Hey.
Just bought the Rane Serato Scratch system off Ebay, and I am totally hyped.
Ever since I saw PVD use final scratch last year, I wanted to try it out, but when Rane came out with their version, I started to do some research and discovered that they had fixed a lot of annoyances that came with using FS.

For starters, a lot of people complained about the quality of the amp (and the quality of sound in a club setting) so Serrato (software) teamed up with Rane (hardware) to fix it. I haven't noticed any difference in quality

It's crazy easy to use. Hasn't crashed once, even though PowerPoint sometimes crshes the laptop I am using (not a very powerful Dell), and seems to respond exactly like vinyl.

Unlike FS, you can switch easily between RS Scratch and Vinyl, so you can be playing an MP3 off one deck and mix it into the vinly sitting on deck 2.

Uhm... am I gushing yet?

It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles (for example I personally could have used some sort of BPM counter (hold your groans... I'm learning) and the EQ takes some getting used to, but so far I love it.

I bought Serato Scratch Live in ?April?, something like that . . . anyway, I was on the waiting list so I was one of the first people to receive it from AGIProDJ.com (who were awesome, by the way, and free 2nd Day Air shipping), and I've been with it from the beginning. I've planned to post a review but have been putting it off . . . I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Rane and Serato . . . both these companies are amazingly supportive and friendly. They don't hesitate to personally email you when an update is up, and they are very concerned with the problems, their techs post both on their own offical forums and an unofficial forum that the users help each other out on.

Official Forums - http://www.scratchlive.net/

Non-official Forums - http://forums.seratoscratchlive.com/

So far Rane/Serato has updated the program twice (SSL 1.1 Builds 1105 and 1107) and they've actually fixed quite a few problems (and added some features -- they added a control signal strength indicator among other features). However, they have yet to fix a very crucial problem for the mixing DJ . . . the lathe that pressed the vinyl in the beginning was off, so there is some sort of "pitch drift" when mixing. If you get everything set up right, you can minimize the drift, but it still makes it a bitch to make clean long mixes sometimes. However, they are working on the fix, supposedly beta testing of the software fix is underway and new vinyls are being pressed.

I was (regrettably, I might add) an owner of Final Scratch versions 1.0, 1.1, and 1.5, and ALL of them gave me trouble. Stanton never responded to any of my complaints, their customer service was a joke. I got my help from the other frustrated users at the forum . . . I'm glad I bailed before they pulled the Stanton forums.

So far I have been almost completely satisfied with the program, I've probably experienced 3 or 4 audio problems since I've had it and those are mostly from bad MP3s . . . the last update fixed some variable bitrate issues. The graphical interface is really nice, it grew alot on me . . . and I'd say I really have to disagree with chris, there really are some bells and whistles . . . there are zoomable waveforms, customizable markers, a beatmatching display, unlimited record boxing, etc. Personally I haven't found time to utilize all of the tools . . . they pretty much looked at everything Stanton sucked at/lacked and improved/implemented it.

The sound quality is tons better than Final Scratch, and the hardware does some sort of processing of the MP3/WAV to make it sound "warmer" . . . here's an excerpt from the forums:

"Does SSL process the MP3s to make it sound more analog? I noticed the files sound more 'round' and seems like theyre going thru a compressor or somethign that would make it sound fuller and less digital like a tape compressor...

Or does SSL just play the mp3 as is on the computer?

"Every track has the RIAA curve applied, lathe modelled onto a virtual groove, needle playback modelled and then reverse RIAA'ed to capture the effect of the RIAA processes and changing the speed of real vinyl playback"

If anybody has any further questions about it dont hesitate to post or let me know . . I can even provide a mix (pitch drift included, unfortunately) if you would like. I know I sound like I'm pluggin this thing, but I figure I've gotten quite a bit of help from these forums, might as well give a little back . . .

___________________
i turn to the music
cause it never lets me down

Last edited by opianstate on Jul-29-2004 at 04:57

chris: If you're new perhaps this will help you with more than just final scratch.

there is a toggle on the top of your mixer it says "phono/line". to switch from vinyl to final scratch flip the switch over. I don't understand the difficulties you're having using both at the same time. I am by no means a massive final scratch fan. Just one of the lucky people that have had no problems with it. I don't spin in clubs, and with my $3000 worth of home stereo equip i can't tell the difference between a good quality sound file on final scratch and an actual record. Perhaps i just don't have the "ear" for it.

quote:

Originally posted by failsafe chris: If you're new perhaps this will help you with more than just final scratch. there is a toggle on the top of your mixer it says "phono/line". to switch from vinyl to final scratch flip the switch over. I don't understand the difficulties you're having using both at the same time. I am by no means a massive final scratch fan. Just one of the lucky people that have had no problems with it. I don't spin in clubs, and with my $3000 worth of home stereo equip i can't tell the difference between a good quality sound file on final scratch and an actual record. Perhaps i just don't have the "ear" for it.

Thanks for the tip. I know about the switch, but I have been told that when FS is actually running it causes some sort of balance issue causing the "phono" line out to become distorted. Most famously, this happened to Tiesto at Gatecrasher last year when he played right after PVD. Even though they flipped the switch from line to phono, the sound was so bad, Tiesto had to stop his set while they disconnected the FS Amp.

quote:

Originally posted by Nou If you could provide a sample of a Mp3 track being played through the RIAA compressor thingy and the same track being played back say through winamp or something on your computer that would be awesome. If it could be in wave format too that would be really great.

I'll look into it . . . all I know is I have noticed that the sound from SSL was much better than FS, especially in stuff like power downs, backspins, etc. I really think it must make a difference.

___________________
i turn to the music
cause it never lets me down

I have two 20-second samples of the same song, one of the original 192kbps file and one through Scratch Live. I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but if any of you want it, shoot me a PM.

edit: they are .wav files

___________________
i turn to the music
cause it never lets me down

sorry to pull up this post
i am thinking of getting the serato scratch or the PCDJ Scratch

what kind of a laptop will i need?
any complaints in the last 2 months?
thanks in advance

___________________
trance is dead, tiesto killed it

I run FS 1.5 now with no major complaints. My only issues are backspins sound so bad I would never do them live and when playing real vinyl through the scratchamp the quality is not great (I do not get any major audio problems but is is noticably worse). I am really excited to hear about the new FS 2.0 which is supposed to come out in November. If they fix the issues above and it does not cost too much to upgrade I am on it like stink on shit.

___________________
"You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are." - Colonel Adolphus Busch

Major Johnson - February Progressive Mix

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what exactly is a backspin? and this may sound like a goofy question, but say you had two of the same exact song, one on vinyl, one on mp3. you play them both at the 0% mark. will they both have the same pitch in the end?

quote:

Originally posted by Omega_Blue what exactly is a backspin?

This is VERY common when mixing techno. As the record is playing normally you spin record backwards very quickly and it sounds pretty cool . As an example you place you fingers on the upper-left side of the record with your left hand and pull your hand towards you very fast.

quote:

Originally posted by Omega_Blue and this may sound like a goofy question, but say you had two of the same exact song, one on vinyl, one on mp3. you play them both at the 0% mark. will they both have the same pitch in the end?

If you play the mp3 at 0% pitch (as long as the record side matches the speed setting 33/45, this is a technicality which doubt is what you were really asking) it will sound the same as when it was originally recorded. So as long as you record the record at 0% pitch it will sound that way. However, if you recorded the real record at +1% then played it back in FS at 0% it would sound like the record at +1%.

___________________
"You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are." - Colonel Adolphus Busch

Major Johnson - February Progressive Mix

Download Other Mixes

Last edited by auujay on Sep-23-2004 at 09:19