Pioneer already have market monopoly when it comes to providing Club Standard DJ gear for the majority of clubs throughout the world, but does Rekordbox DJ have what it takes to compete with industry heavyweights, in the DJ Software scene, Serato.

REKORDBOX DJ

Pioneer has now released Rekordbox DJ which is compatible with most DJ controllers. It is built on the back of Rekordbox so it shares all the same features used to prepare your music for USB / playback on CDJs / compatible controllers, but with a load of extra features, this is the software to watch and will most likely dominate the world of DJ software in the years to come.

Advantages

• Rekordbox is the program used to prepare your music for club gear, and now it works with controllers. This means you can use the same software used to prepare your music for playback in clubs (using USBS) and also use this same music to playback music on your controller - very cool.
• Because it is Pioneer software and Pioneer provide most of the worlds DJ gear (especially in clubs), by using Pioneer software / equipment, you will find it translates well to club gear and again it saves you setting your cue points / preparing your music twice.

Disadvantages

• Chances are you may need to pay for Rekordbox DJ to make it work with your controller - $149 (unless you buy a Rekordbox DJ controller)
• It is fairly new, so still some teething problems compared to Serato that have been around for over a decade and have earned their place as the leading Digital DJ program in the world, but Pioneer is catching quickly - watch out!!

SERATO DJ

Serato is arguably the best digital DJ program in the world. Many of the Pioneer controllers are compatible with Serato software and I personally find it is a great program to hone your skills as a DJ and put together and record great sets and mixtapes. It also gives us a visual aid when mixing, which helps us better understand music and it's parts.

Advantages:

• Straight forward, very easy to use
• Responsive jogwheels
• Stacked waveforms, so you can beat match easily by site
• Syncs with iTunes
• Analyses the key of each track (incorporates mixed in key software)
• You can record your sets
• You can set up to 8 cue points that are triggered by hot cue pads on the controller which makes mixing / mash ups / creative mixing possible

Disadvantages:

• Only works with compatible DJ controllers
• Need your computer / no inbuilt screens
• Serato does not have an offline mode, which means you cannot mix tracks without a controller plugged in