pioneer DJ cdj 2000 3000 teaser

I hate teasers, so here’s a Pioneer DJ one, and some real talk

Last year, in the before times, I wrote what I felt was an incredibly helpful piece for marketing types about product launches. There was much guffawing from the community, private inbox slaps on the back from the industry, and I imagine a serious amount of awkward shuffling in seats from the very people it was aimed at. 

In it, I discussed at length and in detail about how I feel about teasers. TLDR — I think they’re the worst marketing idea that a tech company can ever do. I vividly remember the time in 2009 that I mercilessly teased old Pioneer about the never-ending stream of teasers and the protracted launch of the CDJ-2000. And even then, I gave the same warning that I give in the recently written article too. 

So it comes as no surprise whatsoever to post a new teaser from Pioneer DJ, that I’m not so wildly guessing is the next generation of CDJ. 

What’s funny is that one community member posted in the Pioneer DJ  Instagram page that I should “do your thing” and presumably apply my established forensic photoshop-fu on this video to create some sort of Hockney-esque cut-up lump of images to give a clear image of what Pioneer DJ is planning. 

But I’m not doing that. Been there — done that — somebody else can pick up that tired mantle if they want. I await the unboxing videos with mock glee. 

Instead, let’s lay out exactly what will happen in what I assume will be the coming hours, days, and weeks (pray its not months) before you actually get an official look:

  • The internet will be awash with stories, complete with every kind of fanboy/hater variant comment. 
  • Given that this clip offers little (it’s probably there if you know) outside of familiar buttons and jog wheels, people will speculate and theorise this unit to be exactly what it is not. By the time this rampant fictionalising has finished, expect 10/12” motorised haptic platters, 32” HDR touch and voice-activated screens, built-in 32TB SSDs, and dual jogs per unit. But it must be true because I read it on online. 
  • Did you see the robot arm? That’s part of the new CDJ unit — an add-on accessory that presses the sync button for you. FACT.
  • Because of this, when it finally does leak (which it will), people will be so disappointed that it doesn’t quite live up to the fantasy that will be painted online. 
  • Based on the scant pickings that this video offers, people will claim that Pioneer DJ is over, RIP, the end, something something because Denon DJ etc. 
  • Equally yeah woo Pioneer DJ for life something something take my money comments will appear based on nothing more than the possibility that this could be a new CDJ. 
  • Radars will be primed for absolutely anything regarding new CDJs. The retail and rental companies will already know all about it and may well have materials so that they can get their web pages ready. Be it a placeholder or full detail, IT WILL BE FOUND and leaked because it always is. 
  • Be it deliberate by someone looking for their five minutes of internet fame, or shown in confidence to a friend who will subsequently shoot their load, it will leak. This is certain because outside of the last damp squib Technics 1200 MK7 release, this is the hottest news in DJdom for many MANY years.

It’s a step by step scenario I’ve painted for many companies when talking about launches and has pretty much panned out exactly as I predicted. And this will be no different. The only control Pioneer DJ has over this comes down to the length of time before launch and the materials they put in the hands of third parties.

And yes, I’m so very tired of it all. I’m blissfully happy to be leaving the media game behind at the end of the year.

HERE’S THE REALITY

Because of COVID and the shutdown of music venues and events, this is singularly THE WORST possible time to launch a long-awaited flagship club standard, made even harder because of genuine competition in the shape of Denon DJ. 

But they cannot wait any longer, especially as Denon DJ has now got a splendid array of shiny SC6000 Prime units in the hands of the GAS afflicted masses. 

It doesn’t matter. Because even if the new CDJ is just a minor step up from the old one, people will still buy it, in quantity, and more than any competitive unit too. And I suspect that some that jumped ship while waiting will jump right back again as well.

I’ve used this line before but it comes down to this — you don’t bring tech to a brand fight. Technologically speaking, Denon/Denon DJ has always had a leg up on Pioneer/Pioneer DJ. Denon DJ has always innovated and tried new head-turning things such as tilted screens, motorised platters, built-in storage, dual layers, wifi etc.

Here’s the thing — if it was just about tech then Denon DJ would be the club standard. But it is not. Because it’s all about brand loyalty and trust.

When I saw the first iteration of the SC5000 god knows how many years ago, I stated that no matter how pant-wettingly sexy the tech was, they’d always be playing for second place in the booth. And I say this as someone who understands brands and is a dedicated Denon DJ fan too.

And I don’t believe that things will be any different after this launch either. They might not sell as many day one units as they’d like, but once venues and rental companies pick up the pace again, I guarantee that they won’t be able to make these fast enough.

And as the feature field levels out, there will be even fewer ways to up the technology approach. And Pioneer DJ knows this only too well. If they felt that anyone was a threat, they’d have acted accordingly. 

SUMMING UP

So yay, finally Pioneer DJ has removed the post-sale chocks and is getting back on with their plans, — COVID be damned. We’ll just have to wait to see exactly what it is, and I’m quite sure the other tier-one media outlets will be chomping at the bit to be first to tell you, and retailers gagging to get your money too.

But I hear you can play Fortnite on them and stream Netflix too. And they’ll take an Innofader. You haven’t seen me, right? 

    1. In this game of new product launch bingo, we’re just missing a link to a retailer’s page, and for one of them break embargo and announce early tomorrow right. Is that right?

      1. 2399 yikes! These should be getting cheaper not more expensive.

        People complain about using a laptop. For a grand you can;get a good MacBook Pro, And with the money left over you could get an f1/X1/djm900nxs or xone p5, and 2 xdj700s for the price of 2 of these.

      1. I can’t figure out this deck side by side with new flagship mixer V10..and CDJ without CD slot? ..

  1. real or not.. I only want notice that it’s named CDJ and no CD label is written under browser wheel ..it’s a bit weird IMHO..

    PS I refer to pic in comments

    1. I realised years ago that CDJ had become a generic name for tabletop media players. So it makes sense that it become a generic name, CD or not, for Pioneer DJ’s range. I expect we’ll see the XDJ label disappear in time.

  2. if even image is true Pioneer did a smart move and great unit.

    Seriously what do you want more? 1trilion byte HD and 27inch touch? Really who use all of these?

    Pioneer is global and they did right to our cd too (guys you never been in.middle east or africa or Latin America?)

    They have the biggest ecosystem in Dj world and biggest network in sales and clubbing.

    You see the finger (some features) and you do not see the moon (all immense ecosystem, software, stability, diffusion around the world)

  3. Going by the V10 and now this one, their designers almost look like they’re doing copy-paste jobs using MS Paint.

    They don’t actually need new hardware, anyway, as all their line requires is one firmware quirk resolved on the entire linkable line from the CDJ-900-on and two additional small features added. This CDJ-3000 appears to just add one of the features, albeit in a more complicated fashion than necessary that could otherwise be done on all the entire legacy line

    Since they clearly are coming out with a CDJ-3000, this will have the effect of preventing some buyers from buying used gear who want the latest model from Pioneer DJ, which will be especially profitable considering the number of clubs that are unloading their gear during COVID-19.

    1. Those buttons by the browser know are insanely ugly…. Hopefully this is just a non-finished prototype.

      If Pioneer was smart, they would just make this an XDJ and have an expansion slot, so I you want CD then you can just bu the drive.

      Saves from building 2 separate players.

      Denon (Pre inMusic) did this with some of their controllers. — you could buy the player separate if you wanted it.

      1. No DJ company is invested in CD anymore. It is a legacy format, with ample tools available to convert CDs into digital formats. Removing one large moving part is a good ides from a cost and reliability perspective. But I seriously doubt it’ll bring the costs down at all.

      2. Reliable CD mechanisms are not expensive. Funny, though, that InMusic has never used a reliable one in their entire history that I’m aware. Still, all new Denon DJ has to do is get their electrical engineering design integrity and production QA up to snuff and also improve their sound quality of the digital audio processing in Prime (purely a firmware thing) and I’m fairly confident they can continue to keep chipping away at Pioneer DJ’s market dominance. IMO they need new leadership for their DJ and live sound stuff, though, because their priorities and strategy seem all over the place, and no one seems to have cracked the whip enough with them on some of their snafus.

      1. There was research done with 200 artists about the hot cue location. It was found that being away from where they rest their hand, and being closer to where they used to be located from the upper left was preferred. Being above the jog wheel prevents from accidental trigger, and it serves as an extension to the touch display.

        1. Hi PJ — were these 200 artists of a more mix orientation? Are they likely to be active finger drummers?

          I see the logic to have cue pads where the hands are more involved in library functions, but the CDJ-3000 is unique in having them above. I can’t imagine that for the last 15 years, nobody thought to ask DJs and it just came to light that they like them above. So my feeling is that mix DJs who are not active with cue pads like them close to where they select tracks and like the front free to rest their hands.

    2. I saw this earlier.

      I feel a little underwhelmed to be honest. I still feel the Prime range look better but these will sell by the bucket load.

      I knew a leaker wouldn’t be too far away.

      1. With everyone’s hopes high for something at least on par with the SC5000s, I’d agree on the sales potential.

        But combine the limited feature set (compared to a 4 year old competitor’s product) with an ambitious price and a world wide pandemic hitting incomes of many and you might see a slow decline of a club standard – especially when there’s no clubs.

        Denon’s ability to now read rb grids (on Engine desktop version) is again lowering the barriers of entry.
        I’m pretty sure we’ll soon see the capability to import grids directly on the SC5000/6000 for rb thumb drives, too.

  4. the more time passes the more I lose faith in the intelligence of the DJs.
    the only place where I see rational articles and I see a great Author and publisher is on this site. it’s a real shame that mark is leaving the site leaving this market in the hands of the ignorant DJs…in the best case who comment use a small controller in their bedroom and never will understand how deep and cool are these kind of article!

    1. Thank you as ever for the kind words.

      All we can hope is that somebody decides to fill the void and carry on writing articles like this, otherwise I’ll have nothing to read.

    2. I agree When you read other pages, some of the ‘specs’ from point 2 above are already mentioned ;-) and other points as well.
      ps, I would like the 32TB SSD, so I have some space to store my tracks, but 64 would be better :-)

  5. I gladly picked up the analysis side for you this time. Don’t get me wrong, I too hate this marketing tactic and tired of it 10 years ago when every single release seemed to be “carefully obscured product photos”, but these days I’m down to get on a hype train for something, anything.

    1. I did spend a little time with the video in Photoshop, to the point of dabbling with the liquify filter to unblob the blobs. Then I realised that I just didn’t care enough to go through many hours of painstaking work, and preferred to take them to task over it.

      I’m annoyed because I just don’t feel that they needed to do it. Just launch, shock and awe, and sit back watching the orders come in.

  6. I’m actually excited for this. Anytime new tech is in the booth, it’s an addition to the mixing experience. Curious to see what pioneer cooked up to pair up with the V10.

  7. Denon DJ just released their 1.6 beta with Dropbox support, flexible beat grids and grid import for Serato and Rekordbox 5.

    Interesting day to say the least.
    Competition at its best.

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