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Dropped $2,400 on a used CDJ setup off a guy in San Salvador, and now I'm torn on whether it was the best or worst call
So last year a buddy from the scene here in San Salvador hit me up saying he was moving to Guatemala and needed to unload his two CDJ-2000s and a DJM-900 mixer for $2,400 cash. I had been mixing on a cheap controller for a while and my sets were getting booked more, so I jumped on it without thinking too hard. For the first few months it felt like a real upgrade, the jog wheels and the feel of actual club gear made me play tighter and I stopped making dumb mistakes mid set. But then about 3 months in, one of the decks started having a glitchy cue button and I had to drop $180 to get it fixed at a shop near the Centro. On top of that, carrying this stuff to gigs is a whole thing, I had to buy a hard case and now my back hates me after every show. Some nights I honestly miss just plugging in my old controller and not worrying about a $2,400 piece of gear getting spilled on at a party. The sound and the muscle memory are real though, I can feel the difference when I play. So for the DJs here running club gear at home, was it worth it for you or do you wish you had stayed on a controller longer?
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umabailey10d ago
Get it. That gut punch of dropping real money and then having gear act up on you is the worst feeling. I run a pair of CDJs at home too and yeah, the feel is night and day compared to a controller, you play different when the gear pushes back at you. But the upkeep and the hauling will wear you down, that part never gets easier. The cue button fix is probably just the start, club gear from a friend always comes with a hidden bill somewhere. Only you can say if the tight sets are worth the sore back and the worry every time somebody sets a drink down. If the gigs keep paying and you keep playing better, it was the right call, if not, no shame in going back to something lighter.
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