I've been wanting to go digital for a while and have been doing some research on the various options, and the only one I don't really understand is the Serato + CDJ combo. You have to give up some functionality of the CDJ's (ie effects)to use it, and, from what I can tell, you don't get anything except the convenience of not having to burn CD's.

Does Serato give something else that I'm missing? 500 bucks seems like a lot to spend for access to the same library of songs and less functionality than with regular CD's.

well, let's face it, the effects on some cdjs are pretty useless
also you don't have to give up much else (as i'd think serato has master tempo and looping).
i'm gonna get traktor scratch in the future most likely and i only have cdjs. i'm really sick of burning cds and flipping thru a million cds and picking up what to play next. i'm thinking that choosing the next tune will be much easier for me with a program where i can see all the tunes in a list and sort them any way i want. and i'll never have to burn any fucking cds ever again or sort thru them and never finding what to play next.
also i won't be getting TTs to use with traktor scratch as TTs are much more of a hassle IMO with needles and tonearms and whatnot. but i am going to upgrade my cdjs most likely though, to something that offer better pitch resolution (as 0,1% is not enough for me as i'm a crap dj anyway).
so it's not really such a stupid idea in the end (IMO at least) but i think you'd need to play with cdjs first to find all these things out.

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Well most CDJ's (800's, 1000') don't have effects anyway, so really no big deal there.

Serato doesn't give you a bunch of features, but one notable exception is the auto-looping in the new 1.8 release. With one click, you can create a 1, 2, 4, 8 etc bar loop that's nearly perfect.

Don't discount the ease of having all of your music in a searchable library though. Once you get used to it it's very hard to go digging through your CD books looking for that one song and having no idea where it is... It really does improve your programming of your mix, as you can quickly try different tracks and search for things, etc.

As for other DVS systems like Traktor Scratch, even Torq, do offer a lot of other features such as their own effects and such.

quote:

Originally posted by skip well, let's face it, the effects on some cdjs are pretty useless also you don't have to give up much else (as i'd think serato has master tempo and looping). i'm gonna get traktor scratch in the future most likely and i only have cdjs. i'm really sick of burning cds and flipping thru a million cds and picking up what to play next. i'm thinking that choosing the next tune will be much easier for me with a program where i can see all the tunes in a list and sort them any way i want. and i'll never have to burn any fucking cds ever again or sort thru them and never finding what to play next. also i won't be getting TTs to use with traktor scratch as TTs are much more of a hassle IMO with needles and tonearms and whatnot. but i am going to upgrade my cdjs most likely though, to something that offer better pitch resolution (as 0,1% is not enough for me as i'm a crap dj anyway). so it's not really such a stupid idea in the end (IMO at least) but i think you'd need to play with cdjs first to find all these things out.

not to start a fight or anything, but why traktor instead of torq or serato.

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Originally posted by bas we're just rolling in that sweet sweet Beatport chedda SON. I PUT DIAMONDS IN MY SALT SHAKER SO I CAN HAVE CRUSHED DIAMONDS ON MY FOOD...it makes my dookie twinkle!!!

quote:

Originally posted by leph555 not to start a fight or anything, but why traktor instead of torq or serato.

well, i have a couple of reasons:
1. it comes with the audio8dj sound card, which can be used without traktor scratch! that's a big plus for me.
2. i can also upgrade the traktor scratch to traktor 3.3 for 99€ or something and then i'll have program i can mix on when i'm travelling in the train for example (i'm most likely gonna do this a lot in about a year), so this is a pretty big selling point also
3. and i hate the way serato looks, i also think that the beatmatching aid thingies on it a extremely lame (dunno if you can turn them off though)
4. and torq just doesn't appeal to me. dunno why, but it just seems so plastic/ghetto somehow.
5. it's apparently a good program/interface, just like serato, but also get a sound card that's not dependable on the program. and i have heard more negative stuff about torq than the others (so i don't really trust that it's as good as TS or serato).
6. you can also record your set with the audio8dj that comes with TS, the others don't offer this (afaik at least)
so in short, i'd say that for me it's definitely the best program and i'm not really even considering the others. also i haven't heard a single reason why i shouldn't buy TS.

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Hi I Used serato with my cdj 1000mk3 everthing on the cdjs work the same loops, memory cue, whog wheel, etc... My mixing has improve i really recomend it, never failed.
Saves a lot of time burning cds, organizing cds, no more scratches on cds, and gives you more time to try diferent songs. Plus you can organized everthing in itunes (Playlist) and view it on serato screen.

The only problem is if another DJ is playing before or after you, does some one know a solution instead of plug in and on plug in it ???

I just got Traktor Scratch today! Can't wait to go home and hook it up. I use Serato currently, which I do really like, but yeah the features you list below are compelling.

I also have 2 1200's and 2 CDJ-1000's, and TS (upgraded to Traktor 3.3) offers 4 deck support. So I'll be able to mix real vinyl, timecode vinyl, real CD's, and timecode CD's without switching anything around.

The Audio8 sound card is REALLY nice too. Perfect for a DJ.

That being said, I think Seratos GUI is beautifully simple compared to Traktors, but Traktors isn't terrible.

quote:

Originally posted by skip well, i have a couple of reasons: 1. it comes with the audio8dj sound card, which can be used without traktor scratch! that's a big plus for me. 2. i can also upgrade the traktor scratch to traktor 3.3 for 99€ or something and then i'll have program i can mix on when i'm travelling in the train for example (i'm most likely gonna do this a lot in about a year), so this is a pretty big selling point also 3. and i hate the way serato looks, i also think that the beatmatching aid thingies on it a extremely lame (dunno if you can turn them off though) 4. and torq just doesn't appeal to me. dunno why, but it just seems so plastic/ghetto somehow. 5. it's apparently a good program/interface, just like serato, but also get a sound card that's not dependable on the program. and i have heard more negative stuff about torq than the others (so i don't really trust that it's as good as TS or serato). 6. you can also record your set with the audio8dj that comes with TS, the others don't offer this (afaik at least) so in short, i'd say that for me it's definitely the best program and i'm not really even considering the others. also i haven't heard a single reason why i shouldn't buy TS.

i see your point guys, im going to probably rethink my decision on getting torq, even though its cheap im not feeling it, and serato and traktor seem to have professional and simple interfaces.

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Originally posted by bas we're just rolling in that sweet sweet Beatport chedda SON. I PUT DIAMONDS IN MY SALT SHAKER SO I CAN HAVE CRUSHED DIAMONDS ON MY FOOD...it makes my dookie twinkle!!!

i've been using torq for a bout a month or so i guess and i dont have any complaints.. used it out for a gig the other week and it was solid
i perosnally dont like the traktor software to be honest, maybe its that ive been using it when i was learning to dj and have a bad image branded from it or i'm just comfortable with torq now


edit: to the OP, i highly recommend getting a DVS solution whether it be SSL, Torq or Traktor Skratch, not sure about FS2 and Numark's solution.. the main reason i use it so i dont have to burn cds again, which caused me to sit up till 2-3am because i only burn 1 release per cd as its the onyl way i can organize myself

I think there's still beauty in the burning, because PC's tend to do crazy shit when not expected.

But its a fact that it saves you time when searching for a track, and plus many "thingies" included in the programs save u time and easen your life.

It all comes down to preference.