CDJ-500
Encyclopedia
The CDJ-500 was the first model, released by Pioneer Electronics in the mid-1990's, of their popular CDJ
range of CD players.
The first player to have a Jog Dial, a quick-response dial making frame-by-frame search and cue point selection easy and accurate while providing a closer-to-vinyl turntable feel. Flat-top design made the controls easy to use, for DJs used to working with vinyl turntables. Quick start made the music play instantly, so you had accuracy for cueing. Safety guards around the power and eject buttons prevented accidental music cut-off, and the reader inside the CD tray had a protective slide which operated automatically when the CD door opened. Fader start play and back cue play, meant that when used in conjunction with the DJM-series of mixers you can start the music with a channel fader or cross fader, as well as use them to return to the cue point.
It had a loop function, as well as loop-out adjust, and other facilities associated with looping samples from the track being played. The pitch control was +/- 10% only, and Master Tempo (World's first) allowed the pitch to be locked despite tempo changes being made.
All models of the 500 had top-opening CD loading, which is opposite to all the later ranges of CDJs (starting with CDJ-100S
in 1998) which have since had front slot-loading of discs.
The CDJ-500S (launched 1997) was a much smaller version of the CD player --hence the letter "S" in its title - and is technically a step forward from the Mark 2 player, CDJ-500II(LTD). Pioneer learned in the field and improved the CDJ-500S on overall reliability, it was the world's first DJ CD player with an oil damped shock absorption system to reduce skipping.
The main reason for the size difference was to get it into clubs, where space was at a premium around the DJ booth area, the size of the S-type player was ideal for smaller location in booths. This was made possible by being the first machine in the CDJ range that had a ready-made installation bracket available for it to be placed above the vinyl turntables
.
Further to this, two machines were rack-mountable when placed side-by-side, provided the rack was to the standard 19" studio rack. Again, good for storage in places that had no extra flat table space.
CDJ
CDJ is a term used to describe a line of CD players from Pioneer Electronics that allow analogue control of music from CDs, usually using an emulated vinyl control surface...
range of CD players.
The first player to have a Jog Dial, a quick-response dial making frame-by-frame search and cue point selection easy and accurate while providing a closer-to-vinyl turntable feel. Flat-top design made the controls easy to use, for DJs used to working with vinyl turntables. Quick start made the music play instantly, so you had accuracy for cueing. Safety guards around the power and eject buttons prevented accidental music cut-off, and the reader inside the CD tray had a protective slide which operated automatically when the CD door opened. Fader start play and back cue play, meant that when used in conjunction with the DJM-series of mixers you can start the music with a channel fader or cross fader, as well as use them to return to the cue point.
It had a loop function, as well as loop-out adjust, and other facilities associated with looping samples from the track being played. The pitch control was +/- 10% only, and Master Tempo (World's first) allowed the pitch to be locked despite tempo changes being made.
All models of the 500 had top-opening CD loading, which is opposite to all the later ranges of CDJs (starting with CDJ-100S
CDJ-100S
The CDJ-100S is the cheapest and most basic model in the CDJ range of CD players. It was released by Pioneer in October 1998. The CDJ-100S is a basic CD player with a pitch controller and three sound effect options. It has been superseded by the Pioneer CDJ-200 since then...
in 1998) which have since had front slot-loading of discs.
CDJ-500II
The CDJ-500II, version Mark 2 of the CDJ-500 (as well as a very similar model, the CDJ-500II LIMITED), was similar in size to the first version CDJ-500. The CDJ-500II offered only a few options extra : slightly faster performance, Loop Out adjustable and the maximum loop length was increased to 10 minutes. The CDJ-500II limited was even further improved and offered a world first: Loop Out point could now be set in tracks following the track where the Loop In point was set.CDJ-500S
(NB: This was known as the CDJ-700S in the US)The CDJ-500S (launched 1997) was a much smaller version of the CD player --hence the letter "S" in its title - and is technically a step forward from the Mark 2 player, CDJ-500II(LTD). Pioneer learned in the field and improved the CDJ-500S on overall reliability, it was the world's first DJ CD player with an oil damped shock absorption system to reduce skipping.
The main reason for the size difference was to get it into clubs, where space was at a premium around the DJ booth area, the size of the S-type player was ideal for smaller location in booths. This was made possible by being the first machine in the CDJ range that had a ready-made installation bracket available for it to be placed above the vinyl turntables
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
.
Further to this, two machines were rack-mountable when placed side-by-side, provided the rack was to the standard 19" studio rack. Again, good for storage in places that had no extra flat table space.