I first encountered Serato Scratch Live
at a house party a couple of years ago.  I had lugged in a stack of about thirty records—the other DJ lugged in his laptop, this little box…and his entire rig.  My first impression of the device basically amounted to, “That’s neat. Looks simple enough and it’s obvious that things have come a long way since Final Scratch.  But, hey, buddy!  Your 128k constant bit rate MP3s sound like shit!”

Last Sunday, however, I saw the same gear in the hands of someone who actually had decent, recently-downloaded tracks instead of a scattered collection of crappy dance music remixes from the late 1990’s.  Lo, I am impressed!

This got me thinking about some of the excuses I’ve given myself in the past for not “going digital.”

"Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really.

"How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty.

And yet it all seems limitless..."

- Paul Bowles

reading

You buy them books, and what do they do? They eat the paper!

listening

Forget about your seat -- it's the beat.

viewing

Television will make you dumb. C'mon and get stupid!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Serato Scratch Live: A Vinyl Purist’s First Impression

I first encountered Serato Scratch Live
at a house party a couple of years ago.  I had lugged in a stack of about thirty records—the other DJ lugged in his laptop, this little box…and his entire rig.  My first impression of the device basically amounted to, “That’s neat. Looks simple enough and it’s obvious that things have come a long way since Final Scratch.  But, hey, buddy!  Your 128k constant bit rate MP3s sound like shit!”

Last Sunday, however, I saw the same gear in the hands of someone who actually had decent, recently-downloaded tracks instead of a scattered collection of crappy dance music remixes from the late 1990’s.  Lo, I am impressed!

This got me thinking about some of the excuses I’ve given myself in the past for not “going digital.”

more...

posted on 07/10 • blog • (734) comments • permalink

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