DJing Discussion

Forum
 DJing Discussion
Why use Serato at all?
This area is for discussion about DJing in general. Please remember the community rules when posting and try to be polite and inclusive.

Why use Serato at all?

XXXX 11:51 PM - 29 March, 2011
I just got a pair of sound cards (USB) with built in phono pre-amps and a pair of Serato control records v2. I took them home, plugged them into my linux laptop which I paid $0 for any software running on it, and they were read immediately without any driver install on Ubuntu 10.10. I then plugged my tec12s into each sound card, and ran the xwax software (which is free and open source) that I had installed earlier. I loaded up a track in xwax (FLAC format, just to make yall jealous, but it could have been ANY format I want), flipped the turntable on, and was instantly controlling the track in EXACTLY the same way that Serato does, but without ever paying for software. xwax is free dog.

I have the same setup you have, but I paid $90 for two cards and two control records. I get to use it with whatever mixer I choose to use. I can even forget to bring those particular sound cards, because the stuff works with EVERY sound card, and EVERY operating system Mac, BSD, linux.

Ditch Serato, or better yet, don't get it in the first place.
Laz219 11:57 PM - 29 March, 2011
Support, reliability, Rane built hardware, Installed in a lot of places,

Did you really sign up for this forum just for this? There's always been other software that is cheaper. We pick Serato because we want a professsional tool.
_Stuart 11:59 PM - 29 March, 2011
i think "XXXX" is a profesional tool :)
XXXX 11:59 PM - 29 March, 2011
I think you'll find that open source software is more professional and more reliable than closed source.
spiker6750 12:00 AM - 30 March, 2011
we buy serato for the waveforms...
XXXX 12:04 AM - 30 March, 2011
The Rane built hardware is just a hoodwink. Trust me, I love rane. I use a rane mixer with my serato-free setup. But the sl1 and sl3 are just sound cards that are locked to serato for $$ reasons.

By the way what I'm talking about is not cheap. It's free. Not free as in free beer, but free as in freedom.
spiker6750 12:06 AM - 30 March, 2011
yeah but can you use cue points or use crates like you do in serato?
XXXX 12:08 AM - 30 March, 2011
You're also making assumptions about both softwares without looking at both.

And, yes, you can use crates and cue points.

It's everything that serato is. But, if you happen to not like serato control record, you can use and brand of timecoded record you like.
Laz219 12:09 AM - 30 March, 2011
You realise this is going to go nowhere right? It's the same as trying to tell everybody we should run Linux over commercial OS's. For the most part nobody is interested and really don't care.

Of course the soundcards are locked for $ reasons, it also creates the closed loop that make Serato/Rane support so efficient and useful. If they know the hardware, they know the possible causes.
_Stuart 12:11 AM - 30 March, 2011
www.djforums.com

loads of features on it, not
The Return of Dj Sparky 12:12 AM - 30 March, 2011
when you say free, your not counting sound cards


true serato is a tad bit overpriced but its a good product has regular free updates.


when i think of the cost of serato compared to how much it has saved on vinyl and i used to hate burning cd's all the time, only thing i miss is owing a record/song you come more attached to it, i dont even know the names of half the dance tunes i rock these days but when you had it on vinyl you could visualise it and knew it.


back on topic serato may have fucked my on price but i enjoyed it
XXXX 12:13 AM - 30 March, 2011
also, think about it for a second. it is a signal. it doesn't need to go though expensive rane sound cards. it just needs to go from point a to point b across RELIABLE hardware (with this, you choose what hardware to use).

It's the same argument that I have against buying $30 belkin or monster HDMI cable. It's DIGITAL. it either transmits the signal or it doesn't. there is no in-between that expensive cables make a difference for.
XXXX 12:14 AM - 30 March, 2011
@Laz219:
obvious troll is obvious
LJ_WOOLSEY 12:14 AM - 30 March, 2011
Oh wow i just opened my window and chucked serato n rane out. This is mega NOT WHAT A LOOSER HAHA. well good for you glad free shit works for you let me guess all your music was free aswell.
The Return of Dj Sparky 12:15 AM - 30 March, 2011
well its how serato/rane make their money

if you dont like it develop your own software and make your own box
reggae delgado 12:23 AM - 30 March, 2011
I certainly cannot argue with you on the price you paid for those things. But I can also say I do not have any idea what the f*** you are talking about, and as far as these forums go I'm fairly tech savvy. I've used mac OS for music production/recording since I was trying to make beats on a mac plus (no, I was not very successful back then), so I'm not switching to another OS now, especially since I actually have DAWs that work & that I paid for & spent a lot of time getting used to.
And although I'm pretty comfortable with audio & electronics, I'm also more comfortable buying a box that says "rane" than making one myself, and I'm at a point in my life where I can easily justify the price of pro equipment that I use. In terms of the SSL software, it is way better than other interfaces I've used, and I'm comfortable with it. If I find one WAY better, I might switch, but not if it will cause me any discomfort at any of my gigs (ie make me bring more crap). Hell, if I switch to anything, I'm going back to vinyl.
BERTO 12:28 AM - 30 March, 2011
Oh so you basically juat found a way to use serato signal for other software, not a big deal i like having my hardware designated for my software not a hack....just sayin. Your experiment is smart and works so congrats on that, its cool to see ppl doing new and innovative things, but dont come in serato forums saying why use serato at all, thats just rude and youre not going to get the response you desire. You should of approached it as perhaps a backup method for software or hardware failure....
BERTO 12:28 AM - 30 March, 2011
Juat=just
DJ Alkemy 12:32 AM - 30 March, 2011
I think it comes down to reliability more than anything else. I wouldnt want two usb soundcards hanging out of my laptop. I also dont know ANYTHING about the software you mentioned. I just choose to stick with a world renowned product. Props on getting your Doc Brown on though lol
Laz219 12:38 AM - 30 March, 2011
Troll? No.
Can't be bothered with this anymore though.

Enjoy your little rig. I'll quite happily keep using my 'overpriced' SL-3.
BERTO 12:43 AM - 30 March, 2011
I want an sl3!
djcrap 12:45 AM - 30 March, 2011
fuck this can the mods just lock this bullshit thread!

am tired of reading it.
Dj JesC 12:45 AM - 30 March, 2011
dont feed the trolls.
BERTO 12:46 AM - 30 March, 2011
Ibtl yay first
djcrap 12:46 AM - 30 March, 2011
^^^^^^ i love my over priced Rane 68 and ttm57

Serato all the way till i die
enough say!!!!!!!!!!!
LJ_WOOLSEY 12:49 AM - 30 March, 2011
Quote:
fuck this can the mods just lock this bullshit thread!

am tired of reading it.

+1
nonplus 12:53 AM - 30 March, 2011
xwax has a long way to go before it's on par with some of the less popular dvs systems. all set with that head ache. good luck with xwax dude...























GET OUT!!!!!
SMOKE DOGG BITCH 1:46 AM - 30 March, 2011
why use serato at all? BECAUSE ITS SERATO. PERIOD. thats like saying why jerk off
Serato, Support
ChrisD 2:26 AM - 30 March, 2011
Quote:
@Laz219:
obvious troll is obvious

That's the most ironic comment I've read in a long time XXXX.

You come to an official Serato forum and tell everyone they should ditch a product that has evidently served them well. You then call someone a troll when they explain to you why they think you're mistaken.

You created a user account just to spout this crap? Dude, go away. You're wasting everyone's time.
Laz219 3:47 AM - 30 March, 2011
I was actually confused for a second about whether he was pointing out that he was trolling or trying to say I was.

Anyway. Done.
Swyft 3:14 PM - 30 March, 2011
I think I just wasted 10 mins of my day reading this.........smh....lol.
echa1945mf 3:19 PM - 30 March, 2011
bahahahahahahahahaha funniest shit on the internet and the Annual DJ Echa Idiot award goes to XXXX .... please pick up your flaming bag of poo trophy
DJS/R 3:35 PM - 30 March, 2011
I KNOW this, if you rolled in to any of the clubs I work at with that program, my club owners would laugh.





















And then tell you to leave.
DJ Dac 6:13 PM - 30 March, 2011
oddly i don't think hes really wasting anyone's time, hell its like a barber shop here, just beating the same dead horse convo over and over again, that being said, i like being a professional and I'm sticking with my sl-3... i would be so pissed off if i hired someone for a wedding or something and they showed up with a bunch of shit hanging of their laptop and gemini belt driven tables, im guessing this is xxxx's light show too, i mean its technically a light... www.madmanaudio.com
thewevel 6:32 PM - 30 March, 2011
Linux blows as a consumer OS anyway. I used Ubuntu on my home machine for a few months and got tired of having edit a .conf to fix my mouse buttons every time they released an update. And don't get me started ATI's video drivers for Linux.

Linux is free because there is zero support for it outside of Googling. Scratch Live costs money because there is support for it, 9.8 times out of 10 it works as advertised, and it's reliable. Also we only need to have one soundcard.
CMOS 6:33 PM - 30 March, 2011
Linux is for Earthy Crunchy people.
skinnyguy 9:56 PM - 30 March, 2011
vid clips of the software in action? and speaking of video, can it do video as well?
Laz219 10:00 PM - 30 March, 2011
MY favourite is still the guy that show up at a spot I do the sound for every week, unplugs the CDJs so he can move them and put his laptop down that has a creative PCI soundcard and cracked VDJ. If it was my choice he wouldn't be there, especially since every single week he leaves and doesn't set things back up properly.
RogerRabbit 10:47 PM - 30 March, 2011
More than 80% of dj here can't even troubleshoot simple windows issues so they default a Mac - how do you think they are gonna manage with Linux?
But besides the OS choice, many here have already outlined the reasons people use ssl...
Marx&Villain 10:58 PM - 30 March, 2011
hey XXXX, did this discussion go as planned? lol
djaction 3:13 AM - 31 March, 2011
Because Serato can handle mixing Videos
jwagner 4:11 AM - 31 March, 2011
XXXX has moved on to the republican convention to offer his thoughts on why the rich should be heavily taxed.
Discobee 5:52 PM - 31 March, 2011
Hey XXXX, would you please tell us where you DJ at? I'd like to see you in a live performance with your setup.
Swyft 5:53 PM - 31 March, 2011
If I was him (XXXX), I wouldn't take the chance of taking that set up out to the public..........smh!!!!
Piratetron 1:19 AM - 22 May, 2015
Quote:
I just got a pair of sound cards (USB) with built in phono pre-amps and a pair of Serato control records v2. I took them home, plugged them into my linux laptop which I paid $0 for any software running on it, and they were read immediately without any driver install on Ubuntu 10.10. I then plugged my tec12s into each sound card, and ran the xwax software (which is free and open source) that I had installed earlier. I loaded up a track in xwax (FLAC format, just to make yall jealous, but it could have been ANY format I want), flipped the turntable on, and was instantly controlling the track in EXACTLY the same way that Serato does, but without ever paying for software. xwax is free dog.

I have the same setup you have, but I paid $90 for two cards and two control records. I get to use it with whatever mixer I choose to use. I can even forget to bring those particular sound cards, because the stuff works with EVERY sound card, and EVERY operating system Mac, BSD, linux.

Ditch Serato, or better yet, don't get it in the first place.


Can i use MIXXX software even with Serato CV? i just got 2 TT's and the Akai AMXmixer, but now i have to get the DVS expansionpack to USE the CV. if i can use the Serato CV with MIXXX can you explain how?
DJ Art Pumpin Payne 4:47 AM - 22 May, 2015
Quote:
Can i use MIXXX software even with Serato CV? i just got 2 TT's and the Akai AMXmixer, but now i have to get the DVS expansionpack to USE the CV. if i can use the Serato CV with MIXXX can you explain how?


You WILL want the DVS Expansion pack - I just got that Akai AMX mixer too and it is a SOLID way to get into Serato (DJ) for the price. About 8 years ago I HATED spending the cost of entry with the SL1 (close to $500 and I still needed a mixer and tables). I already had Final Scratch and it was buggy and problematic.

After I got ScratchLive - I was wondering why the hell I waited so long....

Now with that Akai AMX - you are getting Serato (DJ) and a mixer for around $350 with the DVS pack. Serato DJ isn't as stable as ScratchLive so trying to do a work around with Mixxx may not be worthwhile. Serato DJ has a ton of features plus that AMX takes advantage of some the Serato DJ effects.

I haven't bought the DVS pack yet because I am still comfortable with my SL3 and I have a couple of critical gigs coming up this weekend but may grab it tonight or tomorrow - test it Saturday afternoon and roll with it this weekend.

I just know the moment I buy the DVS pack - Serato will put it on sale....
Piratetron 1:26 PM - 22 May, 2015
Quote:
Quote:
Can i use MIXXX software even with Serato CV? i just got 2 TT's and the Akai AMXmixer, but now i have to get the DVS expansionpack to USE the CV. if i can use the Serato CV with MIXXX can you explain how?


You WILL want the DVS Expansion pack - I just got that Akai AMX mixer too and it is a SOLID way to get into Serato (DJ) for the price. About 8 years ago I HATED spending the cost of entry with the SL1 (close to $500 and I still needed a mixer and tables). I already had Final Scratch and it was buggy and problematic.

After I got ScratchLive - I was wondering why the hell I waited so long....

Now with that Akai AMX - you are getting Serato (DJ) and a mixer for around $350 with the DVS pack. Serato DJ isn't as stable as ScratchLive so trying to do a work around with Mixxx may not be worthwhile. Serato DJ has a ton of features plus that AMX takes advantage of some the Serato DJ effects.

I haven't bought the DVS pack yet because I am still comfortable with my SL3 and I have a couple of critical gigs coming up this weekend but may grab it tonight or tomorrow - test it Saturday afternoon and roll with it this weekend.

I just know the moment I buy the DVS pack - Serato will put it on sale....


I see. That's for the info man.I was just tryin to save myself the $100, but if I'll be better off with it I guess it's worth it.
skinnyguy 6:03 PM - 22 May, 2015
Quote:
...
I just know the moment I buy the DVS pack - Serato will put it on sale....



exactly why I'm waiting for Art to post that he got the DVS pack.