Pioneer DDJ-WeGO review

The Pioneer DDJ-WeGO is a two-channel DJ MIDI controller with one stereo RCA output, a 6.3mm microphone input and 6.3mm and 3.5mm headphone sockets. It also has two 4.5in jog wheels, four hot-cue buttons and five effects buttons.

The DDJ-WeGO is Pioneer’s entry-level DJ controller, and its budget nature is evident in the DDJ-WeGO’s switchgear, faders and peak meters, which look and feel cheap. If it wasn’t for the Pioneer labels dotted around the DDJ-WeGO you’d assume it was a just another bargain-basement generic controller. To compensate for this, the DDJ-WeGO comes in a variety of colours, and you can even change the colour of the jog wheels to suit your mood.

Although the DDJ-WeGO only has two channel faders, it comes with a special DDJ-WeGO edition of VirtualDJ LE that lets you control two more decks and faders. It does this using software takeover, so you must move controls to match their onscreen locations before you can use them again. This is a good thing, because it stops you stripping all bass when you go from deck B to deck D, for example, or cutting sound because you’ve moved the fader for deck D and returned to deck B.

VirtualDJ LE is an obvious software choice for an entry-level controller, and the DDJ-WeGO edition uses a skin that apes the DDJ-WeGO’s physical controls brilliantly. Whether you’re looking at the DDJ-WeGO or your computer’s screen, you can easily see the state of the DDJ-WeGO’s controls.

MIXER SECTION
The DDJ-WeGO has two channel faders, a crossfader and a 3-band EQ strip on each channel. In between the channel faders is a 5-segment that appears to be present for cosmetic reasons only, as every segment is red and the sound distorts before you hit the top segment.

The faders may feel cheap in comparison to those on Pioneer’s more expensive products, but they’re fairly smooth. The crossfader is looser than the channel faders, but still has some resistance to it. The channel and crossfader areas feel cramped, making it more suited to smooth mixing than frantic scratching and beatjuggling.

Surprisingly, despite appearances, there’s plenty of space between the EQ pots, which means you can twist adjacent pots without clashing your digits too much. The 3-band EQ provides full kill on each band, which means you hear nothing at all through a channel when all three pots are turned fully left.

Sadly, the DDJ-WeGO’s doesn’t have gain controls, and they’re sorely missed. This may be a controller for those new to DJing, but we think gain controls are an important part of any all-in-one controller and should be present on the DDJ-WeGO.

DECKS
The DDJ-WeGO’s shiny 4.5in jog wheels look and feel fantastic. They have just the right amount of resistance, being loose enough to scratch and perform spinbacks but stiff enough to pitch bend accurately.

This is an entry-level controller, but you can perform some basic scratching techniques. This makes the DDJ-WeGO a decent controller if you want to learn how to scratch without spending a fortune, but be aware that the cramped crossfader area makes scratching uncomfortable.