A lot of what made the Pro-DJ2 great has stayed -- 10 assignable flash start buttons for quick jumps to cue points, the "Q-Start" feature, which uses the crossfader of a compatible mixer as a cue trigger between two CD players -- but the new features are what'll make you reach for your wallet. The DCD-Pro500 will store up to six 2.6 second samples for each player, whether or not the CD is in the tray, and will remember up to 40 cue points per CD -- all of which can be triggered in real time without sound interruption.
Not only does this make for an array of live remixing stunts, it allows you to loop the end of a particular track, eject the CD, put it into the neighboring deck and mix it into the same, or even a different, track on the same CD. You can also punch in the time you want to locate on a particular track and you'll jump straight to, say, 7:35 of that eternal Orb track instead of wearing out the jog wheel (not to mention your patience). Color LED-indicated pitch controls will toggle between ranges of +/- eight percent, +/- 12 percent and an unprecedented +/- 16 percent so you maintain accuracy in short-range adjustments while being able to flip that hp-top beat into jungle aerobatics. A tapping BPM meter has been thrown in for good measure, not that you'll ever use it.
One of the simplest yet most effective additions to the American DJ feature set is the back masking effect you get when you throw the jog wheel in reverse. Instead of sounding like digital flutter like most "scratch pads" for CD players, this is a true real-time rewind (as if you had reversed direction on a turn-table). So those of you, like me, who rely on backspinning for difficult segues won't have to avoid mixing with Cds anymore.
Old features have been improved upon as well. The DCD-Pro500 also builds on the old "flip-flop" function to make it alternately auto-play tracks from two CDs. Their jumbo, rubberized buttons are now backlit for typical DJ conditions. In the end, there's not a whole lot you can't do to Cds with the DCD-Pro500. For more information regarding any American DJ products, please call 1-800-333-0644, or visit their website at www.americandj.com.
