Configuring your Setup
Whilst turntables output a phono-level signal, CD players output a line-level signal, which is considerably louder. If you don't configure Scratch Live to accept the louder line-level signal you will encounter all sorts of problems, so make sure you complete this important step:
SL 1 users
- Connect the outputs of your CD players to the inputs of your SL 1 as per normal.
- Connect the LINE outputs of the SL 1 to line level inputs on your mixer.
- Remember to flick your phono / line switches on you mixer over to Line to hear Scratch Live.
- If want to also play regular CDs connect the THRU outputs of the SL 1 to another set of line level inputs of your mixer.
- Finally, start Scratch Live and go to the setup menu, then click on the hardware tab, and select Line as the audio input level.
SL 3 users
- Connect the outputs of your CD players to the inputs of your SL 3 as per normal.
- Flick the dip switches on the SL 3 to down for a line level signal.
- Finally, connect the outputs of the SL 3 to your Line or CD inputs of your mixer as per normal.
TTM 57 SL users
- Connect the outputs of your CD players directly to your mixer. For the left deck use channel 1 or 2, and the right deck channel 3 or 4.
- Set the input level switches on the back of the mixer to Line
- Start Scratch Live, and go to the Setup screen and click on the Hardware tab. Configure the control source selection to match the mixer inputs you are using. If you have connected your left CD player to channel 1 and the right CD player to 3, choose 1 and 3 respectively in the control source selection.
Calibration
Calibration is equally important for both vinyl and CD users of Scratch Live. Although CD players are not as susceptible as turntables to background noise, they can still be victims of vibration and other problems.
How to calibrate using CDs:
It is important to have music playing when you calibrate, however the CD deck you are calibrating must be paused or stopped. A good way to do this is to switch to internal mode to play your music when you calibrate.
In Scratch Live's Setup screen click and hold the estimate button until the slider stops moving. Moving the threshold slider to the left will make Scratch Live more sensitive to slow control CD movement, but also more sensitive to background noise.
Things to remember:
- The CD deck you are calibrating must be paused or stopped
- The background music playing must be at a similar level to which you will play your set at.
- You should calibrate Scratch Live every time you play.
Scratch Live Modes
There are 3 modes in Scratch Live, all which will behave slightly differently with the CD player.
abs mode
To use the cue buttons and loops on the CD player itself, Scratch Live needs to be set in absolute mode, which behaves like a real CD - i.e. following the absolute position of the track.
rel mode
The alternative to absolute mode is relative mode. This is the recommended mode to use with CD players. Relative mode doesn't take into account the absolute position of the control CD. This means you lose the functionality of the CD player cues and loops, however you gain much more functionality inside Scratch Live:
* 5 cuepoints and 9 loops per song
* Skipless playback
* CD player style temp cue
int mode
Use int mode if you are using one of the 3rd party natively supported MIDI devices, i.e. the Pioneer CDJ-400, CDJ-900, CDJ-2000.
Click here for the 3rd party quickstart guide.
Keylock / Master Tempo and CD player based effects
One thing to remember when using CD players with Scratch Live (all Digital DJ programs for that matter) is that the keylock (sometimes called master tempo) and effects on the CD player itself need to be disabled.
Remember - you are playing back the Control Tone with the CD player, not music, and it is vital that this Control Tone reach Scratch Live in an unmodified state (with the exception of pitch changes).
If you wish to use keylock, use the one provided in Scratch Live - click the musical note to the left of the virtual deck to enable.
Conclusion
CD players are great compliment to your Scratch Live setup - just remember the following points and you should be good to go:
* Select LINE as the input source in Scratch Live
* Calibrate everytime
* The cues in Scratch Live will be more responsive than the cues on the CD player
* Turn off CD player based effects
**Happy CD DJing**