- rekordbox included
- Excellent jog wheel feel
- Works as MIDI controller
- USB and CD options
Pioneer is one of the few companies in the audio landscape to appeal to DJs from almost every walk of life. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional making bank, you can create some fantastic music with Pioneer.
The CDJ-350 is Pioneer’s impressive offering for beginners in search of an affordable way to start working with their tunes.
The Pioneer CDJ-350 is one of the cheapest products in Pioneer’s CDJ line. It comes with various fantastic functions. You can use the 350 to play CDs, but it also works out of the box with Serato DJ, Traktor, and Rekordbox DJ.
You can also play your music from a thumb drive if you prefer.
Features like BPM lock and automatic beat loop are sure to appeal to music makers who are exploring new opportunities with Pioneer hardware and software.
Plus, the overall design of this product is robust and sturdy – so you don’t feel like you’re playing with a toy.
Is the CDJ 350 any good? (in short)
Ultimately, the Pioneer CDJ-350 feels a lot like a set of training wheels for those interested in the Pioneer portfolio. It’s a great option for novice DJ who wants plenty of opportunities to learn and experiment as they go.
Key Features of the Pioneer CDJ 350
The Pioneer CDJ-350 isn’t an all-in-one music-making device for the most advanced experts on the market. Clearly, this product is there to appeal to beginners who aren’t ready to spend all of their savings on a pro DJ deck just yet.
However, the Pioneer CDJ-350 still inherits various components from more expensive CDJs that make it shine among its competitors.
The Pioneer CDJ-350 is the ideal springboard to more professional sets, with access to all of the amazing software you might want, including Rekordbox and Serato. Y
ou can play from USB devices or CDS or link your CDJ to your computer for plug-and-play control with your favorite software.
The Pioneer CDJ-350 comes with a jog wheel that’s a little smaller than the ones you would find on club-oriented players. However, overall, the build is solid and professional. Features of the 350 include:
- Access to Rekordbox music management software
- Support for other software options like Serato DJ and Traktor
- Excellent build with vibration resistance thanks to shock-proof memory
- USB playback for AAC, WAV, AIFF, and MP3 files
- Resume function for CDs removed and reloaded later
- BEAT display function to make looping and scratching fun
Pioneer CDJ-350 Set Up
The Pioneer CDJ-350 is an excellent entry-level turntable that works as both a CDJ and a digital music player. You can use this device as a MIDI controller with the program you like best too if you prefer, and there’s the option to transfer songs to a playlist with just one button.
Despite a compact size, the Pioneer CDJ-350 has a lot in common with larger products in the Pioneer lineup.
All the buttons are in familiar places, so you won’t feel uncomfortable if you’ve used Pioneer technology before. At the same time, the familiar design makes it easier to upgrade to a much more advanced solution at a later date.
The CDJ 350 buttons are brightly backlit, making them ideal for low-light solutions. Additionally, scrolling through your tracks from a USB is easy with an intuitive screen that includes all of the necessary details you’re interested in, such as tempo and BPM.
Aimed at beginners, the CDJ 350 has a few functions specifically suited to helping newer creators get their beats locked in.
There’s a playback BPM that displays to one decimal point, which should keep you in line with many top-end players. You also get access to other excellent performance features too.
Jog wheels
There’s only a single jog wheel available on the CDJ 350, and it’s a little smaller than the hardware you would find on the more expensive equipment from Pioneer.
Though the layout of the jog wheel and the surrounding buttons feels familiar, the wheel itself is a little lighter and slightly more fragile on the CDJ 350 compared to bigger devices.
The jog wheel is sturdy and well-balanced; however, it feels excellent for scratching – although there aren’t any position indicators available, which might be a problem for some.
The jog wheel can easily take data from your library in Rekordbox and move it onto a USB stick in a similar way to products from the rest of the CDJ range.
- rekordbox included
- Excellent jog wheel feel
- Works as MIDI controller
- USB and CD options
USB playback
The entry-level Pioneer CDJ-350 comes with support for CD player access and USB track control. This means that beginners can experiment with the best of both worlds, using traditional and digital audio.
Transfer songs to a playlist with a single button and browse through your files in no time with the user-friendly interface.
The Pioneer CDJ-350 can play MP3, WAV, AAC, and AIFF files on your USB device, and the bright screen is convenient and easy to use when you’re looking for content.
The beat-display offers information instantly with a BEAT display dedicated function to make looping and scratching easier.
Performance features
The Pioneer CDJ-350 comes with Rekordbox software packaged in as part of the experience. You can also add extra functionality with Rekordbox DJ if you don’t mind paying for the add-on package. Through your choice of software, it’s easy to access fantastic features like BPM lock.
With this functionality, you can match the tempo of your tracks by adjusting to the master BPM speed.
The playback BPM is extremely precise, so you can work on your accuracy if you’re a beginner or maintain your professional image if you’re more experienced.
There aren’t any particularly wide pitch range options available here, but the CDJ-350 is fine for day-to-day mixing. Viewing the beat grid display with Rekordbox grid data will simplify lining your downbeats in any mix.
The Beat Loop function means that you can trigger loops at just one touch of a button. The application matches the beat of your music and repeats it for four beats.
You can also access Loop Divide to play the sound at a different rhythm.
Design and Connections
The CDJ-350 is a small and lightweight device that’s easy to carry with you to virtually any environment. Weighing just over 2kg, it’s a convenient portable mixer or MIDI controller that you can use alongside your laptop.
However, the lightweight design doesn’t detract from the quality or performance of the mixer.
This is a sturdy device with a high-quality build. The jog dial is strong and sensitive – great for beginners, and the buttons feel like they can stand the test of time.
In terms of connections, the Pioneer CDJ-350 comes with an optical drive for your CDs and a USB input for your storage devices. There’s an RCA output and a mini-jack control output available too.
If you’re looking to upgrade your CDJ experience, Pioneer recommends linking the Pioneer CDJ-350 to the DJM-450 2-channel DJ mixer or the DJM-350 2-channel effects mixer.
The DJM-250MK2 is a good add-on if you’re looking for a 2-channel mixer with an independent channel filter to work alongside the CDJ-350.
Software
Perhaps the biggest selling point of the Pioneer CDJ-350 is that it comes with Rekordbox software already built in. You can also access Rekordbox DJ add-ons if you’re willing to pay a little extra for additional features.
The Pioneer CDJ-350 is one of the least expensive CDJ products from Pioneer to work with Rekordbox.
This software is popular for a lot of reasons. It’s great for assembling DJ playlists, and it also analyzes the beat position and BPM of songs in your library.
You can even break your various music collections down into genres, so building your set list is much faster when you’re on the go.
If you decide to eventually upgrade to a higher-end player like the CDJ-2000, your Rekordbox playlists will continue to work after the migration.
Pioneer CDJ-350 Pros and Cons
Compared to some of the other market-leading products available from Pioneer, the CDJ 350 is a pretty basic system with limited functionality.
However, it’s a fantastic entry point for beginners who experiment with their DJ career for the first time.
Although the future of music might be digital, the Pioneer CDJ-350 ensures that you can experience the best of both worlds by moving between CDs and digital audio at your own pace.
The most powerful systems offering this level of flexibility are often very expensive, so it’s nice to see something affordable for people who are just starting out.
Like its bigger and more expensive cousins in the CDJ line, the Pioneer CDJ-350 also manages to cram a lot of functionality and value into its compact design.
Access to Rekordbox software as standard and the potential to play with a wide selection of music files makes this device extremely impressive.
For beginners, it’ll be hard to find an entry-level CDJ with so much flexibility and versatility to offer. Just don’t expect to continue using this same product when you’re playing sell-out shows.
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Pioneer CDJ 350: The Verdict
The Pioneer CDJ-350 isn’t the biggest and most complex DJ tool on the market – but it was never intended to be. This convenient CDJ-350 is a beginner-friendly solution for DJs that want to experiment with both digital audio and CDs at the same time.
The option to experiment with a host of different audio files and traditional CDs means that you can explore your skills as a beginner.
As your knowledge of mixing increases, the CDJ-350 makes for a nice add-on option or a MIDI controller that you can use with compatible DJ software when you’re trying to pack light.
The turntable-style jog wheel is small, but it’s robust enough for some decent looping and scratching. What’s more, the BEAT display to visually show you the position you’re at in your song is a fantastic extra touch.
You can even set master BPM options for your music so that you can match any song to the beat with a touch of a button.
The opportunity to adjust the BPM of every song independently means that you have a lot of creative set-list options to work with too. The tech even gives DJs the freedom to add songs to their playlists in the middle of a performance. Your music syncs up with your Rekordbox DJ management software in no time.
Although this controller may feel a little lacking in some places to experts, it’s bound to make aspiring DJs very happy.
The feature set is very generous for a beginner CDJ, and the price tag isn’t too bad either, with the option to upgrade and access new add-ons when the time is right.
- rekordbox included
- Excellent jog wheel feel
- Works as MIDI controller
- USB and CD options
