Your Questions: Difference Between Pioneer DDJ-R and Pioneer DDJ-S Controllers?

Digital DJ Tips reader DJ Danny DJ writes: “What’s the difference with the DDJ-SZ and RZ, SX2 and RX, and so on? All these new names in the Pioneer DJ catalogue are starting to confuse me!”

Digital DJ Tips Says:

Pioneer DJ has a whole range of controllers from beginner to pro, the letters going up the alphabet: B, R, X, and Z.

It comes in two flavours: the “R” flavour is meant for use with Rekordbox DJ (DDJ-RB, DDJ-RR, DDJ-RX, DDJ-RZ), while the “S” flavour is for Serato DJ (DDJ-SB2, DDJ-SR, DDJ-SX2, DDJ-SZ). The “S” range came first because it was before Pioneer DJ developed Rekordbox DJ for controllers, but the good news is that these all work with Rekordbox DJ too.

However, the “R” range, which are specifically for Rekordbox DJ and are newer, don’t work with Serato DJ, but are slightly more suited to Rekordbox DJ (newer silkscreens, cosmetic tweaks, a few more buttons for Rekordbox DJ-specific features like the Sequencer, and so on).

Bottom line: Want to use Serato DJ and Rekordbox DJ, and don’t mind an “older” model? Go for an “S” variant. Only want to use Rekordbox DJ and want something newer? Go for an “R”.

If you’ve got a Pioneer DJ controller, do you use Serato DJ or Rekordbox DJ? Are you keen on jumping into the Rekordbox system? Let us know below.