I'm looking to go digital and am trying to find software (as well as hardware) to accomplish this. So far I haven't been able to find a system that does what I want it to do and seems reliable.
Currently, I play CD's. I maintain my music by hand (CD organization and database in Microsoft access). It is a pain to add music, print paper lists for clients and flip through the pages to find songs, as well as organize by BPM for beatmatching. It is also a pain to add new music, which means burning new CD's and updating my database by hand.
I like Torque as well as Serato Scratch Live because the software makes sense to me (as far as features and ease of use). I also like the fact that they are dependent on external hardware which sends audio out to your mixer via USB so I don't have to worry about laptop noise, sound card issues, etc... I also like the fact that the control CD's allow me to start, stop, and tempo change from my current CD player.
This means that I can cue up a song on the laptop and push play on the CD player just as I do now.
I like Torque Connectiv because it does all of this, it seems reliable and has plenty of features, and is not too expensive (under $300). HOWEVER it does not work with Windows Vista, so I have to sit here and wait until it works with Vista, which should be sometime this summer.
Serato Scratch Live seems to have all of the same functions as Torque...I like it because it is used by lots of DJ's as well, so I know it will be dependable. It works with Vista NOW so I know Serato is on top of things. Drawback: it costs $530. Expensive. It's geared towards turntable DJ's and I am not going that route, so lots of the features (and expense) is useless to me.
I like the Serato software and I had pretty much decided on buying it after a few more gigs (I have my laptop and a new external hard drive all ready!)
until I discovered something unsettling on the scratch live forums.
There is no way to export or print freaking playlists (or crates).
There is no way to export or print YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY as arranged in the software.
What the hell? This is half of the reason I want the software, so I can organize my music in a program that is easy to use and GEARED TOWARD me and the way I use it (made for DJ's to organize and play music).
I should be able to quickly print out my dance songs list, for example, and have people look through it to make a request. ARGH!
Of course, you can organize your playlists in iTunes and Serato automatically imports them, but that's a pain in the ass.
Also, there is a user on the scratch live forums who is making programs to export crates or playlists or whatever to text files. It seems like a pain in the ass. It's a feature that is "requested" and I'm sure Serato will work in the features soon...blah blah blah.
I am not paying $500 for a program to organize and play my music, but won't even print out a list for me. That is ridiculous.
I was excited because I have Scratch Live installed on my computer, and I can start organizing my music before I even buy the program. (The program doesn't function completely without the hardware).
But I'm not going to spend days and hours importing my music into Serato if there is a chance I won't even buy it. Right now, spending $500 on a program that I have to HACK to get my playlists out of seems completely f***ed.
Help?
Currently, I play CD's. I maintain my music by hand (CD organization and database in Microsoft access). It is a pain to add music, print paper lists for clients and flip through the pages to find songs, as well as organize by BPM for beatmatching. It is also a pain to add new music, which means burning new CD's and updating my database by hand.
I like Torque as well as Serato Scratch Live because the software makes sense to me (as far as features and ease of use). I also like the fact that they are dependent on external hardware which sends audio out to your mixer via USB so I don't have to worry about laptop noise, sound card issues, etc... I also like the fact that the control CD's allow me to start, stop, and tempo change from my current CD player.
This means that I can cue up a song on the laptop and push play on the CD player just as I do now.
I like Torque Connectiv because it does all of this, it seems reliable and has plenty of features, and is not too expensive (under $300). HOWEVER it does not work with Windows Vista, so I have to sit here and wait until it works with Vista, which should be sometime this summer.
Serato Scratch Live seems to have all of the same functions as Torque...I like it because it is used by lots of DJ's as well, so I know it will be dependable. It works with Vista NOW so I know Serato is on top of things. Drawback: it costs $530. Expensive. It's geared towards turntable DJ's and I am not going that route, so lots of the features (and expense) is useless to me.
I like the Serato software and I had pretty much decided on buying it after a few more gigs (I have my laptop and a new external hard drive all ready!)
until I discovered something unsettling on the scratch live forums.
There is no way to export or print freaking playlists (or crates).
There is no way to export or print YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY as arranged in the software.
What the hell? This is half of the reason I want the software, so I can organize my music in a program that is easy to use and GEARED TOWARD me and the way I use it (made for DJ's to organize and play music).
I should be able to quickly print out my dance songs list, for example, and have people look through it to make a request. ARGH!
Of course, you can organize your playlists in iTunes and Serato automatically imports them, but that's a pain in the ass.
Also, there is a user on the scratch live forums who is making programs to export crates or playlists or whatever to text files. It seems like a pain in the ass. It's a feature that is "requested" and I'm sure Serato will work in the features soon...blah blah blah.
I am not paying $500 for a program to organize and play my music, but won't even print out a list for me. That is ridiculous.
I was excited because I have Scratch Live installed on my computer, and I can start organizing my music before I even buy the program. (The program doesn't function completely without the hardware).
But I'm not going to spend days and hours importing my music into Serato if there is a chance I won't even buy it. Right now, spending $500 on a program that I have to HACK to get my playlists out of seems completely f***ed.
Help?
