New Reloop Ready Is A Well-Featured Portable Controller For Serato

Phil Morse | Founder & Tutor
Read time: 2 mins
Last updated 19 November, 2021

Just because you want a small smartphone, it doesn’t necessarily mean you want fewer features, right? Well, the Reloop Ready is here for people who want a really small DJ controller, but who likewise don’t want to sacrifice functionality.

Coming in at the same size as the recently released Reloop Buddy (a controller for Algoriddim’s djay software), the Reloop Ready at first glance looks like “just a Serato version” of the Buddy – but actually, it’s a different beast entirely.

Reloop Ready
Looking at the controller from the top, it is clear that Reloop has made a couple of bold design decisions, the biggest of which is where the pitch faders are.

To start with, it has full sized RGB pads. Then there are the tempo faders in a strange position either side of the EQ controls (the latter to free up space for the former). It has access to both of Serato’s effects engines – something many full-sized controllers don’t do nowadays. And it has per-channel filters, EQs (two-band), gain controls, two loop encoders, keylock, a censor button, a vinyl mode button, and more.

Learn to use Serato with our popular course: Serato Made Easy

There are RCA outs for your speakers, an 1/8″ headphones out, and a cue mix knob as well as the headphones volume knob. Like the Reloop Buddy, all of these are around the side to save space.

Serato DJ Pro functions

The Reloop Ready comes with Serato DJ Lite, but if you upgrade to Pro (or more likely, already own Pro, as you’re buying this as a second controller), the list of functions it controls grows considerably.

Reloop Ready pads
Use it with Serato DJ Pro and you unlock all of Serato’s advanced pad modes – amazing for such a small device.

As well as the standard pad functions such as hot cues, auto and manual loops, and sampler, you get Pitch Play, Scratch Bank, loop roll and beatgridding. Each set of eight pads has a pair of parameter buttons too to help you make full use of some of those pad functions I just listed.

Pro users also get key sync and slip mode (the latter only if you also own Pitch ‘n Time).

Ready? Weird name for a controller…

Funnily enough, we just spent a week with DJ Angelo, who as well as being a world-beating DJ is also a Reloop ambassador. We were filming a forthcoming mixing course with him, and he actually turned up at our studios with one of these.

It turns out he had a hand in the design of it, and also the name. We asked him about both. He said:

“The Reloop Ready is a product I’ve dreamed about for years. It’s compact and portable but with all the professional features I need to prepare, create, and even perform my sets anytime, anywhere. Always ready!”

It fits perfectly on the keyboard of a laptop, giving you an instant tiny full DJ system.

Underlining its claim to be the ultimate portable DJ controller, the Reloop Ready sits nicely on a 13″ laptop, covering the keyboard, giving the user an easy way to prep sets and practise DJing anywhere they can open a laptop.

Read this next Reloop Ready Controller Review

The Reloop Ready is clearly a winner if you need a Serato controller in this form factor, being the first unit to truly pack in all these features in such a small space. It literally punches way above its weight.

• The Reloop Ready is available now at €279/$349/£249. More info from Reloop’s website.

Click here for your free DJ Gear and software guide