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It's a nice idea but personally i'd rather go vinyl or straight laptop. Cant see the point in sitting in the middle. It's nice to have the feel of vinyl but somehow it feels like i'm still being slowed down by the vinyl.

I just dled Serato from their site, I love using it to dj.

kozee wrote:I just dled Serato from their site, I love using it to dj.

o0o0oo0o0o0oo0o0o00o0o0

kozee wrote:I just dled Serato from their site, I love using it to dj.

you download the amp as well?

Serato looks like a very very useful tool- don't have to lug about 1000's of vinyl and ultimately your whole music library at your fingertips. If/When I have the money, I'm definately going to look into it. How much should i expect to pay for it in UK? And also what is all this talk bout rane mixers- im guessin they are the most compatible with the sofware but could i not just use it with the old pioneer to the same effect?

Only problems i see for serato or FS or any of these systems, apart from the obvious setting up of the amp etc., is the fact that the Serato vinyl's are just generic in appearance- the thing i love most about vinyl is the fact you can "see" the music, the depths of the grooves, the breakdowns, how long a segment is, when the next drop is going to come, and I use this a lot for cueing up, double drops etc...i can't imagine this being possible with serato or FS or is there any sort of plugin for laptop which shows the track in bars or something..bit like you get on the old CDJs though that is a rather simple example. < thats a question by the way, just not very well put.

CDs though, seriously. No need. No feeling, too synthetic and easy in my opinion: 0101000101010- plus any effects that CD decks have can nowadays be emulated just as well with the higher end mixers on the market. CDJs don't even have a platter that spins ! Although, their development has definately made DJing more accessible for everyone, which is a plus.

EDIT: Does Serato only have 2 phono inputs- so 3 deck mixing is not possible using the software? I'm guessin can still play an old plate on the third providing your mixer has enough channels?

concept_ wrote:the thing i love most about vinyl is the fact you can "see" the music, the depths of the grooves, the breakdowns, how long a segment is, when the next drop is going to come, and I use this a lot for cueing up, double drops etc...i can't imagine this being possible with serato or FS

Pretty sure you can see the whole wave form if you like and know exactly when the various elements are coming if you want to. In traktor thats how it is and thats final scratch.

manray wrote: Pretty sure you can see the whole wave form if you like and know exactly when the various elements are coming if you want to.

That's what I'm talking about . If it has this, or plugins for a feature like this in serato, then i'm definately going to check it out.

Serato is the best thing since sliced bread. I fuckin' love mine.

Haven't bought vinyl in ages (which isn't a good thing )

Last tune I copped was the Mavado remix.

Robbo asked me if I used Serato, what the hell is Serato. I thought it was some bronzin creme or something

I'm a bit of a fan of traktor scratch...my low funds mean I haven't been able to purchase it yet...I've tried out serato though and I really like it...

I know a few djs who complain about a lagging time between the laptop and receiving the signal on the vinyl/CD....even heard one DJ saying it was the best thing ever yet all of his mixes were slightly out...I suppose it also depends on what laptop your running it on! Anyone else heard of the lagging issue?

The lagging issue depends on the comp... I go back and forth between serato and vinyl all the time and never notice the difference....

as for someone saying the snares are too harsh and theres not enough bass... that all depends on the quality of files you use, just as with vinyl... a bad pressing on vinyl sounds horrible as does a bad mp3...

the other thing is keep it out of the reds inside the program. theres a meter for how loud the mp3 is before it comes out of the computer and into the mixer, if thats peaked its gonna sound like you described, but to be fair it sounds pretty bad if the mixer is peaked too...

and yes, you can see the whole waveforms on serato and they are even color coded to the frequencies of the waveform... bass is red i think and highs are blue... it helps with the phrasing of mixes alot... I used to be one to be constantly checking the grooves for a breakdown, but this makes it a million times easier for that, doubledrops in dnb are a breeze...

I got TS cos I got a crossgrade with FS 1.5 (which I sold ages ago) meant I paid £260 - was a pain to start with as my lappies dated but the second update inproved things no end. The effects are amazing, just make sure you have a mixer with send return and a control surface - lively!!!!

concept_ wrote:

kozee wrote:I just dled Serato from their site, I love using it to dj.

you download the amp as well?

Serato looks like a very very useful tool- don't have to lug about 1000's of vinyl and ultimately your whole music library at your fingertips. If/When I have the money, I'm definately going to look into it. How much should i expect to pay for it in UK? And also what is all this talk bout rane mixers- im guessin they are the most compatible with the sofware but could i not just use it with the old pioneer to the same effect?

Only problems i see for serato or FS or any of these systems, apart from the obvious setting up of the amp etc., is the fact that the Serato vinyl's are just generic in appearance- the thing i love most about vinyl is the fact you can "see" the music, the depths of the grooves, the breakdowns, how long a segment is, when the next drop is going to come, and I use this a lot for cueing up, double drops etc...i can't imagine this being possible with serato or FS or is there any sort of plugin for laptop which shows the track in bars or something..bit like you get on the old CDJs though that is a rather simple example. < thats a question by the way, just not very well put.

CDs though, seriously. No need. No feeling, too synthetic and easy in my opinion: 0101000101010- plus any effects that CD decks have can nowadays be emulated just as well with the higher end mixers on the market. CDJs don't even have a platter that spins ! Although, their development has definately made DJing more accessible for everyone, which is a plus.

EDIT: Does Serato only have 2 phono inputs- so 3 deck mixing is not possible using the software? I'm guessin can still play an old plate on the third providing your mixer has enough channels?

Yes serato has 2 inputs for turntables, but if you have 3+ channel mixer you can add more decks but not to serato so you can use proper vinyls/cds.

Also ive been told this lil tip to all djs that play digitally is to play one tune on deck 1, then unplug deck two plug it in the audio interface, select a tune on laptop mix it in then do the same with deck one, makes it alot easier to set up without stopping the tunes.

Sadly DJ's have to leave their Laptops plugged in on Serato - one shutdown and the decks go off as well

TS users have the quick release cables - useful!

EFA wrote:Sadly DJ's have to leave their Laptops plugged in on Serato - one shutdown and the decks go off as well

TS users have the quick release cables - useful!

Not right there as you switch the phono/line swtiches to phono input then you use decks as normal, then you turn laptop off!!

EFA wrote:Sadly DJ's have to leave their Laptops plugged in on Serato - one shutdown and the decks go off as well

TS users have the quick release cables - useful!

Im pretty sure buying the stand alone power supply solves this issue..? But yeh unplug the USB and hear the pop, not good..

I think the major issue with the software is that it colours the audio signal in processing even if playing vinyl. To my understanding sound quality is one of the inherent values of Dubstep culture and one I really respect.

For sure software like this has its place, a good friend spins his .wav dubs on Serato and the rest on vinyl and dubplate proper for instance / a sound solution, but I feel that DJs spinning all cds or all mp3s in a club is a bit wack, I know that supposedly we cant hear sounds beyond 22k but thats my opinion..

I was at a festival here earlier this month and one of the main acts couldnt spin a proper set due to his laptop spitting the dummy. Jazzy Jeff apparently takes 2 back up drives with him on tour for this reason.

Also the points that if the heads are not supporting the industry around vinyl ie sales figures continue to fall this will drive costs up beyond the rate of inflation.. Standard priced Dubstep 12s are $24 here already..

Re mixers; The special Rane SSL mixer is nice if your a SSL convert but again a bit compressed sounding, can also double as a 24/96 soundcard though which could start to justify its pricetag, despite this Id go the Xone range for quality every time, their signal processing is unmatched, when the time is right Id like a 10 channel 464 to double as a small studio desk, Pioneers are also very versatile and a good compromise/ imo

Daphter wrote:

EFA wrote:Sadly DJ's have to leave their Laptops plugged in on Serato - one shutdown and the decks go off as well

TS users have the quick release cables - useful!

Im pretty sure buying the stand alone power supply solves this issue..? But yeh unplug the USB and hear the pop, not good..

I think the major issue with the software is that it colours the audio signal in processing even if playing vinyl. To my understanding sound quality is one of the inherent values of Dubstep culture and one I really respect.

For sure software like this has its place, a good friend spins his .wav dubs on Serato and the rest on vinyl and dubplate proper for instance / a sound solution, but I feel that DJs spinning all cds or all mp3s in a club is a bit wack, I know that supposedly we cant hear sounds beyond 22k but thats my opinion..

I was at a festival here earlier this month and one of the main acts couldnt spin a proper set due to his laptop spitting the dummy. Jazzy Jeff apparently takes 2 back up drives with him on tour for this reason.

Also the points that if the heads are not supporting the industry around vinyl ie sales figures continue to fall this will drive costs up beyond the rate of inflation.. Standard priced Dubstep 12s are $24 here already..

Re mixers; The special Rane SSL mixer is nice if your a SSL convert but again a bit compressed sounding, can also double as a 24/96 soundcard though which could start to justify its pricetag, despite this Id go the Xone range for quality every time, their signal processing is unmatched, when the time is right Id like a 10 channel 464 to double as a small studio desk, Pioneers are also very versatile and a good compromise/ imo

Alot of the sound quality issues have to do with the older versions of the software (1.8 sounds way better than other versions) and with djs who dont make sure they are A.) playing good quality mp3s or wavs and B.) let their tunes go into the red within Serato itself. Ive noticed a huge difference in sound quality if the meters within Serato for each individual player are in the reds, tunes sound more tinny, thin and overall crispy sounding.

Playing normal vinyl through the box colors the sound no more than your DJ mixer does. Its a passive box that runs the analog signal straight through on the 'through' channels.

The drivers are in place now so that the Serato box itself can double as a soundcard, not just the TTM57.

Serato is an outstanding company, with an industry standard for pitch correction / timestretching software (Pitch N Time) and Rane has been making quality mixers and audio gear for years.

Just as with any piece of gear alot of the 'issues' with it is in the user or a large number of other variables... (mixdown of the tune, mastering or lack of, soundsystem, bad sound guy, etc...)

Regarding the price of vinyl going up, dont blame Serato or FS or TS or Torq, theres alot more to it than these programs/systems gaining in popularity.... but thats a whole nother thread in itself.

Daphter wrote:

EFA wrote:Sadly DJ's have to leave their Laptops plugged in on Serato - one shutdown and the decks go off as well

Im pretty sure buying the stand alone power supply solves this issue..? But yeh unplug the USB and hear the pop, not good..

right, any generic power supply with the proper output voltage/amperage will do the trick, and no, with the mixer switched to phono (why would it be on line when ur switching laptops?) there is no pop, click, or crackle when unplugging the usb cable.

robotic wrote:

Daphter wrote:

EFA wrote:Sadly DJ's have to leave their Laptops plugged in on Serato - one shutdown and the decks go off as well

Im pretty sure buying the stand alone power supply solves this issue..? But yeh unplug the USB and hear the pop, not good..

right, any generic power supply with the proper output voltage/amperage will do the trick, and no, with the mixer switched to phono (why would it be on line when ur switching laptops?) there is no pop, click, or crackle when unplugging the usb cable.

Yeh no pop if you have the power supply otherwise it loses the juice when you unplug it from the laptop and cant transmit the line or phono signal.. That was my conclusion anyway..

kidlogic wrote:

Daphter wrote:

EFA wrote:Sadly DJ's have to leave their Laptops plugged in on Serato - one shutdown and the decks go off as well

TS users have the quick release cables - useful!

Im pretty sure buying the stand alone power supply solves this issue..? But yeh unplug the USB and hear the pop, not good..

I think the major issue with the software is that it colours the audio signal in processing even if playing vinyl. To my understanding sound quality is one of the inherent values of Dubstep culture and one I really respect.

For sure software like this has its place, a good friend spins his .wav dubs on Serato and the rest on vinyl and dubplate proper for instance / a sound solution, but I feel that DJs spinning all cds or all mp3s in a club is a bit wack, I know that supposedly we cant hear sounds beyond 22k but thats my opinion..

I was at a festival here earlier this month and one of the main acts couldnt spin a proper set due to his laptop spitting the dummy. Jazzy Jeff apparently takes 2 back up drives with him on tour for this reason.

Also the points that if the heads are not supporting the industry around vinyl ie sales figures continue to fall this will drive costs up beyond the rate of inflation.. Standard priced Dubstep 12s are $24 here already..

Re mixers; The special Rane SSL mixer is nice if your a SSL convert but again a bit compressed sounding, can also double as a 24/96 soundcard though which could start to justify its pricetag, despite this Id go the Xone range for quality every time, their signal processing is unmatched, when the time is right Id like a 10 channel 464 to double as a small studio desk, Pioneers are also very versatile and a good compromise/ imo

Alot of the sound quality issues have to do with the older versions of the software (1.8 sounds way better than other versions) and with djs who dont make sure they are A.) playing good quality mp3s or wavs and B.) let their tunes go into the red within Serato itself. Ive noticed a huge difference in sound quality if the meters within Serato for each individual player are in the reds, tunes sound more tinny, thin and overall crispy sounding.

Playing normal vinyl through the box colors the sound no more than your DJ mixer does. Its a passive box that runs the analog signal straight through on the 'through' channels.

The drivers are in place now so that the Serato box itself can double as a soundcard, not just the TTM57.

Serato is an outstanding company, with an industry standard for pitch correction / timestretching software (Pitch N Time) and Rane has been making quality mixers and audio gear for years.

Just as with any piece of gear alot of the 'issues' with it is in the user or a large number of other variables... (mixdown of the tune, mastering or lack of, soundsystem, bad sound guy, etc...)

Regarding the price of vinyl going up, dont blame Serato or FS or TS or Torq, theres alot more to it than these programs/systems gaining in popularity.... but thats a whole nother thread in itself.

No doubt Serato are a on to it crew just that I dont really rate it this product as the ultimate solution it is made out to be. Imo the sound colouring I am referring to when playing vinyl thru it is akin to using a mixer with cheaper components.. It is quite likely some of my opinion has been formed by DJs not controlling the levels but that is kind of an issue right there, another link on the chain where distortion can be generated. Good luck to a sound engineer who can suss that one out on the night..

The sound colouring that as you say may have been improved with the latest version (which came out very recently Im guessing?) once .aiff and .flac files are supported and the processing is improved I think it'll be an even better piece of kit..

Good point re the vinyl vs digital debate, I guess Im just pointing out that DJs and music collectors are the main purchasers of vinyl so if 90% of us all switched to digital today shit would go a bit bung and that is somewhat relevant to discussion of said product..

Daphter wrote:Yeh no pop if you have the power supply otherwise it loses the juice when you unplug it from the laptop and cant transmit the line or phono signal.. That was my conclusion anyway..

u conclude correctly, but once again, why would you either switch laptops with the mixer switched to line or turn off your computer - your power source - in the case of there not being an external power supply? there would be dead silence in the club while u do this... something i don't recommend for the middle of a show... tends to be kind of a turnoff for your guests.

the fact is that you need power to repeat a phono signal in order to pass it through to another phono input. whether that power comes from a laptop usb port or a dedicated power supply is irrelevant, but that brings me to your next point. sound coloring of the phono signal?? where did u get such an idea? the signal gets passed through the hardware, there is no conversion, no adjustment of the signal, just some basic amplification done by rane gear - and rane is a company that's been making professional phono amplifiers as part of their dj products for over 15 years!

to say that serato is in a beta state is also completely preposterous. when it came out four years ago, it worked reliably and correctly right away... at version 1.0! competing products at the time - like final scratch v1.5 and whatever pcdj was on - were all buggy and virtually unusable even after a number of revisions. the makers of serato are rightfully proud of their product, and unlike the competition, they make themselves publicly available in the scratch live forum and have since the release of serato made many improvements based on user suggestions. in doing so they have continued to add value to something i purchased over 3 years ago, and i can't say that's the case with much else i've bought over the years.

Daphter wrote:
No doubt Serato are a on to it crew just that I dont really rate it this product as the ultimate solution it is made out to be. Imo the sound colouring I am referring to when playing vinyl thru it is akin to using a mixer with cheaper components.. It is quite likely some of my opinion has been formed by DJs not controlling the levels but that is kind of an issue right there, another link on the chain where distortion can be generated. Good luck to a sound engineer who can suss that one out on the night..

The sound colouring that as you say may have been improved with the latest version (which came out very recently Im guessing?) this as well as the lack of .aiff and .flac file support, the quite levels all leads me to think SL is one of those beta products that they are developing over time yet theyd like you to pay the price of a new SL1200 for it..

Good point re the vinyl vs digital debate, I guess Im just pointing out that DJs and music collectors are the main purchasers of vinyl so if 90% of us all switched to digital today shit would go a bit bung and that is somewhat relevant to discussion of said product..

Serato supports .aiff and .flac now, I think they have for the last few releases. It also has full midi compatability, looping, cue points and other new features.

The volume depends on the mixer for some reason, sometimes they are the same as vinyl for me, sometimes louder, sometimes quieter. I really dont mind as a lot of CDJs' volumes can vary as well, depending on the track volume, cables, and many other variables.

SL is far from a beta product, they are just constantly updating the software (for free I might add, I havent paid for an update in 8 releases). The price is high, although still not near the price of a CDJ thats worth buying and it has way more functionality.

They do public beta testing everytime they do a new update and really make a point of listening to their customers and users wants and needs for the product. They also dont rush new updates to release, they give it to their beta tester to use for sometimes months before they make the release official. From the get go the product has worked much better than the other alternatives out there and has been solid. I have NEVER had a problem playing out with Serato that wasnt in some way related to the equipment provided. Most of the time its the needles provided, so now I always bring my own. The box has never failed me and the program has never crashed while playing, even at home and even with beta versions.

The box doesnt color anything on my rig, vinyl sounds the same as if I were running it straight through my DJM500. Like I was saying there are many other variables that could 'color' the sound. Bad needles, bad cables, cheap mixer, bad mixer, etc.