Opinion about using dj programs like Rane Serato

If you have been djing awhile since about the mid 90's and before that you know the the vinyl record was the staple ingredient in our event mix.However the joy of having to haul around a bunch of crates filled with records wasn't the best moment of the night.However with the advert of technology and the power now capable with laptop computers a new wave of carrying thousands and thousands of "records" is now the size a dvd case.You have probably seen on tv, djs that have laptops by them and asking Why do they have a laptop with them?Here's the scoop about that such question.

There's been a new product on the market for djing programs utilizing mp3 files due to the buzz from apples ipod and the great response from the product.One such program that has been the forefront of this new market is from a company called Rane who introduced the program known as "Serato Scratch Live"it has the capability to play any mp3 on your computer and when hooked up to your dj setup can play your songs through it using a interface that comes supplied.

I myself was skeptical and not sure if it would be all it was cracked up to be but I decided to give it a shot.So here's how my day of getting the product turned out.

1.Went to Local Guitar Center store and purchased the product.It comes in a good size box.Like the size of a laptop box .The price tag for it comes to $529 plus Tax.

2.When I brought it home and opening it it came with the following . -----2 12" vinyl records each have a unique control signal which allows Scratch LIVE to track the motion of the record, simulating the same movement with digital audio.it looks just like a real record but doesn'tplay audio.

==== A black box(about the size of a typical external harddrive) with inputs on it is called the SL 1 interface.This box is what hooks up to your computer through USB(program is Mac and Pc compatible) The SL 1 interface connects one or two standard vinyl or CD turntables to your computer. This extremely rugged(I have dropped it a few times and still works great), portable, high quality, bus-powered USB interface features two switchable phono or line inputs, a microphone input, two line outputs, and pass thru outputs for the phono/line and mic.Cable wise it comes with 4 stereo RCA cables to connect the SL1 interface to your dj mixer(Comes with manual that gives a nice picture reference of the setup your need).

----------- If you don't use traditional records it also comes with two cds that again do not transmit audio but is needed to play the mp3 in your computer.

------It comes with a installation cd as well.Only took a few mins to install with no problem.

Once i got everything hook up and loaded on my computer a screen comes up the shows the two records side by side with a list of your mp3's at the bottom of the screen.All you have to do is click the song you want and it loads on to the highlighted track player.Then it proceeds to play it.I was amazed of how it would play anything on my computer and I could control with my dj setup.Technology has really come a long way.So by the end of the day i proceed to just mix and do everything I normally do in a gig and it works flawlessly I could even scratch the record and it felt the same way as a traditional record.Ok so here's my final overview of this unique program.

If you travel a lot and do gigs I highly suggest using this as to not give you back problems lugging records or boxes of Cd's.If you use a external hard drive you can put thousands of songs in just a little size and put it in your backpack.This was my main reason for trying it because of costs to take records when flying(not fun).It's great also because you can get any song from a cd or itunes or any mp3 store and play a song from it on the program.I really enjoy this program And I must say that there customer support is by far the best because i really don't like the customer support experience that I know we all have had but Rane is awesome.There might have been a few things I left out but this site will give you a bit more insight on the awesome product.

http://www.rane.com/scratch.html For more info about the program