In the early 1990s, while vinyl was king, Pioneer saw the rising dominance of CDs and sought to create a player that could "scratch" like a turntable.
: This model effectively "killed" the turntable in professional booths. Within a year, it became the standard in clubs worldwide because DJs could finally perform their signature techniques on digital media. pioneer cdj
: The first true CDJ. It was a top-loading behemoth with a small jog wheel that let DJs manipulate digital audio in real-time for the first time. In the early 1990s, while vinyl was king,
: Early adopters like Roger Sanchez and Carl Cox were mesmerized; seeing an engineer scratch an optical disc was described as "mind-blowing" and "alien". The Revolution: Vinyl Emulation (2001) : The first true CDJ
As MP3s replaced CDs, Pioneer pivoted again to ensure the hardware remained central to the booth. DJ Gear History: The First CDJ