When I first started using Scratch Live I immediately missed Traktor's recent history function: in addition to recording a mix, Traktor keeps a list of tracks used, an indispensable stenographer for the DJ caught up in the pleasures of an improvised mix. Maybe the most useful improvement in file management on Scratch Live 2.0 is its new playlist capacity. What's more, terms like "crates" and "album art," leftovers from the physical world, show how much Serato is invested in maintaining a fidelity to a certain musical tradition: in the mp3 era we still have crates, even if crate-digging has become a thing of the past. While certainly less flashy than triple-deck action or onboard effects, developments in file management will be welcome, valuable both in the heat of the mixing moment and during crucial pre-gig prep. This is part of Serato's broader effort to make their file management architecture more user-friendly.
In addition to the new "stacked mode," 2.0 also features a "library" display mode which grants the bulk of screen space to your tune catalog. With Serato's commercial interests in mind, however, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Scratch Live 2.0 is simply designed to better suit the brand-spankin' new Sixty-Eight.
Users operating this particular piece of hardware may prefer to stick with an earlier version of Scratch Live, although this is perhaps ultimately a matter of taste. A potential downside to this setup is that Serato has changed the hardware interface so that now the TTM-57 appears in compacted form to the left, in order to offer more library space. The new onboard FX stand a chance of faring better than the FX built into the TTM itself, which haven't always been entirely reliable. While Scratch Live is capable of handling several third-party MIDI controllers for the hands-on experience, the most fitting means is probably through one of Rane's own mixers, because then you're dealing with an FX controller mapped directly onto the mixer instead of an additional piece of equipment.Īs the Rane Sixty-Eight mixer has only just shipped, I tested Scratch Live 2.0 on its formidable predecessor, the TTM-57. Needless to say, this fantastical new world of FX will be most deeply appreciated if you're not poking at the thing with a computer mouse. The FX settings can be customized or even developed anew, saved and exported for sharing. You have basic delay, reverb and so on, as well as some custom onomatopoeic options like the Braker and the Crusher, the former being a sort of rhythmic gate and the latter a brutal bit-reducer. (In contrast Traktor's had them for almost a decade.) Now on 2.0 you get two FX units, each with three chained processors, with the possibility of routing one or both decks through each unit. Onboard FX are also included in the update, something which has been curiously absent on Scratch Live until now. A newly-added "stacked" visual mode enables you to manipulate the triple-layered waveforms.
One of the immediate tangible improvements of the 2.0 version will likely be felt by those specifically rocking an SL-3, as Scratch Live 2.0 can accommodate this unit's unique three-input capability, communicating with a third turntable or CDJ through the AUX input. They fall into two basic categories: Those like the SL-1 and SL-3 that act as a medium between laptop and mixer, and heavier artillery like the TTM mixers which feature directly integrated Serato technology. Scratch Live users know that their mixing experience depends largely on their Rane hardware unit. 2.0 seems designed to further play catch up with competitors like Traktor, most notably in the realm of onboard FX and playlist management, as well as acting as a kind of opening salvo for multiple new Serato products lined up for 2010, including a custom record needle, a new Rane mixer and The Bridge, an interface that tantalizingly promises to link directly between Scratch Live and Ableton Live.
Released in April, Scratch Live 2.0 follows last year's 1.9, which prominently featured a six-unit onboard sampler that could be triggered by keystroke or MIDI controller. Because its major selling point has always been its vinyl-mp3 telepathy, Serato has been able to take its time adding bells and whistles to what was initially a relatively stripped-down affair. Since then Serato has remained resolutely dedicated to preserving the record-mixing experience through custom timecoded vinyl.
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