Roland Announces DJ-505 Serato DJ Controller & Step Sequencer

Roland just launched its DJ-505 controller for Serato DJ. It’s a two-channel, four-deck control device with a built-in hardware step sequencer at the top of the unit packed with sounds from Roland’s TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. Think of it as the two-deck version of last year’s Roland DJ-808 controller.

It’s got large jogwheels, three-band EQs with filter and gain knobs per channel, deck select buttons for accessing decks three and four, eight performance pads with mode buttons, a mic input with Roland’s Vocal FX, plus switchable phono/line RCA input jacks for hooking up turntables or DJ media players. It’s also Serato DVS-ready, so you can spin with timecode media.

The front of the unit has crossfader curve and reverse switches, channel input switches, 1/4″ and 1/8″ headphone jacks, and a mic volume knob. The back has a USB jack for connecting to your laptop, a Midi output port for syncing external gear (like Roland’s Aira line of production equipment), a 1/4″ mic input, two pairs of phono/line inputs, XLR and RCA Master outs, a pair of 1/4″ Booth jacks, a power switch, and a power socket.

The Roland DJ-505 has a layout and features similar to Pioneer DJ’s DDJ-RR (save for the step sequencer), and that’s no accident: when Pioneer DJ introduced its own Rekordbox DJ softwarea few years back, it started making controllers that were exclusive only to Rekordbox DJ. This was a blow to Serato DJ because, until then, Pioneer DJ was their unofficial hardware partner (most Pioneer DJ controllers were made for Serato DJ, for instance).

Now, it seems that Serato has found a new collaborator in Roland, beginning with the DJ-808controller launched at the BPM Show last year which, like the DJ-505 and DJ-202 announced today, work exclusively with Serato DJ.

Check out the promo video below!