Ripping in iTunes for Serato SL3

[Era 7]

mine is set to:

sample rate: auto (but the vast majority of tracks are 44.1 anyway. might as well set it to that)

channels: auto

stereo mode: joint stereo

smart encoding: on

filter frequencies below 10hz: on


works well for me that way.

[Capitan]

I get what you are saying about WAV and the CDJ400 support now Era 7 - our posts crossed last time.

Thanks for all the info in your last post too.

If I could rep you on here I would

[Era 7]

I get what you are saying about WAV and the CDJ400 support now Era 7 - our posts crossed last time.

Thanks for all the info in your last post too.

If I could rep you on here I would

haha no problem man anything to help a brother out.

[J5k]

Filter frequencies below 10Hz off. I chose to turn vbr off because some hardware/software has had trouble with these. Basically I'm looking for the least amount of modification from the original, which is why a lot of people go as far as using straight wav. I choose mp3 not only because of storage constraints but also because it has better meta data support. Iow, your tags stay with the file instead of being in a reference file somewhere that can get lost, damaged or simply not used by your other software.

[Capitan]

Mmm, we have a difference of opinion.

Era 7 reckons "filter frequencies below 10Hz" should be on.

J5k reckons "filter frequencies below 10Hz" should be off.

Would I actually notice any audible difference?

Also, I notice the dicers only work properly with Serato version 2.1 onwards.

I haven't loaded Serato to my MacBook yet, which is the most up to date, but bug free, version?

If the latest version has some bugs in it, I'd rather go back to one that hasn't got any issues.

[sol*los]

I use 2.3 with my Dicers. 2.3 works very fine to me. I use to use 1.9 till I got the Dicer's and was sort of forced to update. Also you haven't mentioned this but how are you going to hook up your CDJ400s? I have a cdj400 and use them in Native mode. The 400 will control SSL by USB, no control cd needed.

[Capitan]

Thanks sol*los.

Yes, I'll be using them native

DVS is all new to me and firstly I have the long arduous task of burning all my CDs and vinyl to digital.

That's why I only want to do it once and do it right.

Then I have to work out how to set all my stuff up to work with Serato, any tips or walk throughs?

I'm using:

17" MacBook Pro - brand new
DJM 800
2 CDJ 400's - do I need to look for any firmware?
2 Novation Dicers

Thanks all

[Johbremat]

Hopefully not too late to chime in...



I think you want to consider two choices. ALAC (lossless compression) and AAC (lossy compression):

• ALAC will reduce the size of your audio files to anywhere between 80%-60% their original size., without any loss in quality. ALAC supports tagging (like AAC and MP3) and offers the benefit of exploding back to WAV without a loss in quality.
• AAC in a number of ABx has apparently beaten MP3 at lower bitrates. So, a 256kbps AAC file will sound better than a 320kbps MP3. What you also need to be aware is that iTunes is kneecapped: use the NeroAAC codec to encode AAC at 512kbps and you're golden.

Is there any hope you have a Windows box lying around, or installed Windows on your 17" MBP under Boot Camp?

• EAC: bit-for-bit copy of CDs. If there's an error during encoding because of the scratch, it will attempt to rectify the problem. At the end of the process it does a hash of the resulting output, and checks it against it database to see if all's good (bearing in mind there are re-presses, so you may find some disparaity in the results).
• Mp3Tag: nifty program for tagging your collection once ripped.
• XRecode: without a doubt the best transoding tool EVER. I use this to transcode from FLAC (lossless compression; archived version) to AAC (512kbps for SSL; 192kbps for iPod Classic) and WMA (HTPC).

Ripping your wax to digital is going to prove a pain (or at least it does for me). Your mileage is going to vary:

• Whatever turntable you use, ensure you use a Hi-Fi needle. Using a DJ needle will colour the sound.
• Plug the deck direct in to your SL3 and specify it as the IN in your recording software. Do not pipe through your mixer: it'll colour the sound (and any additional steps in the signal chain just isn't worth it).
• When playing, do so in realtime. Speeding up the deck for recording and then slowing down in software is not a solution (increase wow & flutter) and slowing down the deck for more samples then speeding up in software doesn't work (just blows out the file size your using). Both of these can introduce artefacts in to your recording as well.
• (I) use Ableton Live. Warping (in Complex mode) helps to iron out the "swing" in tracks as a results of warping. PLEASE don't use it on disco and funk records.

I use SSL primarily as a digital crate, so don't fool around with a lot of the extras. I'm using a BTO 15"MBP (hi-res; 8GB RAM; 7200RPM HDD) and SL3 with the three-deck plugin...occasionally using Live and The Bridge. All at home. I'm using 2.3.3 and not having a problem at all (a couple of the boys and I will do 8-hour long sessions and not a drop or crash or nuttin').

In fact, never had an issue. I truly don't know what these guys are doing that they ever encounter a bug in SSL.

Regarding your CDJs, you'll probably need to update their firmware. Probably wrong, but believe HID support was only introduced after the stopped making the 400s and released the 350s. If you've never updated them, you may not hav the capability.



"So. That was a bucket load of crap you just spewed at me. What am I supposed to take away from this?"

• If you've the room to spare, use ALAC (20338 FLAC = 584GB).
• If you can't afford a lossless archive to transcode from - that is, ALAC stored on a portable drive somewhere - rip to 512kbps AAC using NeroAAC (20338 AAC = 131GB).
• Rip vinyl in realtime using a Hi-Fi cartridge & stylus.
• Use SL3 to record to your computer, bypassing your mixer.
• Update to the latest version of everything and see how you fare.

[Capitan]

Thanks for the detailed response Johbremat, I appreciate the time it must have taken .

I am however getting more and more confused!

I asked this same question on the Pioneer forum at the same time...

http://forums.pioneerdj.com/entries/...-up-serato-sl3

Between all the replies I'm now baffled as to which way to go.

If I choose lossless I've been advised:

WAV
AIFF
ALAC

What's the difference?

Which is the best and why?

If I choose lossy I've been advised:

MP3 (320kbps)
AAC (256 or 512kbps)

Some say record in auto, some say joint stereo and some say stereo.

Some say turn the frequency filter on, some say off.

Some say smart encoding on, some say off.

I can afford to buy an external hard drive, the reason I wanted to go lossy is so I can get all my tracks on the laptop hard drive.

If I ripped in lossless and then converted them to MP3 I'm assuming it would take up extra hard drive space.

I've heard that AAC is better than MP3 but if I want to burn CDs the CDJ400 won't play them.

Is AAC REALLY that much better than MP3?

On a mobile system (not a club system) would I REALLY notice that much difference between MP3 (320kbps) and lossless?

I'm trying to learn but I don't want to start ripping until I'm sure I am using the best option (whether that be the best lossless or the best lossy).

I only ever want to do this once - at my age I'll never have time left to do it again!

Thanks everyone, any thoughts on the above?

[Johbremat]

If I choose lossless I've been advised:

WAV
AIFF
ALAC

What's the difference?

Which is the best and why?

WAV and AIFF will be lossless with no compression. ALAC will be lossless with compression, reducing your library to something between 80%-60% the size as ripped from CD.

In addition, WAV and AIFF don't support tags (very well: there are some applicaions that will let you do it, but you'll break the container). ALAC has tag support equivalnt to MP3/AAC - including cover art.

If I choose lossy I've been advised:

MP3 (320kbps)
AAC (256 or 512kbps)

Some say record in auto, some say joint stereo and some say stereo.

Some say turn the frequency filter on, some say off.

Some say smart encoding on, some say off.

I can afford to buy an external hard drive, the reason I wanted to go lossy is so I can get all my tracks on the laptop hard drive.

If I ripped in lossless and then converted them to MP3 I'm assuming it would take up extra hard drive space.

I've heard that AAC is better than MP3 but if I want to burn CDs the CDJ400 won't play them.

Is AAC REALLY that much better than MP3?

Let's consider it this way: if it's considered that AAC at 256kbps sounds better than MP3 at 320kbps, we'll assume AAC at 512kbps is the best choice for audio quality beyond moving to lossless.

This is a moot point if you can't use it anywhere.

NOW. You end up ripping your entire collection in MP3 for compatibility, but then perceive the audio quality isn't as good as it could be, but then you've got to rip your entire collection again, or piecemeal as you want to play another bunch of tracks. Uncool.

So what you could do is...

• Rip the entire collection to ALAC, to a large external hard disk and do your tagging: this is now your archive.
• Transcode a copy to AAC 512kbps for use with Serato.
• As you need to, transcode from your archive MP3 320kbps for writing to CD

And if it ever happens that some other new fandangled coded comes out, or you buy a new device with no support for either MP or AAC (for arguement's sake), you can automate the process of transcoding from your lossless archive, than ripping from CD again.

On a mobile system (not a club system) would I REALLY notice that much difference between MP3 (320kbps) and lossless?

Don't know if you would, but the crowd might *shrugs*

Hearing is a very subjective beast. What sounds good you may sound crap to me. Hell, you might get so trashed before playing on said system that you start playing metal-polka-hardstep and clear the dancefloor, so it wouldn't matter anyway.

I figure if your lowest level of quality is well above the existing benchmark, you've not a worry in the world.

I'm trying to learn but I don't want to start ripping until I'm sure I am using the best option (whether that be the best lossless or the best lossy).

I only ever want to do this once - at my age I'll never have time left to do it again!

Trust me, at my age I never want to do it again either.

I can say from experience that using a lossless archive will save you a lot of heartache in the long-run.

Also, don't forget your naming scheme. Again, this isn't a prescriber way of doing, just an example o how I do it:



Where ALL tracks are <artist> - <release> - <##> - <title>.<codec>, my directory scheme is:

Music
- Albums\<A-0>\<artist>\<release>\[volume]\[disc]
- Compilations\<release>\[volume]\[disc]
- Downloads\<Compilations | Singles>\[release | title]\[volume]
- Live\<artist>\<release>\[volume]\[disc]
- Soundtracks\<release>\[volume]\[disc]