Pioneer DJ DDJ-REV1

The DDJ-REV1 is a 2-channel Serato battle controller from Pioneer DJ, with a major difference to previous controller designs. It marks the first DJ controller in Pioneer DJ's latest DDJ-REV series, which is focussed on open-format & scratch DJs who like to perform in battle mode. The REV1 is built for Serato DJ Lite, and inherits features from Pioneer DJ's professional DJM-S series mixers, as well as their PLX turntable setups when setup in battle mode. The design takes a new, fresh approach to what a DJ controller can be!

New Battle-style setup

Larger jog wheels

Lever FX

Larger 60mm tempo sliders

Tracking scratch

8 performance pads

Serato DJ Lite hardware unlock (Serato DJ Pro paid upgrade)

There’s plenty of space to perform mixing and scratching techniques thanks to the new arrangement of the controls on the DDJ-REV1. The tempo sliders are 60 mm long, making them longer than those on the DDJ-SB3 to give you finer control, and they run horizontally above the decks, while the Performance Pads have been moved into the mixer section so you can intuitively combine effects, trigger samples, and scratch your tracks.

The bigger the jog wheels, the better for scratching. The jogs on the DDJ-REV1 are the same size as the ones on the DDJ-SR2, a popular controller that’s higher up in the Pioneer DJ range.

Dynamically add texture to the music with Lever FX in the mixer section. Pull the levers down and hold them to apply effects from Serato DJ Lite in short bursts or push them up to lock on effects and free up your hands for scratching or track browsing.

The DDJ-REV1 can help you have fun scratching without doing it all for you. You’ll still need to hone your skills, but the Tracking Scratch feature will silently take the music back to the cue point the moment you move the jog wheel from backward to forward or lift your hand away – saving you from closing the fader and finding the right place in the music to start the scratch again. All you need to do is to select the Tracking Scratch Pad mode, press a Performance Pad to choose the Scratch Crossfader Cuts pattern you want to use, then start moving the jog.

For the first time in a Pioneer DJ controller at this level, the output of the master audio is mixed with the sound from the microphone if you have one plugged in. This means you don’t need any external equipment such as a soundcard or separate mixer if you want to add speech or vocals to your performance and route it through your computer. All sounds are sent to Serato DJ Lite so you can stream from there.

As soon as you’ve downloaded Serato DJ Lite to your PC/Mac for free, you can simply connect the DDJ-REV1 via the supplied USB cable and start DJing. Enjoy tactile control of various features and effects in the software by manipulating the buttons, knobs, faders, and jog wheels on the controller.

With the Scratch Bank pad mode, you can instantly load scratch samples from 4 banks that you’ve assigned in Serato DJ Lite or Pro by simply tapping the dedicated Scratch Bank button. You can load from a specific start point too – handy if you want to use this feature to drop in full tracks during a routine.