Ok, I did a quick search and didn't find anything on this topic. If there is already a thread on this please forgive me.

I used vinyl for probably the first 4 years that I was learning to mix. I decided that I wanted to upgrade to digital media due to the fact that Vinyl is incredibly expensive, and I was finding that the kind of tracks I purchase seem to come out more often only on MP3 and come out earlier on MP3 if they do come in both vinyl and MP3. So for me the decision to change was easy.

I decided to get a set of Numark iCDX CD & Digital decks. Now I have a few friends around the country that have told me that I should have gone with the Serato style vinyl setup. But my feelings about this are, if your going to go digital, why not go full digital and cut out the vinyl completely? Is there ANY REAL reason to choose one over the other? Or is it going to be based on peoples personal preference, or desire to stay a vinyl enthusiast?

Any feedback is welcome, as I said, I already have my setup and have had it for quite some time. I just wasted to provoke a discussion on this topic because I am interested in it.

Peace you guys!

A lot of people prefer the tactile relationship that you have with vinyl - I mean how to manipulate it, change pitch, scratch etc.). DVS like serato give you that control with all the benefits of a fully digital system.

Also, a lot of people have turntables already so rather than sell them and buy all new digital kit, they just have to spend a little ($500?) to go digital.

Also, you can also use the timecoded CD's which means it gives you more flexibility with the system you might have to play on (i.e. some clubs do/don't have turntables).

Also, the serato system is quite excellent in terms of a program - the interface has a lot of functionality while being intuitive, the music organization structure is great, and the system really does work well (very low latency and decently realistic representation of vinyl manipulation).

Final scratch is good too and I know people who swear by it, but my main experience is with serato and it just works so well.

hope this helps.

You can get the same sound with either setup. In that respect it really doesn't matter. Get the hardware that feels right to you. Some people work best with the feeling of vinyl. Some people really don't care.

Think of it like sex. The software, tracks, and general sound quality are the emotional component. The hardware is the part that feels good.

IMO the biggest advantage of serato/traktor scratch etc. is how easy it is to find the tunes you want to play. you've got them all there and you can sort them however you want. i have over 2000 tunes i consider quality stuff, so for me traktor scratch has made djing much easier and more intuitive as i don't have to spend time looking for the cd somewhere anymore.

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I started out on vinyl about 5 years ago. A few years later I moved to Serato Scratch, then a year after I moved to Ableton + midi controller. Then I stopped DJing for about six months. I started up again after I got another pair of turntables and Traktor Scratch. To me it is a lot more fun using external decks AND software/midi controller than to just go all digital. I quit for awhile because I got bored with being an Ableton DJ. Moral of the story... It is up to your personal preference.

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