so i got serato sl3 3 days ago and im so disappointed with it, here is why......

i have cdj 800 mk2's....only after buying serato i found out that i cannot use the functions of the cdj's such as quick loop etc on the actual deck and need to use the laptop to do the loops, now if the track i have doesnt have a bpm attached to it i need to tap the bpm, then cut a loop from that bpm i calculated, which of course could be incorrect. all a bit fiddly if you ask me. (admittedly i should have researched the removal of these functions before buying serato, but i assumed the cdj would work as normal)

also i like to set my cue point on the cdjs and tap the beat before dropping it into the mix, however i found that when i set a cue point on the cdj with serato attached and then tap the cue on the cdj as im waiting to drop the track it doesnt always start exactly from the cue point i set , it can be a fraction later....something i have just read can happen ...after i bought serato

also i really really dont like relative mode but i need to use it to make loops and absolute mode doesnt offer this loop facility and obviously i cannot use my cdj to cut loops. so i find myself bouncing between both modes to cut loops and then use the cdj in the manner i wish

generally feel as though my flow has been interrupted when using serato maybe its down to a lack of practice with serato but feel much more at home with my cdj's on their own.

dont get me wrong , i do think its a very clever piece of kit, but more designed for vinyl djs than current cdj dj's who already have all these fancy features built into their cdj's and are used them being at hand all the time. i do feel the ability to instantly find the track i want to play within 5 seconds is awesome but paying £500 for the fact that i find tracks quicker and not burn cd's a bit much to pay.

again i say if i was a vinyl only dj im sure i would not be making this rant/post as i would think the system was great but coming from cdj800's i feel i havent acheived much from serato.....the reason why it will be on ebay on sunday evening !

am i missing something here with serato, or are any other cdj 800/1000 owners feeling the same ? if im missing something please let me know !!

cheers for listening !

I started DJing with CDJ-1000MK3s Loved every bit of it! Didn't make use of the hot cues that were the fancy features of it.

I bought an SL1 a little less than a year ago. Had your same reactions with looping and cueing. Thought it was a bummer that I'd have to use relative mode to set cue points.

I then realized how much better Serato was than the CDJs itself. Each song, I could set five SAVED cue points and juggle around with it. I never had to re-set the cue point after every time I played a song (sure setting cue points are easy, but having cue points strategically set for a song which could spice up ur mix is even better). The loops i could easily set a loop and auto cut it down without having to manually do it. CDJ-800s had the auto beat cutter but you only could break it down so much. Serato can break it down to 1/16 of a beat.

Make sure you have auto detect bpm checked before analyzing your songs. Now if they already have been analyzed and its missing the bpm, just drag all the songs that don't have bpms onto the analyze button (but you have to first unplug SL3 from your device). This is if you don't want to do all that tapping.

I sold my CDJs for Technics 1210 M5Gs and am very happy with my decision. I also have a backup pair of CDJ-400s which i use as HID. Now if you plug the CDJ-400s to your computer via USB. There won't be any lag at all and you can actually utilize all the functions of the CDJs with the exception of the built in effects on the cdj-400.

You should give it a longer shot. It definitely offers ALOT more ways/tricks to enhance your mixing!

u do have to understand the nature of the two items you are comparing. with a normal cd, the cdj reads the song file and calculates bpm and loop length from there. on the ssl control cd, the cdj is reading a TONE...NOT a SONG. it's impossible for the cdj to calculate every song the COMPUTER is playing when the cdj is reading the SAME TONE over and over.

i could go more in depth but it's been repeated many times on the forums on how and why these things behave as such. but if that's what you're accustomed to and prefer, then that's fine too. it's just a bit of change from "the norm".

Hi mojo_scotland.

I am sorry you are feeling frustrated with your kit.
While I'm not going to argue that the two setups are different and there are some fairly big changes of flow, I assure you that using CDJs with Serato is fantastic... :D

I'll try and answer some of your points you made, hopefully you will see past the change in workflow. You are more than welcome to sell the SL3, especially if you just feel real comfortable with the CDJs themselves, but it'd be good to give it a chance. Every setup takes time to get used to.



In Scratch Live, when you analyze files, you can get the program to calculate the BPM. When you have this, you have access to accurate looping in Scratch Live.

I understand these functions aren't avaialble from your CDJs, but you can either use the keyboard shortcuts, or the best way is to get a MIDI controller to setup all your needed functions. Even better is using something like a Denon HC1000 - which is all setup for Scratch Live, and is much more fun to use than the limited functions of a CDJ.
www.guitarcenter.com




This is a slight quirk of digital djing software.
I'll try to explain what is going on.
When you play a control signal into software, the signal is basically telling the software if the signal is playing forwards or backwards and how fast... so if it's stopped at say 2mins and 10 seconds, it's saying to the software that the track is playing at no speed forwards at 2m10s.
When you then press the Hotcue on the CDJ, the software is still thinking that the track is going at zero speed forwards at 2m10s. and NOT where your Hotcue is set. So when you press play, the control CD plays the first moment of the Hotcue point, and then the software has to 'jump' to the Hotcue point. It's a strange limitation, but quite logical.
There is an easy workaround, when you press the Hotcue point, just press it again to bounce the signal back to this point, it should then allow you to start play without this jump.


I used to think like this, but with a MIDI controller, and setting cuepoints in tracks (easy to do, even live on the fly) you will find Relative mode as easy as Absolute mode, and much more fun :D




I understated, but be aware that the way your workflow is you learnt to get to the point you are, so maybe just giving it a bit fo time, you will wonder how you ever did without all the cool functions in Scratch Live, or even more fancy features that CDJs don't offer :D



There are small differences with turntables and CD players, but there are thousands upon thousands of users working happily with CDJs every weekend :D

Hope that helps you understand the setup more, but either way, I hope you figure out a solution that you are extremely happy with :D

Hi Mojo, I feel your frustration first hand!

I just returned Denon DN-S3700's to get CDJ-400's since they are natively supported by Serato.

I have used ITCH before and was expecting more from the CDJ's hot cues loops etc...

CDJ-400 is natively supported so I will be able to get more serato control from CDJ... Also very good suggestion by Matt, I ordered a Denon HC1000s, it will make DJing fun I hope...

I eventually plan to upgrade to DN-S3700 (when it is natively suppoted by Serato!)

if you've already made your mind up, theres not a lot we can say



you are missing a massive amount, you just dont know what because you're not prepared to learn some new things :)

i do 7 (seven!) hour sets 3 times a week on 1 cdj 1000 mk3, once you work out that its not the same, then you'll love working with it

just like you had to learn what a cue button and loop was when you got the cdj's, you now have to learn new stuff with scratch live

if you've had the sl3 for 3 days you can send it back - you have 7 days within uk law for a complete refund.

So are you saying the hot cues won't work properly?

I don't fully understand...

Basically there is a slight delay for the system to recognise where in the song it should begin playing from.

If you play a song until say 2 minutes and then pause it, Scratch Live just detects that it is not receiving signal so it pauses as well.
If you press a hot cue on the CDJ, it will move to that point. When it does this though it doesn't send any audio to Scratch Live for it to detect that movement in song position.

As soon as you hit play again, Scratch Live will still be sitting at that 2 minute point. When the CDJ starts sending signal from its moved position (because you hit a cue) the program will then detect where it should play from and has to jump to it.... creating a slight delay.

Keep in mind for CDJ's to act like CDJ's, you have to set the dip switch on the SL3 box to LINE, not PHONO, Also set ssl to ABS mode if you want to use the cdj loop features, Using ssl in REL mode and using their loops and cues is 10000 times better though



hahahahaha, Don't hold your breathe

breathe=breath

So if i were to return to a cue point set by the cue button i would need to double tap to tell serato i've gone back to the previous main cue point set?

Also if i were to set three hot cues on the CDJ1000s for the track playing and tap the hot cue buttons would they switch and continue playback from the new hot cue point?

It wouldn't just go to the hot cue and stop the playback ?

Yep- a double tap is the easiest way to do this.

As long as the CDJ1000s play the control signal (or any normal CD) from that hotcue point, Scratch Live will recognize it and do so too.

hey everyone, im new to sl3 and i had the same problems as mojo

however i would like to add a point,

i use cdj 1000s, and i use the relative mode as i think its the best to use (cue points etc). However, on the control cd there are 2 tracks, track 1 is up to 15 mins, so if your playing in a club or whatever, you got to keep coming back to track 1 on the cdj so it doesnt go into the internal mode. I find this very irratating.

I would like some advice on how i can use sl3 effectively, as im a dj who does quik mixing, would you suggest to use turntables instead?

i know im still new to this but im not sure about certain things

thanks guys

p.s i might be the annoying one, but i want to be able to use the sl3 as effectively

Just loop like 10 minutes of the cd, it will keep looping and never run out

you can just do a 2 second loop if it's in relative mode, CD never runs out

thankyou brichi and ceg, i will give it a go

Your mad dude SSL does heaps more than and cd player can do, and a million times better !!

You could always get really creative and use some Sl12010's with SSL liek I do :)

To DJ's out there, get creative and use technology with your own skillz and you will come out with some amazing results !!!!

Nobody ever said it would be easy !!

mojo! dont let me scold u infront of this people! haha! just kidding! its ok to fret....but if ul sell ur sl3,MANNNNNNN!!!! YOU ARE MISSING ONE HALF OF YOUR LIFE!
We have the same feelings when i started out using serato almost a year ago....Now i have upgraded to SL3 already! i've never been happy;)

me personally go with a numark ndx800 & a direct drive turntable it may take some time to get used to but it works pretty well with serato