traktor, serato, final scratch???

brooksy · Post by **brooksy** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:21 pm

I'm still 100% a vinyl head but fancy getting into using some mp3s too... whats the best...final scratch?? serato? ableton - I don't need any fancy shit - just want to be able to do with mp3s what I do with rekkids??? - I have the dough for final scratch but is it worth the trouble??? I have a mac laptop too.... any advice???

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:26 pm

brooksy wrote:I'm still 100% a vinyl head but fancy getting into using some mp3s too... whats the best...final scratch?? serato? ableton - I don't need any fancy shit - just want to be able to do with mp3s what I do with rekkids??? - I have the dough for final scratch but is it worth the trouble??? I have a mac laptop too.... any advice???

Really depends. If you're just looking to bash around in your basement, or if you're a promoter/involved in setting up most of the events that you play at, then Serato is a good option. I would recommend it over final scratch for sure. It's much more stable and trustworthy.

Honestly tho, if you play out alot and travel around and are NOT involved in setting up, then grab some table top CD players and use them, as you're much more likely to encounter CD players when you're out then you are a serato setup that is ready for your laptop to get plugged in.

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:15 pm

from what i hear stanton isn't really developing final scratch any more. i love serato but you'll have to rewire the decks if you're on a night whre you're the only one using it, which sometimes can be a problem.

CDJs are lame, but extremely functional.

i hear that m-audio torque thing is supposed to be kinda cool?

serato can't be beat for ease-of-use and stability, though.

product · Post by **product** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:16 pm

yeah the m-audio looks nice and it's half the price of serato.

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:15 pm

Product wrote:yeah the m-audio looks nice and it's half the price of serato.

fot better or for worse, Torq is based on Virtual DJ

djshiva · Post by **djshiva** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 8:13 pm

serato is very stable and very functional. if you are gonna spend the money, that's the one that is looking the best.

i am interested in people's experiences with torq, but for now i am stickin with the one that has proved itself to be stable over and over again...

daizo · Post by **daizo** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:36 pm

I'm a big user of Traktor, i know its complicated, but if you have a good MIDI control surface you can map any parameter to your control. I'm using it lately cause i got most of my dubstep tunes on mp3. I've seen Serato, that's very good as well. But im not using vinyl to control my stuff. anyway it boils down to how you use these tools. just my 2 cents.

ez

__________ · Post by **__________** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:00 pm

seen dj troubl tear it up with that mixvibes shit, that's pretty cheap isnt it? gotta be serato though aint it, traktor's pretty fiddly

blk plague · Post by **blk plague** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:45 pm

torq is a good program still and for the price? i have several m audio products and i have no complaints.

brooksy · Post by **brooksy** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:15 am

so if I have a mac and use traktor, I need to get an external soundcard right? so I can hear the other track I'm mixing in - I tried it straight off the lappy with no card and it was ok, but I had a hard tiem keeping shit in sync and working out how to match the beat.... I saw my mate Luke Vibert play off his lappy using traktor and no sound card and he SLAYED... no headphones, just off waveforms...sounded wicked, which kinda led me to want to use mp3s...then Juju mixing up with NType usuing Final Scratch sounded great.... seems a hassle with scratch and serato that you have to rewire shit esp if you're like the 1st dude playing and everyone else is vinyl??? ahhhh cheers for the help tho guys...appreciated...still dunno which way to go....

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:17 am

was debating getting http://djdecks.be soft for home use since it uses same coded vinyl and is alot cheaper then any of the alternatives
personally for a stable playing out setup i'd want serato

thenn3 · Post by **thenn3** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:34 am

the torq hardware interface itself... is garbage. its fast enough, but its about as sturdy as two sheets of toilet paper in a rainstorm.

scratchlive sounds superior to all of the above, and the rane sl1 box itself is built like a tank.

however... and this is a big however.

the fs2 box, the stanton bit of kit you got when you bought final scratch.. is an amazing piece of hardware. the software is trash, unreliable as a politicians promise... but the hardware is great, and the good news is that stanton have released it open source, so expect it to be supported by virtual dj in no time....

now it just depends if you like how virtual dj works.... it loads the whole damn mp3 into ram, so completely mullers your machine, totally cancelling any idea that you might be able to do something else with it, at the same time.

ableton live... is a great bit of software, and has more implications than scratchlive, from a producing point of view, but if you love vinyl, and want an out and out vinyl emulation experience... scratchlive is for you.

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:01 am

Deadly Habit wrote:was debating getting http://djdecks.be soft for home use since it uses same coded vinyl and is alot cheaper then any of the alternatives
personally for a stable playing out setup i'd want serato

DJ decks is dope if you're using serato vinyl. It's what I use along with an M-Audio quattro. Perfection if you're not playing out. Less stable than serato tho. But just for fucking around the $150-$200 it'll cost you to get set up - it's just fantastic. I've tried Virtual DJ which is what torq is based on with TCVs and it's just not that great, so I would hesitate to invest in torq. DjDecks is FANTASTIC tho. It works extremely well and is very stable. After a while it clicks and pops and shit tho. Same with virtual DJ. You'll find this is the problem with most TCV interfaces. They run great for a while but eventually loose stability unless you've got a very very very crazy fast lappy. Serato is the most stable I've used.

thenn3 · Post by **thenn3** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:50 am

in case you're wondering... numark CUE is also based on virtual dj... as is that other one, i forget what its called.

you might be interested in deckadance tho... i know i am!

dubworxrecords · Post by **dubworxrecords** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:17 am

I haven't looked at this for a while, I remember the buzz with final scratch when it first came out. I'm looking for one myself, and I'll be using a macbook, so this topic's right up my street.

I know a scratch DJ who uses serato and I've heard his mixes, bang on point...the thing is, some people who moan about the different products are all missing one point...the stability of the system you're running it on.

I use an iMac with Logic Pro for production, and a MacBook when I'm out and about...I also have experience with Windows machines and have a powerful laptop with all the latest software...on all machines, you need a single partition JUST FOR MUSIC. If I was to start DJing out, I'd use my MacBook, from a clean install of OS X and only install the software to run the application I use, using the entire hard drive in one partition, then use an external firewire drive for the MP3s. Maximum stability on any platform.

Oh, and forget Vista!

Don't forget to take a few tunes on vinyl as well, cos some twat might just spill beer all over your setup....

mamosa · Post by **mamosa** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:04 am

I personally use abelton with the tempo and tracks assigned to my midi controller, that way you can mix in and out of vinyl and then you get to play with the audio like its a little bit o rubber in your hands, if your gonna be using mp3s to add another dimension to your sets then ableton frees you up to drop some mixes that couldnt be reproduced - on the fly...

If your just wanting to use mp3s to add to your collection then i guess it has to be serato, i used to own final scratch - it was novelty at first but i never used it out, i wouldn't recommend. Abelton is the future man - i can smell it

digital · Post by **digital** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:05 pm

decklyn wrote:
Product wrote:yeah the m-audio looks nice and it's half the price of serato.
fot better or for worse, Torq is based on Virtual DJ

No it isn't. You're thinking of Numark's 'Cue' which is basically an updated, better version of Virtual DJ.

cringer · Post by **cringer** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:59 pm

i've used strictly FS for the past five years..no problems reported here. sure version one was shite, running on Linux and all that, but the later versions based on Traktor are solid, IMO. the only downside to using FS or Serato is you have reconnect the mixer and turntables, which can be a bitch in a club when it's dark and crowded and yadda yadda. so then you have Traktor, which i've only played around on, but seems solid as well. of course the problem there is that you need two soundcards and having a midi interface is nice, but not necessary. benefit is that you just plug right in to a mixer, no hassles rewiring/reconnecting. i guess it also comes down to how you like to mix, i love FS cause i've mixed with vinyl for 10 years and won't give up that tactile mixing experience for anything.

decklyn · Post by **decklyn** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:44 pm

Also mixing is a performance art. Something like tracktor can really take away from that. When you drop a good mix and the croud can see you interacting with vinyl, it hypes the croud up and inspires those yells and screams and fits of intensity on the floor.

ludofuzz · Post by **ludofuzz** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:57 pm

Seratos phat. Tested it (pissed around on it) with cutmaster swift at earls court 'plasa' with it. Good fun. Cheaper than F.S. -and more stable.
You could look at the tascam tt thingy. Think you can use it with other cd decks then tascams-cant remember.A lot cheaper but unless you have technics/numark cd decks-back to the whole crappy- not 12" platter.Cant control scratch as well problem.

traktor, serato, final scratch???

traktor, serato, final scratch???

Re: traktor, serato, final scratch???

Who is online