Not sure how you would convert or import tracks from MixMeister to Serato but most flavors of Serato support iTunes so if you use iTunes to do your categories or playists you should be golden.

Serato DJ is your best bet (more professional "high end") version and it supports some (better) hardware natively (no need to purchase a license) - just plug and play.

Read up on it here: serato.com

The categories are set in MixMeister. I have to re-create the whole thing again in iTunes? What exactly does a DJ Controller compatible with Serato do that is different than one that is not. Now, I simply plug my MixMeister laptop into a mixer at the club. The mixer just plays whatever comes out.

You've been a DJ in NYC for 10 years and you don't know the concept serato?

Controllers that are compatible with Serato means that they control all of Serato functions without touching the laptop. Also means you don't have to midi map any functions.

What equipment have you been using with Mixmeister all these years?

I have been using MixMeister, which like Serato, is software installed on a laptop.

It seems from the above it is not possible to import my MixMeister categories, which took 10 years to create, into Serato. Is that correct? Nobody answered that definitively.

I am entirely comfortable mixing MP3s with MixMeister on my laptop. Where I am resident DJ now, I just plug my laptop into the mixer just to the left and tweak with the mixer's controls. However, I do get bookings at places where that is not possible. I need a DJ Controller for those.

Serato obviously has more market share than MixMeister lately. Does it have any technical advantages, too? Recreating my MixMeister categories would take months and months, so I don't want to do it unless Serato has additional features I need.

If you want to work with Serato and use a controller, get the Serato DJ software, look it up on the website, what controllers are working with Serato DJ.
You will have to import the genre folders from your music library on your laptop into Serato DJ one by one. There are tutorial vids on youtube how to import music into Serato DJ or Serato Scratch Live, which are using the same library...

I don't see a YouTube there about importing categories from MixMeister into Serato. Is anyone on this board familiar enough with MixMeister to explain Serato's advantages, if any? I might consider re-creating my MixMeister categories in Serato if there are any tremendous advantages.

If not, then what's a good, reasonable DJ Controller that's not compatible with Serato? Is Numark the best brand?

Did I say you can import from Mixmeister into Serato DJ?
I said there are tutorial vids on youtube, how to import music into Serato DJ/Serato Scratch Live. You need to understand how to import music into Serato DJ, once you got it. You'll know what to do. You have to create a folder structure in Serato DJ and you can import music genre by genre into those folders. This will be the easiest way for you I guess. Do you have genre specific folder on your hardrive already? If not, well...are your songs tagged properly. If so, you could put all your music in one big folder on your hardrive, import it into Serato DJ and then create folders and subfolders there and use the tags to manage your way up to your new structure.
Watch the tutorial vids from the Serato Tutor Konix, the best you can get...not exactly your case, but watching it will help you to understand it better.
Watchwww.youtube.com

I would say you need to read the Serato DJ manual and then these conversations will be more beneficial. Furthermore I would check into if you even want to use Serato as it is NOTHING like what you are used to. Mixmeister is a timeline based music player. Serato is a professional DJ application. Being you have been djing in clubs for 10 years I am sure you gave seen it with the dj's playing before you and after you whether it be Serato, Traktor or Rekordbox.


No Numark is NOT the best brand.
I doubt you will find many (or any) here.
A controller that is compatible with Serato can be used with Serato. A controller that is not.................... (I'll bet you know what I am going to say here) can not be used with Serato.
Lately? Always been this way. Serato is more or less traditional DJing so the mix is entirely dynamic and live while Mixmeister is limited to what you can do with a mouse and you are pretty much always planning as opposed to performing as you do with Serato.


I think I hit all the obvious ones I saw but to be fair get your hands on that manual and maybe a few videos (konix vids are a GREAT suggestion btw) and then come back here and I am willing to bet the playing field will be more even and we can get some real advice out on the table.

If you install Serato on your laptop and plug into a club sound system, how do you pick the perfect next track for your crowd without using a mouse?

Sounds like Serato may be a waste of time and money for you. It is (or used to be) PROFESSIONAL DJ SOFTWARE aimed to allow individuals to manipulate and control music for beatmixing, scratching, etc.

If you are just point and click selecting songs you may want to delay your interest and wait for a new CONSUMER based product from Serato called Pyro to be released in your area.

djworx.com

I think it will use the database and organizational power of Serato, adds some "non DJ automation" for track selection and suggestion. Load it on a iPad, line out into a mixer or sound system - it's a jukebox without the point and click (kinda like what you do with MixMeister now - no??)

Now you have many of us DJs who replied here CURIOUS - Why do you feel you need to move away from MixMeister?

Could somebody out there please explain physically how a human being DJ picks a track on Serato, if there is no mouse involved? Not interested in automotons or anybody else's suggestions!

I cannot switch out of MixMeister because I have 6,000 tracks organized into 20 categories (in MixMeister, not in my directory). Searto, Traktor, Virtual DJ, etc. can of course import the tracks, but none of these can import the categories. I don't have time to re-create my categories In Serato; it would take me months.

Serato lets you build crates where you organize. This of crates as folders. You can still used the trackpad or mouse on Serato. However there is hardware out there that lets you use knobs to jump in an out of crates and select songs.

Install Serato to see if you can organize the music. You wont be able to mix but you can at least organize beforehand or before buying any hardware.

You can use a mouse to pick. select, and load tracks in Serato but the whole ORIGINAL concept of Serato was kinda to disconnect from the laptop and replicate how music was played in the past in clubs (replacement for CDs or vinyl) .

The laptop is (or was) just a record crate. I'm not sure how long you have been DJing but was your focus on thumbing thru record after record or a pile of CDs trying to figure out what to play OR was you focus on the dancefloor or your audience - seeing reaction to see what song would keep or build the energy you have on the dancefloor?

Maybe we Serato users are looking at it wrong - I just googled MixMeister - from youtube - it looks something like Ableton or Garageband - multitrack layering of audio

dj henri - what version or flavor of MixMeister are you using - (express, fusion, Pro etc) - I saw several things on youtube.

Seems that MixMeister does this: Watchwww.youtube.com

and Serato does this: Watchwww.youtube.com

Again it may NOT be the software you are looking for - waste of your time?

What type of music do you play - with some of the new controllers - you can do 4 deck mixing with Serato but again SERATO has ALWAYS put emphasis on controlling the decks and music - NOT just layering, syncing, and pressing play

Excuse me, but this is the dumbest answer I've heard in a long time! Buddy if you don't take the time to read the manual or watch tutorial vids about Serato DJ, we have no time to answer your questions! There is no mouse needed by the way, you have a keyboard and a trackpad on your laptop, there are add on midi controllers you can use or if you want to use a controller, like you said, scrolling through your library, your crates and loading track - all done on the controller. Watch the vids, read the manual!!!

I think many of ya'll are taking for granted that 10 years ago was just 2005. It sounds like he started on a computer and stayed there.

That's why i wanted to look and see what MixMeister was - looks like a ableton rip off or dumbed down - more pre production than actual DJing

Hate to say it - Traktor may be more of a replacement BUT Serato DJ and the Akai AMX and AFX may be up his alley

He could also use Virtual DJ or that DJay app for Mac - seems like deck control or track manipulation is a after thought

I've actually done mixtapes/fashion show mixes on MixMeister in the past, like 7-8 years ago (I had started using SSL for live work at that time). I didn't find the user interface very satisfying, and also had problems with analyse, grids, track organisation the lot to be honest. It took me less than a year to jump over to ableton for that kind of work.

@dj.henri,
SDJ has probably one of the best track organisation systems in the business,
you should be up and running in no time!

What you would do is this:
1. Create crates for all your categories. (remember that crates can be nested into subcrates for convenience)
2. Select all your tracks for the current category, drag & drop to the appropriate crate in SDJ.
3. Repeat until done.

All in all, should not be more than 30 min work tops!
You can download SDJ from here: serato.com

It's 6,000 tracks organized into 20 categories. Most tracks are in multiple categories. I do not, and could not, have all that memorized. Without a normal export-import feature, it's just too much work.

Numark owns MixMeister, so I think I will just buy the Numark Mixtrack Pro DJ Controller and connect my laptop to it. This will at least give me the manual equalizers, a sound card to boost the laptop's volume, and allow me to smoothly mix-in the occasional CD thrown at me by musicians, club owners, bellydancers, etc.

BTW, I did own vinyl in the 60s-90s, but never used a turntable or had any interest in scratching. I'm just a selecta who beatmixes, overlays, uses SFX, mixes podcast episodes, etc. I used CDs for one night in 2005, then switched to all MP3s, never looking back.

It seems you have to put in the work, as there is no Mixmeister Export und Serato DJ Import feature. Serato DJ allows you to use itunes playlists, I don't know about Mixmeister and itunes playlists, but if you would have organized your music with itunes playlists, you could open it up in any dj software who works with itunes playlists.

My categories are not even in my directory; they are purely MixMeister, and, no, there is no export-import feature between MixMeister and iTunes.

You just answered your own question. If there is no export feature from MixMeister to iTunes, why would you expect there to be an export to Serato, which is a much less poplur program?

The title of your tread needs to be changed from curious to confused. Just sayin'

Wrong analogy. iTunes is not a DJ program. Better would be Word and WordPerfect, where both software companies developed automatic converters very early on.

This:



Drag and drop. It doesn't matter how many tracks you have, you only have 20 "categories" (I'm assuming those are mixmeister crates, or folders). Select all tracks in a category, and drag those on to a Serato crate of the same name. Rinse and repeat, should take you all of 5 minutes.

I launched both MixMeister and iTunes, minimized them, opened a MixMeister category, did a Select All, and tried to drag that category's tracks across the desktop, then into iTunes. I got the No Parking icon as it crossed the desktop and the No Parking icon in iTunes. You cannot drag MixMeister track listings the same way you can drag MP3s from a Windows folder.

BTW, Numark confirmed just now it's impossible to export MixMeister categories into Serato.

This. you should be able to select all tracks within one of your categories and drop them into a corresponding crate within Serato DJ. This isn't always available, but you might as well try it.

Serato DJ is a free download. You can get it, try it in offline mode to see if the workflow of preparation and analyzing is something for you.

As others have said, i'm not sure that Serato DJ may be for you and your current workflow. Serato doesn't have any offerings that are solely mixing on the computer. The point of their products has been to allow a DJ to continue to use the gear they have (old school dj) or have a controller that has all the capabilities within the hardware (the new guys).

Looking at the basic Mixmeister video, the workflow used would not translate to any current "DJing" program. You may want to look more towards Ableton Live.

The main advantage to switching over to Traktor or Serato (or Ableton) would be you would have a significantly bigger user base to get troubleshooting and other general questions answered.

At the end of the day, you have to do what's right for you, so if Mixmeister works for you keep it. but i would suggest installing other programs, watching the tutorials and at least starting a trial on a few of them. While I really only use Serato DJ (and Scratch Live) i have a bunch of other DJ programs installed as well if the need ever arises.

Can Mixmeister write tags to MP3s? Like if you update the information of the track in mixmeister, does this affect the actual MP3?

If so just write the category into the 'comment' field of all tracks in a category at once, then import all tracks into serato, sort by comment and drag into respective folders.

Can you edit iD3 tags in MixMeister?

Serato has "Smart Crates" where you could use a unused tag field or comments field and say:

Cat 01
Cat 02
Cat 03
etc (or whatever your 20 categories are)

Then create smart crate that says "Put all songs that contain Cat 01 here" or whatever.

It should automate and replicate your 20 precious categories.

Smart Crates - youtu.be

Damn CMOS - a few seconds apart - great minds.... lol

Numark owns MixMeister and makes a lot of Serato-compatible hardware, so they should know.

This

And might as well make CODES out of those tracks

________________________________________
Bragging rights for life bitch! 😂😂😂😂😂😂
serato.com

nm

No. When you drop an MP3 into MixMeister, it creates an MXM file in the folder on your desktop. Any tweaks you do to the track in MixMeister are kept in the MXM file, and the MP3 is unchanged.

I think this is do-able but its gonna take some testing.

From what ive read mixmeister can export a playlist to an M3U file which is basically a txt file with the track info.

You can dump each category into a mixmeister playlist and export it to M3U.

You can then create playlists in itunes that match your categories in mixmeister and import the M3U playlists into the itunes playlists.

Then have serato read your itunes library.

Try it with a few tracks in one category, might work. Really depends on how Mixmeister writes the M3U files and whether it specifies the full path of the file.