PioneerDJ DJ Controller, Black, (DDJSB3)

I did a lot of research before going for this deck. Go much cheaper and you're getting inferior quality construction and fewer functions and inferior design; go higher and you could be paying for things you're not going to use and you lose portability.I've been mixing/dj-ing for 20 years and had a good idea of what I needed and what I wanted. Not having to lug vinyl around was what finally made me look seriously at these things. The Numark controllers at the same kind of price are worth looking at, and there's a Roland with drum sequencer that I liked the sound of. In reality though sequencing on it sounds like it's a slow nightmare, and I have my Roland MC-505, so I don't think I would have ended up using it. I liked the idea of the Numark that displays the BPM on each channel, but seeing as this is already prominently displayed on any software you'll use it's really just a gimmick. I originally bought a Numark, but changed to, and stayed with, this Pioneer because I preferred the build quality, design and functionality.They are in the minority, but I saw a few reviews that flagged up potential problems which made me hesitate on getting this. Some of these things proved to be just wrong, some were things I haven't personally experienced, and some are just opinion (and misleading).So, some things you may have read in some user "reviews"."The SB3 doesn't have a headphone volume control, but the SB2 does". Of course the SB3 has this. The knob for it is LITERALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DECK. It goes up very loud and you could make yourself deaf with it.There's a few people saying they got "electrical noise" because of casing and grounding issues. Maybe this was production issue that's been resolved. I don't have this issue.I saw a review saying the cross-fader didn't have much resistance to it, and therefore it felt "cheap". I wonder how much actual mixing this person has actually done outside of their bedroom. The cross-fade needs to be light and on many mixers IS lighter than, say, the separate channel volume sliders. When mixing any dance music your fingers should be constantly jumping from the fader to gain/trim, and edging up the channel volume and tweaking the EQ. You blend tunes with all these things and then you need, or certainly I do, a light fader you can quickly slap to the side to finish a transition. I don't scratch, but I still want my cross-fader to be exactly like this.The fader is light to move, but it's solid. It reacts how it's designed to react. I like that it's very responsive, but I can also smack it around. My old, very metal, very large and very heavy Numark mixer is tighter on the cross-fade but it's still light. I don't want to have to fight my cross-fader when I'm mixing.Another review said it "feels like a toy" because it's light. Ugh. It IS light. But it's really really well made, very robust. You could throw it at a wall or drop it from a height and it feels like it would still be fine. It feels bomb-proof. The design and feel of everything is high-quality. It's very nice to use.The jog wheels impressed me with how sensitive and reactive they are - they feel "right".The headphone out being 3.5mm is a little weird, but adaptors cost pennies. It's a non-issue for me.It could maybe be a little bigger (using it doesn't feel cramped, though), but I also like the portability. And larger devices often need dedicated power supplies. I've been in situations where being able to power this just from the laptop is ideal (change-overs/setting up is quick and painless). At home it can be stashed away easily, but you can just grab this and plug in one cable and be mixing within seconds.I can't give any opinions on the Serato software - I just wanted decent hardware and something that would work well with Mixxx, and this does both. Check Mixxx out if you haven't. It's free, fully featured, and intuitive. Put it in vinyl mode and set headphone output to channels 3-4 to get the monitor function working. Serato Pro seems expensive when Mixxx does everything, and well, for no money.It's Pioneer. Pioneer don't make junk. This is a very nice piece of kit. However, on the edge facing you is printed "Pioneer" on the right, which i like, and on the left "Serato", which I wasn't aware of and I don't like. I'll be sticking electrical tape over it. Some software tie-in product branding for something I don't even use DOES look cheap. It's a minor thing though.It took some research, and messing around with other controllers, to find what I wanted. I'm actually surprised this is as good as it is. Managed to buy this at £250, but even at £300+ it's still far better than a £300 Numark I tried and it's still a good deal at this higher price.Highly recommended.EDITJust found out that the bundled Lite version of Serato doesn't even let you record your mixes. A lot of people won't know this, and they won't know there's other software solutions - so they'll end up paying even more cash on the "upgrade" just to get basic functionality. Get Mixxx instead.

Easy very responsive controller

My first time using a controller and love this one. Well made and has some really cool functions on it to nicely transition from one track to another.

Bought for my daughter who is a budding DJ she loves it. I bought her a smaller one for Christmas and quickly upgraded to this one. She's already DJ'd at a party and says it is fab.

Lightweight and works well

Bought this for my daughters 18th. I have no clue if it’s any good but she seems happy as Larry!

Took me a long time to decide. Once purchased can't seem to put it down.

Nothing It was my choice after research