Roland DJ-202

This is my first ever controller - As a complete beginner I find it over complicated (firmware updates etc.) and not very intuitive (general usage), it will take a bit of getting used to.

That being said it's a great bit of kit and I would recommend it!

I'm sure once i'm up to speed with it the software/stability/operation scores would increase.

Firm jogwheels, better than any other similarly priced controller (DDJ-400/Mixtrack Pro) imo. Capacitive touch on the top and nudge on the side is nice, and reminiscent of more expensive CDJ units.

Everything is sensibly laid out and more or less where you'd expect it to be.

The 808/909 sequencer is a nice feature, but a little difficult to program and I wouldn't want to do this on-the-fly live - I mostly use it to have a four-to-the-floor kick pattern to hand to add a punch, especially over transitions.

For any producers out there, I have this controller on my desk in my home studio and it's been really useful in Logic Pro X (or whatever DAW you use) as all controls are mappable to parameters as control surfaces. Super useful to have an extra 16 knobs to hand!

1/4" jack outputs as well as RCA would be nice, but this is quite standard and not really an issue. Mic input is 1/4" jack only, no XLR.

You should note that this deck used to come with Serato DJ Pro software, but now only comes with Serato DJ Lite. Lite is useable for learning basics or if you're in a pinch but lacks some key features like fully-functioned beatmapping and even the option to show the key of each track, so you end up 'going in blind' to tracks if you don't already know what key they're in before you load them. Serato DJ Pro is £65 extra, but if you're using it a lot I would suggest that buying this is worth it over a cheaper controller.

Excellent customer service. Quick and clear delivery of product.

The hardcoded TR Sequencer with the Roland Instruments, along with the combination of a Software Samples is probably the reason to buy this unit. Other than that, its a decent DJ Controller, but really, the TR Sequencer is making the unit unique.