Pioneer DJM-S11 Review

So I had a Reloop Elite for a couple of years and it was a very good mixer. I treated it well and it got the job done for the most part. When I had it I always wished Reloop had included paddle fx on the mixer similar to the S9 and Rane 70 or Rane 72. Triggering FX with paddles is a lot of fun and a very intuitive way to do it. With the Elite, using the buttons served the same purpose, but it didn’t feel the same as being able to flick the paddle up or down to activate an effect. Couple that with the fact that the Elite doesn’t really have a decent selection of hardware FX, and I felt the mixer was definitely lacking in the FX department. I got a new IT job that quite a bit more money, so to celebrate, I picked up a Pioneer DJM-S11. The agreement with my wife was that I would sell the Elite instead of keeping it as a backup and I’d be on my merry way with my S11. I’ve had the mixer for a couple of months now and I really enjoy using it. Everything from the incredible onboard hardware FX, the paddle triggers, and the touch screen that shows the waveforms is top tier. I’d have to say that the S11 is the best mixer on the market right now. There’s a reason why top DJs like Scratch Bastid and DJ Jazzy Jeff own it as well. When I had my Elite I put an Innofader PNP2 crossfader into it and at the time that was the best fader I’d ever scratched with. Well the Magvel Pro on the S11 is even better. It just feels so smooth and it cuts like a champ. After getting the S11 I half wished I had gotten the S9 when I was in the market for a mixer instead of the Elite. The S9 didn’t have independent pad modes though, and the S11 has that feature on it. The touchscreen on it is higher refresh rate than the screen on the Rane 72 and the waveforms looks amazing and are easy to read on it. I wish that the Serato feature where EQing the track changes the color of the waveform carried over to the S11 screen, but I can live without that working for now. Perhaps they can add that in a future firmware update. The S11 works with both Rekordbox DJ and Serato DJ software, but it’s definitely a Serato mixer at it’s core. Having features like Scratch Bank included as a mode on the mixer is really a godsend. I had an online friend of mine make me a sick Wutang clan skin for my S11 and I think that skin will remain on the mixer for the duration of it’s life. That’s how good it looks. Since getting it a couple of months ago, every morning has been like Christmas being able to wake up and turn it on. I try to get some scratch and mixing practice in before work, on breaks, and after work. I’m truly infatuated with my S11 and I would recommend it to any DJ who is looking for a top flight mixer with all the features you could want and endless creative possibilities.