Jump / Loop Move controls are all over the place, even on units that are released in similar time frames:
- The XDJ-1000(+ MK2) is capable of Beat Jump just in 1/2/4 beats and Loop Move in 1/2/4 beat increments. They’ve had this since launch – so they were more powerful than NXS2 CDJs until now.
- The XDJ-RX has no Beat Jump or Loop move functionality.
- The older CDJ-2000NXS will likely never get this functionality, despite easily being the most common unit in DJ booths around the world.
- The XDJ-700 has no beat jump/loop move functionality – despite coming out after the XDJ-1000 and using almost identical touchscreen functions.
External Motivation = Denon’s Upcoming Players
To a keen observer, it’s pretty clear why Pioneer DJ is trying to move fast on adding features to their top-of-line units: the Denon DJ SC5000 players have a dramatically superior feature set in terms of in-track transport control. They’re much more analogous to the Beat Jump / Loop Move features in Traktor Pro – with support for moving loops 16 and 32 bars. No extra hardware required.
We’ll see how Pioneer DJ continues to improve their units in the face of this upcoming stiff competition – but one thing is clear, DJs will only stand to gain new features with these two companies squaring off.
[…] options on CDJs are incredibly limited. There are basic loop controls, and on some models, a limited ability to beat jump/loop move. In today’s tutorial, DJTT editor Dan shares a few […]
I used 1-32 beat jump on Traktor S4 before 5 years, well done Pioneer. 😀
I Hope they listen to us more after getting another competition from Denon. We need to have another firmware update for XDJ RX like adding beatjump function too, they have SHIFT button so why not layer it with another features?
Or for the worst case, wait for “XDJ RX Mark II” LoL
[…] options on CDJs are incredibly limited. There are basic loop controls, and on some models, a limited ability to beat jump/loop move. In today’s tutorial, DJTT editor Dan shares a few […]
do you think the pioneer product development team is really so clueless that they don’t realize that 90% of the music DJs perform with is built on 32 beat phrases (not 4, 8 or 16)?
The whole point of the beat jump is to leap over standard size phrases or to repeat phrases without needing to have the for-thought to press the “loop in” button at the beginning of the phrase where you don’t have a hotcue set. none of the nexus products should have ever been released without a full range of beat jump values.
Pioneer product developers are too busy trying to rework and implement features that force the dj world to buy the stupid SP1 and make more profits for Pioneer rather than just including the functionality on the gear in the first place.
Well said. 32 beat jump is the only one that most DJ’s would ever use and I can almost guarantee that the next generation of CDJ’s will have it.
Nah, the added possibility to use is just an afterthought from someone smart enough to realize it’s use other than with software. Unfortunately this means that in a 2-cdj setup, you only have one usb slot left for music. Maybe fine for those 1 hour set as long as your usb don’t fail, but in longer sets, 4-8 hours, you want a stick in every player to everything you need and to overlap if something goes wrong, which happens now and then. Then, I actually prefer the basic option on the screen and for those who want to hammer away to add the larger pads with SP1. I do not want a cluttered unit full of pads. If Pio release a unit to compete with the SC5000, I wish that to be a XDJ-something, and that they keep the NXS-series as is, with CD-slot, but with a more powerful CPU, better screen and more USB-ports. A modular system is better as long as the functionality still is within the software and can be used on the player itself. Don’t even bother commenting the CD… I still meet CD-DJ’s almost on weekly basis on very high end clubs and to choose a player without that basic function is not an option. And yes, I’m also just as surprised how many they actually are… but I do get it. If it works, why change. With a collection of CD’s since 25 years… start ripping those… to get what? I’ve done the change from Vinyl to cd to digital/USB, so I have some idea about the time it takes.
They could have easily fit one more button for 32 phrase… sigh. But in all seriousness this getting 8 and 16 beat jump functions has been such a huge improvement over the previous 1 beat function, which I never had a reason to use.
DJs will benefit from competition, but the fact that Pioneer DJ is only now adding this feature as an answer to Denon, when they clearly had the means to do so already, should speak to their valuing of their customers. I’ve never been a die-hard brand loyalist to the king of the market; they absolutely do make capable products, but capability can only stave off brand rejection for so long.
I’m pretty sure the XDJ-700 is not capable of beat jump/loop move, that’s where the loop sizes are.
http://www.djstuff.fr/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Pioneer-XDJ-700_ecran_perform.png
Pioneer seem to have a habit of having slightly different ways of approaching things that make it hard to move from one player to another – if you’ve ever loaded up your hot cues on a CDJ2000NXS only to move into booth with CDJ2000s and had to manually load them – you’ll know what I mean.
Now we’ve got random support for FLAC, different approaches to beat jump amongst others – it feels like someone needs to tidy up a few features or risk creating a window for Denon (which I think is what they’ve effectively done).
that window is already there, Paul 😉
you’re spot on – I am really excited for the new Denon gear – I run a rental business and am looking forward to getting a few units to trial and see if Pioneer regulars can make the leap!
🙂
Well, if they don’t read Rekordboxed USB’s they’ll be shoved down to the floor. As usual when one show up somewhere there is a rental setup, there’s something else going on on stage until it’s time for me to play. At first glance I’d just tell someone to clear the table and go and get my own players. After the gig I’d tell it was a bad idea to put those players in the booth and tell them not to pay for it. This is what I do when there’s a CDJ-350/850 setup or players not working 100% and then I give them a 1-time free use of my gear. Next time I’ll charge. There’s a term Club Standard for a reason. When I show up, my external SSD, with about 10 000 Rekordboxed tracks, will work but slowly on the first series of the cdj-900/2000, but excellent on any XDJ and newer models of the CDJ’s. The differences on the different generations is there because, you know, improvements. Very few DJ’s start out with the NXS2’s and then later discover the shitty procedure to use hot cues with the older models. Most of us have worked with that and are pretty happy how things have changed since 2009. Even the Nexus is on it’s 5th year now, and for a 5-year old I must say it’s a pretty good performer still. New functionality is always welcome, but only when it’s rock solid. This has been the signature with Pio’s top models since they started with DJ gear and I really hope that never change. So, If you plan to sneak out the Denons and just see what happens, now you know 🙂 . You better get the info out, and then if I’m asked to play on those, I’ll accept if they compensate me for getting new SSD’s and the time it takes to get everything analyzed through Engine Prime. Just tested the final version, and it’s a cpu-hog, with limited functionality compared to Rekordbox, and the key analysis was 40% off compared to what I get with M-I-K latest version. Don’t even get me talking about the dynamic scroll when you try to stop at a certain track… Check it out for yourself 🙂 .
They will never move product unless they lower the price….
The article mentions XDJ-700s have the beat jump feature. Is this true? Or is that feature only available to that unit if used with the Rekordbox DJ software?
Thought they had the same beat jump features as the XDJ-1000s – but looking at the manual and it appears they’re not there at all. Lame! (updating the article now)
Super lame! If Pioneer is smart, they’ll streamline the workflow across the product line. If they don’t act now, all it will take is Denon to unveil a baby brother of the SC5000 to light a fire.
now add this into the XDJ 1000 mk2
And let’s get Serato DJ support on the XDJ1000mk2!!!
I hope for that too. But the beat jump first haha
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them denons are making pioneer sweat eh? Glad to see it!