Setup
Licensing & software
This is a Serato DJ Lite hardware unlocked device, meaning it unlocks Serato DJ Lite when connected.
It is also a paid upgrade to Serato DJ Pro device, meaning it requires the purchase & activation of a Serato DJ Pro license, in order to be used with Serato DJ Pro.
Please ensure you have the latest version of Serato DJ Lite installed:
You can also try Serato DJ Pro, before making a purchase:
Drivers & firmware
The Pioneer DJ DDJ-400 does not require manufacturer-specific drivers on either Windows or Mac
operating systems, and is plug-and-play with Serato DJ Pro.
On Windows, you may see some generic class drivers installed by the operating system to facilitate
communication with the device.
Overview
| # | DDJ-400 CONTROL | FUNCTION |
| 1 | KENSINGTON LOCK | Connect Kensington Lock to secure the device |
| 2 | USB PORT | Connect a USB cable to a computer |
| 3 | MASTER OUTPUT | Master output (RCA) to speakers |
| 4 | MIC INPUT & LEVEL | Connect microphone via TRS. Turn to adjust the microphone input volume |
| 5 | HEADPHONES | Connect headphones via a 1/8" audio output |
| # | DDJ-400 CONTROL | FUNCTION |
SHIFT |
| 1 | IN |
Set or Edit Loop in point Long Press to activate a 4-beat loop |
- |
| 2 | OUT | Set or Edit Loop out point | - |
| 3 | RELOOP / EXIT | Press to exit loop/trigger reloop | Press to toggle loop active/ inactive |
| 4 | 1/2X | Halve Active Loop / Select Previous Loop Slot | Loop Slot delete |
| 5 | 2X | Double Active Loop / Select Next Loop Slot | Loop Slot save |
| 6 | HEADPHONES (SECTION) |
Adjust headphone level, and adjust headphone cue/master mix | - |
| 7 | CHANNEL EQ | Adjust the HI, MID & LOW frequency per channel | - |
| 8 | LOAD |
Load selected track to the corresponding deck Double click to instant double |
Sort by BPM (Left) Sort by Artist (Right) |
| 9 | BROWSE | Turn to scroll library |
Library Back (Press) Fast library scroll (Twist) |
| 10 | FILTER |
Applys the selected Channel FX |
- |
| 11 | TRIM | Adjust channel input gain | - |
| 12 | MASTER LEVEL | Adjust master output volume | - |
| 13 | SYNC |
Turn SYNC on Long press to turn SYNC off |
Adjust Tempo Range |
| 14 | TEMPO SLIDER | Adjust tempo/pitch | - |
| 15 | PERFORMANCE PADS (SECTION) |
SEE PERFORMANCE PADS FOR MORE INFORMATION | - |
| 16 | BEAT FX (SECTION) | SEE FX SECTION FOR MORE INFORMATION | - |
| 17 | CHANNEL CUE | Toggle channel cue for headphone monitoring | Tap Tempo |
| 18 | CROSSFADER | Crossfade audio between channels | |
| 19 | CHANNEL FADER | Adjusts channel volume | - |
| 20 | PLAY/PAUSE | Toggle Play/Pause on selected deck | Stutter Play |
| 21 | CUE | Cue from temporary cue point/Set temporary cue point | Previous Track |
| 22 | SHIFT | Used with other controls that have a SHIFT modifier function | - |
| 23 | JOG WHEEL | Turn jog to bend pitch, or control waveform within Serato DJ in vinyl mode | Platter Skip |
Performance Pads
The Pioneer DJ DDJ-400 comes with 8 performance pads that can be used across 8 different
performance pad modes.
The first 4 modes can be triggered by pressing the performance pad mode button once:
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 the SHIFT button while pressing a populated pad will delete the Cue point from the respective pad/slot.
BEAT LOOP mode: Pads 1-8 trigger an Auto Loop of varying sizes. Press the same pad for a second time to exit an Auto Loop.
BEAT JUMP mode: Press pads 1 and 4 perform Beat Jump left & right respectively, while pads 2 & 3 halve and double the Beat Jump size. Pad 5 loads the previous track, pads 6 & 7 perform rewind or fast-forward transport functions, and pad 8 censors the playing track. Holding SHIFT while pressing pad 8 toggles reverse playback.
SAMPLER mode: Press pads 1-8 in this mode to trigger samples loaded into the Serato DJ Pro Sampler.
Holding SHIFT while pressing a Pad will stop a currently playing Sampler slot or load a new sample into it if it is empty.
The second 4 modes can be triggered by holding the SHIFT button while pressing the performance pad mode button once:
PITCH PLAY mode: Press the HOT CUE mode button while holding SHIFT to enter Pitch Play mode. Pads 1-8 play Cue points over variable pitch ranges in this mode.
See the ‘Pitch Play’ section for more information.
NOTE: Pitch Play mode requires the Serato Pitch ‘n’ Time DJ expansion pack to be activated & enabled.
PAD FX 1 mode: Press the BEAT LOOP mode button while holding SHIFT to enter Pad FX 1 mode. This mode allows the user to trigger quick and powerful preconfigured FX in an intuitive manner. Pads 1-4 can be pressed and held to apply FX, whereas pressing pads 5-8 toggle FX that are applied until the pad is pressed again (toggle). Pads 1-4 consist of Echo, Flanger, Reverb, and Repeater, while pads 5-8 consist of Echo Out, Backspin, Braker, and Rollout.
LOOP ROLL mode: Press the PAD FX2 mode button while holding SHIFT to enter Loop Roll mode. Holding Pads 1-8 activates a loop roll of varying sizes. Release the pad to exit the Loop Roll.
KEY SHIFT mode: Press the SAMPLER mode button while holding SHIFT to enter Key Shift mode. In this mode, pads 1-8 shift the key of the playing track over variable pitch ranges.
See the ‘Key Shift’ section for more information.
NOTE: Key Shift mode requires the Serato Pitch ‘n’ Time DJ expansion pack to be activated & enabled.
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.
Key Shift
Holding SHIFT and pressing the SAMPLER performance pad mode button on the Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX4 will enable Key Shift mode. In this mode, you can shift the key of the playing track over variable pitch ranges.
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 Key Shift mode.
The root key (pad 0) is always lit, which will play the corresponding track at its regular pitch. In Key Shift mode, pressing a pad will pitch the currently playing track up or down as per 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 Key Shift mode is first enabled, the middle range is selected. If a new track is loaded, the range will default to the middle range. The range is recalled if you navigate to another pad mode and then back to Key Shift mode.
To sync or reset the key of the playing track or adjust the pitch range, hold the SHIFT button and press a
performance pad as outlined in the table below:
|
Key Sync |
Key Reset |
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
Range down |
Range up |
NOTE: Key Shift mode is available once the Pitch ‘n Time DJ Expansion Pack has been activated in the Expansions window under the My Account drop-down. Ensure “Enable 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-400 CONTROL | FX FUNCTION |
SHIFT |
| TIME/PARAMETER | Press left or right to adjust Beats Multiplier value |
Reset Tap Tempo value (Left) Set Tap Tempo value (Right) |
| FX SELECT |
Press to cycle forward FX Slot 1 FX Unit 1 selection |
Cycle backwards FX Unit 1 selection |
| 1 / 2 / MASTER | Move the slider to assign FX Unit 1 output to either Deck 1, 2, or Master |
- |
| LEVEL/DEPTH |
Turn to adjust the level/depth of FX Slot 1 FX Unit 1 |
- |
| FX ON / OFF |
Turn FX on/off of FX Slot 1 FX Unit 1 |
- |
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).
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.