Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Serato

First time I tried it live I never managed to get it in. Got one deck on and then panicked and put a record on and went back to that.

When I looked back, the problem was that the deck was set to internal, so when I put the needle on... no sound, no movement.

Plus, the power supply I bought from maplins was a bit temperamental and kept shorting the system as I tried to connect while the other dj was playing. Not ideal.

Advise getting their at the start and setting up if practical - certainly the first few times - and keep all the wires in the box and label them with coloured tape if it helps.

My method now is:

Switch on the laptop and plug it in, connect the box, just wait until the previous dj finishes (get them to stick on a long tune from the start) and plug in the other deck. With the wires already connected to the box, all you need to do is connect to the line and plug the phono cables into the box. When the tune is in (make sure you are not on internal mode) repeat with the other deck. Only bother plugging into the phone with the 'thru' cables if you're gonna leave the box attached with the laptop powering it later on or play some vinyl. At the end of the set, I get the decks unplugged and try to leave with a record for the next dj.

I think the most important thing is to avoid leaning over and fucking about with the mixer while the other dj is on, unless it's your mate. So I try to set up in my own set and take a few bits of vinyl to buffer with at the start and end. I try to get it broken down afterwards too and leave the setup as it was.

Also, take a torch and try and familiarise yourself with the mixer before starting. Those Xone things have some off-set inputs at the back that have thrown me a few times for instance. Oh, and make sure the promoter knows you need to get access to the mixer as some are boxed in.

The first few times I was nervous, as I hoped the fucking thing would work, but as times gone by, it hasn't let me down and the confidence has grown.
 
I had a bbq on saturday with the decks outside.

I took the two control vinyl off the decks when someone played with normal records and put them in their sleeves in the shelf under the decks, totally shielded from the sun.

When someone wanted to use serato, I took the records out, but the second one was warped to fuck. They had obviously been warm sat on the decks and it was on a couple of other items and wilted.

Managed to still play later, using just the one deck but have now bought two extra control records.

So the latest lesson learnt about serato is always to have at least one back-up vinyl, as if something happens to one, it will do your head in for the whole party.
 
Gutted!

Yeah, havent had a chance recently to have another go out with serato, but i'll definitely give it a go..... will let you know how i get on!!:p
 
Back
Top Bottom