forums : Producing

Serato... Anybody?

It seems like nobody uses TimeCoded Vinyl-based DJ software here, or at least, only a small few. HipHop DJs are all over it and has been for a while now. From what I've heard/seen, dubplates and cdjs take over the scene.

It'd just be nice to know that if a DJ opts to use Serato, promoters have a box already hooked up before they get there.

Is it discouraged because of Craze's set back in 2002(i think) @ Respect when somebody tripped on the power supply of his laptop or something like that? haha. I just remember that look on Crazes face like WTF!!

Re: Serato... Anybody?

its all i use...

it saves my vinyl collection, and my back.... a laptop is a lot less heavy then a flight case or 2 of records...

but...it makes me newschool and ..im ok with this.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

I use it, love it, and have turned many people onto it. It's rock solid, familiar and can be used in powerful ways. My only issue is the new dj, and I've been seeing alot of them lately, that can't look away from the screen or match a beat without it.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

I used fs1 and fs2 till the Mac Book Pro came out and then fs2 wasnt working yet with the new intel mac so I then switched to serato. Its cool.
Saves the wax and is deff. convienient for both flying/traveling and playing your dubz.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

I love the TTM-57 but own Traktor Skratch. I like Traktor for the Pitch lock function labeled as "Key" in the interface. But I love the customization of the TTM, and the Fader? WHOOP! I need to try the Ecler series mixer with Traktor SKratch before I dedicate myself to buyin a TTM-57SL.

C

Re: Serato... Anybody?

just got serato last night...

ive def used it before.. but man...


im in love. it opens up my options SO much for my sets..

and yes i would LOVE a box already hooked into gigs.. so all you have to do is bring your lappy discs....

but that is really hard for people for some reason.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

.

[ shook - 6 Mar 2008 09:31 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

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According to caelum. ...

I love the TTM-57 but own Traktor Skratch. I like Traktor for the Pitch lock function labeled as "Key" in the interface. But I love the customization of the TTM, and the Fader? WHOOP! I need to try the Ecler series mixer with Traktor SKratch before I dedicate myself to buyin a TTM-57SL.

C
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serato has the same thing....

its a little "note symbol" next to the deck...

locks the pitch/key

[ shook - 6 Mar 2008 10:09 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

I love my serato. You know in europe most clubs already have it set up, so you can just plug in.
But you know us kooky americans always a step behind those euro's.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

damn double posting

[ shook - 6 Mar 2008 09:55 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

If promoters had the box set up already... that would be very nice. I know the guys at LIQUID have it set up proper.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

when we played at Adrenaline on tuesday... it was set up and ready to go

Re: Serato... Anybody?

adrenaline sound system is pretty weak in my "opinion" ...could be better but what do they know...

Re: Serato... Anybody?

what happens when you're playing on serato and you computer crashes...would that be embarassing?

Re: Serato... Anybody?

Lets stay on topic please =)

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According to question6 ...

adrenaline sound system is pretty weak in my "opinion" ...could be better but what do they know...
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

Yeah they baggage factor is the best positive for Serato. I used to carry that 80 lp Technics bag full. After a set, I was wearing it like a backpack, and in an unbalanced-attempt to walk outta the club, ate s**t hard. Luckily a cute girl helped me up, told me she was feeling my set, and gave me the biggest hug. Haha, so it wasn't too embarassing

Re: Serato... Anybody?

first, anyone using serato should NOT be using a computer with the chance of that happening...

serato is pretty good about running while your computer is in distress...

i had a few challenges with my pc.. but i went mac, and never looked back..

mac is the new black

Re: Serato... Anybody?

i play on serato now...

it was nice getting on the plane with two pieces of vinyl

even though people were making fun of me saturday night...giving me the evil eye lolz

my dream is having a box set up

i think cdjs should just disappear so we can just have vinyl/vinyl control set ups

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According to warcampcrew ...

first, anyone using serato should NOT be using a computer with the chance of that happening...

serato is pretty good about running while your computer is in distress...

i had a few challenges with my pc.. but i went mac, and never looked back..

mac is the new black
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

dp

[ jreign - 6 Mar 2008 15:35 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

dp

[ jreign - 6 Mar 2008 15:37 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

"i think cdjs should just disappear so we can just have vinyl/vinyl control set ups "

What's even weirder to me, are DJ's that use CDJ's to control Serato ...

A lotta house guys do that now.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

yeah funnily some guy played after me here in austin we both were using serato but he had the control cd and used cdjs i was like Wtf...

i guess it makes your rig smaller though right....cdj/mixer/sdj

but why not just use a midi control and for get the mixer lol



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According to kingpin ...

"i think cdjs should just disappear so we can just have vinyl/vinyl control set ups "

What's even weirder to me, are DJ's that use CDJ's to control Serato ...

A lotta house guys do that now.
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

I rather use CDDJs, specifically the pioneer system. Don't get me wrong I like serato but I'm way over the "analog feel”. I'd rather leave the $2000 worth of gear at home and carry a cd case. If you really learn (it’s not that hard either) the pioneer system you can do way more then a conventional viynl/serato system can .

[ andrade - 6 Mar 2008 16:51 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

Just curious, but what can the CDJ system do that Serato cannot?

Also, you can get Serato and a laptop brand new for about $1000. That's half the price of 2 new Pioneer high end CDJ's.

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According to andrade ...

I'd rather leave the $2000 worth of gear at home and carry a cd case. If you really learn (it’s not that hard either) the pioneer system you can do way more then a conventional viynl/serato system can .

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Re: Serato... Anybody?

I think I just like the auto cue with the fader thing . I know you can loop and trigger with your laptop , but it's just fun to cue with the fader . SD/CD thing lightens the load . So far as FX and hands on play you can get a TT57SL and rock out the same . I guess it's just a preference .....

Re: Serato... Anybody?

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According to kingpin ...

"i think cdjs should just disappear so we can just have vinyl/vinyl control set ups "

What's even weirder to me, are DJ's that use CDJ's to control Serato ...

A lotta house guys do that now.
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1 problem with serato is that it is very sensitive to any kind of grounding/tone arm/needle issues... this might not be noticed when playing vinyl... but it can make serato unplayable...

using CDJ's alleviates this problem...1 less thing to worry about....

Re: Serato... Anybody?

i use serrato

i love it.

i got TORQ b4 to try and save money...but that was a piece of crap

Re: Serato... Anybody?

sweet when i got serato everyone and ther mom was like


TORQ TORQ omg you overpaid blah blah blah

glad to hear i didn't make a mistake

people love cheap s**t thats why numark and american dj are still in business


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According to flinch ...

i use serrato

i love it.

i got TORQ b4 to try and save money...but that was a piece of crap
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

I would not recommend Final Scratch or Torque for playing out. They are not stable on big sound systems. I've used FS 1.0 - 2.0 and was never able to get consistent quality out of it. As for Torque, I've seen it twice and it crashed both times. Serato is the clear winner!

Re: Serato... Anybody?

i love serato so much I convinced my boss (who used to spin hard house in the mid-90's) to get back into the game and get that s**t and now he loves it, and I got a raise!

big ups to Serato

Re: Serato... Anybody?

*Sigh of relief* Really glad to see plenty of Serato users here.

My dumb ass actually sold Serato to try and get 2 Torq set-ups. I still got Torq but I had to buy Serato again since it was no way near as stable. Serato definitely is champ.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

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According to kingpin ...

"i think cdjs should just disappear so we can just have vinyl/vinyl control set ups "

What's even weirder to me, are DJ's that use CDJ's to control Serato ...

A lotta house guys do that now.
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That's what I thought a dj was doing, but then I noticed she was using Ableton.

I think it's a good idea to be able to use CD-J's with Serrato in the unfortunate case when sound issues are turntable-related. I've seen CD-J's come to the rescue lots of times when the turntables weren't properly isolated, grounded, or there were issues with the needles, etc...not to mention if something happened to the control records at a club like if they got scratched, stolen, or misplaced, you might be screwed. Plus I hear you have to clean the control records pretty frequently.

Looking forward to getting Serrato in the very near future My record purchases lately just haven't been giving me as much bang for my buck as they used to...although I do plan on buying records still.

Any recommendations for places where I can purchase quality digital tunes besides BeatPort?

Re: Serato... Anybody?

I like Digital-tunes.net ... they're a bit cheaper for WAV/FLAC downloads. BP has that nasty $1 surcharge per WAV download, but digital-tunes.net will send em to you not only in FLAC, but also zipped up in one file. And they dont bitch about bandwidth, either.

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According to djdaemia ...

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According to kingpin ...

"i think cdjs should just disappear so we can just have vinyl/vinyl control set ups "

What's even weirder to me, are DJ's that use CDJ's to control Serato ...

A lotta house guys do that now.
**********

That's what I thought a dj was doing, but then I noticed she was using Ableton.

I think it's a good idea to be able to use CD-J's with Serrato in the unfortunate case when sound issues are turntable-related. I've seen CD-J's come to the rescue lots of times when the turntables weren't properly isolated, grounded, or there were issues with the needles, etc...not to mention if something happened to the control records at a club like if they got scratched, stolen, or misplaced, you might be screwed. Plus I hear you have to clean the control records pretty frequently.

Looking forward to getting Serrato in the very near future My record purchases lately just haven't been giving me as much bang for my buck as they used to...although I do plan on buying records still.

Any recommendations for places where I can purchase quality digital tunes besides BeatPort?
**********

Re: Serato... Anybody?

i wish i had the storage space for wavs


serato djs are you using external hard drives and if so which ones i have a mybook 300 or 500 gigs...not sure which lol but one of them i was hoping to never fill that up but now i think i need a terabyte

and to answer julia other options are track it down, juno download, a bunch of cuts and bleep? thats for breaks and electronica and i know the name is wrong, someone will correct me

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According to luciphercolors ...

I like Digital-tunes.net ... they're a bit cheaper for WAV/FLAC downloads. BP has that nasty $1 surcharge per WAV download, but digital-tunes.net will send em to you not only in FLAC, but also zipped up in one file. And they dont bitch about bandwidth, either.

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According to djdaemia ...

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According to kingpin ...

"i think cdjs should just disappear so we can just have vinyl/vinyl control set ups "

What's even weirder to me, are DJ's that use CDJ's to control Serato ...

A lotta house guys do that now.
**********

That's what I thought a dj was doing, but then I noticed she was using Ableton.

I think it's a good idea to be able to use CD-J's with Serrato in the unfortunate case when sound issues are turntable-related. I've seen CD-J's come to the rescue lots of times when the turntables weren't properly isolated, grounded, or there were issues with the needles, etc...not to mention if something happened to the control records at a club like if they got scratched, stolen, or misplaced, you might be screwed. Plus I hear you have to clean the control records pretty frequently.

Looking forward to getting Serrato in the very near future My record purchases lately just haven't been giving me as much bang for my buck as they used to...although I do plan on buying records still.

Any recommendations for places where I can purchase quality digital tunes besides BeatPort?
**********
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

I think a good example of why someone would use a cdj with serato is if they were spinning outdoors on a windy patio or something to that effect. In an environment that wouldnt be so friendly to tone arms and needles and vinyl.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

Try
http://www.junodownload.com/

while you're there...search Relentless Audio...you might find something you like hehe

*sorry for the shameless self promotion*

oh and to keep with the topic, i'm planning on doing the mac book pro thing in 2 months and i think i'll be going for serato and abelton to use live. i'm getting excited!

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According to djdaemia ...

Any recommendations for places where I can purchase quality digital tunes besides BeatPort?
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[ devoe - 9 Mar 2008 19:21 ]
[ devoe - 9 Mar 2008 19:20 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

While your@Juno Download you might want to check out the Nemesis Recordings back catalog as well.....



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According to devoe ...

Try
http://www.junodownload.com/

while you're there...search Relentless Audio...you might find something you like hehe

*sorry for the shameless self promotion*

oh and to keep with the topic, i'm planning on doing the mac book pro thing in 2 months and i think i'll be going for serato and abelton to use live. i'm getting excited!

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According to djdaemia ...

Any recommendations for places where I can purchase quality digital tunes besides BeatPort?
**********


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Re: Serato... Anybody?

I've had serato for about two months now and I absolutely love it. It opens a lot of doors. Aside from the obvious reason, I like it because I really was never to good at caring for/organising my vinyl. I have crates upon crates upon crates of stuff all busted up and in the wrong sleeves. Problem solved.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

ive used Serato... pretty dam dope... but after using Traktor... I think its alot better...The bit rate sampling and all that technical stuff is alot higher than Serato, the box is an actual Audio Interface and in my opinion alot easier to set up.. but yknow industry standards and what not, everyone goes for Serato.. give me Traktor and the Pioneer djm-909.. s**t will be crackn

[ djohmen - 11 Mar 2008 00:38 ]

Re: Serato... Anybody?

sometimes that pitch/key lock can make noises when the track is playing.. it can be fixed somewhat by changing the latency settings but then theres a sick ass lag when your trying to cue up a track

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According to shook ...

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According to caelum. ...

I love the TTM-57 but own Traktor Skratch. I like Traktor for the Pitch lock function labeled as "Key" in the interface. But I love the customization of the TTM, and the Fader? WHOOP! I need to try the Ecler series mixer with Traktor SKratch before I dedicate myself to buyin a TTM-57SL.

C
**********
serato has the same thing....

its a little "note symbol" next to the deck...

locks the pitch/key

**********

Re: Serato... Anybody?

juno download is way easier than beatport (interface sucks) but bc it's £, you pay more .70 more if you're buying 320's.

so does anyone know if beatport and juno have the same releases available? or do u think one site gets releases that the other one doesn't...

also from your experience shopping, out of all dnb releases what percentage would you is released digitally? i myself have realized that new releases sometimes take a few weeks or even a month or 2 to go digital and obviously white labels don't come on digi unless its a digi exclusive. i just wanna know what i'd be missin out on if i bought strictly digi. obviously, buying vinyl too keeps you covered but i'm just curious.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

Cool...thanks for the tips and websites everyone

I've been having some fun with the DOA mp3 store as well. As far as purchasing WAV files vs. 320's, is there a huge difference that would justify the extra cash and extra space a WAV file takes on my computer or will I be ok with all 320's?

Do you notice if you drastically have to adjust for differences in sound quality between tunes? Is the visual display pretty accurate for normalizing sound levels?

Also, I was wondering if 2 people can tag with 2 different laptops on a Serato setup. Is that possible? Sorry if that's a stupid question, but I don't have Serato yet and I'm unfamiliar with the set-up aspect.

I'm so excited...I can't wait!!!

Re: Serato... Anybody?

i think that mp3 stores have both distributors and consignment type deals

so juno probably has all the tunes from their vinyl distributors that sell mp3s now too...and i would think while beatport has a deal with some distributors, it maybe doesn't have all the distros that juno does....but beatport also has random no distro having net labels

my hunch without thoroughly researching is that juno has more tune....

now a bunch of cuts has

31 soulr signature etc exclusive but they also charge in pounds and that makes 1 mp3 like 3 to 3.50 dollars which is a ridiculous price imo

julia as far as wav vs mp3

i think that the sound difference is negligible in a club enviroment and while it would be great to have lossless quality on everything you play, until a portable hardrive of 2 terabytes is like 50 bucks it doesn't seem worth it....

i have seen 2 x 4's with serato just needs some setting up...and really not worth it, you would be better off loading whatever you want to play onto one laptop

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According to jos ...

juno download is way easier than beatport (interface sucks) but bc it's £, you pay more .70 more if you're buying 320's.

so does anyone know if beatport and juno have the same releases available? or do u think one site gets releases that the other one doesn't...

also from your experience shopping, out of all dnb releases what percentage would you is released digitally? i myself have realized that new releases sometimes take a few weeks or even a month or 2 to go digital and obviously white labels don't come on digi unless its a digi exclusive. i just wanna know what i'd be missin out on if i bought strictly digi. obviously, buying vinyl too keeps you covered but i'm just curious.
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

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According to djdaemia ...

Cool...thanks for the tips and websites everyone

I've been having some fun with the DOA mp3 store as well. As far as purchasing WAV files vs. 320's, is there a huge difference that would justify the extra cash and extra space a WAV file takes on my computer or will I be ok with all 320's?

Do you notice if you drastically have to adjust for differences in sound quality between tunes? Is the visual display pretty accurate for normalizing sound levels?

Also, I was wondering if 2 people can tag with 2 different laptops on a Serato setup. Is that possible? Sorry if that's a stupid question, but I don't have Serato yet and I'm unfamiliar with the set-up aspect.

I'm so excited...I can't wait!!!
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320's should be fine!!!


and

as far as tagging with 2 different laptops

there are 2 different ways to do this....

1) if u have 2 Serato boxes and a 4 channel mixer you can set up 1 of the boxes on 2 channels and the other box on the other 2 channels

2) u have 1 serato box....

set up as normally but in order to switch laptops on the Serato box... u will have to play a regular vinyl record sou u can disconnect the laptop and plug in the other... without disrupting the flow of music.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

ALSO.....

Purchase the Power adapter for the serato box...

if u are using only USB to power your serato... if u disconnect your laptop... you will lose all sound even if u are playing vinyl


Plus...

if u have to bring serato to the gig... you want to be able to take your laptop with you or keep it in a secure place .. instead of leaving it at the decks...

if u have the power adapter you dont have to leave your laptop laying around to keep the sound going.

Re: Serato... Anybody?

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According to broken_records ...

you would be better off loading whatever you want to play onto one laptop

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u can pre load a flash USB drive import the tunes to serato and build the overviews on it... then they will play like anything else the harddrive.. but they will be playing fromthe USB drive...


last but not least... CD's

playing a CD on serato ... works... for the most part...

really depends on your computer and cd drive and the CD

i have successfully played 2 songs off the same CD at the same time... but i wouldnt suggest it... was a little unstable

1 song from a CD worked fine... but other computers have had problems...

safest bet.... import the CD onto your harddrive and play em from there

Re: Serato... Anybody?

actually i was wondering about that. so it is possible....but is there any latency at all playing it off the usb drive versus just importing it on to the HD and playing it direct from there?



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According to shook ...


u can pre load a flash USB drive import the tunes to serato and build the overviews on it... then they will play like anything else the harddrive.. but they will be playing fromthe USB drive...
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

i gotta get the serato power source i feel like i am treading on really thin ice with usb....

also someoen tried playing cds off my laptop with serato and there were latency issues

and my fear with a usb key is i have three items running off usb at that point what if that causes some sort of power drain or one of them crashes

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According to shook ...

ALSO.....

Purchase the Power adapter for the serato box...

if u are using only USB to power your serato... if u disconnect your laptop... you will lose all sound even if u are playing vinyl


Plus...

if u have to bring serato to the gig... you want to be able to take your laptop with you or keep it in a secure place .. instead of leaving it at the decks...

if u have the power adapter you dont have to leave your laptop laying around to keep the sound going.
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

alot of people do just use usb sticks....

or even external hard drives (like what i use)

i have no latency issues playing off my external hard drive which should be the same as a stick

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According to chrisk ...

actually i was wondering about that. so it is possible....but is there any latency at all playing it off the usb drive versus just importing it on to the HD and playing it direct from there?



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According to shook ...


u can pre load a flash USB drive import the tunes to serato and build the overviews on it... then they will play like anything else the harddrive.. but they will be playing fromthe USB drive...
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Re: Serato... Anybody?

^^^^^^ what he said


it should not be an issue