I recently bought two used SC6000’s which I got for a good price because the cue buttons are broken/hard to press. Cue only works if I press really hard. Here is a demo of the problem:
The play buttons work fine. Has anyone had similar problems or knows if this is easy to fix? Do I need to order new Cue buttons?
Thanks for any advice
These are the risks of buying used equipment, you don’t know how the unit was treated by the previous owner. Maybe he was particularly nervous about using the CUE button, and hit it like he had hammers on his fingers.
The CUE/play buttons on the 6000 models are much more durable than the previous generation 5000 model buttons.
I don’t think the problem is with the button itself here, I think your problem is with the switch located under the button. This one probably hasn’t been treated very kindly and probably needs to be replaced.
Unless you have a great deal of knowledge in electronics I would advise against replacing the button switch yourself and you should contact an authorized service center or a qualified electronics technician who can do this repair for you.
You should contact Denon DJ support who will give you the different options available
In the mean time, you could use the other cue button slots as a cue, setting them wherever you want.
I speak only from my experience. I bought a prime 4 a year and a half ago, almost two years ago. I use it professionally, 1 event a week for about 4-5 hours. Outdoors, indoors, cold, heat, smoke, dust… Which is a nationwide tour. Since a few months ago the play button on one deck doesn’t work and on the other deck the cue button doesn’t work either. As it is my equipment I don’t give it hard, as I have paid for it and I am careful. Recently I wanted to expand the equipment and I went to the shop to buy a pair of sc6000 but I saw that the play and cue buttons were very similar, not to say the same. I knew that if I bought them in a short time they were going to fail me. Maybe it was just bad luck that I have had and that you have had buying these second hand. I want to say that I think these products have their Achilles heel in the quality of the materials. I love the implementation of the technology and the idea of saving space with two players moving 4 tracks. But are they really ready for intensive use? I think they are wonderful to have at home away from the harsh conditions of touring, cold, heat, smoke, sparks, co2…
Replacing tact switches under play and cue button is almost a regular maintenance on DJ equipment that is used (does not even have to be abused).
Yes, in general I would agree that those last longer on Pioneer but to give you a general sense of durability of those tiny switches, my local club had a policy to service their CDJs every season and replace them.
It’s a different thing when we talk about other items connected to this: Denon DJ equipment is more difficult to service (labour costs more), parts are not available with local dealers, service manuals are not publicly available.
PS On one of my pre-inMusic Denon equipment, tact switches went out after only a year. After checking, original Denon supplied switch only has 5000 cycles lifespan. Replaced them with compatible ebay-sourced Alps ones with 100.000 cycles.
My DN-HC1000S had both cue 1 buttons fail this way.
There are two elements to distinguish concerning the CUE/Play button assembly, the switches on the one hand and the buttons on the other hand.
The play/cue buttons are simply a plastic element resting on a common plastic frame.
They are quite fragile on equipment before 2020 (sc5000/M, prime 2/prime 4) Because the plastic used in the points on the frame is relatively thin.
These buttons and this plastic frame have been significantly improved and reinforced on equipment released from the SC6000. They are much stronger and more resistant. This was a disease on previous generations.
There are generally two cases to identify the problem encountered.
Either the button works intermittently, or only works if you press with a certain pressure or at a certain location on the buttons -----> tired switch and needs replacing
Or the button no longer works at all, which could indicate that the junction points of the plastic frame of the buttons have given way, which was very common on devices before 2020 and which is definitely less common on products released after sc6000 (including prime 4+, and the sc live series)
It all depends on what you mean by intensive.
If intensive means lasting for a long time while being treated well then yes definitely.
If intensive means being brutal with the unit, hammering the buttons like James Hype instead of pressing them normally then no clearly not, that is not how you are supposed to use the product.
Use your equipment normally as it was meant to be used and treat it gently. If you take care of your equipment then it will take care of you.
intensive use I mean as I say in my post, 4-5 hours a week, in hot and cold conditions… anything other than having it in your home in a safe and secure place. As I say in my post treating it well and with care I have broken 2 buttons in a year and a half. obviously they have a problem (and as I say in my post I can only speak for me, maybe I’m the person with the worst luck) but if you take a walk through the forum, or reddit there are many cases.
I’m sick of the fan boys who keep defending a product that clearly has flaws. I try to be objective, I’m a professional who didn’t want to go with the majority buying pioneer, and I’m just explaining my experience. And you’re already answering that, if you treat them like james hype, it’s normal that they break. Nobody has said that in this thread. They have bought some sc6000 that the button fails and asked if that was normal. And they are answering that yes, they fail very often. And I have said that in my experience of 1 year and a half I have failed 2 buttons of the prime 4. And that seeing live the SC6000 seemed to me of similar material, not knowing if the button is one or the other. and that I did not buy them because they looked like they would fail in a short time.
In conclusion, I would only say that it is good to be demanding and not to take criticism of the product as a mortal sin. If something goes wrong, you can comment on it, in case it has happened to someone else and how it can be solved. Nothing would make me happier than for everything to be great and the software to work well and not to disappear.
I have 2 sc6000M since 2021 + 2 LC6000 for a little less than a year, all these units have identical buttons, they are used quite intensively several dozen hours per week.
I use them normally, without being brutal but without being particularly ultra cautious either, just normally and I have never encountered the slightest problem with buttons on any of these 4 units.
If I made reference to James hype it is because he serves as a model and inspiration for many DJs apparently because I see more and more DJs hitting the buttons and manipulating the faders like he does. And it is simply a bad model because this is clearly not how any equipment should be handled, whatever the brand.
I’m not saying that all DJs are brutal, but many just mimic the behavior of some DJs they see to put on a “show” or give themselves “style” to the detriment of the equipment.
I agree with you when you say something needs to be improved, and this improvement has taken place on units built from 2020 onwards.
I’ve seen a lot of posts about broken buttons on units from the sc5000/prime 2 prime 4 generation. And most of the posts on reddit concern this generation of product. But I see very few on the latest generation of post-2020 products concerning the cue/play buttons
I’ve had the same on my MCX8000 units and a bit of switch cleaner generally does the trick as it’s just microscopic dirt causing them not to contact properly. No need to entirely replace the tact switches unless they are completely worn out, and that would be unusual unless they were being used continually.
Worst thing about Denon gear though is the time and skill required to get to the switches in the first place.