Roland’s Serato DJ DJ-505 and DJ-202 controllers

I figured Roland's dalliance with the DJ scene would be limited to the DJ-808. But here are the DJ-505 and DJ-202 to fit the budget and mid range slots.

Roland’s march into DJ land continues with a couple of smaller siblings for the rather lush DJ-808 Serato controller. The DJ-202 and DJ-505 aim to fill the entry and mid range gaps but still offer varying levels of what makes the DJ-808 so good.


So getting this out of the way quickly — we were broken into at home this morning, and my car was stolen. We’re fine, and it’s all getting sorted. So please forgive the brevity of this post. 


Click here for the DJ-505. £589.

And here for the DJ-202. £289.

First impressions — very tasty indeed, but it looks like Serato is aiming to replace partner/direct competitor* Pioneer DJ with another high end DJ and production oriented company. Once bitten and all that.

* Delete as necessary.

Q. Who else is wondering what a DJ-303 would be like? Perhaps DJ-808 plus DJ-303 = DJ 1111 is coming out on 11/11. Where do I start queuing?

GALLERY

Mark Settle
Mark Settle

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

Articles: 1228

13 Comments

  1. Where’s the dude that said that Jog wheels will be going away? Not the dude who wrote that stupid article but someone else had said “That in 2 years Jog Wheels will go away”. That was about a year and a half ago. He even doubled down on that stupidness. He’s been quiet the past few months. LOL!!!

  2. Okay wait is that a nudge feature for the drum machine in the 505? that is the BIGGEST issue with the 808, not being able to beatmatch with the drum machine sucks, sure you can nudge the song or vocal instead, but not quite the same.

    • Yes you can nudge it in increments of about 15ms. But beatmatching the TR-S sequencer should be fine if you’re beat grids are set correctly. If you haven’t registered your product I’d encourage you to do so, you’ll be eligible for the Cloud Academy classes and we can help you out…

  3. Deciding this beauty or Pioneer’s new DDJ-SR2. If ‘on some level’, the 505 can match the ‘Key Sync’ &’ Key Shift’ features for live pad play in the DDJ-SR2 i’d rather go with the 505 due to drum machine alone in the 505. I”m getting a feeling either way each one simply can do specifics the other can’t do. They’re both the same price as well.

    • The DJ-505 has the pitch play feature if that’s what you’re referring to, and comes with Serato DJ Toolkit so you’ll get PnT (plus Flip and all FX). Pretty sure it does everything the SR2 does and then tons more (sequencer, drum machine, midi out, etc.).

  4. really disappointed with Roland DJ505 as I can’t use it with traktor on DVS mode.
    The jog wheel is also light years away from pioneer. I can stop a track without touching the jog. Just by approaching my hand.
    Even an SB2 or a Kontrol S2 feel better.

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