2 COMPUTERS AND 4 DECKS USING YOUR FAVORITE MIXER RANE SL4 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • OPERATOR’S MANUAL 2.4.
Important Safety Instructions FCC Statement FCC Declaration of Conformity For the continued safety of yourself and others we recommend that you read the following safety and installation instructions. Keep this document in a safe location for future reference. Please heed all warnings and follow all instructions. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Copyright Notices Introduction © 2012 Rane Corporation. All rights reserved. Scratch Live and the Scratch Live logo are trademarks of Serato. Trademarked in the U.S. and other countries. Licensed exclusively to Rane Corporation. This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group, and uses libpng code, copyright © 2000-2002 Glenn Randers-Pehrson. The Scratch Live Control Tone, the audio pressed on Scratch Live Control vinyl and Control CDs, is copyright ©20042012 Serato.
Contents Important Safety Instructions FCC Statement FCC Declaration of Conformity Copyright Notices SL4 Specifications Introduction Wear Parts Minimum System Requirements Check List 4 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 Getting Started System Overview Connecting the SL4 Turntable Setup CD Player Setup Kensington Security Slot Playing Regular Vinyl and CDs Power Switching Power Supply USB Drivers ASIO (Windows) Core Audio (Macintosh) Control Panel Installing Scratch Live Mac Windows Additional Windows Drivers Starting Sc
SP-6 Sample Player Loading the SP-6 Playing Samples SP-6 Instant Doubles SP-6 Play Modes SP-6 Pitch Controls SP-6 ‘Play From’ Selector SP-6 Track Overviews SP-6 Slot Volumes SP-6 Output Selector Individual Output Selectors SP-6 Mute Buttons SP-6 Sample Banks SP-6 MIDI 20 20 20 20 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 DJ-FX Plugin Ultra Knob Mode Super Knob Mode Effects BPM Multiplier Deck Assign Show Parameters Macro Edit Mode 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 MIDI Control MIDI Controller Setup Assigning Controls MIDI Platt
Getting Started *Optional Step: Connect an additional output (such as AUX OUT) from your mixer to the AUX INPUTS on the SL4 to record your set in Scratch Live. See “Recording” on page 29. 5. Connect the SL4 to your computer 2. Input Level Selection COMPUTER PHONO = UP CD = DOWN System Overview The Serato control records and CDs are pressed with an audible tone specifically developed for controlling the Scratch Live software application.
If external power is connected, the device is self-powered and power is not used from either USB port. If external power is not connected, the SL4 draws power from USB A port if available and then from the USB B port if there is no power from USB A. Power switching is automatic and the SL4 operates uninterrupted as long as one N Connect the barrel connector of the power supply to the 7.5 VDC jack on the SL4. Plug the power supply into an AC outlet.
Control Panel SL 4 Audio Driver Control Panel – SL 4 Audio Driver Version: 2.0 Analog Feed Thru Sample Rate USB Port Status Channel 1 Thru 48 kHz A 96 kHz B Channel 2 Thru Channel 3 Thru Channel 4 Thru Update device firmware Device firmware version: 1.2 Update firmware Buffer 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 1 14 ms The Driver Control Panel supports: • Analog Feed Thru check boxes allow stereo outputs 1-4 to select USB playback (computer) or analog input (vinyl or CD) as their source.
Virtual Deck Setup How to Calibrate Scratch Live It’s important to understand how your turntables and CD players are connected to each Virtual Deck in Scratch Live before calibrating or playing tracks. These options allow you to customize the layout of your DJ setup. We recommend learning Scratch Live with just two decks. Starting with two turntables or CD players, select these as your “Primary Decks.” In a multi-deck setup, this defines the sources you will play the majority of your tracks from.
phase diagram. The key factors to look at on the scope display are crisp clean lines, round shape, and the tracking percentage in the lower right corner. Start both turntables or CD players. You will see green rings appear in the scope view as shown above. For optimal performance the inner ring should be as close to circular as possible. Use the scope zoom slider (1x to 16x) to zoom in or out as necessary. Use the scope L/R Balance and P/A Balance controls to adjust the shape of the inner ring.
NOTE: Older iTunes Music Store DRM files cannot be played back by Scratch Live. iTunes Plus files are DRM-free. Playing Music Click on the “ All...” icon to show all the tracks in your library. Use the keyboard shortcut Shift - Left Arrow to load the highlighted track on to the Left Deck, and Shift - Right Arrow to load the highlighted track on to the Right Deck. TIP: You can also load tracks to Decks using the mouse. Click and drag a track from the track list area on to either Virtual Deck.
Set Auto BPM The Control CD The control CD has two tracks. The first track is 15 minutes long and controls playback. The second track is 40 seconds long and controls vinyl scroll. Playback Control If this option is checked while analyzing files, Scratch Live will calculate the estimated tempos of your files. If Scratch Live is confident that the Auto BPM estimate for a file is accurate, it will be written to an ID3 tag* in the file.
Main Screen Overview Virtual Deck The Virtual Deck shows everything about the speed and position of a track. As the vinyl rotates, so does the line on the label. The circular progress bar around the edge is a visual representation of the position within the song, and can be set to flash to warn you that the track is nearing its end. The time and remaining time are displayed in minutes and seconds.
TIP: Use the + and – keys to zoom in and out. TIP: Waveform can be either vertical or horizontal. See “Display Modes” on page 15. the BPM of regular records, for example. NOTE: For best results, set the master gain to 12 o’clock, and adjust the volume of individual tracks using the track gain adjustment. Key Lock Kick Drum In this example, the red part of the wave represents a kick drum, while the purple part represents a snare drum.
and INT modes. Play from start must be checked in the Playback tab of the Setup screen for autoplay to work correctly. See “Play From Start” on page 33. Track Gain Use the track gain knob to balance the volume of the tracks in your library. Any adjustment made to the gain of a track is saved with the file, and will be reapplied to the entire track when it is loaded again. The level meter shows the level sent to the hardware interface after both individual track gain and master gain adjustment.
Absolute Mode Relative Mode ABS mode is the default mode, and most closely resembles the properties of normal vinyl. The beginning of the track is mapped to the start of the record, and by picking up the tone arm and moving the needle to another part of the record (needle dropping) you can move to a different position within the track. ABS mode faithfully reproduces the movement of vinyl control records, including stops, starts, scratching, needle dropping, rubbing and other turntablist techniques.
Internal Mode INT mode allows playing tracks without external vinyl (or CD) control. INT mode has a start / stop function and a virtual pitch slider. Holding down the shift key moves the pitch slider slowly. Holding the ctrl key and clicking on the pitch slider resets the pitch to zero. Scratch Live automatically switches to INT mode when the end of the control record is reached; you can switch back to REL mode by placing the needle in the first five minutes of the control record.
Cue Points TIP: Zoom in on the waveform using the – and + keys and ‘scrub’ to the desired position for greater accuracy when setting cue points. Looping Enable Hot Cues To turn on hot cues, check Enable Hot Cues in the Playback tab on the Setup screen. When Hot Cues are enabled, you can set cue points simply by pressing the number keys 1 through 0 (no ctrl modifier required). Note that you can only add cues this way if the cue point slots are empty. See “Enable Hot Cues” on page 32.
the loop. If you click on the locked loop symbol, a red border will appear. This indicates the loop is locked, and you will not be able to adjust the end points or delete the loop until you unlock it, by clicking on the number again. NOTE: Looping applies to REL and INT modes. Auto-Looping Auto-looping allows you to create loops instantly. If the track has a BPM value simply click the number of beats you wish to loop and Scratch Live will create the loop for you.
SP-6 Sample Player The SP-6 Sample Player allows you to play up to six sources of audio, in addition to the tracks playing on the Virtual Decks. Any audio file in your Scratch Live library can be loaded to any one of the six slots, allowing playback of short samples, sound effects, or full length tracks. The SP-6 is enabled when the SL 4 is plugged in, but not operational in the offline player mode. Click on the SP-6 button to access the sample player window.
SP-6 Pitch Controls SP-6 Track Overviews There are individual Pitch Slider, Bend, Nudge, and Keylock controls for each sample slot. The BPM is also displayed next to the pitch slider. If no BPM is present in the tracks ID3 tag, the pitch of the track is displayed as a percentage. Click and drag the pitch slider to make regular pitch adjustments. Hold the shift key and move the pitch slider to make fine pitch adjustments. Click on the + and – buttons to nudge the track into time.
Super Knob Mode DJ-FX Plugin The DJ-FX Plugin gives you control of two FX units, each with three chained effects slots per unit. Each FX unit has two control modes: Ultra Knob Mode and Super Knob Mode, both of which can be fully customized. The DJ-FX plugin opens in Ultra Knob Mode by default. To enable the DJ-FX Plugin, go to the Plugins tab in the Setup screen, choose DJ-FX and check Enable DJ-FX Plugin. Once enabled, the DJ-FX panel button appears in the panels area on the main screen.
5. Move the Ultra or Super Knob to the position that you want the parameter to end being controlled from. 6. Move the Parameter Knob to the position that you want the to be the highest value of the parameter. 7. Press the Macro Max button to set the maximum. 8. Link the parameter to the Ultra or Super Knob by pressing the Link button. Now when you adjust the Ultra or Super Knob you will see the parameter knob move within the range that you just specified.
Ctrl-Click Functionality MIDI Devices Some Scratch Live controls on the GUI have additional functionality assigned to ctrl-click. You can assign ctrl-click functionality to a MIDI control, alongside the normal functionality. For example, ctrlclick on the INT mode pitch slider returns pitch to zero. To assign this to MIDI control, enter MIDI assign mode, ctrl-click on the slider, and then assign one of the pads to it. When you press the pad, pitch goes to 0.
TIP: Check the ‘Protect library’ option in the Library tab of the Setup screen to prevent changes to your crates. If you do delete a crate by accident, you can get it back from the recycle bin / trash. Crate files have the extension .crate. You can then choose the following inclusion /exclusion criteria: • Contains • Is • Does not contain • Is not Subcrates Check the Match all of the following Rules option so that tracks must match all the set rules to be added to the crate.
Prepare Window The Prepare window is a holding area for tracks, much like preparing a set by lifting records part way out of your record bag. You can drag tracks (or whole crates) from the main track list into the Prepare window, or simply drag them onto the Prepare button. These tracks will be removed from the Prepare window once they have been played. All tracks in the Prepare window will be discarded when you exit Scratch Live. TIP: Use the keyboard shortcut ctrl-p to add tracks to the Prepare window.
Uploading Serato Playlists Editing ID3 tags Adding Album Art Once you have finished your session, or to upload a previous history session, select the desired session in the History panel. Click the Format dropdown box, select Serato Playlists and click the Export button. You will receive the following warning: Much of the information associated with each file can be edited from within Scratch Live. Double click on the attribute within the main library to edit the attribute.
File Management button from the Files pane. This is useful if you know the location of your files, as it only scans the drag and drop location, with faster relocation. Copy: Select this to make a copy of the selected files and folders in the new location. Your library will now contain entries for both the originals and copies. Deleting Crates and Tracks Move: Select this to move the selected files and/or folders to the new location.
Recording Recordings can be loaded onto the Decks, renamed, and managed like other files. Recordings are saved as 24-bit, 48 kHz stereo AIFF files by default. Recordings are saved in “My Documents\My Music\_Serato_\ Recording” in Windows XP, “Libraries\ Music\_Serato_\Recording” in Windows 7, and “~/Music/_Serato_/Recording Temp” on a Mac.
Using LiveFeed Mixing With One Turntable Or CD Player LiveFeed First locate the LiveFeed files in your library. Type “livefeed” into the search box and you will see: LiveFeed allows you to stream any of the available inputs on the SL4 to a Virtual Deck. You can then instantly play the recording back just like a normal audio file—you can scratch it, speed it up, slow it down, set loops and set cue points. There are two recording options, Normal and Gated.
DJ Handover Two Computer Connection The SL4 allows two computers running Scratch Live to connect to the mixer simultaneously. This allows two DJs to play at the same time and for easy DJ handover. Connect both computers to the two USB ports on the SL4. In Scratch Live on each computer, select a USB Source for each Virtual Deck. For any Virtual Decks on either computer that aren’t to be used, set the USB Source to None.
Hardware Updating Firmware Playback If a firmware update is available after installing a new Scratch Live software release, an Update Firmware button appears in the Hardware screen. The firmware upgrade takes approximately 10 seconds, during which time the SL4 will not be usable. USB Buffer Size (Latency) Scratch Live processes audio in small chunks. When smaller chunks are used, the movement of the record is translated into audio more often, which results in a lower overall system latency.
Use Auto Gain Play From Start Auto gain enables you to set a uniform volume level for the tracks in your library. When a track is in auto gain mode, the track gain knob appears recessed. Check this box to enable auto gain. Provided you have analyzed your files, your tracks will now be loaded with the auto gain applied. Next to this box is a drop down menu, in which you set the target gain volume level. To find the optimum setting, load a track with an average volume level onto one of the Virtual Decks.
Drop To Cue Points (REL Mode) This option triggers the corresponding cue point when the needle is repositioned into one of the first five one-minute sections on the control vinyl. For instance: needle dropping into the second minute on the left turntable will send playback for Deck 1 to cuepoint 2, if that cuepoint is set. (REL mode only) Vinyl Start Offset If there is cue burn at the beginning of the vinyl, you will notice that the tracking will be poor at this point.
Font Size Display Plugins Maximum Screen Updates SP-6 Sample Player This slider allows you to throttle back the screen refresh rate. Users with slower computers might like to do this if they are having performance issues. It could also be useful if you want to limit Scratch Live’s processor usage, for example if you are running a recording program at the same time. The default setting is 60 Hz, or refreshed 60 times per second. This setting applies to the entire screen (i.e.
KEY Keyboard Shortcuts ctrl - L ctrl - R ctrl - F ctrl - A ctrl - C ctrl - E ctrl - V ctrl - X ctrl - Z shift - ctrl - shift - ctrl - These actions can be accessed directly from the computer keyboard. NOTE: Playback, cue and speed controls use Shift or Caps Lock. You can turn this off in the Setup screen. See “Playback Keys Use Shift” on page 32.
Troubleshooting and Frequently Asked Questions The audio playback is dropping out / clicking / popping Scratch Live is not getting a clear signal from the record, or your computer is not able to process quickly enough. Go to the Setup screen and check the scope views. When the record is playing, the circles should be round, and the value in the bottom right corner should be close to 100%. If this is not the case, you need to calibrate. See “Calibrating Scratch Live” on page 9.
Scope Reading and Fixes Most of the problems that occur with Scratch Live can be attributed to it not getting a good reading of the control signal from your records or CDs. These examples show what the scopes on the setup screen can look like to help solve possible problems. Some problems cause similar looking scopes, e.g., if your scopes look like the Dusty Needle one, the cause could be a damaged needle. tracking.
RECORD BURN - This section of the control vinyl has been worn. Swap sides or adjust the Vinyl Start Offset. LEFT CHANNEL MISSING - The signal from the needle is not reaching the SL4. Check the cable and cartridge connections. RIGHT CHANNEL MISSING - The BAD RECORD BURN - Your record is badly worn and Scratch Live is unable to track. Swap sides or get new vinyl ASAP. LEFT CHANNEL IS NOISE - Left signal has been lost with a noisy loose connection.
Corrupt File Descriptions and Diagnoses Corrupt file: This MP3 contains invalid frames. This MP3 contains frames which do not conform strictly to the official MP3 specification. Scratch Live can not be certain that this file will play back 100% accurately. Corrupt file: This file contains corrupt frames that may result in audible glitches. This file contains two or more contiguous corrupt frames. Since corrupt frames are replaced with silence, this could result in what might sound like an audio glitch.
Declaration of Conformity Application of Council directive: 2004/108/EC 2002/96/EC 2002/95/EC Standard(s) to which conformity is declared: EN55103-1:2009 EN55103-2:2009 ENVIRONMENT E2 SERIAL NUMBERS 700000-900000 CE MARK WAS FIRST AFFIXED IN: 2011 Manufacturer: Rane Corporation 10802 47th Avenue West Mukilteo WA 98275-5000 USA This equipment has been tested and found to be in compliance with all applicable standards and regulations applying to the EU’s Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) directive 2004/1
Limited U.S.A. Warranty Limited Warranties RANE CORPORATION WARRANTS ALL RANE PRODUCTS (EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS CLASSIFIED AS WEAR PARTS, AND LISTED ON PAGE 3 OF THIS OPERATORS MANUAL) PURCHASED IN THE U.S. AGAINST DEFECTS IN MATERIAL OR WORKMANSHIP FOR A PERIOD OF TWO (2) YEARS. WEAR PARTS ARE LIMITED TO A PERIOD OF NINETY (90) DAYS FROM THE INITIAL DATE OF RETAIL PURCHASE FROM AN AUTHORIZED RANE DEALER—WEAR PARTS REQUIRE PROOF OF PURCHASE DATE.
Warranty Procedure - Valid in U.S.A. Only NOTICE! You must complete and return the warranty card or register your product online to extend the Warranty from 2 years to 3 years! TO VALIDATE YOUR EXTENDED WARRANTY: Use the postcard that came in the box with your unit, or go to www.rane.com and click on New Product Registration. Fill out the warranty completely, being sure to include the model and serial number of the unit since this is how warranties are tracked. If your Rane product was purchased in the U.S.
RANE SL2 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • OPERATOR’S MANUAL 2.4.
