I really like simple djing and I’m after a way to treat my laptop as a singular deck in my 2x turntable setup, INSTEAD of using it the conventional way as the virtual hub of the setup. I want to run the laptop into the mixer as a regular old line input - kind of like a virtual CDJ sitting next to my two tts.
Basically if itunes had a pitch fader that would be enough for me, but some sort of CDJ-replicating vst would be sweet.
I thought about using live 9 but that would be WAY too meaty for this task - and it still doesn’t really offer a simple pitch fader and trasnport/cue buttons (obvs it does but in the context of a daw, not a cdj)
If there is a way to strip serato or traktor down to one deck with one line output that my laptop’s soundcard is responsible for, i’d be keen to give that a go too.
basically please chuck me any recommendations you have, the far out and sort-of solutions are welcome
ok just downloaded serato and it looked perfect at first glance, but sadly all it gives me is the library, loops and cuepoints and a display of the song, but no pitch fader!!!
so it IS all about getting me to buy hardware after all.
does traktor’s one-deck view give me a pitch fader?
'cos I really do get the idea of what you want to do, and, honestly, one of the free/demo versions of Ableton Live would do it, and you’d only need one of these hardware wise:
hahaha that thing is pretty sweet - i assume the “a-b” xfader-like thing can be mapped for pitch. glad you get what i’m trying to do
my gear is two AT LP120s and a xone 22
i’ve got a scarlett 2i4 if that helps too. i pretty much just use it for sampling vinyl but it has rca outs…
i have live 9 suite and use it all the time. interaction-wise i thought about mapping the bpm to the up and down arrow keys to kind of make a pitch fader, but then there’s the overkill of live’s session view and warping, without any of the ease of having a serato style library right there. it takes my 2011 mbp a good 30 seconds to fully process a 5min+ mp3 320. i dont even think about aifs / wavs anymore except for drum hits, and convert any larger samples down before getting into them.
i would have to plan the whole digital side of my set before playing, which takes heaps of the fun out imo. while a lot of dj’s hate it, i think its actually a really important and fun part of the common house party for people to be able to throw you a usb or jump on youtube and chuck on some TLC at a moment’s notice.
so while live would do the job, it would do it in a really convoluted and unintuitive way - for me at least. richie hawtin can do what he likes.
I get wanting to keep things simple but it sounds like OP is over complicating things to make things simple. Traktor should have what you need doesnt mean you have to use all of it and it gives you option for the times you do feel like using all or some of the extras
Use your favorite DJ program set to mix internally and use one, two, or four decks. For the output, run the combined signal of the sound interface to a single channel on the external mixer.
im all for extras as long as they don’t slow down loading times. serato, traktor, mixxx etc all seem to work ok on this computer.
im having a go of deckadance atm because its the one that comes with the cheap dj tech midi controller. i like it more than mixxx - faster and better working library
it seems like if you plug in a controller with a midi-assignable pitch fader or fader-like thing, then you get the pitch fader in the program and on the screen. still trying to figure out whether the controller has to be serato certified or anything, like hopefully this. if not tho i’ll just have to go full ghetto with deckadance
You created the original problem of “two TTs, one laptop” connected to the same external mixer.
What is the point of treating a laptop like it only has a single deck? It can certainly be used that way, regardless of the number of decks configured.
BUT…compared to the controls presented on a TT, itunes or any other “single player” media player still falls dramatically short. There is no tempo control, pitch bend, or precise cueing capability in iTunes.
One of your stated concerns is the laptop becoming the “hub” of the system. That is trivial to avoid. The external DJ mixer can remain the hub - with one channel for the laptop, or one channel per deck on the laptop. I slightly prefer to mix externally even with Traktor.
One of the main reasons to stick with TTs is the creative options that are available. Why invest in a laptop only to discard 99.44% of the capability?
Traktor will give you a fader on whatever you have as a track deck.
Sounds like you are using serato in ‘preparation’ mode.. basic one for setting up tracks, cues, playlists, crates etc.
It opens up to 2 full featured decks once you have appropriate hardware connected.
