Setup
Licensing & software
This is a Serato DJ Pro hardware unlocked device, meaning it unlocks Serato DJ Pro when connected.
Please ensure you have the latest version of Serato DJ Pro installed:
Drivers & firmware
The Pioneer DJ DDJ-SX3 requires manufacturer-specific drivers on both Mac & Windows operating
systems. Connect the device to your computer, open Serato DJ Pro - and when prompted, click “Install
Driver”. Alternatively, visit Pioneer’s website and download and install drivers separately here.
Overview
| # | DDJ-SX3 CONTROL | FUNCTION |
| 1 | MASTER OUT 1 | Balanced Master Output (XLR) to speakers |
| 2 | MASTER OUT 2 | RCA Master output |
| 3 | BOOTH OUT | Booth 1/4” output |
| 4 | MIC2 INPUT | XLR microphone input |
| 5 | CH4 LINE IN | Channel 4 RCA input |
| 6 | CH2 LINE/PHONO | Channel 2 RCA input |
| 7 | LINE/PHONO SWITCH | Toggle LINE/PHONO for CH2 |
| 8 | GROUNDING POST | Connect grounding wire |
| 9 | LINE/PHONO SWITCH | Toggle LINE/PHONO for CH1 |
| 10 | CH1 LINE/PHONO | Channel 1 RCA input |
| 11 | CH3 LINE | Channel 3 RCA input |
| 12 | MIC1 IN | XLR & 1/4” microphone input |
| 13 | KENSINGTON LOCK | Connect Kengsington Lock |
| 14 | USB A / B | Connect USB cable from PC to USB A / USB B |
| 15 | POWER SWITCH | Turn device on |
| 16 | DC IN | DC power input |
| 17 | HEADPHONE OUT | 1/8” & 1/4” headphone output |
| 18 | HEADPHONE LEVEL | Adjust headphone gain |
| 19 | HEADPHONE MIX | Adjust headphone mix between CUE and MASTER |
| 20 | CROSSFADER CURVE | Adjust crossfader curve |
| 21 | MIC3 IN | 1/4” microphone input |
| 22 | MIC LEVEL ADJUST | Adjust microphone input gain |
| 23 | MIC ON/OFF | Turn microphone on or of |
| # | DDJ-SX3 CONTROL | FUNCTION |
SHIFT |
| 1 | SOURCE/INPUT SELECT | Toggle between sources per deck | |
| 2 | LOAD | Load selected track to deck. Press twice to instant double | Sort library by KEY/BPM/ SONG/ARTIST (per channel) |
| 3 | USB SOURCE SELECT | Toggle between USB A or USB B | Ignore Tempo / Pitch adjustment |
| 4 | BACK | Toggle focus back between Library and Crate list | Toggle Serato DJ Pro view modes |
| 5 | BROWSE | Library Scroll. Press to toggle between track and crate selection | Fast library scroll. Press in for Library back |
| 6 | LOAD PREPARE | Loads the highlighted track to Prepare Crate | Toggle through Serato DJ Pro areas |
| 7 | MASTER LEVEL | Adjust Master output level | |
| 8 | COLOR FX | Hardware specified Pioneer Color FX. Refer to Pioneer use guide for more information | |
| 9 | CHANNEL GAIN/EQ/FILTER | Channel gain, EQ, and Filter controls | |
| 10 | FX SECTION | Control FX SEE DJ-FX FOR MORE INFORMATION |
|
| 11 | FX CHANNEL 1 ASSIGN | Press to assign FX section for channel 1 | Press to enable FX section assign for channel 3 |
| 12 | BEATS ENCODER | Turn to adjust FX Beats multiplier | Tap to manually approximate FX BPM, long press to change back to auto |
| 13 | FX CHANNEL 2 ASSIGN | Press to assign FX section for channel 2 | Press to assign FX section per channel 4 |
| 14 | KEY LOCK | Toggle Keylock | Cycle Temp Range |
| 15 | TEMPO SLIDER | Adjust temp/pitch | Ignore adjustment (if sync is enabled) |
| 16 | FLIP CONTROLS | SEE FLIP FOR MORE INFORMATION | |
| 17 | LOOP CONTROLS |
Engage autoloop, and 1/2x or 2x loop length |
Reloop/Exit loop, or adjust in & out point of manual loop |
| 18 | PARAMETER | Adjust Parameter 1 in Performance pad modes | Adjust Parameter 2 |
| 19 | PERFORMANCE PADS | SEE PERFORMANCE PADS FOR MORE INFORMATION | |
| 20 | CROSSFADER ASSIGN | Assign crossfader to channel A/THRU/B | |
| 21 | CHANNEL FADER | Adjust channel volume | Channel Fader start |
| 22 | CROSSFADER | Crossfade audio between channels A & B | |
| 23 | SAMPLER VOLUME | Adjust Sampler volume | |
| 24 | BOOTH MONITOR VOLUME | Adjust Booth output volume | |
| 25 | CHANNEL CUE | Press to cue channel for monitoring in headphones | |
| 26 | PLAY/PAUSE | Toggles Play/Pause on selected deck | Stutter play |
| 27 | CUE | Cues from temp cue point/Set temp cue point | Load previous track |
| 28 | SYNC | Turn Sync ON | Turn Sync OFF |
| 29 | QUANTIZE | Toggle Quantize ON/OFF | - |
| 30 | SHIFT | Used with other controls that have SHIFT modifier function | - |
| 31 | DECK SELECT |
Change Deck layer. Press both simultaneously for dual deck |
- |
| 32 | KEY SHIFT DOWN | Shift key down | Key sync |
| 33 | KEY SHIFT UP | Shift key down | Key reset |
| 34 | CENSOR | Censors playing track | Reverses playing track |
| 35 | NEEDLE SEARCH/TOUCH STRIP | Jump to track position | - |
| 36 | JOG WHEEL | Control waveform within Serato DJ in vinyl mode, or pitch bend | Fast waveform scroll in vinyl mode or aggressive pitch bend |
| 37 | SLIP | Toggle Slip mode on the selected deck | Toggle Vinyl mode |
Performance Pads
The Pioneer DJ DDJ-SX3 has 8 RGB performance pads that can be used across 11 different modes.
The modes consist of:
HOT CUE mode: Pads 1-8 trigger Serato DJ Pro Cue points, and if no Cue point is present on that slot/ pad, pressing that pad will set a Cue point. Holding SHIFT while pressing a pad will clear the Cue point from that pad/slot.
CUE LOOP mode: Hold SHIFT while pressing the HOT CUE mode button to enter CUE LOOP mode.
Pads 1-8 trigger Serato DJ Pro Cue points but also triggers an autoloop of variable sizes. If the selected slot has no Cue point present, one will be set. Holding SHIFT while pressing a pad will retrigger that Cue Loop. Use the Parameter left & right buttons to increase or decrease the loop size.
SAVED FLIP mode: Hold (or long press) the HOT CUE mode button for several seconds, to enter SAVED FLIP mode. In this mode pads 1-8 trigger Serato DJ Pro Cue points but also trigger an autoloop of variable sizes. If the selected slot has no Cue point present, one will be set. Holding SHIFT while pressing a pad will retrigger that Cue Loop. Use the Parameter left & right buttons to increase or decrease the loop size.
ROLL mode: In this mode holding pads 1-8 activates a loop roll of varying sizes. Release the pad to exit the Loop Roll. Use the ‘Shift Autoloop range’ controls in Serato DJ Pro to change the 8 selected loop size options.
SAVED LOOP mode: Hold (or long press) the ROLL mode button for several seconds to enter SAVED
LOOP mode. In this mode, pressing pads 1-8 in this mode will trigger saved loops or save the current
activate loop to the respective pad/slot. Holding SHIFT while pressing a pad will re-trigger (or reloop) the respective saved loop.
BEATGRID EDIT mode: Hold (or long press) the ROLL mode button for several seconds, to enter
BEATGRID EDIT mode. In this mode, pads 2 & 3 make small grid adjustments left & right, while pads 1 & 4 make larger grid adjustments left & right. Pads 6 & 7 allow you to slip the beatgrid by small increments left & right, while pads 5 & 8 slip the beatgrid by larger increments, to the left & right. Use the Parameter left & right buttons to Set and Clear a beat marker. increase the domain size. Use the Parameter left & right buttons to decrease or increase the quantize size, or hold SHIFT while pressing them to decrease or increase the domain size.
SLICER mode: In this mode a specified range (or domain) is divided into eight equal sections, and these eight sliced sections are assigned to the respective performance pads (1-8), and can be triggered by
pressing them. The domain shifts as the track duration elapses. Use the Parameter left & right buttons
to decrease or increase the quantize size, or hold SHIFT while pressing them to decrease or increase the domain size.
SLICER LOOP mode: Same as Slicer mode, but uses a fixed Slicer Domain or “loop”. Use the Parameter left & right buttons to decrease or increase the quantize size, or hold SHIFT while pressing them to decrease or increase the domain size.
SAMPLER mode: Press pads 1-8 to trigger samples loaded into the Serato DJ Pro Sampler. Hold SHIFT while pressing a pad to stop the sample playback once triggered, or load a sample to the respective
Sampler slot if no sample is loaded. Use the Parameter left & right buttons to cycle through the Sample Banks, and hold SHIFT while pressing them to cycle through the Sampler Output options.
PITCH PLAY mode: Hold SHIFT while pressing the SAMPLER mode button to enter PITCH PLAY mode. PITCH PLAY mode requires the Serato Pitch ‘n Time DJ expansion pack activated, see the PITCH PLAY section for more information.
SAMPLER VELOCITY mode: Hold (or long press) the SAMPLER mode button for several seconds to enter SAMPLER VELOCITY mode. The controls are the same as in Sampler mode above, but now triggered samples respect velocity to influence Sample volume.
Pitch Play
There are 3 key ranges to choose from, and the following tables show the pitched key ranges (in Semitones) while using the 8 performance pads in Pitch Play mode.
The root keypad (0) is always lit white, which will play the cue point at its regular pitch.
Use the Parameter Left & Right buttons to move the Key Range up or down.
In Pitch Play mode, pressing a pad will pitch the currently selected cue point up or down the following ranges:
Up Range: (Up 7 Semitones)
| +4 | +5 | +6 | +7 |
| 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 |
Middle Range: (Up 3/Down 4 Semitones)
| 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 |
| -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 |
Down Range: (Down 7 Semitones)
| -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 |
| -7 | -6 | -5 | -4 |
When Pitch Play mode is first enabled, the middle range is selected. Pitch Play mode will default back to the middle range if a new track is loaded. The selected range is recalled if another pad mode is selected, then
the user switches back to Pitch Play mode.
Pitch Play can only pitch one Cue point at a time. To change the selected Cue, hold the SHIFT button and press a performance pad where the cue point you want to select would be (as shown in the HOT CUE performance pad mode).
While holding SHIFT, press the corresponding performance pad for:
| Cue 1 | Cue 2 | Cue 3 | Cue 4 |
| Cue 5 | Cue 6 | Cue 7 | Cue 8 |
The selected cue point defaults to Cue Point 1 on track load, even if instant doubled. A new cue point will be created if a pad with no cue point is selected. Deleting a cue point is not possible in Pitch Play mode.
NOTE: Pitch Play mode is available once the Pitch 'n Time DJ Expansion Pack has been activated in the Expansions window, under the My Account drop-down. Then ensure Pitch 'n Time DJ is checked in the Expansion Pack tab of the Setup screen.
DJ-FX
The FX panel button is displayed in the top left area of the main Serato DJ Pro screen, click on this to toggle the DJ-FX panel.
With the DJ-FX panel open, you have control of two DJ-FX units, and if your hardware supports it, Channel FX, which can be applied to tracks played through your connected Serato DJ-hardware.
Both DJ-FX & Channel FX can be controlled with your mouse, by using dedicated controls on your hardware (where available), or by MIDI mapping controls to the respective software functions.
Learn more about how to use DJ-FX & Channel FX:
| DDJ-SX3 CONTROL | FX FUNCTION | SHIFT |
| ON (SLOT 1) | Slot 1 Effect On/Off | Slot 1 Select Effect |
| ON (SLOT 2) | Slot 2 Effect On/Off | Slot 2 Select Effect |
| ON (SLOT3) | Slot 3 Effect On/Off | Slot 3 Select Effect |
| FX KNOB 1 | Adjust Slot 1 FX Parameter | Slot 1 Select Effect |
| FX KNOB 2 | Adjust Slot 2 FX Parameter | Slot 2 Select Effect |
| FX KNOB 3 | Adjust Slot 3 FX Parameter | Slot 3 Select Effect |
| BEATS KNOB |
Turn to adjust Beats Multiplier |
- |
| FX ASSIGN | Assign the selected FX panel to deck 1 or 2 | Assign the selected FX panel to deck 3 or 4 |
Looping
You can control Auto and Manual Loops within Serato DJ Pro, using controls on the Pioneer DJ DDJ-SX2
NOTE: You can also save a loop to the next available free loop slot in the software. To do this, click on an available loop slot. Your loops are saved to the file and recalled the next time it is loaded. They are not lost if the file is moved or renamed.
| DDJ-SX3 CONTROL | FUNCTION |
SHIFT |
| IN |
Set loop in point (Loop not active) (Hold to create a quick 4-beat Autoloop) Adjust loop in point (Loop active) |
Saved Loop slot select |
| OUT |
Set loop out point (Loop in point set) Adjust loop out point(Loop active) |
Loop Exit (Loop active) Reloop (Loop not active) |
| AUTO LOOP |
Active/Deactive Autoloop |
Activate selected loop |
| 2X |
Double Loop Length |
Loop Shift Right |
| 1/2X |
Halve Loop Length |
Loop Shift Left |
When in the Roll pad mode, you may also control Loop sizes with the 1/2x and 2x buttons.
Flip
Flip is an Expansion Pack for Serato DJ Pro. Flip controls are only available once the Expansion pack has been purchased and activated. The Expansion pack can be bought via Serato.com -https://serato.com/dj/pro/expansions
Please check out our Flip User Guide for more information on using Flip.
Beat Jump
To activate Beat Jump, open the Setup screen, navigate to the DJ preferences tab and turn on “Show Beat Jump Controls”.
When you close the Setup screen, you will see Beat Jump controls underneath the existing Auto Loop values on each deck. Checking this box will turn on Beat Jump features in the deck area and let you control Beat Jump from your supported Serato DJ Pro hardware.
When the Beat Jump option is enabled, performance pad modes AUTO LOOP or ROLL mode (where applicable) will use the bottom row of 4 pads (pads 5-8) as Beat Jump controls. This is designed to mirror the change in the deck Auto Loop area (from 8 Auto Loop sizes to 4 Auto Loop sizes + Beat Jump controls).
DVS
When a Serato DVS license is purchased and activated, this paid upgrade to Serato DVS device allows you to use connected turntables, media players or CD players to control Serato DJ Pro using NoiseMap™ Control Tone.
NOTE: Serato DVS is only available once the Serato DVS expansion pack has been activated in the Expansions window, under the My Account drop-down. Make sure Vinyl / CDJ Control is then checked in the Expansion Packs tab of the Setup screen.
Find our more about Serato DVS:
MIDI
The MIDI feature in Serato DJ Pro allows you to remap Serato DJ Pro software functions to your primary Serato controller, interface or mixer. You can also assign controls to a secondary MIDI controller to further enhance your performance.
For more information on MIDI mapping with Serato DJ Pro, click here.
To remap your supported Serato device, open the SETUP screen and click the MIDI tab. If your Serato device supports hardware remapping, it will appear in the MIDI DEVICES list.
Select your connected device from the MIDI DEVICES list and check the Allow Serato Hardware Remapping option.
Once checked, the MIDI assign button at the top of the main Serato DJ Pro interface will become available for you to start remapping.
You can save, edit or delete MIDI presets in the MIDI tab of the SETUP screen. Clicking Restore Defaults will erase any custom mappings for all connected devices and revert their functions back to default.
Help
Show Tooltips
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then Show Tooltips to enable Tooltips. Tooltips provide a handy way to learn the various features of Serato DJ Pro.
Move the mouse over a section of the software to bring up a context-sensitive tooltip that describes the feature.
Click on the Help button again to turn off Tooltips.
Show Shortcut Keys
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then click Show Shortcut Keys to launch a pop-up window displaying shortcut keyboard combinations.
These shortcuts can help you perform various actions quickly, such as triggering specific deck functions, controlling playback, or navigating the library.
Watch Tutorials
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then Watch Tutorials to launch
your default internet browser and watch tutorials to help you get familiar with Serato DJ Pro.
Get Support
Click on the Help button in the upper right-hand corner of Serato DJ Pro, then Get Support to launch your default internet browser and navigate to the Serato DJ Pro knowledge base, where you can find helpful articles and guides on Serato DJ Pro. Alternatively, type keywords in the Search Help box to search the Serato DJ Pro knowledge base for specific, related topics.