ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ’s DJM-S9 actually means

You read the news, saw the pictures, and watched the video. Now let's analyse the features of the DJM-S9, and what this means for Pioneer DJ and Serato.

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means

While there was a furious amount of attempting to stuff cats back in bags behind the scenes, Pioneer DJ’s DJM-S9 mixer was resolutely determined to stay out. First a low res picture, then a video, and eventually what looked to be part press ad and part dodgy shop job. But it’s out in all its glory, replete with Serato DJ magic, so let’s take a deeper look at the product, and more interestingly what it does and may mean.

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means

PIONEER DJ LOVES SCRATCH PEOPLE

Wow – that video is quite the list of scratch VIPs isn’t it? Both old and new, everybody just loves the new DJM-S9. Kentaro, Jazzy Jeff, Eskei83, Jon1st, Shinatro, Babu, D-Styles, Rhettmatic, Melo-D, Qbert, and Mr Switch… gushing effusively over Pioneer DJ’s new 2 channel wonder. But cutting through the hyperbole, there seems to be a lot of genuine excitement for what the DJM-S9 is capable of.

On one level, these guys can use anything and sound amazing. And I’d also bet that the DJM-S9 doesn’t offer most of them anything more than they can get elsewhere. But it’s the promise of what the DJM-S9 can offer beyond the basics required my most DJs that is most exciting.

It’s clear that like the club scene before it that Pioneer effectively made their own, they’ve now turned their attention to the on-trend turntable based scratch scene. With the very Technics-alike PLX-1000, and the new PC-X10 carts, the DJM-S9 rounds off a very compelling complete package for any DJ. Well by any I mean well paid.

One thing — seeing long time Traktor user Qbert in this video sparked questions about his software of choice. So I posed the question to him on Instagram:

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means

So Q is staying with Traktor and using it with the DJM-S9. Getting Traktor on it somehow probably means using the very unofficial hack, something that we think is no longer possible with v2.9. So good luck with that.

But pushing that aside for the moment, let’s dig in a little deeper to what the DJM-S9 is right out of the box.

WHAT IS THE DJM-S9?

Just looking at it tells you that much. But let’s take a look at some key elements:

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means

The Magvel Fader Pro: Pioneer continues down a proprietary contactless and magnetic route with an updated version of their Magvel fader. The original wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so here’s hoping that this one appeals to a wider group of DJs, otherwise Audio Innovate are about to get inundated with requests. And my gut says that Pioneer DJ won’t have made it easy to put any other fader in. Nor do they want you to either.

The tension adjust (the Pro X Fade and Innofader have this) on the front is very cool, and suggests that it’s probably extremely free flowing but perhaps weighted too. More interesting are the rubber bumpers. Very much in the style of the old credit card mod, this idea is straight out of the Vestax design book, but better thought out and implemented. Some like the clickety click of fader stem hitting faceplate, but these definitely help with noise and feel.

I love the amount of adjustment the DJM-S9 has. Time will tell if the line faders can be swapped out. We can only hope that they haven’t gone down the route of soldering to motherboards. Rest assured, I’ll be breaking out a screwdriver when one arrives. Because it’s important that I do.

Side note — the headphone controls jar. They should be somewhere else on the mixer, but definitely not in the fader area or right below the pads. Speaking of which…

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means

The Serato DJ pads: Smaller than the DDJ-SX, but offering the same Serato DJ feature set. There’s also a screen that offers feedback on what mode the pads are in, and apparently they’re mappable (as is everything else on the mixer) and colour assignable too. Basically they’re everything you’d expect from a controller pad set (bar velocity sensitivity) but smaller. I have no problems with Rane’s smaller pads but these look to be much nicer.

Side note — those pads are named the same as Pioneer effects, and were also seen in the rekordbox teaser too. Just saying.

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means

Tons of effects: The DJM-S9 combines the very best of Pioneer’s DJM effects with Serato DJs included iZotope effects. It boasts 55, but most of those are optional expansion packs.

One thing to note — it doesn’t have onboard controls for Serato DJ effects, so it looks like you’re going to need another controller like the DDJ-SP1, which shows a definite rekordbox bias here. This was one of the issues with the DJM-T1 — once you took away the Traktor bits, you were left with the most expensive but basic 2 channel mixer ever. It looks like the DJM-S9 is still a beast when not being used with Serato DJ.

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means
Tony doing tones. Mr Switch using just the DJM-S9 and manipulating tone pitch with the line faders. But how?

Toggle switches: These are straight off of the EFX-500 and 1000, and allow for monentary on, off, or on, meaning that you can do some freaky stuff with the onboard effects. Such as…

Tone Play: I need you to play close attention to Mr Switch’s part of the video. He’s not using turntables at all and is instead using just the DJM-S9 and controlling tone pitch with the line fader. This is clear 909 heritage right there, but without a manual, I cannot tell exactly how this is being done. I think there’s a lot more in that Beat effects section that is apparent. You can apparently choose from 15 onboard effects, so it’s all in there somewhere. Can I get a manual please?

Twin USB ports: Yay! I have no need for such things myself but appreciate the ease with which DJs will be able to swap over. And in theory you’ll be able to rock four decks with just two channels. I wouldn’t recommend it though — keeping two channels rocking is tough enough without having to remember the state of play of two channels you can’t even see.  Having seen what Rane can do with twin USBs, I’m excited to see what might be possible here.

This is cherry picking the main bits. There’s a lot more going on, but it’s clear that the DJM-S9 is quite a beast.

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means
On the left is the DJM-S9, and on the right… no wait.

THE BEST MIXER VESTAX NEVER MADE?

The more I look at the S9, I cannot help but see the influence of another company, one that had already had built-in buttons and rubber stoppers in their faders. And in fairly recent times, I’ve had glimpses of button-laden designs that were reminiscent of the DJM-S9. All I’m saying is that if Vestax had stayed the course, you may have been seeing the PMC-Pro V looking a lot like this. Oh well.

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means
DJM-S9 and Rane Sixty-Two. According to specs, they’re the same width so this is proportionally correct.

NATURAL COMPARISONS

One cannot talk about the DJM-S9 and not make natural comparisons to Rane. Pioneer DJ is definitely planting its flag and staking its claim to Rane’s traditionally strong audience. In fact, sat just to my right is the Rane TTM57MKII, which is close to the S9 in features but lacks onboard effects. So the natural is the Sixty-Two. Using UK prices (because they make sense to me), the DJM-S9 is £1299 and the Sixty Two can be had for £1550. Rane is legendary in its user support, something that may make all the difference.

I don’t know the Sixty Two, so it would be unfair of me to pass comment. I do however know that Pioneer DJ’s marketing machine has a shedload of work to do to break people away from Rane. It’s absolutely going to take more than wheeling out well known turntablists doing what they can do just as well on Rane mixers to make a change.

THERE’S A GAP IN THE MARKET

With Rane and Pioneer pitching their Serato tents on the higher slopes of the scratch mountain, it seems to me that there’s a huge amount of DJs who want plug and play with Serato DJ, but have little need for all the stuff that costs money. How many of you really need all those effects? Dual USB? Crazy proprietary faders? Why can’t some company or other get into bed with Serato and make a mixer for the rest of us?

£1k+ is too much for traditionally poor scratch DJs, who generally have simple needs. Perhaps like the DJM-707 before it, there will be a stripped out derivative DJM-S7. Coming from Pioneer though, I doubt it would be affordable. So I’m looking to other companies to bring out an affordable scratch mixer that everyone has a chance of owning that does tick all the boxes. NI did it with the Z2, so I see no reason why Serato can’t. Pull your finger out and make it happen. :)

DIGGING DEEPER

Having seen Pioneer DJ’s teaser about rekordbox, it’s hard not to see the similarities in features alluded to in the video. Most of the S9 is Pioneer, with 6x small buttons to engage Serato effects. And the 4 buttons sat between the banks of RGB pads directly match features seen in the video. So for me, while the DJM-S9 might wear a Serato logo, I feel it’s a matter of time before it works as a rekordbox mixer too.

Obviously without seeing the new rekordbox software (I really should register for early bird access), I can only make educated guesses as to the future. But my gut says that future Pioneer product is most likely going to be based around rekordbox, most probably all-in-ones (a range of XDJs), media players (XDJ-900/2000) and mixers, with an eventual introduction (within a year) of DVS, followed by an amicable divorce from Serato.

We honestly feel that this is the start of Pioneer’s true closed ecosystem strategy — for them to be the Apple of the DJ world. We know that they can do controllers, mixers, and players with rekordbox today, but they still depend on Serato DJ for their controllers, and algoriddim djay for its mobile market. There are a few gaps such as DVS and mobile play, but we’re convinced that it will happen, and pretty quickly. They also need their own USB cable — I spotted a Neo d+ in the video. All those gaps need to be plugged.

So where does this leave Serato? Most probably nuzzling up to existing partners, and looking to nurture some new ones along the way too. Personally, if Serato were to focus on some other people and nurture some new companies, ideas and directions, it could be much better for them and us alike. I can see Serato getting Rane people completely blotto and casually dropping “now about that controller that the entire DJ world wants” into the conversation. And indeed, Pioneer DJ can foster their own innovation inside their own ecosystem and offer more choice to us end users.

ANALYSIS: What Pioneer DJ's DJM-S9 actually means

THE BOTTOM LINE

Looking past the PR hyperbole, the DJM-S9 looks amazing. I imagine you’re going to see it a lot in the future, most probably in a stream of Pioneer videos, and from DMC winners too. We also feel that it signals at least a cooling down of the relationship between Serato and Pioneer DJ, if only because they look to be putting out their own software anyway, something that we hope sees Serato work with others, ideally to put out a Serato DJ scratch mixer that we can afford, and perhaps try a few new directions.

Mark Settle
Mark Settle

The old Editor of DJWORX - you can now find Mark at WORXLAB

Articles: 1228

58 Comments

  1. Hey Mark, I’m not a big scratch DJ, but my concern about is that another closed ecosystem in a market that already has only few choices for solid reliable gear and software may be a dangerous thing. As a contrast, I’m an apple fan but there are many other great hardware and software choices for non apple fans or those looking for choice. I don’t see the DJ hardware and particularly the software market with such tight integration being a good thing for innovation. Your thoughts?

    RD

    • Should Pioneer choose to make their own Pioverse™ (that’s a thing now), then we actually get a new choice — a whole new ecosystem opens up to compliment Serato DJ, Traktor, Virtual DJ etc. This will make Serato open up to other companies a little more, again offering more choice. NI is making all sorts of noises right now about opening up too (MP2015 is a prime example). And with VDJ offering excellent DVS, there is the chance that we’ll have more choice then ever.

      Innovation doesn’t seem to be too much of a problem for NI or Apple, so I don’t see the Pioverse being any different. Another way to look at this is that Serato has to satisfy a number of hardware partners. It’s turning circle is huge in comparison to NI, so things happen very slowly in the Seratoverse™, because of the implications across the entire industry. I’d argue that because rekordbox only has to satisfy the needs of one company, then they can experiment more than most.

      I hope that the Pioverse isn’t overtly proprietary or truly closed, because that just won’t work out for them. Their stuff still needs to offer compatibility with other software, even if its just MIDI or HID. The only difference is that their hardware will be designed for rekordbox from the ground up, and the reality is that most users will be happy to go with that.

      If this is what Pioneer DJ is planning, it’s ballsy and risky. They’re not Apple, and as NI has found out, they’re not big enough to go it entirely alone. But if they can keep the door ajar enough to play nice with others but primarily be a rekordbox company, then their plan has every chance of succeeding.

      • Am I the only one who thinks the mixer is lacking? I have owned a djm 909 for many years and have thought about an upgrade but I don’t feel this is it. The way the pads seem to work is my biggest issue as it seems like you can only select one mode over both banks at one time. Personally I may want cues on one and samples on the other but from what I can see, this is not posable. I think a lot more can be done by sticking to my djm909 and two midi controllers. It’s a shame as I really wanted to like the djm909 replacement, although time could change that. I hated the djm909 when it first came out as I thought it was a gimmick, how wrong was I. Lucky I worked selling dj equipment at the time so had a lot of time to muck about and radically change my opinion

        • I have a 909, a pair of dicer, a reloop neon and the sl3 box. As I saw the teaser vid of the DJM S9 I felt like yeeess “a 909 on steroide” that is what I was waiting for. But after watching the introduction vid I felt like noooo.
          The 909 has 50 built-in FX… you can control a lot of those effects with cross- or linefader you can control them by foot switch, what is one of the dopest features a scratch mixer can have!!! And there’s a SEND RETURN feature what is useful if you’ve hooked up your setup to a loop-machine
          The Touch screen where you can quickly change FX parameters is also a nice feature.
          So what did they do??? They forgot about all those feature which made the 909 such a unique battle mixer…

            • … if it would be possible to plug in a foot switch I’m okay with this idea! What about the fader-controlled FX parameters? I’ve seen Mr. Switch playing around with the built-in synth FX – looks like it’s the same than the 909 has. Its tone is controlled by the linefader…

          • So… I agree with this point completely, however I think the thought behind the design is that instead of focusing on onboard effects users would select from the serato “FX” and use multi-filters like the comb-echo or the high pass distortion effects.

      • Some of us are wondering if Rekordbox DJ that is scheduled for release in September is going to be a 64bit application? Or will they just be bringin another 32bit dj program to the ecosystem as the standard is switching?

    • I’m not not a scratch DJ either and I haven’t been able to get behind Apple since the loss of Mr. Jobs, can’t get behind the business model or the lack of care that goes into a Mac’s build these days. That man rewrote the BSD kernel into OSX and put his stamp on every build… sorely missed… on to Pio.

      As I said, I not a scratch DJ either, but I own Pioneer. I don’t own it for the flash and bang or to show people the “bling”, instead I own Pioneer gear because of how flexible it is. I do a few shows here and there as well as a weekly 2-5 hour radio show and felt that a kit that adapted to my guests was probably the best way to go. My DJM 850 caters to anyone running software, in a bit of time we may see Traktor support hit the S9. After all look how long it took for Traktor support to hit the CDJ 900NXS.

  2. I’m glad you pointed out the S9 looks like that old Vestax mixer, because I thought the exact same thing when I first saw the reveal video on YouTube.

  3. This thing looks great, but too bad I already bought a new mixer earlier this year. I was always looking for on-board effects, too, because I enjoy using vinyl, so this would’ve been nice. Serato support seems to be incredible, too. Argh.

    Since it was mentioned, what’s Pioneer’s track record with regards to support?

  4. this is the best looking mixer i ever saw, compare it with Rane 62 and you got beauty and the beast

    The faceplate reminds me of the old PMC07 BLK

    Forget their tuntables with the bad tonearm bearings, this mixer is the only current Pioneer product i want

  5. would love to see a 4ch version w fx send/return, toggle switch per channel, and full on rekordbox integration. also hoping that dvs will be available with new relkordbox and one isn’t forced to stayed w serato (or traktor) for DVS integration

  6. Just a comment on the comparison of Vestax and the new s9. It’s a shame Serato couldn’t of had a hand saving or taking a share in Vestax… they would of been a power house combo for controllers, turntables and of course mixers….

  7. A good analysis, Mark. I posted on Serato forum saying that Pioneer is prepping up for a closed ecosystem, just like Apple. Good to see the same view from you. Could not help but seeing everything is lining up and it is a matter of time. I agree that Serato getting into bed with, say Rane, to produce a controller in place of the anticipated “Pioneer controllers” gap after the “amicable divorce”, would be a thing of beauty and would secure market share and I would think Pioneer would struggle even with their closed ecosystem because of the legendary Rane trusted brand name and Serato in this arena. Imagine a Rane 2-channel scratch mixer with performance pads and onboard FXs with two 3″ platters, the size of a VCI-380 preferable, would fill the gaps of a performance scratch mixer and a controller.

  8. It seems the channels are not swappable. Just like with the 707/909. I know why I dig Vesta, Rane and Rodec (they incorporated that feature). And it’s funny how nobody seems to want to answer the question, when asked about…

    • What about us guys that don’t have everything setup in crates, new songs you may not have sorted thru yet, etc? How do you search? How do you sort columns? These are all extremely important and the laptop is the best way to approach it. Still, there is no denying some DJ’s would love to get rid of the laptop/keyboard and just carry their small “festival library” in a compact device like a USB key.

      • USB devices are readily available that will hold all the tracks anyone could ever want or need. If you don’t have your library sorted, well… you need to do your homework.

        Columns are easily sorted with the controls provided. Peripherals like keyboards can be attached via USB if needed, but searches can be executed easily enough via the existing controls, after switching to the search screen.

        However, it might be easier and more elegant, to create a specialized phone app, then use your phone as a data entry/storage/download device in conjunction with the mixer when needed..

        DJ Demolition

        • Its not about the homework. I speak more for the guys that do mobile work. Guys who carry 30,000 songs/videos and need to be able to quickly key in a search string for a song that they don’t need or can’t have on a “crate”, which would take forever to find with a jog wheel, or knob and a button.

          A phone app is definitely a good idea, charge your phone via USB while it also serves as a “keyboard”. But then, you are going to look like you are tweeting all night.

          I think these compact laptop-less solutions for DJ’s are only good for club/festival DJs who carry smaller music collections.

          • I myself am one of those DJs with thousands of tracks, and I do many mobile gigs also. I think you have the wrong concept about this altogether. I could search about as fast with the knob arrangement I’ve previously mentioned, as I could with a keyboard, and that’s one less thing in my way or that I have to keep up with.

            Anyone with any kind of decent structure at all in their library, would not have a problem with this mixer set up as it is envisioned. My current console has two monitors built in: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122644358@N03/13956019134/in/dateposted-public/, and I use the knobs/buttons on my V7s to find my tracks 99% of the time. Not a problem at all, if you have your library set up right. And a whole lot quicker and easier.

            I don’t use a laptop at all. IMO, anyone who does looks like a Serato faced dweeb. I have a compact ‘desktop’ hidden in my console. I use Itch (not DJ), and this is the view I normally see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122644358@N03/13706357415/in/dateposted-public/ in my monitors. Although the angle of the (fuzzy) photo makes it appear as though the monitors are up high, in reality, the tops of them are flush with the top surface of the mixer, so they are invisible to the audience, and totally unobtrusive. Nothing makes you look more like a nerd, than your laptop prominently displayed above any and all of your other equipment. Everyone knows you’re just playing songs off your computer with some type of controller interface.

            DJ Demolition

            • I respectfully disagree. Even with a well structured library (I am pretty ocd about mine) its impossible to remember exactly where you keep a tune you added 8 years ago that you play only once a year or less. You might remember some keywords that you added in the comments (I keep long comment strings as a replacement for album covers), so that I can key-in tags that I can recall about particular songs which I can’t easily locate as I am mixing or who’s title/artist name I may not recall. Maybe I am unfamiliar with the process on your particular rig (and I do see a keyboard in your picture, which kind of defeats the purpose of your argument), but on the keyboard-less technology that I am familiar with (jog and button system) entering a search term is NOT easy.

              I am honestly curious as to what your vision is, and how you say it can solve the keyboard issue. Like you, I am AGAINST working with the keyboard and computer if it could be avoided. But looking back on the days when I carried crates of vinyl and tons of CD books, the now typical MP3 library starts to seem pretty nice, with keyboard and all! The problem still is trying to find music quickly, even with a keyboard sometimes I struggle to quickly bring up the right result through searching on the computer.

              As I look at your photo I see that you bring actual computer monitors to your gig… That presents a bit of a problem when you are sharing the DJ booth with a group of DJ’s at a club out of town. You may not be allowed to setup early and you have limited space in the booth. You might be allowed to bring your own controller, or NOT. If you are lucky to be playing with a mixer that has the browser built in, how are you going to share amongst the other DJ’s, and will you be S.O.L. with your console which is tougher to setup?

              PS: I think your monitor display system is nifty. ;)

              • True, many times I have to type in the song name to find the exact song I’m looking for, That doesn’t work without a laptop or similar device… and you have to imagine the laptop has much stronger computing capabilities so can look items up faster when the library gets larger. That USB nonsense works fine if you have smaller crate sets are doing a 1 or 2 hour set and already know what you expect to play on a particular night but many DJs have to have a larger library to be able to read a crowd and play at different spots on different nights. I also had one event where I played from 10PM to 5am without repeating 1 song so at that point you are going to need to be able to rely on a much larger music library that is easilly searchable. Scrolling is difficult enough on a laptop where you can limit the choices by typing in part of a word or an artist name etc… let alone a much smaller screen without that capability. There are even times when I can’t quite remember the exact name or spelling of certain new song names that they chose to misspell e and remember certain parts of the name or have to add certain extra parts to the name or the correct spelling of a word they misspelled on purpose so I can find it in the future when I accidentally type in the correct spelling LOL, or songs that you thought were called by a full name but ended up being an Acronym name IE. GDFR (Going Down For Real) I am a little upset that the Pads are set up as 8 instead of 10 IE 2 sets of 5 since we have 5 cue points… would make that an easier more ergonomic fit with serato. Or Perhaps they are planning on using an 8 cue point system in their own software hence the 4×4 pad set up

              • True, many times I have to type in the song name to find the exact song I’m looking for, That doesn’t work without a laptop or similar device… and you have to imagine the laptop has much stronger computing capabilities so can look items up faster when the library gets larger. That USB nonsense works fine if you have smaller crate sets are doing a 1 or 2 hour set and already know what you expect to play on a particular night but many DJs have to have a larger library to be able to read a crowd and play at different spots on different nights. I also had one event where I played from 10PM to 5am without repeating 1 song so at that point you are going to need to be able to rely on a much larger music library that is easilly searchable. Scrolling is difficult enough on a laptop where you can limit the choices by typing in part of a word or an artist name etc… let alone a much smaller screen without that capability. There are even times when I can’t quite remember the exact name or spelling of certain new song names that they chose to misspell e and remember certain parts of the name or have to add certain extra parts to the name or the correct spelling of a word they misspelled on purpose so I can find it in the future when I accidentally type in the correct spelling LOL, or songs that you thought were called by a full name but ended up being an Acronym name IE. GDFR (Going Down For Real) I am a little upset that the Pads are set up as 8 instead of 10 IE 2 sets of 5 since we have 5 cue points… would make that an easier more ergonomic fit with serato. Or Perhaps they are planning on using an 8 cue point system in their own software hence the 4×4 pad set up

  9. Personally think the Rane 62 should now drop in price to continue competing for the number one spot… at least that’s what I’m hoping for A prioce war would be nice right now because both of these mixers are far too overpriced if you ask me. They should both be closer to $1000-1300 tops not nearing the $2000 range… My beloved Pioneer 909 was only $1200 new Sell more not gouge the people that really want one. I’m torn between the two mixers was going to pick up a 62 then saw this one coming out and thought better wait and see which one feels better. Also with the 62 being out longer you can bet you will find more of those and the older 57’s at the clubs much more often than the new pioneer at least for a while. So to better familiarize yourself with those might be wise but then you can always play on a friend’s mixer then get the one you want and have him / her come over to test out your new DJM-S9. Be nice to get one of each, but for now I’ll have to chose one or the other :) The Native instruments one that the 9 O’clock DMC Team Champions use is also quite nice. Kind of waiting for this one to be on display to test it out

  10. I ended up picking one up. It is a sweet mixer, but today I just found a possible glitch in the Echo system / Effects system (Ha similar to the Eco system) With level depth set to maximum it continues to echo indefinitely and I don’t think it is supposed to do that. I could swear it didn’t do that earlier in the week. Has me a little worried I may have a defective unit.

  11. I ended up picking one up. It is a sweet mixer, but today I just found a possible glitch in the Echo system / Effects system (Ha similar to the Eco system) With level depth set to maximum it continues to echo indefinitely and I don’t think it is supposed to do that. I could swear it didn’t do that earlier in the week. Has me a little worried I may have a defective unit.

    • It’s supposed to that. My rane 68 does that as well. You should be open and closing the echo filter knob to whatever parameter is right. When it is fully open, the echo should continue until you close knob.

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