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I don't want some asshole to jack my laptop. And I don't want to carry heavy shit. But, records are heavy, and people have been known to jack those too. It's hard to decide: but for me I like cutting on digital formats. No burning sound like on vinyl records, easy to make doubles, and you can make your own records on the fly. Best part, you can record your vinyls to a digital format, and don't have to be limited by a handful of records. Stanton FS2 Hardware The Stanton Final Scratch 2 has a big scratch amp. But it has more input and outputs then the Serato Scratch live. It looks very simple to setup, and am sure that it is easy to install on to your system. It's very nice with the midi inputs and outputs. Also the records are nicer because if one track gets burned, you can use another track off the same side. Which are big advantages for Final Scratch 2. Final Scratch 2 was run on a 3.2 ghz processor with 512 mb RAM, with a firewire connection Software The user interface looks very intuitive and easy to use. The Waveform that was displayed goes from left to right. I however find it hard to actually see visually where the beginnings of sounds are because they just drop a waveform on there, which doesn't mean much to me visually. I can see this being a problem when using two records in conjunction with each other. It would be hard to use stickers to mark the vinyl and would have to rely on sound with no visual cues. Also software glitches for fast sounds that the computer was unable to process was a problem. I'm sure they will fix this though. Keep in mind that this was run on a far superior processor then on my laptop, with much more RAM. But like I said…it will get fixed. In Use (scratching) It skips, can have burned records, etc. I personally think that the scratching was fine. However some record responses have not been handled. I feel Serato has Final Scratch 2 beat on this. However loading songs doesn't have the drag and drop feature, which Final Scratch 2 should seriously consider. In Use (mixing) I really can't give an opinion on this use for mixing being that I only used it for about 15 minutes. I'm pretty positive it's similar to the Serato. Summary I think this system is good...just the bugs need to be worked out. It scratched just like a record on most regular scratches. However some of the flaws that will be demonstrated from the video, make me very weary. Not being able to visually cue your records with the waveform, and the lack of visual beatmatching, makes the software component inferior in my opinion to Serato. Also the fact that these problems were still occurring on a far superior computer (3.2 ghz P4, 512 MB of RAM) to my own computer (1.6 ghz Celeron, 384 MB of RAM), makes me weary as well. But, as long as you adhere to the manufacturer's minimums specifications, the speed of the computer shouldn't supposedly matter. The software of both systems is not processor intensive. This product does almost exactly what records need to, however some of the faster movements need to be handled correctly. The hardware is a big plus to Final Scratch 2. The software components are easily fixable with an update by their software engineers. I'm positive the engineers will fix this...but of course just like dating, first impressions mean everything. Rating - 7/10 The Numark CDX Hardware
The max pitch goes from +- 100%. It runs off of CDs. Software The firmware of the CDX is upgradable. Don't really know much about the software. In use (scratching) Feels exactly like a direct drive turntable. I like this table a lot. It's hard to believe it's a CD. Apparently you can switch out the slipmat and shit. In use (mixing) Haven't mixed with it. Can't say. Summary I personally like this machine the best, if I were to go out and gig with it. Simply because of reliability. However you don't get the ability to have all the music in front of you, you are limited by the size of the CD. With a computer, you'll have a hard drive with enough music to last until the Second coming of Jesus. Plus you don't have to burn shit…and shit you want record on the fly, you can scratch with in no time. Another thing I would like to say is, this CDX is controversial, because it cuts out the Vinyl users. What Numark should've done is put a tonearm on that, put the circuitry in, and made it so that both formats can be used. If a paper cone, and a needle taped to the sharp end of the cone can read a vinyl record, it wouldn't take much for the engineers to put something on there. Lets face it, CD is a superior format to vinyl (awaiting avalanche of abuse for that comment - Gizmo). It doesn't skip, has perfect sound quality, doesn't burn, etc. But, some people will find it hard to let go of vinyl. So why not make the transition easier and integrate both. No needle skipping, perfect sound quality, never have to buy needles, perfect reactions, the features, and no calibration needle unlike the software packages. And best of all no computer crashing, makes this the best machine to dj out with at this moment. However, time will time will tell how long this machine will last. And no on-the-fly sampling, and ability to have all the songs and music you want, still deter me from thinking that this one is the best of the 3 we reviewed. And more importantly, no automatic doubles on the fly. You would have to buy two CDX decks to be cool like that. The best part of this is you don't have to worry about some asshole jacking your laptop. Rating - 7.5/10 The Serato Scratch Live System Hardware
It's a black box, it's small and looks nice. Software I personally like this interface the best out of the 2 software packages. It has visual beat matching, and an easy to understand waveform display, which can be viewed in two forms. The Circles on both sides of the decks are what really sell it for me, because you're able to mark your records properly, in accordance to the waveform. The calibration setup is very easy to understand. I personally can operate fast in this software interface, and enjoy the full benefit of vinyl. Some other features are auto cue points: very similar to putting stickers on your vinyl records and having it be at the spot you need to be at. Everything I've though of doing with vinyl records can be achieved with this device, even breaking the vinyl records (although I wouldn't recommend it) When using vinyl records however, the interface doesn't know what to do with normal sounds, so it just moves. Basically the software only reacts with the timecode vinyls, but allows the play of regular vinyl records. In use (scratching) It skips, can have burned records, etc. The thing is absolutely real in terms of scratching, beat juggling, and music. However as you can see in the video, it will have a buzzing sound, if your needles are bad, which I must reiterate IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE SOFTWARE HARDWARE, IT IS BECAUSE YOU TREAT YOUR NEEDLES LIKE A PIECE OF SHIT. And that is exactly what I do, I treat my needles terribly, I've had them for 3 years, and it is only partially coming out of one channel and fully on the other. Plus you can also blame it on bad cables, etc. I used this software as of recent at a gig. I beat juggled with it, did a music routine, scratched with it, and drummed with it. I haven't had any problems or had any crashing whatsoever. In use (mixing) Like I said earlier, I can operate very quickly with this software interface, it's easy to fully understand where are in a track. With the shortcut keys it makes it even easier to fly through your mixing. Especially if you're trick mixing, you can either look at your time on the interface, or you can look at your markers that you auto cue pointed. Summary This solution is the straight out the box, no manual, no research shit that Mr. Saultee wanted. This shit works. In fact, I'm making my competition routines using this tool, and have no qualms about doing so, since it's so real. It's so easy to use right away, and you don't have to think very hard. Rane doesn't make shitty products. They're proven themselves in the mixer market, and I feel they have done the exact same thing with this partnership with Serato. I was gonna talk shit about this product, until Nick calibrated the Serato. And I couldn't believe how real it was. The powerdowns, the scratching, the slow movements, everything was real. Basically this product doesn't say FUCK YOU to the vinyl users, it expands it. Final Scratch 2 does the same functions, but those bugs bothered me, the interface wasn't very intuitive, it seemed to me the drag and drop feature is needed, and the time auto cue point that Serato offers totally sets it apart from Final Scratch 2. You get the benefits of using regular vinyl, coupled with enough music until the sun burns out, which is scratchable EXACTLY like vinyl. I gave this a 9 because it isn't perfect. It should be able to handle better the regular vinyl on the software, and it shouldn't feedback because of piece of shit needles (it's all I could afford). And crashing is a problem… cause if your set sucks, you don't get anywhere with the ladies. The thing that sets this apart is that this Serato was run on a 1.6 Celeron with 384 mb of RAM on a USB 2.0 port. Rating - 9/10 I can't really see how people can make the argument that this wasn't a fair comparison. This Serato program was on a inferior computer in comparison to the 3.2 ghz processor, and still performed to the same par, and in my opinion better then the Final Scratch 2. The programs use such little system resources as well. I can run my Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Ares, MS SQL server, and video and other dumb shit in the background with this hoe, and not have a problem. So to those that want to say otherwise, keep in mind I have a degree in Computer Science, and until you take a Computer Systems Architecture class, fail it and pass it on the 2nd try because your first professor was a dick and got fired anyway after failing nearly half the students, and is now driving a taxi cab (true story), keep your comments to yourself until you are knowledge about the subject. To me it comes down to price: they all do the same shit in my opinion. Serato is the cheapest to me, because everyone has a Desktop or Laptop. It also performs the best in my opinion. The CDX will cost about 1600. Final Scratch 2 is about 600 from what I saw last. The most ideal product I would use: a CDX using Serato with the time code CDs I would use this because there's no skipping, the sound is good, and you get all the music you want. Some advice to companies: Keep in mind that many aren't very apt to change. Many of the djs like vinyl, for historic purposes, sound, personal preference, or the "keeping it real" argument. So you have to make products that don't say FUCK YOU to those users. And please find a way to put this software into cheaper devices that do the same thing instead of a laptop (which might get jacked by some asshole), maybe an ipod or a turntable that has a hard drive built into it. Both the software packages have problems. Fix them. As far as I'm concerned I would feel much better taking out a CDX to many gigs, instead of the software packages, simply because of potential SYSTEM crashing, and the fear of theft of my laptop. Also integrate things into mixers, like effects, or software processors. Don't put them on the Turntables. Well that's my review. I personally own Serato and if anyone has any questions contact me at: djmanilaice@crowdcontrolrecords.com Manils Click for a page: |
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I was only personally able to use this device for only a few minutes. 
Well it feels exactly like the Numark TTX. It has many effects and features to it.
It comes with one box, a 2 time code CDs, 2 time code vinyl records, cables, and a CD driver.