Ok, so im going down to my closest DJ store to upgrade my gear, now im sold on hardware so far
2 x cdj 850s to replace my v7
Now im not sure about software, stuck between traktor scratch duo 2 and scratch live.
Now my store has more than one listing for serato. It’s got serato scratch live (5yr warranty) for about $700 (Australia, so massive mark ups but not the point)
And Serato SL2, now as far as I can see they both come with the control vinyl and cd’s but the sl2 is about $530 and I cant work out why.
At the moment im leaning toward scratch live because im running windows 7 and ive seen many people having problems with traktor, my other option is don’t buy the software yet because pioneer have released a tsi for T2 and the 850 so I might just buy the cdj’s download the T2 demo and see how they work, if they run fine with no lags or crashes then ill go T2 if not ill go serato.
I guess my main question is what is the difference between the SSL and the SL2, ill put the links down in a bit, at work and I cant access that site.
SL2 is the newer 2 channel soundcard for SSL. It sounds much better. As for the 850’s I would also wait for software because SSL will provide native support for them soon. In the case with most CDJ SSL has better plater performance than traktor does. However you could run traktor without a dedeicated soundcard so it would be cheaper
Why are u getting rid of the V7’s I would hold off to see if itch 2.0 does what you need. It should be out soon.
well i only have 1 v7 atm but i guess its more for versitility and ive been getting dropouts in itch and would rather not have that happen at a gig, ive got one in a few weeks which is y im upgrading
If you’re getting CDjs only as controllers for Traktor, they’re not really worth the price. If you’re getting them for cd usage as well, that’s a different story. Keep in mind that if you’re using them as timecode inputs, your cue points on them will not work well according to what I’ve read unless you’re in absolute mode, and even then it’s iffy. I’ll admit I don’t have specific experience with them so I’d welcome others to chime in.
Edit: eating = getting… gotta love iPhone auto correct.
yeah I agree. I’m using CDJ-400’s and unless I have them in HID mode they don’t respond as well with timecode, especially CUE. However, the flexibility is great I can use CD’s, USB, stick, SSL, Traktor, CDJ’s soundcard with Traktor, etc.
As for your seeing people with issues with Traktor and windows, it’s a bit of a crapshoot. When I used windows 7 with Traktor, I really didn’t have any issues. However, there’s a lot more variability with the hardware in windows machines, and you have a better chance of it not working. Serato is more likely to “just work”, but at the same time, you also have a lot fewer features. I like the visuals in serato a bit more for beatmatching, but the effects are really clunky in comparison to Traktor and the creative possibilities are a bit more limited, IMO. Serato’s a bit more common in US clubs from what I’ve seen, and gets a bit more respect than Traktor from the ignorant given its lack of a sync feature. However, having tried both I prefer Traktor. There are also several threads on this forum and on djforums about this topic. Also, if you’re getting TSDuo it’ll be significantly cheaper than Serato and offers a pretty cheap upgrade path to pro (think it’s still 80 bucks). Plus, the Audio 6 is equivalent to an SL3 in terms of features for less than the price of an SL1 or 2.
well i have a toshiba running a core i3 330. so in theory it should be fine. so if i was to go traktor i guess it then comes down to how well it works through midi with pioneers official tsi agaist how it works through timecode.
Would you be buying either Traktor or SSL so you can use your CDJ’s as MIDI controllers inside Traktor or SSL?. Just use your CDJ’s as CDJ’s but if your heart is set on using them as controllers then that’s your prerogative.
well as far as i can tell there is no HID support for the 850’s with traktor or Serato, it’s only supported with traktor via pioneer’s .tsi so far, im hoping they implement HID with one of these programs.
“We are currently working on the next version of Scratch Live, and have been looking at support for the CDJ-350 and 850 as part of the feature set. So far we are feeling very confident about our ability to include 350 support, but we have hit a few minor problems with the 850’s firmware. We are hoping we can work with Pioneer to address these problems before the next release and include 850 support as well.”
The new SSL version 2.3 is due for beta release sometime this month. So you’ll know soon.
crap… i can’t really see the point in using timecode on CDJs.
Vynil timecode is ok, i fully understand that can be useful, but on CDJs… is just easier to use them as midi/hid controllers. I’m missing something on timecoded cd?
What about buying two 900’s and using record box with the pro link feature? You should be able to afford that with the money you saved from not buying traktor.
Get another V7, most people upgrade from CDJ’s to controllers. That’s what I did this year. Not sure why you’re trying to go the opposite way. What will CDJ’s do that your current setup doesn’t? I can name a lot of things 2 V7s can do that 2 CDJs won’t…
(Or maybe you’re trying to have a cool kids “industry standard” setup?)
