great idea...! i don't think i have ever...EVER...heard this suggestion before!

WHEN additional decks get added to Scratch Live...
I want to be able to mix n' match hardware. e.g. 2*SLx or a TTM57+SLx, etcetera
I would probably buy that obscure MP4.

+10k, Bully! The lack of ability to do this is what's been keeping me from going DVS all this time. PLUS they need to be controllable without toggling between "layers" on 2 control channels.. you don't see House dj's having 2 phonos on one switch, or piling 2 decks ontop of each other so you have to move one to put a record on the other, and the current controller situation is the equivalent of that.

i'm hoping the new Denon HC1000s can be hooked up in tandem to run 3 discrete channels rather than the current situation of "layered" channels which make you have to toggle to access them (wasted time, and a button layout which doesn't reflect the physical layout of your turntables), but not sure Serato would support that even if the controllers would.

3 decks. As if. Next thing people will be wanting 4 decks on a rane/serato club mixer.

Keep dreaming guys. ;-)

serato.com

@KaBoom (obviously a Glock fan, hehe):

i came to this discussion a lil late after 2.0 came out (which i intend to get if i can find a way to control 3 decks without "layers" on the controller). the issue i'm having (with everything always seemingly having to be reduced to some arrangement of 2 "channels" (A and B, left and right, whatever), with each of those "channels" containing 2 virtual decks.

what i'm after is 4 discrete virtual decks that can be accessed directly, ie: you want Deck 3 you hit the controls for Deck 3, not "Layer 2 of Channel 2". the fact that the 68 does this (as opposed to having, say, 2 rows of buttons down each side instead of 1) and the bizarre location of the crossfader is the only reason i'm not camping out at Guitar Center to get the first one.

what i'm wondering, though, is if the reason all the controllers are set up this way is because the software demands it, or if it's just a space-saving measure which could be remedied with a few more buttons and a slightly larger box. this is why i'm iffy about my pie-in-the-sky idea of running 2 HC1000's next to each other, even though that would "technically" (ie: physically) give me one control surface per deck.

picture this, KB: Serato in "stacked" mode, where all the decks are visible on one screen (mandatory for me and the only screen i'd use in SL for live action). you cue up Deck 1 on once controller channel; then Deck 2. THEN, when it comes time to cue Deck 3, instead of having to toggle Deck 2 to get to Deck 3 on the other "layer", you've got another set of buttons just for it, so you can make quick adjustments to all decks, as is required for delicate layering of *music*. make the control non-layered so the music can be!

all i want is a setup which mimicks as much as possible the physical setup of a 3-turntable analog setup: one deck, one channel, one set of controls, no sharing. i've lugged around 3 turntables for years and it takes up plenty of space, so i'm not gonna grip over a few extra centimeters on a controller.

2.0 will do 3 virtual decks with 3 actual decks, 68 will do 4 with 4. Just like having 4 turnies back in the day. :)

2.0 with SL3 I mean. 3 decks the old fashion way.

Yes it sure does, i've been testing it and it's fantastic!

3 decks + Techno = Lots of Fun :D

Bully.

hey Bully, cheers! i recognise that grin on the face of a dj :)

so are you using any kind of physical controller (other than timecode platters) or are you running directly off the computer?

anyone have experience with 3 decks using an external controller like the Denon HC1000? if so, has anyone tried running two of them so no deck has to share a controller bank? i like the 68, but it only has two rows of controller buttons so if you ran 3 decks you'd have to be toggling back and forth on one of them.

@KB: 4 turnies back in the day? you must have been a GOD!!

susan28,

I posted a similar thread wondering about this (MIDI controls for the 3rd deck) a week or two ago- I just figured there aren't a ton of people using 3 decks yet with the SL3. It has been working great for me so far, aside from figuring out MIDI controller commands.

I picked up an Akai LPD8 to start playing with the effects via knobs and pads, and it's great being able to scroll through the library with a knob and assign a track to the left/right deck with a pad- however I've been unable to figure out how to go about how to load a track to the 3rd deck with a pad (or any commands to the 3rd deck for that matter).

This seems like a no-brainer that should be implemented eventually, especially after the 68 comes out and more people are using 3-4 decks, but it stinks for now being one unassignable MIDI command away from going 'hands-free' to the controller & mixer instead of reaching for the trackpad to drop something on the 3rd deck every so often. :-\

Tinhead: i'd corresponded with Matt from Serato a bit about this and he said i could use the 68 with a Denon HC1000, using the latter for deck 3, and that "it was just a matter of Midi commands", but therein seems to lie the rub. have you checked your documentation real good looking for a code for deck 3?

susan28, I love the way you think!



Personally I'd like to see SSL v2.5 support (up to) 6 decks, but even with the current 4 we've ran into this "A and B" vs. "1, 2, 3 (& 4)". This is also evident in the oh so many native 3rd party controllers: the rackmounts (Denons, DMC2...) and then the CDJs. And this must be massively apparent on the sixty eight! (like i just read above...)

Most native controllers have orange & green LEDs, the SELECTED LAYER should CORRESPOND to the LED COLOR.

personally I think the iCDX has got the best idea...

I'm going to post this as it's own topic (sera.to), but how often do DJs switch between the Classic Modes (big virtual deck) and Stacked (DAW) Mode??? I'd bet 98% of users could use one (set) or the other. The choice between A & B or Numbered selectable decks strikes me as really future friendly.

you can 3 deck with SL3