Guide
Which DJ controller should a beginner buy?
Your first controller doesn't need to be expensive. It needs two decks with proper jog wheels and tempo faders, a headphone socket, and free software that runs on the computer you already have. Everything else can wait until you know how you like to play.
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What matters on a first controller
- Two decks, each with a jog wheel and a long tempo fader. You can't learn to beatmatch without them.
- A headphone socket, so you can cue the next track while the room hears the current one.
- A three-band EQ on each channel. Blending is mostly EQ.
- Free software that works with it, like rekordbox, Serato DJ Lite or djay.
Four decks, screens and dozens of effects are nice later. On day one they're more buttons to ignore.
Our pick: Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX4
Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX4
The one most beginners end up with, for good reason. Full-size jog wheels, long tempo faders, a headphone socket on the front, and it works with rekordbox and Serato DJ Lite for free. It's powered over USB, so there's one cable to your laptop. It's also the controller No Sync Club supports today, so every lesson and drill works on it.
Check the price on Amazon (ad)Smaller and cheaper: DDJ-FLX2
AlphaTheta DDJ-FLX2
A compact two-deck controller that fits in a backpack. The jog wheels are smaller than the FLX4's, but it keeps proper tempo faders and a 3.5mm headphone socket, and works with rekordbox, Serato DJ Lite and djay. Good if desk space or budget is tight. No Sync Club doesn't support it yet.
Check the price on Amazon (ad)If you want help with beatmatching: Hercules Inpulse 500
Hercules DJControl Inpulse 500
Its Beatmatch Guide lights tell you whether to speed a track up or slow it down, which is a useful set of stabilisers while your ears catch up. Comes with Hercules' DJUCED software and works with Serato DJ Lite. Turn the lights off once you can hear the drift yourself.
Check the price on Amazon (ad)If you don't want a laptop: Numark Mixstream Pro Go
Numark Mixstream Pro Go
A standalone unit with its own screen, speakers and battery, and it streams music over Wi-Fi. It costs several times more than the others, so it's for someone who knows they'll stick with it and hates the idea of a laptop on the table.
Check the price on Amazon (ad)Headphones
Any closed-back headphones with a cable will do to start. Avoid Bluetooth for cueing: the delay makes beatmatching by ear much harder.
Pioneer DJ HDJ-CUE1
Cheap, tough DJ headphones with cups that swivel, so you can listen with one ear on and one off. Get the wired version, not the BT.
Check the price on Amazon (ad)Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Studio headphones that DJs use too. More comfortable for long sessions, and good for listening to music when you're not mixing.
Check the price on Amazon (ad)Speakers
You can practise on headphones and your laptop speakers, but a pair of small speakers makes it feel like DJing. Plug them into the controller's master output, not your computer.
Pioneer DJ DM-40D
Small desktop speakers made for DJ controllers, with a DJ mode that adds punch to the kick. They connect to the FLX4's master output with an RCA cable.
Check the price on Amazon (ad)Already got one?
Then you don't need anything else to start. No Sync Club runs in your browser on a DDJ-FLX4 and teaches beatmatching, EQ blending and phrasing with feedback on what you actually play.
Try it on your own decks
Free to start. Plug in your controller and open the first lesson in Chrome or Edge.
Start the first lesson