RANE SL4 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • OPERATOR’S MANUAL 2.4.4
13
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. The
pitched BPM (BPM with pitch adjustment
multiplier added) is shown on the left of
the Virtual Deck, and the turntable speed
as a percentage pitch shift is shown on
the right of the Virtual Deck. If the track
has no BPM information, pitched BPM will
not be shown.
If you are playing regular vinyl, notice
the Virtual Deck behaving strangely as
Scratch Live attempts to decode the
incoming signal. This will not cause any
problems, but you may find it distracting.
You can unload the currently loaded track
using the Virtual Deck eject button.
TIP: Use the keyboard shortcut shift-
alt-arrow to unload a track from the
Virtual Deck.
USB Sources & Analog Inputs
Each Virtual Deck
in Scratch Live
has a unique input
/ output source,
which you can
change to suit the
layout of your DJ
setup.
To set a USB
Source in Scratch
Live, click the USB Source dropdown box
above the Virtual Deck.
E.g: If a Virtual Deck has “Channel 1”
selected, this means it is controlled by the
turntable / CDJ plugged into Input 1 on
the SL4, and the audio from Scratch Live
will be sent to Output 1. The same applies
to the other channels: 2, 3, and 4.
You may want to change your display
to 4-Deck Stack Mode to assign all the
Decks at once.
See “Display Modes” on
page 15.
Visual Aids
When the track is playing several
waveforms are displayed. Each shows a
different aspect of the track being played.
Tempo Matching Display
The Tempo Matching display area
provides a helpful tool for beat matching.
Scratch Live detects the beats within the
track, and places a row of orange peaks
(for the track on the left side) above a
row of blue peaks (for the track on the
right side) in the Tempo Matching display
area. When the two tracks are matched
to the same tempo, the peaks will line
up. The tempo display is aligned with the
beginning of the bar, so the peaks keep
their relative position as the track plays.
This display does not show the relative
timing of the beats, only the tempos of the
tracks. The peaks will still line up when the
tracks are playing at the same tempo, but
are out of sync.
Main Screen
Overview
Track Overview Display
This view provides a complete
overview of the track waveform,
and includes a marker to show
the current position within the
track. This view is useful for
finding transitions within the
track. The waveform is colored
according to the sound spectrum
– red representing low frequency
bass sounds, green representing
mid frequency sounds and blue
representing high frequency treble
sounds.
You can jump to different
positions within the track by clicking
on the Track Overview display (disabled
in ABS Mode). Grey lines behind the
overview show the length of the track – a
thin grey line every minute, and a thick
grey line every 5 minutes. The overview
will be filled when you load the track onto
a Virtual Deck. On slower computers,
you should disable
Autofill overviews
in
the Library tab of the Setup screen.
See
“Preparing Your Files” on page 11
and “AutoFill Overviews” on page 34.
Main Waveform Display
This view provides a close-
up of the track, including
color coding to show the
frequency of the sound; red
representing low frequency
bass, green representing
mid-frequencies and blue
representing high-frequency
treble sounds. You can
also switch to a three-band
spectrum view by holding
the ctrl key and clicking
on the waveform. Click on
the waveform to ‘scrub’
or make fine adjustments
to your position within the track. This
applies to INT Mode only, and may be
useful if you wish to set cue points in
your tracks without your turntables or CD
players connected. The Main Waveform is
zoomed around the current position in the
track.
See “Cue Points” on page 18
and “Scratch Live Modes” on page
16.
