PIONEER DDJ-FLX6

Product Information

Pioneer’s jog wheels on the DDJ FLX6 are responsive and lightweight, so they’re a decent choice for making natural and bending feel as natural as possible. The DDJ-FLX6 looks to be Pioneer DJ’s solution to this market, providing a midrange controller that focuses on performance features. Instead of a standalone mixer section and a metal-reinforced body (like the SR2), the FLX6 sports four channels and full-sized jog wheels –two very enticing features that are generally only found on higher-end Pioneer DJ gear. Dual software support Now, it may just be that people will come up with cool and clever things to do with the DDJ-FLX6 – but anyone getting serious about their DJing will soon miss more obvious things, like proper control of the software effects, external inputs, and a bit more durability. Why not a DDJ-600? Originally codenamed DDJ-600 internally at Pioneer DJ, the Flex - as it’s now known – has been developed to enable complex transitions between genres for DJs whose musical taste, or that of the dancefloor, is fluid. The DDJ-FLX6 has two really powerful features to help DJs jump from one BPM range to another Merge FX and the Jog Cutter. Merge FX

Since this is first-and-foremost a software DJ controller, you won’t have to get used to any other inputs for your DJ gear. However, it feels as though we should at least have an Aux input here. With Rekordbox especially then, the pads are great, and you don’t really miss the RGB. But this controller isn’t being sold on the pads, or the general features. It’s being sold as something new, something with exciting possibilities for the hobby/home DJ. So we should look at those things specifically – and we’ll start with the Merge FX. Merge FX Noticed that the DDJ-FLX6 has a fresh look? It’s the first Pioneer DJ unit released in a new dark gray matte finish, and its jog wheels have a unique design to complement the aesthetics. Watch the introduction video or find out more about the new DJ controller.

Sample Scratch

All of these solutions are stored on the front of the DDJ FLX6 unit, with no split cue available, unfortunately. You’ll also find VU meters in all four of the channels here, but there’s no master VU meter available. The meters are a little dim, however, so make sure you’re equipped to see them properly if you’re DJing in outdoor festivals with a lot of sunshine. D DJ FLX6 : The Verdict The design looks good and follows a similar club-standard CDJ and DJM setup, so it allows for intuitive performance.

According to Pioneer, the DDJ-FLX6 ensures you can “flex” your creative muscles with a host of new features and an easy-to-use interface. Usability/ Ease of Use However, while existing mid-range options from Pioneer focus heavily on durability and build quality – this one is all about performance features. In total, if rekordbox is the selected music software management system then there are eight Merge FX pattern presets (this reduces to four if Serato DJ Pro is in use), and everything is customisable. One Merge FX is made up of four categories Build FX, Build Sample, Release FX and Drop Sample, which include 41 types of effects, all of which can be united to create over 9,000 different patterns. Additionally, there is the option to save eight of the users own patterns, where the FX Select button can be used to recall them when required. New Jog Cutter feature for pro-sounding scratch effects The DDJ FLX6 also offers an FX strip on the right similar to other products from Pioneer’s DJM portfolio. There’s a button to support toggling between each of the different effects in Rekordbox and Serato DJ pro banks, which you can choose and access whenever you like. There’s also a button to toggle between different channel assignments too.As a Rekordbox controller, the Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX6 fills a gap for a reasonably priced, four-channel model. And on the surface, it looks nice – great jogs, decent size, lots of lights. It is going to look good on livestreams and it is going to look good on social media videos. It can instantly sound impressive too, as some of the noises you can make with the Merge FX do indeed sound epic. Depending how you view this kind of DJing, this is going to be potentially great fun to you, or anathema – an exciting way of adding to your sets, or an “echo-out on steroids” for people without the ability to properly programme music or figure out how to transition between their music. Pitch bending and scratching feel natural on the DDJ-FLX6 thanks to the large jog wheels, which are the same size as those on the flagship CDJ-3000 multi player. Each one features an On Jog Display too, so you can keep an eye on the playhead position. But the very best jogs are only really important if you are a scratch DJ, and with seemingly much of the budget for the DDJ-FLX6 having gone on the jogs, that other essential part for scratch DJing – the crossfader – is very average on this unit. Sure it works, but the pair of them are a huge mismatch. The jogwheels are excellent – a great feel to them, full sized. So why is the crossfader so ordinary?