Ohh, and one last think, what futures can i use on my cdj1000mk3 when using the program?

Cue button? play? next? prev? loop? history?

Have searched some time for the answers but cant find exactly what answers i need....

Thanks.....

scratchlive has a master tempo button just like the one on your cdj. It is the musical note that appears to the upper left of the virtual deck. You can use that.

To use the functoins on your cdj, you'll need to be in ABS mode. Toy around and see what you can do.

Yes, you use your pitch sliders on the CDJs to change the tempo in SSL, that's kind of the whole point of timecode vinyl/CD programs.

If I may note it seems you don't quite understand how scratch (and most all other timecode dj systems) function.
The concept is that the digital track is mapped to the CD. There is different types of mapping but the general idea is that everything you do to the CD, you do to the track in Serato.
I recommend Absolute mode. It will behave exactly like you popped a normal CD in, unless I want to play with some of the software features it's what I use 95% of the time as a CD DJ.

Thanks for good and quick answers! :)

I'm absolutely new to this and other timecode dj systems.

I would love to have the ability to have a program that i can play from and organize my music.

I do to often forget some great tracks while playing at clubs or other events, because they are bundled around on the strangest places in my CD folders, or there are just to much to remember and to little time to search for them while mixing.

If I'm right, than this is the one of the main reasons that people use these timecode dj systems such as SSL and so???

Its just so scary to move from the "good old" cd's to all data/digital, but it seems just right for me.

How is the community around this program? is it mostly just for hip hop dj's and other type of wickidy wack scratch scratch? hehe, no offense, i do Progressive house and trance you c ;) in other ways, who is this program "made" for?

***Chad S.***->

Can you tell me more about the abs mode? will i find this in the Manual?


***DJ E.M.F.***->

Can you tell me more about the Absolute mode?

yes, it will tell you about ABS mode in the manual. Essentially it treats the waveform just like vinyl. Meaning if you put the needle at the beginning, it plays the beginning. If you put it in the middle, it plays the middle, just like "needle dropping" with regular vinyl.

I am an industrial / powernoise / Experimental Electronic DJ... no scratching here. I prefer digital systems for the extra features a little bit but more so because my track list is well over a thousand tracks long and I DJ purely off the cuff. It's much easier to search tracks and deal with a large bevy of tastes and requests if I am dealing with the index in Serato or Traktor (the program I have been using in clubs for a while) than managing hundreds of CDs. I also prefer the feel and responsive control of the decks over a midi controller and keyboard... Serato has come highly recommended to me for this and a few other reasons. To be honest I have only been playing with Serato for about two weeks but I am very happy with it so far.

Yes. I can. Absolute (abs) mode works by "absolutely" mapping the location of the CD to the location of the song...
So how this works is you load the track and hit play on the deck and it plays the track at the exact speed of the CD. If you skip ahead using the FF button the track in Serato will skip forward and follow it exactly. If you hit the cue button it will jump back right to where you put the cue on the CD.. It works just like you "hot burned" the track on the the CD.
The only problem with this mode is if you are whipping the jog around fast the track can jump some times... this is a known issue with having to process the complex timecode so very fast (as I have heard). I've only experienced this when attempting to skip half way through a 12 minute track as fast as my jog could go personally.. but I am not a scratch DJ.

The fix for this is Relative (rel) mode... relative mode. Relative mode means that the cd only controls the speed and direction of the track playing... using the Cue button would only cause the track to stutter forward. This allows for more precise and fast tracking for scratching and it also allows for you to use software based cue points and loops.

Because the sound the CD player hears is just a digital tone it will have no ability to read the tempo or beats in the track so the bpm counter on the decks and the auto 1/2/4/8 loops on the CDJs will be rendered useless no matter what... luckily all this is IN Serato if you really miss it.

If you have a guitar center nearby you might be able to go down there and check it out. Both of the guitar centers in my town have a demo Serato setup that you can play with... It's a hair daunting to stare at under the hands of a pro but when I bought my copy it took me less than a hour to get all set up and do exactly what I was used to doing with my CD decks.

here is a good video telling you about the different modes.
serato.com

And, in reply to your question about the community here....

We're a mixed bunch, spread around the world. Musically and timeline-wise, you'll find the majority are US based Hip Hop DJs. But there are plenty of other countries and styles represented (quite a few House, Drum N Bass and Techno DJs). Some who own SSL and some that don't.

Over all, we're a nice group of people, but be prepared for some good-hearted hassles. :)

The one thing I didn't see menioned here regards using the ABS(olute) mode in Serato and the CDJ's. You DO want to turn on the "note" master tempo in Serato. You do NOT want to have Master Tempo turned on with the CDJs.. mind you, it will still work (I've done it unintentionally, failing to check the player after the previous DJ used it....) but you will notice some red in the bar above the "ABS REL INT" 'buttons' in the Serato Screen. The amount of red will vary as you manipulate the jog wheel. The red indicates a degredation of the timecode signal coming into Serato. This combination allows you to use the slider to adjust the BPM of the playback for beatmixing....again. JUST LIKE VINYL or mixing regular CD tracks.

The other thing you want to do is have the CDJ in "VINYL" mode. This alows you very precise control over setting your queue points as well as letting you backspin to a mix (if you do that... I do.. SPARINGLY). If you should find yourself at a gig where you don't want/need to beatmix.. leave the headphones in the gig bag. You can visually que to the exact start of the track with the waveform.

I cannot say enough good things about Serato !

DJ Kelly

our users kick butt. Thanks for all the good input guys and gals.

I found that frame searching works just fine in absolute mode, so any DJ who really prefers it should have no problem using it. It of course just causes the track to rapidly jump forward in relative.
In my experience for a lot of stuff you will find yourself getting a little too attached to the screen and be able to do most all of your course cueing right off of the display.

Thank guys for great answers!!