Behind the Booth: My Controller
Behind the Booth will be a series dedicated to showcasing gear, setups, and miscellaneous tools and accessories that have proven useful for local DJs over the years.
As a 13-year-old budding DJ, I couldn’t afford much. My allowance was set at a moderate $10 per week, so I didn’t have my eyes set on the latest CDJs or mixers. To be honest, I hadn’t even heard of the latest equipment, software, or accessories.
Nowadays, I keep one eye on Instagram and the other on Amazon to stay up-to-date with what’s hot and what’s not, but for the most part, not much has changed. I’m a “broke” college kid with an expensive lifestyle and career, and the two can often butt heads. CDJ 2000’s? Definitely out of the picture.
Thankfully, the gods of the DJ industry have a solution – the almighty controller.
I’m not much of a Pioneer fanboy, but when I’m on the road, my heart belongs to my DDJ-SR. For its size, the SR packs quite a punch. It features built-in high pass/ low pass filters, velocity sensitive pads, and can control four decks from two channels, all while being compact enough to fit in my gear bag. It’s solidly built, weighty, and the jogwheels feel like those on a bigger controller, or even on CDJs. As a “technical” DJ, I find real estate invaluable in a setup. The DDJ-SR maximizes my productivity – loops, rolls, and samples are all easily accessible, and the “Pad Plus” feature takes me even further! Where other DJ’s find themselves tangled in cords from remix stations, drum machines, and the like, I can confidently walk into a booth, plug in my controller, and instantly get comfortable. To top it all off, I’m tricked out in custom Chroma Caps from DJ Tech Tools.
I love being a controllerist, because when I’m on the road, I don’t have to worry about in-house setups. I always know what I’m going to get. I remember playing at (the now closed) Pacha NYC, a few years ago – the RCA cables connected to the CDJs weren’t maintained well, and the CDJ’s weren’t staying connected! Unfortunately, the DJ before me had to fight through audio drop outs and silent moments in the packed club. Thanks to my controller, however, I got into the booth, plugged in next to the main system, and played my full set without a problem.
I would absolutely recommend the DDJ SR for any club DJ. The effects and pads leave me feeling like I’m getting more than I paid for, especially for its size. What controller do you take on the road? Let me know in the comments!
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