SERATO SCRATCH LIVE REVIEW 4 U
Rane Serato Pros
1. Every CD, or digital track you have magically becomes wax and guess what, Santa brought doubles of everything.
2. Limitless options for sampling your own music; voice overs.
3. The vertical view of the wave form is an outstanding tool for any DJ to perfect beat matching & scratching.
4. Space saving Square hard ware compared to competitors awkward round hard ware.
5. Relative mode allows conservation of the Serato Vinyl because you can practice the same cut anywhere on the record.
6. Absolute mode allows a visual marker to be used on the Serato Vinyl.
Rane Serato Cons
1. Windows 98 will not work and all dj's aren't computer people.
2. Some delay with certain advanced tricks[this issue maybe be addressed with the updated software download] (processor speed, RAM amount and record speed {tempo} all factor into this)
3. a 4 Channel mixer is necessary if you are a dj who would like to mix quickly between vinyl and Serato Scratch.
Connecting Serato Scratch Live
When using serato scratch you are going to have a few extra RCA cables and power cords running through your setup. The thru and line are marked clearly but careful attention should be used until you are used to breaking and resetting up the unit. The only problem I experienced was that the signal from the control record was being heard in the background when Iflippedd back to vinyl. This is because you need to either have a 4channell mixer or disconnect the Serato scratch RCA's when using real wax. This problem is not unsolvable but the mostpracticall way would be to use a 4 channel mixer. I can tell you that using a video game splitterdoesn'tt work if you are having this problem and are thinking of trying that as a solution. When I had to bring out a 4 channelNu markk I was not pleased at first and thought, this 4 chan mixer is fine for home/studio, but this is not the mixer Ipreferr to take to parties. But I was so happy to have the signal noise out of the back ground and able to mix quickly between Wax and Serato Scratch I quickly decided to worry about that problem later, and forgave Serato Scratch for that issue. Like i said with some creativity and a trip to you local electrical component store you can solve this problem and use the 2 channel mixer you know and love.
Mixing with Rane Serato Scratch Live
Mixing with Serato Scratch is a pleasure. I tested the Scratch live with a couple different setups and on a system with near the Serato minimum requirements mixing can be accomplished with out any problems. Serato scratch requires no sound card; all sound is transfered from the PC through the usb therefore the better quality you digital media (mp3 wav etc.) the better it sounds when played live. Holding mixes for 3 or 4 minutes is easily accomplished because the vertical view of the wave in essence puts you 3 or 4 seconds ahead of your mix at all times. You can see your mix start to stray and start to correct it well in advance. I tested the Serato Scratch on the Stanton 100's and of course they have the key adjust feature. One of the biggest things I wanted to know before I used this system was if the key adjust would work with the Serato Live. Well it does work almost as good as it does with real records. In extreme cases you don't want to use the feature, but that is true for records too. The count down feature gives the time remaining in the track that is currently playing so more accurate mix plan on the fly. Also once the master volume is adjusted for a song it is saved automatically and there is no need to fumble with your faders.
Scratching with Rane Serato Scratch
If you cannot scratch well then you must have this product. If you can already scratch like the flash and jazzy jeff then you must have this product. Scratching on Serato Scratch allows you to be super duper dope when it comes to scratching. Not once with a 1.5MHz processor and 256MB ram PC did final scratch lock delay or malfunction while scratching heavily. The reason that scratching is much better on the Serato Scratch is because the wave form is color coded according to the frequency range. So basically you have blue snares, yellow ccymbalsand so on. If you become ffamiliarwith what colors sound a certain way when scratching you can basically cut a track without having heard it and dang near win a battle doing so.
Is Serato Scratch Live for you?
Yes, Serato Scratch Live by Rane is for you if you are a DJ, mixer, battlor, Digger or Producer. Any style of music translates to Serato Scratch. I demonstrated the unit playing Rap, Old school R&B and some Rock. I Suggest Serato Scratch to anyone who wants to have a massive collection of music consisting of thousands of songs arranged nicely on a 3.5 inch hard drive. If you have ever carried crates or arm fulls of dusty records to a party or club then Serato Scratch Live is for you. If you get Serato Scratch only for the purpose of converting your current wax into a digital format and keeping your wax for the real deal then it's worth it. This is by far a better than any scratch able CD players. Why you ask? Because it's real vinyl, real pitch control, real scratching. With This Product you never have to take your focus away from you set up to dig or search for records. You get more out of yourself as a DJ with Rane Serato Scratch Live. d_j_biko@yahoo.com