Pioneer DDJ-WeGO2 review

As for effects, the DDJ-WeGO2 has three FX buttons, and two Control buttons labelled A and B. The buttons are used to activate an effect and the jog wheel is then used to control an aspect of that effect, such as the timing of the Echo effect. When the DDJ-WeGO2 is used with Djay 2, Control B is mapped to a filter, and moving the jog wheel lets you sweep from low to high pass filtration. This effect is great for quickly taking a track out of a mix when the incoming track reaches its first breakdown.

The Jog wheels are pretty good for entry-level jogs, and felt loose enough to scratch and wind through tracks, but not so loose that they were uncontrollable. The DDJ-WeGO2’s crossfader is also looser than we expected, and when used together you can pull off some basic cuts and scratches. We were concerned about latency, the period of time taken for your hand to move the jog wheel and for the iPad to play the sound, to be too high, but that isn’t the case.

The DDJ-WeGO2’s sound quality isn’t too bad, either. We’ve heard better, and the DDJ-WeGO2’s sound quality predictably isn’t as good as that of Pioneer’s flagship products, but we have no real complaints for a controller at this price.

The DDJ-WeGO2 is designed to be portable, and at that it excels, but for that reason the DDJ-WeGO2’s control surfaces feel cramped. We sometimes hit the hot-cue buttons when using the crossfader, for example, with disastrous results for our mix. We’d also accidentally move the jog wheel when moving the channel faders or twisting the bass pots. With the DDJ-WeGO2 it’s important to exercise care when mixing, but that can be difficult when your hands are moving quickly in the heat of a mix.

Overall, the DDJ-WeGO2 is a good entry-level controller that’s ideal for those new to DJing who want to step up from their iPad’s touchscreen and use physical controls. The DDJ-WeGO2 works brilliantly with Djay 2, and it’s important to remember that it also works with your computer. However, at £299 it is expensive, and will be even more expensive if you need to buy the extras needed to make it work with a 30-pin iPad. You’ll also need to buy Djay 2 separately, as the DDJ-WeGO2 only comes with Virtual DJ LE.

A notable alternative to the DDJ-WeGO2 is the excellent Numark iDJ Pro (£329, www.decks.co.uk), but that only works with 30-pin iPads. If you want a controller for your iPad that you can take anywhere, you should check out the Pioneer DDJ-WeGO2.