Hammond Music

Posts Tagged ‘dj software’

Next up is Rane’s flagship product, Serato Scratch Live. This piece of software comes in at around £300 for the SL1 version, and around £five hundred and fifty for the SL3 version.

Why you must get Serato Scratch Live

* Timecoded vinyl – 2 pieces of timecoded vinyl are included with Serato SL1, and for me this is often its biggest selling point.  In layman’s terms, you utilize your standard turntables, plug them into your SL1 unit and then into your mixer and laptop via USB/RCA cables. You will then be able to tug songs from your computer’s hard drive, and scratch/beatmatch etc. as if you’re using real vinyl! You can additionally use the same process to play songs from your laborious drive through your CD players.
* Versatility- In addition to recognising the timecoded CDs and vinyl, you also have the option to bypass the system and play ordinary CDs and vinyl, making Serato one among the foremost versatile solutions on the market.
* Serato Software – The software itself has masses of cool options, together with the vertical timeline. This timeline is so visually accurate that it’s possible to beatmatch while not headphones, merely by looking at the screen. There are more cool options like the custom crates that facilitate your organise your music within the software itself. It is also value noting that Rane is continually updating this software, and a recent addition currently allows VJ capability.
* SL1 Interface – The interface itself is rugged, moveable and USB powered. It has outputs for Phono (vinyl signal), Line (Digital/CD signal) that you’ll be able to switch between, in addition to ‘thru’ outputs and a microphone input in case you forgot to bring your mixer! Now wouldn’t that be silly?
* SL3 Interface – This interface is a major upgrade on the previous unit, offering improved dynamic vary, higher audio bit depth and high grade phono pre-amps, furthermore many different enhancements in all areas. The SL3 offers much higher quality sound, and has even bigger easy use and adaptability than its predecessor.

Why you mustn’t get Serato Scratch Live

* No beatmatch – OK, thus Serato will not beat match for you. If you’re a lazy DJ, then do not buy it.
* Timecoded Vinyl/CDs wear and tear – The one issue that Rane haven’t been ready to unravel nevertheless is the matter of Vinyl and CDs suffering damage. If you harm your vinyl, then you will need to order a replacement timecoded vinyl from Rane. Whereas the value may be a small annoyance, it’s a a lot of larger problem if your vinyl gets damaged mid-set. My advice is to order 2 spares and take them to each gig. The CDs suffer a similar problem, however copying them is not sophisticated and you’ll create a duplicate for little a lot of than the value of a blank CD.

Overview

Serato Scratch Live is one in every of the simplest DJ software solutions obtainable on the market, and it’s value each penny. It is incredibly versatile, and the hardware units are rugged and high quality. Several clubs are currently putting in this software so If you’re serious about moving your DJ career to a higher level, then this could be the software for you.

Rating: 9/10

Mark Hawley is a Music Producer, Musician, Mastering Engineer and Professional DJ, With over 10 years experience. He additionally runs his own Southend DJ agency, where you can book a Wedding DJ, Club DJ or Kids DJ within the South East of England.

Thanks for reading, we’ll see you again soon.

It’s one of the most controversial topics of modern times and there are related stories in the news almost every day. It seems that everyone, whoever they may be and whether they really understand the concept of downloading music or not, has an opinion to give on the subject. Even amongst musicians opinions are divided – there are those who think it spells the end of the music industry and those who are happy for their music to be readily available to a much wider audience of potential fans than they could otherwise have hoped to reach. 

The debate has been going on for years and it really doesn’t look like it’s likely to reach a compromise any time soon. Remember when Napster was finally closed down after a copyright lawsuit from Metallica? Everyone thought that was the end of it – it seemed the age of music for free was over, never to return. But then came Limewire, the Pirate Bay and so many other new filesharing sites, with new and better ways of operating, and never failing to stay one step ahead.

vTo be fair, Metallica certainly had a point, and they are by no means the only musicians to have spoken out against free downloads and the impact it has on the big label music industry. With CDs becoming more and more overpriced it’s not so surprising that people are choosing to turn to downloads, but not everyone realises the effect this could have on the music we all love. However there are those who believe that the music industry as we know it has had its day and that the future of music lies with the people recording their own tracks with DJ software on their home computers and publicising the music themselves online. This is only possible because the music is available online for free, and these are the genuine music lovers who are in it for the music not the money.

The latest musician to voice his opinions is Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody. Although his band are hugely successful and far from being unheard, he believes that being able to get music for free is just the modern way and that the penalties for those involved in filesharing are ‘way over the top’. He was speaking specifically about the recent conviction in Sweden of four founding members of The Pirate Bay, who have each been sentenced to a year in jail and told to pay $3.48 million in damages to large entertainment companies. The group are launching an appeal as although they understand hese companies could well be out of pocket, there was no way to know how much by, and it was discovered that the judge was a member of the Swedish Copyright Association. 

There is no sign of an end to the debate on filesharing and certainly no sign of an agreement being made. There is no question that it is damaging to the record label giants’ and huge stadium rock bands’ incomes, but at the same time it enables the little guys at home recording their tracks with an Akai home studio and set of headphones to get an equal chance of being heard. Maybe there is no right answer.

It’s not just guitar hero that’s doing a good job of getting regular non-musical people back into the world of writing and recording their own tracks. The hugely successful game may have inspired countless wannabe rockstars to pick up a guitar and start rocking out but with so much new technology available to budding musicians, it seems the cutting edge of new music is becoming less Gibson and more… Gameboy?? No, you haven’t heard that wrong. As musicians try to come up with more and more ways to keep their sound fresh and new people are discovering musical gold in all kinds of unexpected places, from state of the art mobile phones to old toys and retro games consoles. Here are a few of the more innovative and unusual uses for modern technology in music that we’ve found:

Old Nintendo Gameboys – perhaps one of the strangest musical creations around, DJ Scotch Egg doesn’t actually use any normal DJ equipment but produces his tracks entirely using sound effects and software from gameboys. But they’re not the new, shiny, slick consoles we’re used to nowadays – they’re all the old chunky grey ones you remember from the early 90s. This unusual approach not only works surprisingly well (he even manages to pull it off live and gives a very energetic performance) but it’s also a a bit of a trip down memory lane as you pick out the sounds you recognise from the games of your childhood!

iPhones – Due to play a series of shows at Wembley Stadium in the summer supporting Take That, Gary Go’s set is something a bit different to what you’d usually expect to see at a pop concert. He doesn’t play any instruments live, and he doesn’t have a band – he just does everything on his trusty iPhone. In fact, he wrote, played and recorded his album purely using iPhone software apps he had downloaded. It should be an interesting gig to see, provided his mum doesn’t decide to give him a call while he’s on stage!

Laptops – OK so maybe this one’s not quite so weird and wonderful, it’s not exactly unusual to see a laptop being used onstage during a show. But what makes the laptop such an important part of making your own music is that if you have one you literally don’t need anything else to write, play and record tracks. With so many different programs for musicians out there, able to recreate the sound of any instrument almost perfectly, and then record and mix your tracks, it’s just a case of picking the right DJ software and going for it. Gone are the days when you could use excuses like ‘but I don’t know how to play the guitar’ and ‘I don’t know the first thing about recording music’, nowadays it seems anyone can make it as a rockstar.