It has no sense. I have bought all the Serato expansions, and now the people that bought the Suite has Play for free, and the people that bought every license one by one has to pay to unlock features that you already have with a paid license and any cheap controller. I also have a DS1, so I literally have two licenses... and still have to pay for Play. I feel mistreated by Serato.

I don't see any reason why you would want to buy it.

i believe play is for that person who don't want to buy the cheapest sdj lite controller but still wants to use sdj. serato just increased their work load. better they had called it sdj liter than ever

even if you have no controller you still have to buy serato dj at $99 + play that's around $140

I have 2 hardware licenses (DDJ-SX2 & DJM-S9) and club kit license, I have paid the license 3 times and still need hardware activation, how many times I must pay for the license?

+1 I agree, if you haven't realized it bro but Serato is in the game of making money cause Serato partners are smart and they are making money on there own without serato (Pioneer Rekordbox) so now serato is trying to milk as much as they can out of expansions and anything they can think off ie. Serato Play, this may be damaging for Serato's image, they tend to forget about their loyal customers and the stability of the software and make it all about the money,

this is not true....you dont need a serato dj license to use serato play

this is if you own a pro controller then you would just spend the $40,

but why would you want Serato Play then, I thought play would be suited for literal laptop DJs that don't own a controller

You don't need anything BUT Serato Play to use Serato play regardless of Pro controller.
Serato Play is in no way meant to be a replacement for interfaces, controllers or mixers. It is meant to be a means of easy mixing and such in between. THIS is why it DOES and will continue to miss some key features.

I agree. I have all of the expansion packs that I bought on a piece by piece method. I waited until they went on sale or they came bundled with some hardware that I bought. Play sounds like a better user experience than practice mode. I'd like to have it for emergency back up purposes but I'm not going to pay extra for it.

Lets not forget it will probably be on sale at some time as well as be included in some hardware bundle just like every other expansion right?

I think it will be on sale if we boycott not to buy it!

No need to boycott, almost nobody needs or wants this

I don’t think they will have a problem finding people who want this.

It's $erato

You gotta pay to play

Let me ask you guys a question. IF Serato added midi mapping alone would that make the difference? While I can see the sound card issue being too big to even approach I don’t see MIDI being too far of a reach. Would that make Serato Play worth it?

midi map and soudcard both. sdj pro by itself is already midi mappable

It also uses sound cards. What you are suggesting is that Serato opens up all sound cards so now ANY random person can DL Serato DJ (for free) and use with their sound card of choice for $40? Does this sound right? LOL.

I think you may be completely missing the point of this expansion pack.

I don't mean to sound offensive BTW. I am just stating the obvious so it may sound a bit like a drill lol.

To better illustrate the point though If Serato charges $130 and doesn't even offer open sound card support how could they give it away for $40?

its that argument even though you bought it doesn't mean you own it.

Not at all. It is "how can we give it to people who buy an expansion and NOT give it to people who own a license to the actual SW?"

if they put in crossfade for automix, maybe it would be worth it.

but at this rate, that just might be a whole other expansion pack. and if it is, at that rate, it better be adjustable.

I think this would be more in line with performance use (or lack of performance as it replaces the DJ LOL whole other discussion I know) as in live use but again this is being presented as more of a "practice" tool and is being received rather well by the large. Perhaps it may evolve in the future who knows.

Anyone can purchase it not just owners of sdj........ this means as I said $40 later they have features that sdj pro itself does not even have?!?! You did get one thing correct though. Play is just a stripped down version of sdj pro. That is the way it was intended to be so I suppose they got it right. Do you feel it should be the same as sdj pro? What would be the point? Do you feel it should have features that ask pro doesn’t even have? How could be justified?

I understand your want for it but it just isn’t feasible. Let’s make this simple. Serato calls up all their hardware partners (relook, Rane, pioneer etc) and says “sorry guys we decided to let anyone use any hardware from now on for $40 but don’t worry we are confident they will spring for the hundreds/thousands of dollars for native hardware instead” does this sound realistic? I mean I am certain people using certain hardware (usually meaning cheap) would be pleased but how do you explain this to the poor guy who just dropped $1000+ on “necessary” hardware in order to use sdj?

Again trust I understand the want. We all want many things but we should try to keep our expectations realistic no?

Again my apologies if this is coming off as condescending or anything. Not my intentions. Just trying to explain in a different way is all.

It's not condescending, most of the people complaining won't even use the damn thing. They are bitching that a stripped down option doesn't do what THEY want it to do, even if they don't have to buy it.

I can't midi map it (not intended for that). I can't use any soundcard (not intended for that).

Virtual dj does that. U pay a premium to use any hardware u want. Rbdj does give u option to use any sound card long as u have a license. Even when u max out serato with all the add on u cant do that. THIS SHALL BE THEIR DOWN FALL. BETTER LISTEN TO THE MAN. THEY DO HAVE A FOOT HOLD NOW. BUT WAIT TILL THE OTHERS IMPROVE

So you want SDJ to be VDJ, good for you. Rekordbox doesn't either.

VDJ is not the standard most pros hold their software to, except if they are using PCs, lol.

Perhaps you should be requesting that Serato DJ the software itself offers open hardware not a $40 expansion pack LMAO. Maybe a $300 expansion pack since we want to be like Virtual DJ.

Don't get me wrong I wish SDJ had open sound card support but we'd be lying if we said this was anywhere in the neighborhood of the correct approach................ a $40 expansion simply can not have features its core application doesn't even have right?

Anyways I think its best I retreat back into the shadows for a bit again LOL. It's kid of same old here. I for one am happy Serato answered so many peoples request here. I am remembering so many claims of "now THAT is something I would pay for" and I would be willing to pay $X.XX for this" and when it happens.......................... yeah. Don't get me wrong guys there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with hoping, asking & requesting BUT expecting and demanding gets you nowhere and retreating to the future sales prophecies has never worked and Serato is only gaining more and more ground. This is another way they will continue to do so and I appreciate the efforts. If you don't like it as it is get your voice out into the Beta if you have not done so yet. Honey though .............. not vinegar.

If serato announced open mapping and it cost $300 like VDJ, these same people would be bitching about the price.

So true.
And these same people would wait until a "cracked" version shows up.

just quietly there's is one out there...

LOL

Seriously? Asking Serato for anything is like talking to the wall.
Where are all the people you speak of that were asking for this? I honestly haven't seen it. This is merely Serato trying to squeeze blood from a stone. It honestly feels like Serato has just become a 'quick buck' company (the whore on the corner). They don't implement feature requests that guys have been begging them years for coz they not gonna make any money from it. I personally don't care for Serato Play or who wastes (sorry spends) their money on it. I find it sad, they have the time to do stuff like this when there's so many better things for them to build on.

Jeeze man, sounds like you need to take a break.

Thanks man, Im glad you care ;)

midi mapping would be cool.

If its gonna be this basic, they should have used the pyro mix function and just let it be serato dj pro autoplay.

Pyro is a great automixer and its already in the serato ecosystem.

Even if they left out Spotify from it, it's on par with the Rekordbox Automix for sure.

lol... sounds like a very frustrated DJ :)





same way I feel when I try to message Uber and its the worst company for any form of help
the answers are generic copy and paste answers

well serato certainly takes there time to get back to you and in regards to implementing new features well its just common sense that they discuss new features and see if it can be monetized, and you are right Serato is in the buz of making money its nothing personal its just there way of staying above water and so they should cause the only way from the top is the bottom, they are just trying to survive in a very competitive market.
and you will always find someone that disagrees with a company no matter what they do we should all know this as DJs

I am, I'm frustrated with the fact that Serato are too busy making 'play' mode to give us a 'day' mode. Why not make that a payed for day mode expansion pack? At least they would be addressing a long overdue request & making money. Call me frustrated & tell me I need to take a break all you like, it doesn't change how I feel. So why bother? The whole idea is to get feelings be known (if they actually read this). Serato need to know how we feel. If I'm the only one that feels this way, then too bad for me. One things for sure though, praising everything Serato does or trying to justify why, even when it's (seems) illogical is not going to make it a better software. If Serato are taking financial strain & needed to do this, they could just as easily make 'paid for' expansion packs for the long standing feature requests. It would fall into the same realm as this 'play mode' except have more people that actually need/want it, plus still have all the fanboys defending their decision to make us pay for features that all the competition has given to their users for free for years - It would be a win - win.....Lol.

Technically the SX2 and S9 are both plug & play devices which don’t necessarily require a license purchase. They are both expensive units that have Serato built in. If you want a license to work with all Serato products then you still need to purchase a SDJ license in order to do so. Just because you have an SX2 or S9 does not mean you have a license. The license is tied to those products only.

^^^I would DEFINITELY pay for a 'DAY MODE' expansion pack!! I also need an integrated duplicate finder feature. That is another feature I would happily pay for.

Currently, I have no need for the 'Play Mode' expansion pack but that may change in the future. I may pick it up to use for wedding ceremonies. I will wait for a 50% off Serato sale when I do.

chill bro

why pay for day mode when you can just invert your colors for free lol, that's what we've been doing for years anyway lol. and we already know we are not gonna get it. Honestly, do you think its right to charge us for a day mode when we can do it for free and we have been smh.

I’m not saying they should charge us for day mode. Just trying to explain my point of view. if it’s money that they need, rather implement long standing feature requests that loads of us have been begging for, for years & charge a small fee than implement a feature that only few have requested & not many really care for. Btw, if you ever used the day mode in itch, then you would realize inverting your display doesn’t come close to a dedicated day mode color scheme. But if you’re happy with a work around, all good.

I never used itch so i have no idea i only used ssl with a ttm57 and 2 tech 12s then i switched to cdj 850s once i started using sdj. I have no idea what that day mode was like but I really only invert colors during wedding season or summer events

I played around with the invert, it's def not the same as the mode people are requesting. Plus the rest of your desktop isn't looking all jacked up.

Inverting the colors also inverts my music videos. Inverting the colors does not help me with my particular situation.

I see, i dont do video so it doesnt affect me

I got the Akai AMX when it came out (2015) and finally moved into the digital / laptop realm.

The AMX was a pain to use on a cramped airline seat; (laptop tray for laptop and lap for the AMX) but I used it anyway as my library outgrew my iPod (120gig) and managing multiple libraries to synchronize an iPod was more trouble than it was worth.

I got the Numark DJ2Go2 in 2017 to use on the plane; it was smaller and chintzy, but it was easier on the plane.

So PLAY was just what I needed - a way to “fiddle” while on the plane.

I gave the DJ2Go2 to an aspiring DJ
It still had utility (buttons) but not compelling enough a reason for me to keep it.

I had already upgraded to a Pro license so I could use the DJ2Go2 in the same user interface as the AMX. So yeah - Serato got my money.

I dunno what all the moaners are going on about. If Brand X is cheaper for the features you want - go buy it!

The split cue option is great!

But I have a bum ear do I have to use a Whirlwind PA-1 to mix / pan to the one ear that works.

A Behringer P-1 is a cheaper alternative to the Whirlwind - except that I already owned the PA-1.

Looking forward to using PLAY for messing around and prep work!

I thought Serato play was worthless UNTIL.....

This past Saturday. I had a VERY small event. When I say very small I mean 25 people packed the room small.

Event called for 1 speaker and the smallest controller I own (Pioneer DDJ SB2)

I plugged the speaker in, fired up the MBP, connected the DDJ SB2 to the MBP and the speaker and......
Nothing!
I'm like WTF?!?
I thought the cable might be bad so I switched cables. No good. I switched channels and still no good.
I got sound a little bit but it was like I had a bad connection or a short in the cable.

I figured OK, I got a short in the speaker so I go to the truck and get another speaker.
Still Nothing!
I'm like DAMN.
I'm playing with cables and I find out the cables are good. The speakers are good.
THE DDJ SB CRAPPED OUT!
I had no backup controller with me but I DID have internet access.

I purchased Serato Play and was able to get the job done.

It pissed me off that I had to buy it and it did NOT work the way it was supposed to but I was able to make the best of it and get through my show.

From now on, I will be keeping a looooong 1/8 to 1/4 cable with me just in case I HAVE to use Serato Play if hardware decides to crap out like it did this past weekend.

So $40 saved a party. Smart smart move!

This is why I don't trust this bus powered controllers. I thought of getting one for the type of gigs that DJcity described, but your store now scares me. I'm cool with the SR2 and that magma shoulda soft case bag made for it.

Would I love something more portable like the SB2/3, sure. But after hearing this I'm skeptical.

It had nothing to do with the usb cable.
The whole unit seems to have had a short.

I touch the headphone volume knob and the sound would come on. It was like having a bad rca or headphone cable where you had to adjust it juuuuuuust right to get sound.

I tried to play with the damn thick too get and keep sound but it just was not happening.

Yeah.
That $40 purchase saved my gig.

but you can basic mix in the off line player? its a little less featured, but if its that basic, you have 2 decks and a xfader.

I think it's the only time I'd consider using SYNC, personally.

the offline player has sync and it has the og keyboard short cuts, plus beat jump and loops

the keyboard shortcut change seemed kinda dumb, i guess they changed them to add features

support serato and cough up the dough kids. In fact make sure to purchase every expansion pack they have.

Its good for the NZ economy😂😂

Play fills a couple very real needs:

1) DJs who travel and want a slightly more powerful way to work on their set programming (like a dry run of mixes and phrase programming) without having access to a controller that very second, i.e. on a plane, train, bus, car, etc. 5 hour car ride to a festival is a great time to practice your set and program in some fresh last-minute additions to your track library.

2) Finding yourself somewhere with your laptop, but no controller, and being asked to throw on some tunes - still more fun than playing an iTunes or Spotify playlist! Some of the best networking and fan-building opportunities I've had have been at small house parties because you can actually talk to people, and it's more likely the people there will be paying attention to your music and not just getting wasted (I've booked people from hearing them play at house parties too).

3) Hardware breaks and glitches out, doesn't matter what it is, how old/new it is, it's just a fact of life; I've had it happen to CDJs, controllers, sound cards, hard drives, laptops, and hell, before that it was faulty needles and tonearms. Play is a better than nothing, last-resort option if everything else fails and leaves you on the spot, and it's just smart to have that option. I also carry a thumb drive with music on it for this reason, even though I always use Serato and a controller.

I've been in all of those situations numerous times, and it would've been nice to have the couple extra features that Play offers. It's not ideal, but that's not the point IMO, the point is giving you more power and flexibility in times where you'd otherwise have pretty much NO options at all.

you can do this with the offline player



you can do this with the offline player




you can do this with the offline player

its not up to me how people want to spend their money but for anyone reading this, you dont need to spend 40$ to do what Play can do other than use the sp6 player and use a filter/eq AND use the original keyboard shortcuts

Play is awesome, you know why?
Because I play in a band and during our breaks,
I DJ 15-20 minutes
And having JUST the laptop is awesome to spin a few tracks!!!
For my Band gigs, Playing live is priority
DJ’ing is just for fun and to “fill in the gaps”

I understand that Play is not for everyone, so I say,
If it’s not for you, don’t buy it
If it’s for you, buy it!! Simple

Just my $0.02

perfect example of how to utilize play...awsome

I agree with you. It just seems like a really greedy approach, and an effff you to all the people that have dumped thousands into serato.

by the looks of this thread everyone wants to give em 40$, so i guess we're wrong?

i don't get it

It's because they're looking at it as people being cheap, and not seeing the bigger picture. Next thing you know the whole software will be chopped up. They're charge you to use the crossfader, EQs lol

Again.... Serato needs to be a monthly paid subscription so you peons cant complain about forking over a few bucks to such an amazing company.

They have it, but doesn't help ppl that have already spent the ownership fees. Only helps newcomers.

Not with the new features they roll out that you are complaining about paying for. If you don't want to have to pay for the latest and greatest get on the monthly.

Well yeah, I can see moving forward that would make sense, but then now I'll have doubles of almost everything? or wonder If I can sell my licenses and then subscribe for the monthly.

watch them remove some features in the 9.99 one and make you pay 19.99 a month for extra features. lol

if aptidda was rich, he would understand that wealthy people don't pay for what they dont need. thats how they got rich

Hell yeah, just look at our President.

Was= Is. My vast ever expanding real estate empire and ludicrous car collection speaks volumes.

Let's see some pics

Any real life exposure would be career suicide for me, i'm pretty important where I am. Also if I showed you, you would be able to hunt me down and do all the terrible things all you guys have wanted to do to me. All I will say is Berkeley Hills, and that’s all I can do for you.

I personally ain't got time for that nor do I care to. Got a whole life outside this forum and djing, but I can't speak for others, they might have the time or care to hunt you down lol

Very simple: just download and install Virtual DJ and do your work, since it recognizes Crates. I've done that a lot. I did not spend money on Serato anymore. My next controller will be a Rekordbox like. Very disappointed with Serato already long ago.

Each new version comes with more crap, slowness, and no useful features or bug fixes that have been requested for years.

All I'm saying is "Play" got me out of a bad situation. It's NOT something I would have purchased under normal circumstances. I did not trust playing at a well paying gig (no matter how small) with the offline player.
For me... Serato Play was right on time.

Exactly, fork out the $40 for the new feature. Or don't pay $40 for the new feature. These children need to stop complaining.

haha, aint that the truth. no one is forcing anyone to buy this feature. oh the entitlement - sometimes just mix straight vinyl to clear your palate.

@RodrigoVolta I don't think the software is crap; in fact it's very well made and kudos to the team. That being said, I think the biggest boo-boo Serato did was with version 1.8 when they switched to a different graphics engine. This resulted in significant lag with the UI and the non-sound-related USB communications (for example, refresh rates of CDJ jog display and similar situation with some controllers). I've started threads regarding this issue, feel free to read them. The problem has been mitigated in recent versions of Serato DJ, but it's still there. If you have used any version up to and including 1.7.8, you'll know what I mean.

However, and please correct me if I'm wrong, nobody "actively" forces me to upgrade. I could still be using v1.7.x if that graphics issue were a deal-breaker... I never agreed with Serato that I'd be using their updated software at all times and as soon as it's released and they never promised that any of their software updates will be as good as the one they replace...

So very true. I can't remember when last serato released an update that got me excited or had new features that made me want to download it. So I just stick to what has been working for me. My personal negative outlook on serato play is purely based on the many feature requests, that have simply been ignored year after year. It's almost like they know their fan boys will defend them regardless of what they do. Actually feels like they've become arrogant, where they don't care what their customers want. "Take what we give you or move on" type of vibe..... Not the type of attitude customers should experience.

This. I think it's like they collect data on features then decide what should be included or not. I mean i get it, they gotta make money. I might just sell whatever licenses I have then just subscribe to the monthly service.

So... I use Macbook and every time I upgrade macOS I have to update SDJ to a newer version. I've already thought of downgrading to OSX Maveriks and sticking only with Serato ITCH that is native to my DDJ-S1 controller. However, my DJ team uses newer ones and sometimes I have to use their controllers, which forces me to keep SDJ Pro installed.

From my passages on all versions of SDJ, I haven't noticed much of a performance difference since the early versions of the software ... Of course, today the version is very bloated, with a lot of things embedded, but better to stay current than using older versions. By the way, for me, using older versions of SDJ or using ITCH, I prefer the latter ... Too bad that in macOS Mojave it doesn't work very well ...