The Roland DJ-505
Released in 2016, the DJ-808 DJ Controller is ideally suited to on-the-fly remixing and sports a four-channel mixer, built-in TR drum sequencing, vocal processing, and deep Serato DJ integration. Now, Roland have announced two additions to the range: the DJ-505 and DJ-202.
Like the flagship model, the streamlined DJ-505 and compact DJ-202 are flexible instruments allowing DJ’ing, remixing and production. The DJ-505 is a two-channel, four-deck Serato DJ controller that comes with the complete Serato Tool Kit. Its portability and feature set are geared towards mobile applications, club DJing, live performance, and music production.
Two large, low-latency platters on the DJ-505 provide responsive, lag-free performance for turntable-style scratches, while eight pads with 13 modes offer dedicated controls for Serato DJ. Also included are built-in drum kits from Roland’s classic TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines; each kit contains eight sounds that can be played on the performance pads and triggered from the onboard TR-S sequencer. The sequencer has a dedicated TR-style interface, and TR drum sounds and Serato samples can be adjusted in real time using panel knobs. The DJ-505’s mixer is Serato DVS Upgrade Ready, and can be used standalone with multi-players or turntables connected to the line and phono inputs.
The Roland DJ-202.
The DJ-202 is even more portable with a lightweight design and easy-grab handles suiting it for house parties, clubs, beat battles, and more, say Roland. Like the DJ-505, the DJ-202 also includes two low-latency platters, a built-in drum machine with TR-808 and TR-909 sounds, and eight dedicated pads. A 16-step sequencer accessible via the performance pads controls Serato DJ Intro’s sampler for on-the-fly beat creation.
Both the DJ-505 and DJ-202 function as USB audio/MIDI interfaces with 24-bit/48 kHz fidelity and high-resolution digital-to-analogue converters. Each model also includes a MIDI output for controlling and syncing external devices, and a 1/4-inch mic input with gate, hi-pass, reverb, and echo FX.
