Pioneer presents the DJM-S9 digital battle mixer, and a golden surprise
At the end of last Monday, Pioneer proudly presented a teaser video for one of their exciting new products! It clearly hinted at some rather spectacular novelties. The thing we've been waiting for is the DJM-S9 and today is the day we can share its amazing features with you! But hold your purchase just yet, for there is more - loads more! As you've come to expect from us at Bax-shop, the best is yet to come, for in addition to the standard black DJM-S9, there's a gold-coloured DJM-S9-N and even a gold-coloured edition of the PLX-1000: the PLX-1000-N!
Call for a new battle mixer
Let us take a moment and hark back to the days when the turntable reigned supreme in the DJ booth. Enter the DJM-909 and the DJM-707. The 707 was a no-nonsense device, a straightforward battle mixer without the fringes. The DJM-909, however, was fitted with an intelligent effects module and - check this out - a touchscreen. It was a device that was far ahead of its time, when nobody even suspected that DJs would employ laptops and tablet computers as standard means of playing music. You could even sync the effects of the DJM-909 to the beat with a tap function!
The DJM-S9 and turntables
Future times call for future measures, so get ready to check out the DJM-S9. It is a sleek battle mixer that combines traditional scratching with the digital functions we have at our disposal today. Meant for DJs who still use their wheels of steel, yet who want to reap the benefits of digital means to add a unique twist to any mix; the DJM-S9 is the perfect tool. Thanks to seamless Serato DJ compatibility, fans of the software can creatively combine the analogue and the digital, emulating Native Instruments Kontrol Z2's concept with different software and from a completely different angle. The DJM-S9 is great news for everybody!
DJM-S9: much more than just a battle mixer
Basically, the DJM-S9 is a battle mixer with a built-in Pioneer effects module and a DDJ-SP1, but the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts. The big advantage of this mixer is that your turntables can be devoid of any fringes - eliminating the need for an extra set of USB cables and accessory drivers, firmware, updates and so on and so forth - as the pads (like those on the DDJ-SP1) are on the mixer itself. Additionally, it is obvious that Pioneer had this mixer tested by different types of users. Its fader section, for instance, is quite plain, so that there's nothing in your way of slamming the crossfader back and forth. The faders share their section only with the headphone control and sampler volume control, but even these are as far to the sides as possible. Above the channel faders, there's an ergonomic pad section that allows you to rapidly switch from scratching to triggering loops, samples and hotcues, combining the best of good-old-fashioned turntablism and digital DJing.
Beat FX Select + Serato FX Select
An exceptionally striking feature of the DJM-S9 is its internal effects module, especially when you consider that turntablists are generally averse to any digital trickery such as automatic beatmatching and sound effects. What's even crazier is that the DJM-S9 is home to a second effects section that enables you to trigger the built-in Serato effects.
These effects are based on the Sound Color FX you encounter on mixers such as the DJM-850, but with a strong predisposition for scratching. The instant-backspin function, flanger and phaser complete the arsenal of effects.
As the external effects are picked straight from Serato DJ, they can only be triggered and applied in a DVS setup. As you probably already know, Serato offers two effects modules, which is why there are double FX 1, 2 and 3 buttons. When triggering an effect, you can adjust its intensity with the central potentiometer. There's also an ON and a LOCK ON function to engage the effects sections separately. The ON is only active when it's held into position, while the LOCK ON allows you to use the effect for as long as the switch is in that position.
A neat extra, by the way, is the built-in OEL display, which shows you the effect parameters and other vital information such as BPMs.
Thanks to a generous dollop of different effects, house DJs will also definitely be able to appreciate this mixer, extending its range even further. What's more, due to its compact size and DJM-like layout, the DJM-S9 also makes for a great home mixer for hobby/practise setups.
Rubber bumpers
Normally, bumpers are on your car (to prevent you from damaging it too much when you're parking at your local supermarket car park), the rubber bumpers on the DJM-S9, however, are special rubber pads that go into the ends of the crossfader to make enthusiastic scratching even easier and allowing for the perfect feel and response. Instead of crudely crashing into the ends of the fader, the rubber bumpers softly bring the crossfader to a halt when it's rapidly moved from side to side. Three sets of bumpers are included, so DJs can pick the ones that suit them best. You can easily install the bumpers by unscrewing the face plate.
DDJ-SP1 on the DJM-S9
As the DJM-S9 houses a proper portion of the DDJ-SP1, there's no need to purchase one separately. It also keeps your overall DJ setup nice and compact, allowing you to create a full-fledged creative workstation with a relatively small amount of equipment. You can use the DDJ-SP1 pads to trigger hotcues, the sampler, the slicer and roll. Naturally, these functions will only work with Serato DJ.
DJM-S9 tech talk
Let's take a closer look at the DJM-S9's technical details. It has a nice and basic two-channel setup, a pad section for triggering samples, loops, hotcues and a slicer, as well as a 3-band EQ and an HF/LF and gain section plus an input selector for both channels.
Centrally located are the master, headphone and microphone volume controls. On the back of the mixer, there are plenty of connectors for auxiliary equipment. The front of the mixer is full of additional microphone controls such as an EQ, volume control, reverb, crossfader curve correction and even separately adjustable fader curves for both volume faders. Never before has there been a battle mixer with so many functions!
On the top left and right of the mixer, you'll find a loop section and a browse function. Surprisingly, Pioneer didn't opt for a central knob with Load A and Load B buttons, but two separate rotary knobs, making it a lot more fun to DJ in B2B (back2back) situations. Moreover, both sides offer a loop function. Naturally, you can only use these features via Serato DJ.
As a special treat, you can tweak the behaviour of the DJM-S9's faders to your liking. For instance, the crossfader curve and channel fader curve can effortlessly and steplessly be adjusted to suit your personal preference. What's more, you can even reverse the faders! Thanks to their special magnetic construction, these faders (like the ones on the DJM-900NXS) control the volume electronically rather than physically, which means that dust, grime and wear are of no influence to the signal's reliability.
Further still, you can easily connect a set of turntables, CD players, a PA set or an auxiliary effects module to the DJM-S9. What's more, there's even a double USB port. Double? That's right, double. Combined with the double browse knobs, you can easily manage B2B sets, as the mixer allows you to connect two laptops. The advanced matrix-input function lets you select the right input for each channel, allowing to split the mixer for use by two DJs. As you can tell, the capabilities of the DJM-S9 are virtually endless! One of its exceptionally practical features is its built-in timecode interface, which allows you to control Serato via Serato vinyl. Scratching on the turntables means scratching in the software. Naturally, you can also use your setup for regular vinyl. Flick the switch, and you can bridge the built-in timecode loop to directly send the analogue signal of the turntables to the channel strip.
As you may have expected, the mixer is bestowed with several extras, including a booth output for monitoring, an additional aux input for devices like MP3 players, smartphones or tablets, a balanced XLR/TRS jack microphone input, and even a talkover function + EQ for the mic. As you can see, you can even pleasantly surprise your MC with the versatile DJM-S9!
So what happened to the Rekordbox DJ software?
Despite rumours, Pioneer made this DJ mixer compatible with Serato DJ, which makes sense on its own, for if it would've been the first Rekordbox-enabled Pioneer product, making it compatible with DVS would be quite a challenge. We suspect that Pioneer will select another type of product for the launch of Rekordbox DJ. One way or another, we will have to exert some patience regarding the first Rekordbox DJ software console but we can't wait to see what it'll be!
Kachow! A dashing DJM-S9-N and Pioneer PLX-1000-N with a gold-coloured finish!
Here's a surprise we didn't see coming! Perhaps it's because of our 12.5-year anniversary? No matter the occasion, the DJM-S9 also comes as the DJM-S9-N, a version with stunning golden details and a smashing gold-coloured faceplate. And to go with such a radiant mixer, Pioneer treats our senses to the PLX-1000-N! This golden version of the PLX-1000 gives your entire DJ set proper bling.
Please note: only 500 DJM-S9-N and just 1,000 PLX-1000-N will become available - in the entire world! So don't miss out on the chance to get your hands on one of these golden beauties!
Availability
The Pioneer DJM-S9, Pioneer DJM-S9-N and the PLX-1000-N can pre-ordered as of this instance, and the first ones will reach customers' doorsteps half November.
[edit 9.38] Please note: the PLX-1000-N and DJM-S9-N are only available in a limited number. There will only be 1,000 and 500 available world-wide, respectively.
related products
