The Serato Scratch Live SL2 system. With this, you can DJ on any standard record decks/CDJs and mixer set-up.
Digital DJ Tips reader Mateo writes: “I bought your DJ tutorial video course and it is working great! I’m learning a lot coupled with having a DJ mentor on board, and I’m sure I’ll be out and playing soon.
“The question I have is a very novice one. I have a NS7 and it runs with Serato ITCH, but the club I want to DJ at runs with Serato Scratch Live. I don’t intend to bring my NS7 to the club as they are all set up pretty much but I’m wondering, should I get another controller? And which ones work with Serato Scratch Live? Is there a learning curve between Scratch and ITCH?
“I’m pretty sure I need to get a more portable controller than the one I have and I was looking at the Vestax VCI-300, but that runs on ITCH. Can I just walk in with my controller and my laptop and not use their stuff? How does this work in the DJ world?”
Digital DJ Tips says:
You’re confused between two different systems. Let me explain.
Serato Scratch Live (SSL) is designed to work with record decks or CDJ players and mixers – ie standard club gear. As such, no all-in-one controllers work with it. It is a “half-way house” between pure digital and records/CDs, and is often referred to as a “digital vinyl system” (DVS). There are controllers that work with it, but they’re more boxes of buttons, designed to control looping etc – for instance, the Novation Dicers.
You could install Serato Scratch Live on your laptop and plug in to their Serato Scratch Live system (assuming they have the required audio interface and/or Serato Scratch Live (ie Rane) mixer. If they simply have decks/CDJs and a mixer and not a full Serato set-up, you’ll need your own “Serato box” audio interface (ie SL2), and also know how to set it up.
The Vestax VCI-380: Far more practical if you want to continue using your DJ controller in club DJ booths.
You’ll need control vinyl/CDs too, which are special pieces of vinyl or CDs that contain “timecode” that allows you to control your digital files with their traditional record decks or CD players. All your libraries etc would be there for both systems (SSL and ITCH share library info).
Of course, you’d also have to get used to DJing with a club mixer and CDJs or control vinyl on their turntables, so there is most definitely a learning curve; it’s a whole new system to learn. Once you’re up to speed it’s simple enough though. (The software, by the way, is actually not so different.)
On the plus side, any serious DJ should be able to quickly turn their hand to DJing with CDJs, digital vinyl (of which Serato Scratch live is an example), controllers, hell even iPods – so if you want to learn Serato Scratch Live, and there’s an opportunity for you to DJ using that system regularly, that’s a choice for you to make.
On the plus side, any serious DJ should be able to quickly turn their hand to DJing with CDJs, digital vinyl, controllers, hell even iPods…
However, the DJ world is changing. Depending where you are in the world and on the individual club, you may be able to use a controller no issue – in which case none of this may be worth it. Whatever, the NS7 is a huge controller, as you’ve worked out, and not practical to hike around to clubs with you; there are far more practical models out there if you decide the way forward for you is to DJ using your controller in the club.
The VCI-300 as you suggest is good (although limited), or you could wait for the new Vestax VCI-380 which we’re really liking the look of.
Have you battled with the digital vinyl vs controller route? How has your controller DJing been received in pro DJ booths? What further advice can you offer to Mateo? Feel free to join in in the comments.
Now go to:
Video: Vestax VCI-380 Serato ITCH Controller Talkthrough
Your Questions: Help Me Choose A Dicer ‘n’ Digital Vinyl Set-up
Controller Clinic #9: Should I Buy The Numark NS7?
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Tags: digital vinyl systems, dj booths, dvd, Serato ITCH, serato scratch live
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I think you should base your gameplan on how much time you play in that night.
If you are the “resident” and thus you’ll be playing all night, then you should do what makes you comfortable…even if it means making space for your NS7. Most places won’t get irked if you take a turntable or something out of the booth to make room, provided you put it all back as you found it when you leave.
If you’re coming in for just a guest spot, or you’re playing here and there, then you might want to try just downloading Scratch Live and hooking up your laptop to the SL2 that’s probably in the club. You will have to know how to use the vinyl turntables or the CDJs. If the club bought Scratch Live for the booth, then they have timecode.
VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure they are actually using Scratch Live and have a setup. Too often now the term “Serato” has become the name for all DVS systems the way many call copy machines “Xerox” or tissues “Kleenex”. I’ve seen many say “yeah, they use Serato”, but come to find the DJs are using Traktor or VDJ. Double-check and go in for yourself to make sure you know what’s there. They might not have anything and just said “Serato” because other hired DJs come in with it.
If you’re only doing a short guest spot, then in my opinion you should leave it all home and just burn some CDs. Investing in a smaller controller is nice, but that’s more investment. If you’re going that route, then you might as well sell your NS7.
That’s been one of my bigger criticisms of those Numark controllers. They seem ideal for the bedroom DJ or the mobile DJ, but not for the club DJ who needs to show up, play, and leave with other DJs and setups in the booth.
[ link ]Totally agree with D-Jam. The NS7 is purely a bedroom or mobile dream controller. Not much use in the club. I would recommend getting a DVS (Serato or Traktor) and learning to use turntables or CDJs. Depending on where you decide to take your DJ career it could be well worth it to have the versatility to use different setups.
You definitely want to own your DVS audio interface and have it with you in case they have a malfunction, not at all there, the club one gets stolen, etc. Preparation is key.
Also not a bad idea to have a portable controller to work in tight spaces, where even the NS7 would be impratical. I think once you get out there and play you will address your needs based on experience.
[ link ]Hit the nail on the head, having a small controller and also a DVS system/audio interface….. will make you able to play almost any way, as you will be well prepared
[ link ]I agree with the first 2 responses except for the fact that “bedroom controller” is not quite the word that i would use for describing the NS7. Simply “mobile” would suffice in my extremely humble opinion. My goal is to familiarize myself with various softwares so that I can prepare for most situations.
[ link ]I agree it’s not an inexpensive controller for the bedroom hobbyist.
However, as of right now the only people I know who bought NS7s are bedroom hobbyists…who happen to have money to spend.
[ link ]Where I live the NS7 is almost all you’ll see if its not a Technics or CDJ and SSL setup, but 9/10 times the DJ himself owns the setup. Maybe its just the style of venues but most places here don’t have a traditional DJ booth or house gear. Those that do usually only house a mix track pro or something similarly cheap. You’re extremely lucky to find a dj booth with SSL and a set of CDJs. Most of the time I’m on stage with nothing but a double brace keyboard stand and my NS7. I have access to a set of Technics and SL2 from the company I contract DJ for but I prefer to use my own NS7. The Technics are too damn heavy (NS7 not much lighter), but the case itself is more compact and any space I can save is a bonus. This local DJ / Producer, DJ Dus can actually be seen in this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIxws-npaZQ music video using an NS7 which he uses to perform a few nights a week around town as we all do. He and another buddy of mine, the guy who got me into the NS7 have been using these things since they came out and swear by them. Ive had mine almost a year and love it. The NS7 is so much much more than a bedroom / hobbyist piece of equipment. It’s the only all digital control that I’ve messed with that didn’t feel like a cheap toy with crappy crossfaders and I’ve tried them all. Today I was just looking at a Novation Twitch to use because I honestly don’t scratch all that much and definitely not at every event so the Twitch sounded like a good lightweight option. Got my hands on it and the crossfader and channel volume sliders felt like cheap plastic crap. Definitely not what I would consider spending $600 on.
[ link ]The thing about Serato Scratch is that they have this “cred” going on because they haven’t got sync and so on… And then they’ve made Itch to be in tune with the future of DJing! Other DVS systems has got everything in the same package. So if you choose Traktor for instance; you can be a controllerist one day and a turntablist the next on the same system. Only Serato has two different software solutions which I figure is pretty lame… I wouldn’t go from Serato Itch to Serato Scratch simply because it’s basicaly a step back.
[ link ]One more thing… I firmly believe that digital controllers is the future of DJing. Why on EARTH would you want to use CD players when there are houndreds of better controllers out there which can make you do SO much more and are WAY more accurat?! When the DJs that still use CD’s retire or see the light, the Pioneer CDJs won’t be a part of a standard DJ booth setup any more. It’s all a question of time. I guess turntables will still be around though… Nothing can quite compare to the touch of vinyl. (Except a couple of controllers emulating it)
[ link ]You need to write down what you are likely to encounter in a club,then cover all bases in the simplest way you can.
[ link ]So for me this would be laptop and small controller..works anywhere
Memo stick for use with the newer cdjs
Small wallet of cds works with the older cdjs.
No need to worry about vinyl unless you are a cut and scratch dj the turntable is a thing of the past and you will rarely see one in the dj box least not over here.
Key here is that whilst software mixing is great and can be more creative you must also be able to do the job manually as well,its a bit like driving a car if you learn in an automatic thats all you can drive your choices are limited however if you learn in a manual gear change car you can drive either or with no worries.
I’ll answer your question, which was: “I’m pretty sure I need to get a more portable controller than the one I have and I was looking at the Vestax VCI-300, but that runs on ITCH. Can I just walk in with my controller and my laptop and not use their stuff? How does this work in the DJ world?”
Answer: If they have an open channel on the mixing board for you and you have the proper cabling, YES YOU CAN! ITCH does not require the RANE SL sound cards (as Scratch Live does). Typically, you’ll be able to make space enough for your DJ rig (Computer and Controller) wherever a DJ would put their CD binders. If you’re really pressed for space you can even suspend your computer above your controller with a DJ Laptop Stand like a Uberstand or a Crane… and you’ll probably want to plug in somewhere which isn’t that big of a deal, but bring a power cord just in case.
Some clubs still have the covers for their turntables and that can be helpful for being closer to center-stage when DJing, but yes… the hassle for Computer DJs has and will be (at least for a while) “having to fit your stuff around all that useless crap that takes up space in front of you.”
[ link ]The good ole days were so much more predictable – 2 turntables + mixer.
The future is probably that every DJ walks in with a laptop + controller.
Right now it seems that we are in a period of transition so setups have probably never been more varied than they are now.
Right now Im liking Traktor. I got an S4 and 1200′s so I have the best of all worlds.
[ link ]when i’m not using ScratchLive with turntables i’m using a novation nocturn as a controller for traktor. best of both worlds for me. easy to setup. i have the option of using SL as an audio card or an NI audio2. i’m thinking of getting a Midi Fighter next.
[ link ]Definitely sounds like you’re having fun, Regend!
[ link ]If you are looking for a smaller controler, check out the NS6. It comes with Itch, but can use tractor and a few others. One of the DJ’s I know talked about selling his setup (cdjs, tables, mixer, serato, etc) for the NS6. The NS6 has 4 “decks” and very similar to the NS7, but without the motorized mini vinyl. I started on vinyl decks and prefer it by far. However, most clubs have switched to CDJ so I didn’t want to invest in a new set of tables, mixer, CDjs and serato. The NS6 was a good compromise for me since most tracks are digital now. Just don’t use the sync button if you want to be taken seriously….its cheeting.
[ link ]Serato live will auto import your itch crates. I have Live and Itch loded on my laptop.
I agree with the others on becoming familiar with everything possible. Many times you will be using whatever equipment was brought in by the DJ willing to lend his equipment for the night.
NS7
[ link ]There is one controller that I have found to work with Serato Scratch live (at least the SL3 box ) and that is the Numark Mixdeck Universal DJ system. If you go find some pix online of the rear of the controller, you will notice that it has outputs for each cd player (or in my case usb) which you hook up to the SL3 box, and then it also has inputs (use the output from the SL3 box) for you to bring back into the mixer. And then you can output again back into the sound system that you are using as well as a recorder. In this case, you can just take the timecode, put it in mp3 format, and then put a bunch on a usb stick and use that as your timecode… problem solved, however please note that in the last minute or two of the timecode it forces abs mode in serato. This means that you cannot control the song using the controller until you rewind or replay the track. The way I solved this was to use ableton to cut and paste the first ten minutes of the original timecode together and made a 99 minute track that basically made it longer than I would need for any typical set. But be warned, you need a lot of editing skills to do this, as you will have to zoom in at each break to make sure that the wavelength lines up perfectly, otherwise you will have serious issues and cracking sounds when the track goes over what you edited during play. If this is too complicated, just stick with the original cd that scratch live comes with and dont forget to replay the track as it gets to the end. One more thing, if you do it right, the timecode can be used on cdj’s as well.
I really like the mixdeck as it only cost me around $400 for a used one and the case was about $150. This is less than what I paid for the SL3 box, which was about $600. I like the mixdeck because it is very portable, and all’s you need is your cables, the mixdeck, your laptop, and the scratch live box. The one downside is that the mixdeck is not as sensitive as the cdj’s and will most likely take some getting used to. Plus there is no way to use the onboard effects (since the effects are on the cd player and not the mixer side), which is why you will need to buy a simple midi controller that you can midi the serato effects into, such as the Korg Nano Kontrol2.
One last thing, I can’t see serato itch being the future (at least not the near future) as it depends on the laptop’s soundcard, and unless you can get a 24bit soundcard with 48khz built into the laptop, the sound quality will never match up to scratch live.
[ link ]Peace.
Great info, thanks! One thing though, ITCH uses the sound cards built in to the controllers it is licensed to work with – not the laptop.
[ link ]ahh, I wasn’t really sure, haven’t really used itch, just scratch. Thanks for the info. Does that mean that you can’t use itch without a controller that has a sound card built into it and specifically designed for Itch? I was wondering, can you use cd’s or usb’s on an itch controller or is it strictly midi? also, is there a way to hook up other players to the itch mixer, because I have seen some with 4 channels, or would you just use the two players on the mixer to switch between the different channels?
[ link ]I think you are wrong on that. The ns7 is the actuall soundcard. A huge soundcard that happens to have other things on it
“On the subject of USB, the NS7 also acts as a huge and very expensive 4 in 4 out 24 bit 44.1kHz sound card. If you do get your own MIDI apps to work the NS7 then you have a sound card at hand. Or you could run another external software audio source such as Ableton through the NS7 as well.”
Read more: http://www.djworx.com/skratchworx/reviews/ns7.php#ixzz2JZJT48lH
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