I’ve compared the VCI300 to playing on decks before, and the VCI won out…  I wanted to look more into what makes playing on serato vinyl different or not, from playing on a serato controller.

For the record, (excuse the blatant pun) I prefer to use a controller, it’s just so damn quick and easy to set up. My latest gig down at No5 on Church Lane in Queenstown, I’ll be getting back to basics and mixing on vinyl, well, serato vinyl. They have recently  invested in a couple of mark 5 1210’s, and a Rane mixer, with built in Serato.

There is certainly a look that goes along with playing on a pair of wheels of steel, and a large shiny mixer. I don’t use any automatic beatmatching features of my controller, but I do use the visual output, allowing me to be much more precise over when I drop beats, loops, etc to tell the story I want to tell. The interesting thing about playing on vinyl with serato is that even though it appears more traditional, with the assistance of the visual outputs, using dicers, and other midi surfaces, it’s about as far detached from a traditional vinyl session as a mix with my NS6.

So what is the difference?

Setup

It takes me about 5 minutes to setup my NS6 to a system, a pair of 1210’s and a mixer, plus SL3 if you don’t have it built into the mixer can take a lot longer, and tends to be prone to issues, like poor needles, and the potential of having issues with your timecode vynil. Controller wins out hands down for ease of setup!

Beatmatching?

This is just practice, I originally learned to mix on vinyl, I certainly keep mixes in time longer with the help of the serato waveform output, this is especially useful on disco tracks when the tempo is going all over the place.

Cueing?

I can still cue and play like a cdj or controller with serato vinyl, just like I can on the NS6, using the dicer has made putting the needle to the start of the record a task from the past, so not much in it there….

Filters, Effects, rolls, Looping?

Looping, and rolls are at your finger tips, with the SL3, Rane mixers and other with built in Serato, you actually have access to a much fuller spectrum of filters and effects, plus much more customizable midi configurations.

Sound Quality?

As far as sound quality, well, the jury is still out for me, I’m not really certain which sounds better…. Certainly traditional vynil is very different from playing music via serato vinyl.

Environment?

Here’s where I think things get interesting, just as a DJ can use vinyl or a controller, an artist might choose a spray can over a paint brush, but certain environments are more suited to a specific medium. For example, you might feel that a pair of 1210’s and a mixer suits the environment of a swanky bar, but then, the modern controller still looks pretty tight….

……Perception.

Djing is a performance, as much as it is a skill, what I mean by this, is that you can learn how to mix records together, in fact, you can push a button, and two tracks will be perfectly beatmatched. You can learn how to put a set together, and practice getting the right journey, and blended elements to create a great mix, locked away for hours in your bedroom with headphones on. But where a DJ really shines, is in the total package, which, in my opinion, includes an pretty big element of performance. And part of performing, is how you present yourself, and your art. Seeing vinyl instantly sends a message, it changes people perception of who you are, and what you play, even though, it really has nothing to do with what you hear in the mix.

Of course other elements in this are things like personal preference, “what your comfortable with”, what you learned on, what you think is “right”, or “real djing”, and just the pure enjoyment, and what you get enjoyment from. For some, there is no better feeling then mixing records together on vinyl, others feel more at home cramming effects, and loops with all sorts of knob and dial twisting going on…

Although I prefer the NS6, playing on vinyl has it’s benefits, and drawbacks, whatever we use to make our mixes, or whatever musical instrument a musician uses, at the end of the day, it’s all about what comes out the speakers.

So pop down to No5 this Friday, and you can make your mind up….  (wow, that was a long winded plug.)