The Serato driver "takes over" the 68. So when I run The Bridge, Ableton is routed from within SSL. I am only able to run Ableton to 1 of the 68 channels at the time.

However, I can use the second usb port for another computer running Ableton live as well.
Haven't tried to sync this second computer yet, but I think I might be done with a network cable between the 2 computers.

BigWiz might have some more insight to this.

You can also try to use the 2nd USB port to run the 68 on that port as a CA device.

However - this may cause stability issues.

Thanks fellas.

I've been going back and forth with Zach from Rane, and he did say that nik39's idea would work, albeit in an untested way, as this was not the original intention for this feature (which is funny, as using the dual USB cards in this way was the FIRST thing I thought of).

Zach said that unplugging one or both of the USB cables from the computer may cause a kernel panic (not sure what that is), but as I won't be trading off to another DJ, that doesn't really concern me.

nik39 - do you know or have you experienced any other stability issues?

I've been using the Bridge, an SL3, an MAudio 1814, an analog mixer, SSL and Ableton in this way, and I'm thinking that the 68 will be able to get rid of cable connections and the two interfaces - great for the size of my carryon, and also for set up times. This has been super stable for me so far, but the MAudio 1814 is a firewire device, and I don't want to learn about instability on the road, midset.

Thank you very much for your thoughts and time! - Franco

When running both Ableton and ssl using both usb ports on my macbook,
SSL has crashed every single time...

Warp, after some time you mean or immediately?

everything from 1 to 10 min of use...

Warp - thanks for chiming in. This is super disappointing to me - I was already scraping together funds to try and pick a unit up.

You have a lot of systems listed - which computer is it crashing? Is your Ableton Live set large clip wise, or super processor intensive? Anything that would throw up a flag?

Damn. My dream is crashing.

My main computer for SSL is a non unibody penryn type MBP. 2.4 ghz, 1tb Internal, 4 GB Ram. Still running 10.5.8 on this one. Will probably get a new machine this spring.

Not saying what you want to do is impossible, others have a different experience using both ports on the same computer, however, Rane is advising against it here > rane.com

I have been trying 2 computers, running the bridge on one, ableton standalone for VST fx like, explained in the rane linke, worked flawlessly for me. VST post fader fx is hot...

Also like to add, the 68 is the best mixer Ive ever laid my hands on. :D
Personally, I got it both for the dual usb, dj switchover/tag team usability, the bridge and video.

Hi Warp...I have the same computer you do, so, if yours is crashing, I bet mine will as well. I saw that warning when I read through the product pages last night.... Since the ability to run both cards simultaneously, one with Serato Drivers and the other with Core Audio drivers, IS the primary reason I'm buying this particular mixer, I'll probably go back to the drawing board.

That's a shame.

2600.00 bucks new is just too much money to spend on something that may or may not work.

I really appreciate you saving me the heartache of dropping the loot and not being able to use the product the way I would want to.

It's a bit unfortunate that Rane even considers or partly suggests this.

Hey, not sure if you've seen this or if it may provide any help or not but...
serato.com

you can use a seperate sound card to route ableton output channels a and b(not serato), then basically plug the sound card output to the ch 3 and 4 inputs of the 68 ,

i cant believe it wasnt , and still isnt important to have separate ableton a and b channels for a 68..... seriously , i guess its this way because the collaboration is between serato and ableton, not rane, serato, and ableton.......

DJBIGWIZ

Thanks for the videos, I appreciate you throwing some ideas my way. I have something similar, utilizing the SL3, MAudio Firewire 1814, and an analog mixer (Vestax 06). I have the Bridge running, but Ableton is using CoreAudio drivers, and my main outputs (one stereo pair) to the soundman come from the MAudio.

The Vestax 06 (and its SSL output) actually outputs to an input on the MAudio, which I've set up a track for in my Ableton Session. That signal always plays thru, but that channel has a decent amount of EFX on it.

Because of the Bridge, I'm able to sync the bpm of the Ableton session (and all its EFX, clips, etc) to the BPM of the stuff I'm playing in SSL.

The problem I'm running into is that without control of additional ableton channels on a hardware channel, moving from SSL to Ableton and back is clunky - simply having one Ableton output on a channel would let me make that transition back and forth so much easier. So, its really the channel fader, eq, filter, and ability to assign that output to the hardware cross fader that I was looking for.

Enter my search for a 4 channel mixer.

My idea was to change my routing around. With any basic analog mixer, I could continue to use my SL3 on channels one and two, and then use the M-audio outputs from ableton (I would would only need two stereo pairs) on channels 3 and 4 (4 is simply used to headphone cue samples out of the mixer headphone jack). My one and only output would come from the analog mixer to the soundman. But, that's pretty clunky, and that means I have more pieces to set up, soundcheck, and make sure don't get broke in transit.

The Rane 68 seemed to have been the holy answer...but, if its not stable, its not stable. Its a shame, too, because that one piece of gear could have become the central point of my whole rig....

Ah well.

Its a sweet mixer, and I'm tempted to purchase it, and still use it as the SSL interface, and still continue to use the MAudio 1814, but for the asking price of the unit, and because I use other midi controllers that pretty much make a lot of the midi functionality on the Rane 68 redundant, I can't justify the purchase. It makes more fiscal sense for me to buy a USB 4 channel mixer, and continue to use the SL3.

Thanks all.

However, this 2600 bucks is burning a whole in my pocket, so if anyone can convince me, please do!

The 68 is the best USB 4 channel mixer you can buy. You will feel so bad ass when you upgrade from the vestax 06.

If you use the audio interface you already have you can set up exactly like you want to originally (except you will have an extra interface instead of using the two internal ones.) Plus you can assign the controls on the 68 for midi and maybe ditch a controller.

There are some reputable dealers on ebay, but you might get the best deal from agiprodj.com

Cosign.

Cosign +1