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-- Thinking of selling CDJ's to switch to Serato...

Thinking of selling CDJ's to switch to Serato...

So I know I've been threatening this for a while but I'm thinking about dumping mj CDJ800 mk2's for serato to use with my Tech's Mk5g's.

but before I do, I'm looking for a bit of real useage feedback from some serato owners!

Firstly, when using my mate's SL1 setup (although he never really runs his decks well calibrated), I found tracks would drift (go in and out of time when beatmatched).

I know that techs have a tiny bit of wow and flutter but I've never had a problem gettiing my vinyl mixes locked in, whereas my limited Serato experiences were not as tight?

Secondly, I'm only mixing two decks so don't think I need an SL4 but I want the best audio quality - will an SL3 or even 2 be ok?

Come on peeps? Gimme some info!

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN Come on peeps? Gimme some info!

It's really a matter of preference. Do you like vinyl or CDJ's?

Still rockin my 800 mk2s. At this point im gonna use em till they go on me. No sign of that though.

Well, I do like the feel of CDJ's - the 800's are great, but vinyl is my first love.

It's more a case of having to burn cd's, and with serato I could skip all that ballache.

Really it's a case of convenience. I probably will miss the tight efficiency of CDJ's from a tactile point, but I suppose this is what I'm really asking:

Is serato as tight as vinyl or is there a lot of drift? I can't stand having to constantly fight the pitch when I know it's just the technology that is fucking it up.

IMO, you know Rann that i tried both. When it comes to USB sticks i got more drift than using Techs 1200's with traktor. Soon I''ll try traktor without the audio10 and lower my signal path with my numark turntables that i still have with the xone 42. It should be awsome thanks to the tutorial you posted awhile back, anyhow i gotta look for it.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN Well, I do like the feel of CDJ's - the 800's are great, but vinyl is my first love. It's more a case of having to burn cd's, and with serato I could skip all that ballache. Really it's a case of convenience. I probably will miss the tight efficiency of CDJ's from a tactile point, but I suppose this is what I'm really asking: Is serato as tight as vinyl or is there a lot of drift? I can't stand having to constantly fight the pitch when I know it's just the technology that is fucking it up.

Of course it's going to drift, but if it's the vinyl feel you are after, then you know what to do.

Sorry Juan, but there's absolutely no way that you get more drift with CDJs and USB than with Tech's and Traktor. I have very extensive experience using both setups, and would take the former any day of the week.

quote:

Originally posted by PaULiN0 IMO, you know Rann that i tried both. When it comes to USB sticks i got more drift than using Techs 1200's with traktor. Soon I''ll try traktor without the audio10 and lower my signal path with my numark turntables that i still have with the xone 42. It should be awsome thanks to the tutorial you posted awhile back, anyhow i gotta look for it.

It's bizarre that CDJ's drift with USB sticks, but you're not the first person I've heard complain about that. I was wondering about getting rid of the 800's and going to something that takes USB for the convenience of it, but it kind of defeats the point if they drift.

quote:

Originally posted by KiNeTiC ENeRgY Of course it's going to drift, but if it's the vinyl feel you are after, then you know what to do.

Why "of course"?

From what I'm reading, along with a little experience of my mates badly calibrated system (so maybe not the best reference), it drifted to the amount you have with low resolution pitch step CDJ's (i.e. like CDJ 100's) where you have to ride the pitch the whole time on a long mix because the step have too much difference between to lock right in.

Do you feel that they drift any more so than just using vinyl (which on my techs is negligible)?

CDJS DO NOT drift with USBs. If they do, it's because you don't have the pitch adjusted correctly. One thing I did notice, with the 2000's, is that the pitch can move a tiny bit by itself from time to time. But with my 850's I can easily get my tracks locked it for minutes at a time without any drifting.

Yeah i got 2000's and when i have it locked the beats drift just little before I'm able to make a change imo. I just ordered reloop 7000's i doubt that it will stand up to a 1200 but atleast its better than my numarks lol

I agree with clay. After having tried both at the same time i'd go with time code vinyl. May m5g's rest in peace.

hell yea, right on. How much does a cutter go for?

Told ya paulino.... cdjs are a waste of money. Tts and serato is where its at. Traktor? Lol this is the only place i see people praising traktor must be a trance thing...

Srry but i'm a rich bastard so i get everything. When i'm having a party and a buddy wants to use em, hey why not right? No offense, but traktor has nothing to do with trance.

been using scratch live for close to 9 years now... never had a problem like that mentioned in the OP. easy to get beat matched solidly.

if you calibrate it correctly (easy job) then it should be fine. only problem i've had with losing the signal (tune starts garbling) is when my needles were really fucked - you can see the signal strength dipping in that case. in normal circumstances it is rock solid, reliably.

and this applied to when it just was really new on the market, these days the code will be bullet proof.

using SL1 (obviously) what are we now SL3?

if i don't get drift on ancient hardware, then you should be fine. wasn't aware this was a problem for any serato user. any "drift" is probably more to do with your shit beat matching

of any real concern is the signal tone. it can be audible over the tunes you are playing. especially now, the latest batch of time-encoded vinyl have a 15% boost in signal or whatever it was. the needle amplifies this tone naturally and you can hear it (like you can hear a tune playing from the needle without an amp (tss tss tss) i think certain needles are worse than others.

shouldn't be a problem if the beats are banging though.

wait, are we talking about serato with CDJs or TTs?

quote:

Originally posted by Adam420 Sorry Juan, but there's absolutely no way that you get more drift with CDJs and USB than with Tech's and Traktor. I have very extensive experience using both setups, and would take the former any day of the week.

I'd love to get more feedback from you on this, albeit Serato. And yes, i have played for a quite a few hours so it's not about how to use it, simply accuracy of timing.

quote:

Originally posted by Adam420 CDJS DO NOT drift with USBs. If they do, it's because you don't have the pitch adjusted correctly. One thing I did notice, with the 2000's, is that the pitch can move a tiny bit by itself from time to time. But with my 850's I can easily get my tracks locked it for minutes at a time without any drifting.

Actually the 2000's have been plagued with pitch drift issues; just google the terms CDJ 2000 and pitch Drift. Master tempo is still not usable (and who really cares?) but the big issues is that they drift depending on what firmware you have, and some units are affected and some are not. One guy I know had them the week they came out. Some firmware updates were fine, others would have the drift.

quote:

Originally posted by Palm i guess this drift from usb is on mp3s ripped from vinyl or maybe VBR mp3s get proper wavs and your probably fine. however i would go 1210s and serato or traktor instead of cdj today.

MP3 just suffer worse, but it still does it with wav, but apparently not with aiff.

And that's why I'm going serato. My plays around with traktor were a good experience but I prefer the GUI on serato and it just seemed more solid all around. .....but I do like the fact traktor is hackable to use with any interface of your choice, especially when serato hardware is probably only worth half the sticker price.

Still, I'll just probably get an sl3 or sl4. I'd prefer the sl4 for the slightly better sound quality but I'd never use the rest of the extra features like dual usb or 2 extra decks.

quote:

Originally posted by rubez been using scratch live for close to 9 years now... never had a problem like that mentioned in the OP. easy to get beat matched solidly. if you calibrate it correctly (easy job) then it should be fine. only problem i've had with losing the signal (tune starts garbling) is when my needles were really fucked - you can see the signal strength dipping in that case. in normal circumstances it is rock solid, reliably. and this applied to when it just was really new on the market, these days the code will be bullet proof. using SL1 (obviously) what are we now SL3? if i don't get drift on ancient hardware, then you should be fine. wasn't aware this was a problem for any serato user. any "drift" is probably more to do with your shit beat matching of any real concern is the signal tone. it can be audible over the tunes you are playing. especially now, the latest batch of time-encoded vinyl have a 15% boost in signal or whatever it was. the needle amplifies this tone naturally and you can hear it (like you can hear a tune playing from the needle without an amp (tss tss tss) i think certain needles are worse than others. shouldn't be a problem if the beats are banging though. wait, are we talking about serato with CDJs or TTs?

Thanks man - it's nothing to do with my beat matching (had decks for nearly 20 years now - fuck that makes me feel old).

I think it has more to do with my mates setup being really crusty and his vinyls being worn/dirty and the record holes being too big etc. My needles could do with replacing though.

You bring up good point abut the tone though - I sometimes have to mix in just headphones when it's late and the tone drives both me and the missus crazy. It could actually be a deal breaker. I wish they'd figure out a way to make the tone inaudible to the human range.

quote:

Originally posted by Juan Srry but i'm a rich bastard so i get everything. When i'm having a party and a buddy wants to use em, hey why not right?

lol, not so rich that you can afford to buy mk5g's

Reloop? *snigger*

The DACs on CDJ's are not terrible, just very average. It's more a problem with how complex brands like pioneer are trying to make a CD player; they basically have onboard CPUs that have to process the signal in relation to pitch.

This used to be dealt with (on earlier CDJ's) by fairly straightforward electronics - a resistance value was given to the location of pitch fader and then chips would digitally control the variation on the sample rate (i.e. how fast those samples would be played back)

Now, with things like the nexus, it's basically a computer that is having to load the data stream in real time and process it in real time. This shouldn't be too much of an issue but Pioneer aren't a PC or even really a software manufacturer, so the firmware which is handling the entire DSP is not up to task.

They'll probably figure it out but the issue with MP3's are that they have an extra layer of conversion before just going to the output DAC, so any lag it exacerbated.

You're right though about computer screens; it;s fucking bollocks. I hate that laptops are 16:9 when everything that is not video related needs a square screen. I suppose part of it is that some people watch TV and flims only on their laptop but I don't see why they don't make options.

I had to dig out an old Compaq laptop to use a 32bit OS program that was only XP compatible, and the screen is literally square - it's as tall as it is wide.

I'm seriously thinking about resurrecting it for doing normal work and design stuff like writing letters or photoshop.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN lol, not so rich that you can afford to buy mk5g's Reloop? *snigger*

Well i made up my mind after reading several trusted reviews and i wanted to try some thing different. If they don't live up to the m5g's then i'll return them and get modded tech 1210' so i'm alright. The 7000's should be here by tomorrow (friday) I'll let you know if they are any good.

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