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The ethics of pre editing tracks for mix use...

JectWonJectWon (@_@) 1,654 Posts
edited February 2013 in Strut Central
I finally got serato...it's in transit as I type this.

:latte: etc, etc I know.

I'm really pumped about it...the possibilities seem endless.

There are a few tracks that I plan on yanking off of LP's that I have and I'd like to boost certain levels. Thinking about that got me to thinking about extending certain breaks, totally remixing tracks...is this type of thinking a slippery slope to pushing play, doing nothing and pretending that the level knobs are doing way more than they really are?



Truthfully, I'm not worried about losing my soul and integrity with this devil machine...but I would love to see what type of parameters ya'll might have created for yourselves to keep the integrity of your set.

Anyone?

  Comments

  • OptimusLimeOptimusLime 227 Posts
    Do it.

    It's just so much fun. Sometimes extending a break so you can mix something else in, or presetting some loops so you can drop an acapella adds something to your set.

    Also there's nothing better than the ability to remix something, or make a track and just be able to play it out right away.

    You don't have to become skrillex, but become Skratch Bastid....

    (here with dicers and serato)

  • JectWonJectWon (@_@) 1,654 Posts
    OptimusLime said:
    Do it.

    It's just so much fun. Sometimes extending a break so you can mix something else in, or presetting some loops so you can drop an acapella adds something to your set...

    Word.

    I'm definitely approaching the whole thing as an opportunity to use serato as a tool and not a crutch. The dicers definitely intrigue me but I get lots of mixed reviews about their durability...should be expected given the cheap price of dicers.
  • dj_cityboydj_cityboy 1,478 Posts
    yeah i have begun to do this as well since getting my serato...and it is so fun, i could care less about what people think, and having that bit of extra time to cut or bring in your next track makes it worth it that much more in the end...i've seen people do some dope things with multitrack remixes as well...

    its not going to change the way i dj'd before but its going to change what i do going forward...just being able to cut my own accapellas is sick enough for me to jump on the serato boat

    unfortunately i have some grounding issues with 1 set of 1200 i have so i am getting them fixed this weekend, internal grounding, dual zero's, new rca's/ new LED's and then i'll be back at it..
  • covecove 1,567 Posts
    Anyone have the dicers? opinions?
    My little midi controller i use for cue points and shit broke last night and i'd like to replace it.
  • hogginthefogghogginthefogg 6,098 Posts
    cove said:
    Anyone have the dicers? opinions?
    My little midi controller i use for cue points and shit broke last night and i'd like to replace it.

    The homie Morse Code just posted this next-level dicers demo:


    One day, I'll learn how to embed videos.
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
  • OptimusLimeOptimusLime 227 Posts
    cove said:
    Anyone have the dicers? opinions?
    My little midi controller i use for cue points and shit broke last night and i'd like to replace it.

    I have them, and I think they're great, apart from some design flaws.

    They only work one way, you HAVE to put your laptop on one side, otherwise the USB cable wont reach. You can't say which one is left and which one is right (which I think is dumb).

    Those are the negatives.

    The positives though....

    Cue points, loops, program the buttons to fire off effects (air horn anyone??), set up crazy scratch sequences in 1 acapella and just run through it with the cue points......

    I really like them. Maybe they wont last 5 years, but for 99 bucks, I didn't really expect them to.
  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    You can get a longer USB cord or and extension. I have a 62 but still prefer Dicers due to the L-shaped layout (as opposed to the 62's straight-line layout).

    The whole cue points/tone play thing is cool and fun to do, but now that it's caught on - especially with Fourcolorzack winning 3Styles with it - I can see a whoooole bunch of DJs doing it.
  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,473 Posts
    I tried Dicers once and really disliked them. But then again, I'm a known curmudgeon.

    As for editing tracks, yeah, do it. That's one of the beauties of Serato.
  • the_dLthe_dL 1,531 Posts
    I edit (and more often than not upload to soundcloud) a lot of music I either play to dance floors or at bboy comps as I found the loop options in serato a little fiddly. I generally try to keep it as organic as possible (ie no added drum tracks) unless it is absolutely necessary

  • JectWonJectWon (@_@) 1,654 Posts
    the_dL said:
    ...I found the loop options in serato a little fiddly...

    I think I'm noticing the same thing. I haven't had a lot of success in tweaking the [in] and [out] of the loop to make it metronome tight. Is that what you are having issues with?

    It seems odd that Serato would have a 'loop' function and not allow you to really minutely tweak the loops beginning and end points so that it loops properly. I feel like the few loop points I've created (that loop seamlessly) were from getting lucky.
  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,473 Posts
    the_dL said:
    ...I found the loop options in serato a little fiddly...

    I think I'm noticing the same thing. I haven't had a lot of success in tweaking the [in] and [out] of the loop to make it metronome tight. Is that what you are having issues with?

    It seems odd that Serato would have a 'loop' function and not allow you to really minutely tweak the loops beginning and end points so that it loops properly. I feel like the few loop points I've created (that loop seamlessly) were from getting lucky.

    You can minutely tweak start/end points--once you've set them, click on either in or out, then tap the arrow keys to nudge the point where you want it to be.

    The autoloop doesn't do all that great, though. I generally don't use it for anything more than a quarter note.
  • JectWonJectWon (@_@) 1,654 Posts
    DJ_Enki said:

    You can minutely tweak start/end points--once you've set them, click on either in or out, then tap the arrow keys to nudge the point where you want it to be.

    Word. Yeah, I've been using that but even using the arrow keys (after it's been set) seems a bit clunky...like it's snapping to a point. I'd love to just click and drag that mother fucker to get it perfect...I've always been overtly paranoid/annoying about getting the loops to loop as smoothly as possible.

    I've been able to set the start and end of loops a little more accurately but actually stopping the track and dragging the track around with my mouse...drag to what you want the beginning of the loop to be and set the 'in' and then drag to the end of the loop and set the 'out'.

    I guess I'm just a little surprised that you can't open a track up in an edit mode and zoom way in and out and set queues, loops, etc. with a bit more precision...like an adobe audition or something but focussed on setting shit that is specific to the serato features.

    Thanks again for the input...serato has been fun as hell so far. Being able to flip doubles of my own beats instantly has left a pretty huge smile on my face...
  • BeatChemistBeatChemist 1,465 Posts
    I don't know about Serato, but Traktor has a global "snap" option that will automatically snaps your cue/loop points to the bpm grid. This can be useful or cumbersome depending on how well you bpm your files and also what kind of loop you want. If your bpming is accurate and you want the loop to start on a quarter note then it's all good. But if your bpm griding is sloppy or you want to set a cue off the quarter note grid, then snap needs to be off.

    Loading doubles of my own beats was the best thing about getting a digital vinyl system. And taking any sound and scritchyscratching it up?!? Awesome.

    You will have fun.
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