I Want My CDJ!

Sydney's DJ Goodwill has been around longer than his beloved Pioneer CDJs. He was also mixing vinyl before he could walk - well, that's not true but I have seen him legless!

The man, who has mixed more Ministry Of Sound compilations than my mum has mixed cakes, has taken his DJing and music production to the world. He has played in nearly every club in the country and has a following that guarantees a full-house. He has also supported people like Erick Morillo, Roger Sanchez, Groove Armada, Darren Emerson, Jamiroquai, Tim Deluxe, Sasha, Adam Freeland, Crazy Penis, Mylo, Tiefschwarz, Fatboy Slim, Underworld & more.

But we're not here to talk about how good Goodwill is but how much he loves the brand new Pioneer CDJ 2000, which is causing a massive buzz before it's worldwide release early next month.

I thought we could do a John Lennon/Yoko Ono-style interview in bed, 60's-style. He happily agreed so I jumped in with some popcorn and an extra pillow (I can't do just one pillow!).

Firstly, how long have you been playing on CDJs?

I've been playing on them since Roger Sanchez brought the very first Pioneer 500s to Home Nightclub. When he was looping them, I couldn't work out what the hell was going on. I've been using them ever since.

Why do you think the Pioneer has become the standard CD player for DJs?

They have just nailed it so hard, it's crazy. It just works perfectly.

Australia really was one of the first to embrace the CDJ and make it ‘okay’ for DJs to use them? Why do you think that was?

Firstly, vinyl was more expensive here than anywhere else and the wages for DJs aren't as good as Europe so a move away from vinyl was pretty invevitable. Also, we don't really have the train-spotting culture of the UK so there wasn't really a cringe-factor associated with it. Also Australia adopts technology faster than anywhere else.

 

Now onto the 2000 - there are lots of new features with the CDJ 2000 that will play into the strengths of a range of different DJing styles. For you, is their one feature above the rest that gets you particularly excited?

Obviously never having to burn a CD again will be amazing!

Another great feature?

The 'needle search' function. It allows you to search through the waveform for the bit you want to play

When you first picked up the CDJ 2000, how long did it take to feel really familiar? Was it a smooth transition from the CDJ 1000 MK3s?

Its pretty much exactly the same which is great. But there are new features that become obvious when you play around with it.

A lot of work has gone into make the CDJ 2000 compatible with digital audio formats. How do you think this will help DJs to have more confidence in leaving the CD wallet/record bag at home in favour of a flash-drive or external hard-drives?

I think I will still always play WAV files no matter what but if you were in a hurry and were promo-ed an AAC, it's great to know you could just put it on a USB stick and take it to the club!

The quantize loop features the ability to choose and replicate your music across four decks and makes it easier than ever to beat-juggle and remix on the fly. What has your experience been with using the quantize features for looping?

I haven't used that feature yet.

What other software do you see yourself using more frequently thanks to the USB sound card and MIDI control with the Pioneer CDJ 2000?

I already sort all my acappellas by key thanks to 'Mixed in Key' so this is going to be so easy now. I usually only take out a few CDs of DJ tools to a gig but now I can take hundreds of acappellas sorted into files. Its awesome.

Overall, what’s the rating out of 10? Are the improvements worth the wait?

Its definitely worth a 10/10

How long will it take the clubs to put these babies in, do you think?
 
That's a big question. Luckily a lot of the bigger clubs interstate I work at will get them straight away but it will be a while before they are standard everywhere. Let's all be like spoilt kids and refuse to work in a club again until they are EVERYWHERE!

Thanks Will. Night night.

Mark.