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Using the SC2900s with Engine
We covered Engine in the SC3900 review too, and the workflow is identical. As mentioned earlier, this is quite a big deal for digital DJing as it’s a whole new software platform that it would be safe to bet Denon has bigger plans for. We hope to spend some time looking more closely at it in the future, but for now let’s sum up what it can do.
Engine is library management software in the same way Pioneer’s Rekordbox is, although Denon claims much faster performance, due to the way the workload is shared out by the SC hardware and the computer. Thus you can use it to beatgrid, add cues and so on.
Engine is Denon's take on Pioneer's Rekordbox, but with a few surprises of its own.
To set this workflow up, you link the players (up to four can be linked together with the use of a standard router, although if you’re only using two, you can link them directly with one cable and eschew the router entirely), and plug in your laptop running Engine.
Now, you can play music from your laptop directly on the players, using the built-in controls to select a tune and load to each player (each tune transfers in a few seconds straight form the PC, so you actually have a copy of the tune on the player. Denon reckons this a more solid workflow than playing “from” the PC, Traktor style; I agree).
You get rudimentary waveform display on the player too, this way; something you don’t get with Traktor at all.
Another workflow, which presumes the use of a router, is to use your iPad as basically a superb control screen. In this instance, your music is not transferred from your iPad’s library to the player; it is supplied by you on a USB or HDD (remember, the link means you can use only one USB or HDD for up to four players). In this respect, it’s closer to Rekordbox.
The iPad doesn’t actually need to be plugged “in” to anything, as this all occurs over the wireless network…
However, now, the iPad provides you with touchscreen control over your library, and the ability to easily load a chosen tune to a selected player. The iPad doesn’t actually need to be plugged “in” to anything, as this all occurs over the wireless network provided by your router.
I watched this demoed to me by an experience DJ who’s used it extensively, Paul Dakeyne, and he enthused as to how it brought the best of digital (basically, superlative library management and instant search) to an analogue platform, with all the familiar and (to his mind) superior control and sound quality that such a platform guarantees.
Whether you buy that “the old way offers better sound quality and/or control over music” argument is another thing entirely, but the point is, here you have a choice.
Some advanced features of the player
So it’s a DJ media player with some pretty tight software workflows. But it has some nice non-software related features that it’s worth pointing out too:
Slip mode
Renamed from “dump” mode on the SC3900, “slip” mode lets the track play on, unheard, underneath any manipulations you make to it. When you’re done, it resumes as if you’d done nothing.
This is great if you’re mixing with two nicely beatsynced tunes, as you can scratch (for instance) and then everything is as it would have ben when you’ve finished largin’ it up.
The feature works whether you press “reverse” (which means it effectively becomes similar to the “censor” buttons found on some controllers), or loop (so the “loop roll” beloved of trance guys is possible), or even just when you stop the tune with your fingers by touching the platter.
Start time and stop time
Familiar to some software DJs, these two knobs determines how quickly the player starts up or stops when you hit play/pause – perfect for the cliched “deck stopping” effect. It’s good to see that there is a control for each; some systems give you one for both, which is crazy as they’ve totally different uses.
(For instance, I like a little but of delay when I stop a tune before it draws to a halt, but I prefer instant start.)
The Denon DJ SC2900's platter torque control (top right). Pic: Mike Corlett @ Denon DJ Forums
Torque adjust
This is on the edge of the platter, and gives you five possible settings. It basically gives you control over how quickly the platter stops spinning when you spin it and let go (note this is different to “stop time”, which assumes the platter is already still).
This is good again for vinyl emulation and for adjusting the feel of the player to how heavy-handedly you personally happen to DJ; when it’s set to heavy, the platter stops rotating after a second or so even if you spin it really fast, but on “light”, you can get five seconds’-worth of spin out of it easily enough.
BPM sync
A sync button on a hardware media player? Yup. If you’re using Engine, the BPM sync button allows you to have controller-style syncing.
W’ere not going to get into the sync-or-not-sync debate here, but again, the point is you’ve got a choice.
Conclusion
The SC2900 is a competent, advanced and in several areas, innovative DJ CD player, at a keen price when compared to the competition.
It borrows features from both the Pioneer CDJ-900 and the CDJ-2000, and while its screen is not as good as the CDJ-2000′s, it has plenty of that player’s other functions, so is well worth a comparison to see if the extra features are worth the extra money to you.
Of course, when comparing (and we have to compare, such is Pioneer’s dominance of the market), you have to ask yourself whether you are prepared to go with a different brand to the norm, and that depends on your own needs.
The SC2900 is a competent, advanced and in several areas, innovative DJ CD player, at a keen price when compared to the competition.
If you’re buying these exclusively for DJing at home, it really doesn’t matter. But if you’re buying so you can prepare and practise USB sets using Rekordbox and play on a Pioneer set-up in clubs, plainly it does matter and you’re probably going to want Pioneers at home too.
But what if you’re happy to use what’s in front of you when you get to a club gig, but want something exciting and innovative for your own personal use? Or you have a club residency where they’ve decided to fit Denon gear? Or you’re a touring DJ where you get to choose the gear that travels with you? Well then, the Denons could be an excellent choice.
They work very well with Traktor, even though the jog performance is only 9/10 not 10/10; Engine is innovative and will get more so as the company develops it further; and you’re getting more for your money than with the competition.
Finally, a lot of our readers will wonder why they may consider such players rather than just software-only controllers at all, so I want to end by looking at that point.
There are two schools of thought on digital DJing. One says “anything hardware can do, software can do better”. This is the realm of button boxes, powerful laptops, and radically different workflows (think controllerism, remix decks and so on). Here’s where unique equipment set-ups, self-made mappings, DJ/production hybrid workflows and so on reside. It’s Ableton, Traktor remix decks, live mashups and the like. And it’s all great fun.
The Engine software app running on an iPad: It looks sophisticated, but actually for DJs who want the best of the old with the advantages of the new, this is a stripped down version of full-on digital which may have a lot of appeal.
But then there’s the other school of thought: DJing ain’t broke, thanks, and it doesn’t need fixing by radically altering what it is. For these guys, DJing is the playing of recorded music, with a bit of flair, to people who want to dance to it. You can do that on record decks, CD players, or yes, software, but you don’t need to reinvent the (jog) wheel to do so.
However, these guys will tend to agree that it would be nice to have the biggest advantage of digital: Instant access to your music library.
With Engine, Denon has provided a new and arguably the industry’s most advanced take on that yet. The way Engine works with the hardware (you plug your laptop in, but any old laptop will do, because the hardware “loads” the tracks from your computer before playing) means you get true dedicated hardware control over your music, but the advantages of having all of that music there with you without preparing USBs.
For many DJs, this workflow may well prove to be just what they’ve been looking for. It’s in this area that personally I find the SC2900s (and the SC3900s) to be most exciting. If Denon is to make inroads into Pioneer’s dominance of the DJ booth, I suspect it will be Engine that will drive that push.
Video
Summary
We like:
- Professional build quality
- A lot of features for your money
- Versatile – Easily use with USB or software
- Engine software plus iPad control offers a new digital workflow
We don’t like:
- Screen is disappointing
- Traktor jog mapping not quite perfect
Star ratings:
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Build quality: |
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OVERALL: |
Product details:
Size & weight: 12.8 x 14.4 x 4.8″ (326 x 366 x 123mm), 9.7lb (4.4kg)
Price: £799 / €991
Buy from: Buy from: Juno (UK), Juno (rest of Europe & world)
What do you think?
A worthy competitor for Pioneer at last? What do you think of the concept of Engine software? Would you consider having such a set-up at home as a “bridge” between controller DJing and pro club DJing? Please share your thoughts on the SC2900 in the comments.
Now go to:
Review & Video: Denon DJ SC3900 Digital Turntable Controller & Media Player
Are CDJs Better Than Midi Controllers?
5 Modern Skills Every New DJ Should Have
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Pages: 1 2
Tags: cross media players, denon, denon dj, dj controllers, dj deck controllers, media player, pro dj controllers, pro dj decks, SC2900
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Maybe I’m just skeptical, but I don’t really see how Engine is going to help Denon in a club environment at all. For a home setup, maybe, but in a club, it doesn’t do anything that Rekordbox hasn’t been doing since it’s inception. Most of it’s “advanced” features seem more geared to gimmicky home setups, and don’t really seem club viable. I can see Engine helping to put them on reasonably level ground, but it’s hardly leading a charge on the booths.
Combined with the players being essentially CDJ-850′s with a single flash drive, and costing more than refurb 900′s, Denon really has to bank hard on price to gain a foothold.
[ link ]I have to agree on the price issue, but Pioneer really needs a push to sort out their TERRIBLE Rekordbox software.
The Denon method of pre-loading the entire track makes it probably 100% stable… where recordbox is far to un-reliable to be used in a club, and it is a terrible and unfriendly piece of software.
Record box is “OK” if you are preparing a playlist on USB stick.. but as for club use ‘Engine’ looks like a vast improvement.
[ link ]Is it just me who finds this comparison with ‘refurbished’ 900′s absolutely stupid?
The 900′s were only released 2-3 years ago, so why would their even be a market for such a thing and does this mean said 900′s would need to be ‘refurbished’ again in another couple of years? (in which time they will probably be discontinued and unable to find parts for any way)
I had my denon dns 5000′s for 6-7 years and pounded them pretty much daily as both my home and mobile set up, they went everywhere in NZ and tolerated some pretty dire environments including outdoor festivals. Apart from the letters on the rubber buttons fading I never had a problem with them and only sold them to upgrade to a multi media type player.
This is a case where Denon have a product that’s layout and work flow is so similar to pioneers that anybody needn’t worry about or pay for the ‘industry standard’. Leaving them only needing to assess the quality and value of both brands and making up their own minds.
‘Refurbished 900′s’ Haha that’s just silly!
[ link ]Hi! I have a guestion not so much about this player but, if I would buy these players (or any players really) can I play track from them without using midi mode and then use software (traktor) for mixing? So that the signal would be digital analog (on the player) first and then digital (on the software, that is controlled with a midi controller)?
[ link ]Yes, if you read this and the 3900 review, you’ll get a gst of how it all fits together.
[ link ]I disagree with sishdisma. Denon finaly came up with an alternative to the cdj 900 and the cdj 2000 with actually more features on their player. The workflow on engine – especially with an ipad – is superb! This makes up completely for the fact that the players don’t have a full colour screen.
In my opinion the players have the same feel as the cdj series. So instead of spending my money on overpriced players I will use these and will be perfectly able to perform on the cdj series when i am playing in the club.
To make a long story short. WAY TO GO DENON!
[ link ]I have been a Denon fan since forever and although CDJ’s are ok and knowing them inside out is a must if you ever play on house systems, I can’t help but think that the general build quality of Denon seems a tad better than that of Pioneer. Again, I am biased though
.
I do think that you need to compare these babies to 2000′s and then the financial proposition is suddenly pretty good. At only 55% (!!!) of the cost of a 2000 and even only 75% of the cost of a 900 I’d say you would be hard-pressed to justify the extra money. Brand bonus only goes so far in my humble opinion.
Add to that the fact that (as another reader commented earlier) Rekordbox is a total an utter piece of disaster software (I have been using it rather intensively recently for the mobile discotheque I sometimes work for and I have gone noticeably more grey since) and Engine seems better featured and way more user friendly and intuitive by comparison
So yeah, WAY TO GO DENON!
[ link ]I just bought a pair of these, to add to my technics 1210 setup. Using them in combination with Engine on the PC is really liberating – loading tunes in over the network works instantly and well.
The last CD deck I had was a long time ago, and not a great experience. It will be a long time before my entire vinyl collection is ripped, but I’m really enjoying using these alongside in an analogue/digital setup!
[ link ]These were announced shortly after I purchased my CDJ-850K’s, and would have certainly been a contender for me if available at the time.
I’d also consider one as a third backup player, but since I am so used to the Rekordbox work-flow, and don’t want two music management applications, my third player will likely be another Pioneer Rekordbox-compatible unit.
What would be really great is a standard open format for music management applications – export from Rekordbox, and play on a Denon, and vice versa.
[ link ]Thanks for the detailed review, Phil. As far as whether you would find one of these in a club:
For many years, before CDJ’s were standard gear in clubs, I would bring my CDJs and plug them in. I was expert at the transition routine from vinyl to CDJs. Of course the same type of acrobatics were repeated when we started showing up with our laptop and controller.
My point is that I don’t think it would be an insurmountable problem to show up to a gig with something like a Denon 2900 and plug it in. So my recommendation would be that if you really want to use something unique like this and master it, you should be able to take those skills right to the gig along with your controller.
[ link ]Thanks for the detailed review of this Phil. Looks to me like the best CD deck Denon have ever produced for “mixing” DJ’s and could well give them a bigger slice of Pioneer’s pie.
The only area it doesn’t quite compete in yet Traktor integration. As Denon were early pioneers of HID integration with Traktor I’m a little surprised not to see it there for these decks.
I wonder if its a strategic move to woo DJ’s away from Traktor. As a long time Traktor user, I have to admit it has me wondering whether I would actually still need Traktor with a pair of these and Engine. I really like the idea of having the advantages of big screen library management (laptop or ipad) but all the “real time” info when you are playing being there on the control surface (the decks).
There are some times when I want a really minimal setup though (e.g. laptop + X1 controller) so I’m not sure I’m quite ready to ditch Traktor just yet. If Denon can add advanced HID support I’d be sorely tempted by these. Even adding Traktor support to drive the LED ring around the platter would be a great improvement… at the moment when using them for midi control there doesn’t seem to be anything to indicate which deck is currently playing.
[ link ]If you prepare your tracks ahead of time, do you still have to use a laptop when you use the Link mode?
[ link ]Good review, thanks! I have a pair of these an I found that using USB without engine preparation takes some time to analyze the songs. How is this with pioneer?
I was told in the dj-stuff shop that they are working on HID integration…. Can anyone confirm?
[ link ]Ahhhh theres the Denon haters, I knew they’d be here somewhere!! OK in the “real” world of less than superich pubs and clubs there lives a whole sea of CDJ1000s MK1,2 & 3s… they all have (in my experience) 2 things in common. 1) Theres bits fallen off them – knobs – faders – USB flaps 2) They are overly complicated and not intuitive. Ok so I came from a world where you had a start button, summats to speed it up and a box of records virtually straight into Digital so I didnt have the love affair with Pioneer that I had with Technics. Mebbe thats why the “industry standard” seems overly complicated to me. BUT that doesnt account for the build quality. I’m not on about your cherished/covered home rig either. Pioneer stuff is put into venues, often, by owners not DJs. They do what the salesman says. Or take the word of the bloke with the CDJs at home who swears he can book them top bands. In my humble experience Denon stuff stands up to the stress of the road a lot more. How do you compare a Merc to a Lexus? (hehe… wheres the Brit entry?) I downloaded Engine just to check it out, its free from the DenonDJ site. Very nice. As for the SC2700, its a beautiful piece of design… Take another look… As long as laptops/ipads CAN crash there’ll be a need for a CD slot (or USB doh!) I love the blue lights… I think it looks prettier than its more expensive sibling… I wonder if my kindney will fetch enough for 2 of them and an ipad?… I wonder if Phil will ban me for being a gobshite?…
[ link ]I just got a pair of these this morning and wondered?…the jog wheels,are they supposed to be noisey?
[ link ]Mine whir and squeak a bit and have a bit of play in them,is this right?
Sorry if i sound an idiot but,I didnt expect them too.
Any info would be great
Had a quick go on them and,they’re not too bad.I went back a step to these as I’ve had a few controllers over the last year but the experience left me empty.I needed to reignite the extinguished flame left by controllers and get back to seperates.
I can say I’ve tried but,you can’t beat the feeling of rooting through the CD and vinyl collection and finding that tune you haven’t heard in ages…I’ve missed that…getting it back though.
Great YouTube videos from you guys and,they’ve really helped with my decision to buy these.
Many thanks,
Steve
Good luck with your new direction! Yes they’re meant to be that way.
[ link ]Thanks Phil,I thought I was being a tad on the stupid side:)
[ link ]Both units won’t link up to my smaller portable hard drive yet,Ive copied some of the mp3′s onto an sd card and they work fine in a USB card reader.
No doubt I’m doing something wrong as I’ve been a typical bloke and…NOT read the instructions:)
I’m going to get a router and cables and try engine as,I’ve not got my CDs out of storage yet so…I’m stuck with mp3′s for a bit yet.
I’d just like to say also…
I got a numark m4 mixer in the package and…it’s not too bad.If it had an f/x loop,I probably wouldn’t have to upgrade…that’s after my bank account is out the coma it’s going to be in until the summer lol.
No doubt I’ll be checking out YouTube and here for sound advice(pardon the pun)
Keep up the sterling work guys
Right…I’ve got to add this to inform you of my findings on the sc2900.
[ link ]Three weeks on and I’ve got major concerns…the platters.
Everyone bangs on about them but,I’m experiencing big problems.I’ve posted a YouTube video today showing the issue so,if you search for denon sc2900 platter/jog wheel problem…it should be there.
Whether on cd or mp3 I hold the platter in vinyl mode and…the music still plays frame by frame…like you’re repeatedly tapping the platter.
Also…I personally think the jog wheel should’ve been built better.I was expecting something that would resemble the platters on the dnmc 6000 but…I was very mistaken.
I had a reloop rmp3 alpha a few years back and the platter build quality was so much better…denon have not come up with the goods in my opinion.
I’m awaiting denon’s reply on the platter problems so,I’ll leave a comment on both their customer service and explanation.
I’ve not updated firmware as,I’ve had this problem since unboxing.
Not impressed and thought people should know.
If you’re in the market for a these…find somewhere that has a demo pair first…
I didnt…I went on reviews and YouTube
My own fault lol
Steve, I think thew first thing you should have done is to update the firmware maybe that bug is already solved, you are not likely to be the first that finds that problem after more than a year I guess.
I’m thinking of getting a pair too, I don’t see any decks with a more “value for money” currently so I’ll follow your experience with the 2900 quite close.
You are so right, before spending that quantity, one should go and do a demo somewhere to see if at least at first touch they appeal to you even if that’s not easy where I live.
About getting Pioneers being more convenient to be ready to play in clubs, if you can beatmatch you can beatmatch on everything, whatever brand there’s at the booth and you don’t even need to prepare anything at home just take a couple of USBs with you and you are ready to go, that’s the beauty of the old school style
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