Product Featured
Model: Pioneer DJ DDJ-REV5Release Price: $1,099 (contact by livechat, phone or email for discount)
Released: August 7, 2023
This Pioneer DJ DDJ-REV5 review was produced by David Michael at The Passionate DJ Podcast.
[/alert]About the DDJ-REV5
If you’ve budgeted somewhere in the neighborhood of a grand for a DJ controller, the DDJ-REV5 should definitely be on your shopping list. With full-size jog wheels, a DJM-like mixer section, tight Serato and Rekordbox integration, and easy access to stems, it covers all the bases for any DJ willing to mix in two channels
The REV5 falls between the REV1 and the REV7 in Pioneer DJ’s “scratch-friendly” lineup. It is a notable step up in build quality over the REV1 but does not contain the rotating platters, heavy motors, and higher cost of the REV7. As with the other controllers in the lineup, the DDJ-REV5 is “battle orientation”, meaning that the pitch faders are located above the jog wheels. You also get paddle FX in the mixer section, which overall, looks very much like a DJM-S7 scratch mixer. At the bottom, you’ll find a Magvel crossfader, which is great for scratching (see video above). It’s not a Magvel Fader Pro, as you’d find in higher-end mixers, but I found it to be extremely capable and satisfying to use
Key Info
(Source: Pioneer DJ) The large jog wheels are responsive, reliable, and easy to operate – with a feel just like those on classic CDJ units – and they each include a display with playhead position so you’ll always know where you are in the track. You can also customize the Jog Feel to find your perfect jog wheel “weight”. The MAGVEL FADER is slick, robust, and ready to translate every tiny movement you make so you can scratch with precision.
The long tempo sliders on the DDJ-REV5 run horizontally above the deck sections while the Performance Pads and Lever FX are placed in the mixer section for dynamic performances, emulating the PLX Series deck + DJM-S Series mixer setups loved by open-format DJs around the world. Thanks to the proximity of the pads, levers, and faders, you can fuse scratching with pad play and effects.
Using Stems
Pioneer DJ has brought the ever-popular Stems technology over to the new DDJ-REV5, and the implementation is quite solid. There are three main ways to access them:
● Stems Mute/Solo: Solo or mute the different Stems to create your own mashups on the fly.
● Stems Separate: Isolate different Stems of a track on separate decks to make live remixes.
● Stems Level: Use the EQ knobs to adjust the volume for separate Stems.
Each of these modes are intuitive to use, and required very little explanation from the documentation other than how to properly engage each mode (which I could’ve figured out). Unlike more complex setups like the DDJ-FLX10, you’ll know almost instantly what you’re doing when it comes to adding and removing individual pieces of songs. Hear what this sounds like in the video above.
New Features
One of the new features added to the REV5 is Auto BPM Transition, which is very much what it sounds like. However, unlike other Pioneer DJ devices like the DDJ-FLX6, this feature is very simple and straightforward. If you have two songs with very different BPMs, you can decide how many bars it will take to automatically “ramp” the tempo of the current song up (or down) to the tempo of the incoming one. There are no other gimmicks or sounds attached to these transitions. It literally automates the movement of the pitch fader, in a specified amount of time, which can certainly be useful in certain situations.
The other new feature is Piano Play, which is a pad mode that allows you to play cue points in different keys as if the beat pads were a piano. (White keys are on the bottom, and black keys are on the top.) Within the software, you can select which scale you’re playing. This is more of a fun trick than something you’ll probably end up doing often
Who It’s For
For the price, the DDJ-REV5 is THE recommendation. When it comes to thousand-dollar DJ controllers, there aren’t many to go around these days. Today’s budget controller segment has lots to offer, and there are quite a few premium controllers and standalones with astronomical prices. But once upon a time, the thousand-dollar mark was where you found all the high-end premium stuff.
As the high-end has gotten pricier and pricier, it’s left a Serato and rekordbox-shaped hole in the middle of the market, until now. If the REV5 is a little much for your needs, the REV1 is there for you. While being much simpler, it will accomplish many of the same basic DJing needs while being much smaller, and much more affordable. If you want to meet somewhere in the middle, you could also choose the DDJ-FLX6. Of course, it’s a little less scratch-friendly, somewhat limited, and notably more gimmicky than the REV5. DJs who are more serious turntablists might want to instead consider the DDJ-REV7, featuring fully motorized platters, or the PLX-CRSS12 digital hybrid turntable
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