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Serato
Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 11:12 pm
by mcguiganking
ive been using vinyl for a year now but want so play some newer stuff that may not get released on vinyl, i looked at CDJ's but decent ones look too expensive, what do you guys think of serato? id be willing to start using it but i have no idea where to start
do you need new needles? interface? vinyl? im a little confused

was hoping someone could explain everything i need to know
i searched for previous threads and couldnt find alot
cheers in adance
Re: Serato
Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 11:49 pm
by mcguiganking
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:00 am
by spleen
i have serato and it is amazing.
worth every pence, and plays exactly like a vinyl
basically the serato hardware box transmits the mp3 signals onto the 'control' vinyl and u can scratch and cue a file on ur pc/laptop exactly like a normal vinyl. you don't need new needles providing u already have decent needles. all u need is what u posted above really to get started + a decent computer to run it from.
highly recommended geeza
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:01 am
by Shum
You will need the box, some timecode vinyl (that comes with the box) and the software itself which you can download from
http://serato.com/downloads/scratchlive
The Serato site has loads of tutorials and the like as well.
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:02 am
by breakbait
I'd wanted something like this since Final Scratch but never really had the money for it. I've just bought Traktor Scratch Duo though cos it's now £149 till end of year and is just like serato or at least well worth paying third of the price. My flatmate probably has his serato sl1 for sale for £300 if you're interested.

Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:16 am
by shoot2stun
Serato is the best! You need a Serato box, im using the SL1...SL2 has better recording options and stuff I think but SL1 serves most purposes.
The timecode vinyls come w/it if you are buying new or you can buy them separately as they are pretty cheap. The great thing about serato is it is so lightweight...im running it on a really crappy single core laptop and it has almost no latency issues.

Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:28 am
by laurent__duval
its sick
\thread
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:35 am
by deepbreakfast
what makes serato better than scratch duo/pro?
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:39 am
by laurent__duval
nothing as far as i know. they're pretty much identical so i've been told. the interface looks better on serato but i suppose its personal preference.
dont know a single person thats bought serato and regretted it!
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:41 am
by cosby
I don't think there is really much difference between FS and Serato. Here in the States, early versions of Serato were more reliable earlier than FS and similar products and got a foothold on DJs. It's kind of standard, FS and Torq users are the odd people out. I can't really tell a difference, I'm sure people who experience drop outs will be able to tell you.
I've used Serato for well over three years and I've never had my computer dump on me. I'd recommend it to anyone, it'll make your life a lot easier and your back a lot less sore, but will also make you lazy in many respects. I am to the point where cueing actual records is a chore - lame!
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:54 am
by lidsjunky
i use serato, if you have any specific questions not covered by googling feel free to PM me.
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:23 am
by deepbreakfast
traktor scratch should be coming in the mail tom.
so pumped! as is my wallet.

Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 10:38 am
by Scylla
I brought serato last year, no looking back. If you are willing to pay the initial price then it will serve you for years to come. Im not saying you will save money, you will just end up with 3x the tracks.
This is a good thing! Although i do miss vinyl coming through the post, and the obvious exclusive vinyl only tunes. Also you can cue your songs really quickly, did you ever wonder how seven, plastician, and mensah get through many tunes? Obvious.
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 3:23 pm
by murky21
ermmm wicked, i was wanting to know this too..... anyone know if sl3 is worth getting or are earlier versions fine..cheers
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:20 pm
by mundy
I want to be honest
I dare someone to A/B
to do this properly play the same tune each way
CDJ analog to pioneer 800
cdj hooked up digital ( via spdif) to pioneer 800
serato SL1 to pioneer 800
Serato SL3 to pioneer 800
Traktor to pioneer 800
the SL3 and the CDJ Digital will win hands down --- its not close
if you do bigger shows or care about fidelity the SL3 box murders the competion
if you cant hear the difference you are deaf
or you are playing shitty mp3s that sound like garbage anyways
I was the FOH engineer for SINDEN and RUSKO this past summer on hard tour and believe sinden played SL3 and everynight SL3 's D to A converter and internal algorithm sounds infinitely better
believe I was a skeptic too cuz SL1 sounds like shit
not saying Serato isnt easy flexible and great for cheating on your mixes ( I see you djs take off your headphones and stare at your laptop screens )
hope this gets you guys going this am
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:34 pm
by alextheswede
Serato is the future
Re: Serato
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:38 pm
by DJKage
mundy wrote:if you cant hear the difference you are deaf
okay, well that seems reasonable.
Re: Serato
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 6:21 am
by MikeE
mundy wrote:
I was the FOH engineer for SINDEN and RUSKO this past summer on hard tour and believe sinden played SL3 and everynight SL3 's D to A converter and internal algorithm sounds infinitely better
believe I was a skeptic too cuz SL1 sounds like shit
m
Yeah sinden uses SL3, as do scratch perverts/jack beats, foriegn beggars and a bunch of others. Excellent software/hardware.
Don't need anything special except turntables that are properly earthed (if the earthing is fucked, your tracks will jump all over the place and go +/- 20bpm on the tempo like happened to me on the radio on monday).
Then the biggest tip I can give you is DELETE anything that is low quality, run everything via itunes, use smart crates and ensure ALL ID3 tags are correct. like spend an entire day retagging your shit if you have to, its worth it.
Re: Serato
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:19 am
by jam1
I've been using Serato now for quite a while (after a good 10 years of vinyl purism...) and it's absolutely amazing! I'm just wondering how you guys set up your library? I make a new folder for each release I purchase... as you can imagine, it's starting to get a bit messy

Re: Serato
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 11:35 am
by Scylla
jam1 wrote:I've been using Serato now for quite a while (after a good 10 years of vinyl purism...) and it's absolutely amazing! I'm just wondering how you guys set up your library? I make a new folder for each release I purchase... as you can imagine, it's starting to get a bit messy

Firstly having a external hard drive here is key. Not only does it keep your laptop running fine but its easy to play your tunes on anyones computer just plug and play.
Set up folders in your hard drive ie. dubstep,Techno,Dnb, only put tunes of the same genre into the specific folders... easy to find this way
Open Scratch live and create a crate for each genre (theres a little crate icon in the bottom left corner looks a bit like a cardboard box) name accordingly
in serato click on files and find your hard drive (E drive ect..) click on the folder you made earlier (dubstep, dnb, whatever) each tune will come up by track title so find the song title you want to add
Highlight the track, click and drag it into one of the crates you made on the left handside. (you have to do this everytime you add a fresh song to your hardrive)
Now every time you open scratch live all you have to do is click on a crate and all your tunes will appear in order (that is if everything is labeled correctly)
I know this probably sounds Like common sense, but i hope its helpfull