Sharpening the tools with the PIONEER DJ DDJ-REV7

From clubs to home studios, large festivals to your friend’s living room, you’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard of Pioneer DJ gear. Pioneer’s flagship CDJ and DJM range is literally the industry standard, and most likely what you’re going to see if you step up to the booth at clubs or festivals the world over.

Given its ubiquitousness in the space, it makes a tonne of sense to get acquainted with the Pioneer DJ layout and workflow as consistently as possible, which is precisely where something like the new DDJ-REV7 comes into play.

Armed with effects on board, robust components and enough options to serve even the most discerning DJs, the DDJ-REV7 is a conglomerate of all the best pieces of Pioneer gear rolled into one unit, and given that it’s a professional quality controller in a reasonably small footprint makes it the absolute ultimate rehearsal tool for itinerant DJs the world over.

It’s both practical and intuitive, with all of the features rolled into it, and all easily accessible for pre-rehearsed transitions or improvisation on the fly.

Connecting the DDJ-REV7 to Serato DJ Pro allows you to get to grips with the unit itself. In addition to connecting to one of the two USB-B inputs, the DDJ-REV7 has RCA inputs, switchable between Line/Phono if you wanted to mix vinyl turntables with the added functionality of the DDJ-REV7’s effects and feel. There’s also audio BPM detection available in the inputs, to really integrate your vinyl collection into a new age.

The 7” jog wheels are specially designed to give the feel of 12” turntables, with a top plate and slip sheets, as well as adjustable torque settings so it’ll feel familiar no matter what you’re accustomed to. Once music is playing, the centre of the jog wheels have a 3.5” LCD to keep your eyes on the decks, as opposed to your computer. The jog wheels also feature a 33rpm or 45rpm depending on your preference, located right beside the CDJ-style Start/Stop button on each side of the unit.

Switch between the decks with the Magvel Fader Pro, a highly robust fader built to spec for scratch DJs. If you’re not up to the challenge of scratching manually just yet, the DDJ-REV7 has four rapid fire scratch samples available at your fingertips via either the Instant Scratch button or one of the four sample buttons. These four sample buttons can be manually loaded with other sounds if you wish!

Once you’ve got signal arriving at either side of the deck and you’re able to toggle between the turntables, the DDJ-REV7 really opens up a world of possibilities for a customised set every night. The Performance Pads section allows you to fire off samples as you see fit, each side having four Performance Pads and Hot Cue, Roll, Saved Loop and Sampler buttons as well. There’s a Master Volume and Booth level control, so you can dictate how much signal you’re sending to the club - if you’re not redlining, you’re not headlining.

The Beat FX effects offer 22 Beat FX, controllable by effects levers that can be pulled down for momentary effects, or up for locked effects while searching for a song, or to free up your hands for a more dramatic transition between songs.

While the DDJ-REV7 does a great job at giving the feel and vibe of a traditional turntable, it is at its heart a digital mixer, its centrepiece borrowing heavily from a professional DJM-S mixer, with controls like Smooth Echo and the aforementioned Beat FX Lock On/On from the S9 and S11 mixers. Standard effects like filters, reverb, echo, delay and modulation are available, while Duck Down, Fill Out and Helix Out are, pardon the pun, popular combinations of effects pioneered by Pioneer. The crossfader feel and fade is customisable, with Curve, Feeling Adjust and Reverse On/Off so your tactile fading can sound as you intend. Beside this, in addition to connecting via RCA or USB, there’s two mix inputs, one dedicated to XLR and another dedicated to ¼”, with an on/off/Talk-Over switch depending how you decide to use it. The mic has echo available, global high and low EQ for both inputs, while the Aux input also has its own

The DDJ-REV7 ties together a lot of what DJs across the board need to get the job done, and keep people dancing. There’s a tactile realness to a proper turntable, but the functionality of CDJ style mixers is hard to beat, and you’d be hard pressed to find a nightclub without a CDJ system ready to go. The Pioneer DDJ-REV7 combines these two, with digital and analogue inputs available depending on your preference, or heck, even your vibe night to night. Getting signal to the jog wheels is easy, and handy LCD screens keep your eyes on the decks rather than your laptop, with multiple view options available.

A Magvel Fader Pro helps you flip between the two decks, being one of the most robust faders on the market, ready for the rigours of scratching. There’s effects on board, handy levers for toggling them on and off, or locking them, and Performance Pads if need sounds at the ready to fire off.

The DDJ-REV7 combines a lot of what makes DJing fun into a portable, professional product that can be used for DJs of all creeds, and varying levels of experience with various preferences. The DDJREV7 really does do it all, and it does it as seamlessly as the Magvel Fader Pro at the heart of it all.

BY LEWIS NOKE EDWARDS