Denon DJ tease #ChangeYourRider for 2017
If their new #ChangeYourRider slogan and teaser video is any indication, it would seem that Denon DJ have resurrected their infatuation with trying to knock Pioneer DJ of their pedestal as the industry standard gear in clubs, venues and festivals around the globe.
The #ChangeYourRider teaser video certainly suggest some sort of large platter media player with lots of buttons, big screen, most likely a touchscreen and more, but it’s all very cryptic right now.
As far as current media players go they only have the SC2900 and SC3900 in their range and to be honest they’re pretty outdated with the expectations of the modern digital DJ nowadays.
Denon DJ have also always put a lot of focus into motorised platters which is great for ex-vinyl DJs who can’t/won’t let go of the tactile element of mixing this way. But for the majority the pinpoint accuracy (or rigidity, depending on your outlook), of digital is exactly what is sought after by DJs today. Using a CDJ2000NX2 or CDJ900NX2, the beatgrids are so tight for most tracks that once the beat is in, it really does not stray out of sync and that’s what DJs want.
So what can Denon DJ bring to the table?
It’s in all in the library
There’s no disputing the fact that Denon DJ make great gear. Their flagship MCX8000 and newer MC7000 are both hugely popular and the budget MC4000 is excellent value for money.
There’s no doubt that the new standalone media player will be superbly built too and based on the campaign slogan #ChangeYourRider, will be aimed squarely at professional DJs who request tech riders ahead of gigs.
But we think that the biggest challenge is not the media player itself. It is rekordbox and the way Pioneer DJ has seamlessly integrated this into their hardware.
The aforementioned DJ controllers are all great pieces of tech, testament to Denon DJ’s build quality and when used with Serato they really are excellent. However when the MCX8000 was tested in standalone mode with a USB drive packed with tunes playlisted via Denon’s ENGINE software, there was really no comparison between this and rekordbox.
ENGINE is elementary compared to rekordbox and this will need to be addressed if Denon hope to take on the might of the CDJ Nexus range.
Forget the frills and fancy features, library management and the ease with which to find the next killer track to play is still the single most important factor when DJing. DJs want to be able to find tracks with ease using all the info that is stored in the metadata from BPM, to key, genre, most played, suggested combinations based on previous history… these are the things that the digital format offers.
So let’s hope they’ve put a lot of focus into this area before convincing DJs to #ChangeYourRider.
Watch the #ChangeYourRider teaser video below.
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