The Pioneer DJ CDJ-3000 is the new flagship in the range, and so needed to deliver something special. By and large, it has. Hugely better screen, improved jogwheel, better hot cues, beat jump, key shift and key sync, innovative track previewing and cueing options – and all powered by an on-board MPU. Sure, it is evolution, not revolution, but that’s what pro DJs, clubs and festivals require – and the potential is there for adding the missing stuff (we’re thinking cloud locker, streaming services, on-board track analysis) down the line. Pioneer DJ now does need to get its software team focused on those items to keep up with the competition, though.

The black Pioneer DJ DJS-1000 is a standalone, live-performance DJ sampler, designed to integrate into any Pioneer DJ NXS or XDJ setup. The sampler features a 7? full-color touchscreen, 16 multicolored step input keys, 16 multicolored performance pads, a host of inputs and outputs, plus live sampling capabilities.

The 7? touchscreen provides access to projects, sampling, and FX as well as sequence editing, track setting, and the mixer. There are 16 tracks available for sequencing loops, one-shots, and sound FX. Each track utilizes a time-stretch engine that runs in real time and allows for on-the-fly synchronization. A Pro-DJ Link port is provided, which allows the sampler to beat sync with any Pioneer DJ multi-player such as the CDJ-2000NXS2 or XDJ-1000MK2. Should you wish to synchronize manually, a tempo slider and nudge buttons are provided.