User Manual


Switch between calibrating the Primary and
Secondary Decks by clicking the  and
 buttons above the scopes.
With music playing in the background (from
any source), put your needle on the record with
the turntable . If you are using CD
players, the same rules apply. Have the CD deck
paused or stopped while calibrating. Ensure the
Phono / CD switch on the SL 4 is set correctly.
Click and hold the  button until the
slider stops moving. Moving the threshold slider
to the left will make Scratch Live more sensitive
to slow record movement, but also more
sensitive to background noise.


• Your needle must be on the record.
• Your turntable (or CD player) must be
stationary.
• The background music playing must be at a
similar level to which you will play your set at.
• Calibrate Scratch Live every time you play.
        
        
    
     
 

        


the ScOpeS
The scopes on the Setup screen in Scratch Live
display the input signal as a phase diagram. The
key factors to look at on the scope display are
crisp clean lines, round shape, and the tracking
percentage in the lower right corner.


Since Scratch Live is controlled by an analog
signal, there is no guarantee of what state that
signal will be in by the time the software gets to
interpret it. Therefore, Scratch Live needs to be
able to handle a wide range of signals, and be
congurable to use them optimally. Calibrating
is just conguring the software to your situation.


There are two parts to the Scratch Live control
signal: The directional tone, and the noise map.
Listening to the control vinyl, the directional tone
is the 1 kHz tone. The noise map sounds like
random noise over the top of the tone.
The directional tone provides the current
speed and direction of the record, while the
noise map tells the software precisely where on
the record the needle is currently.
the nOiSe thReShOLd
A threshold is a lower limit, below which a
process will not occur. In the case of Scratch
Live, the noise threshold is the limit below which
the input signal will not be interpreted as control
signal; in other words if it’s below the threshold,
it is considered noise and ignored.
This setting is necessary because a stylus is
very sensitive, and will inevitably pick up noise
from the environment as well as the signal on the
record, especially in the noisy environment of a
live show.
uSing the tOOL tipS
Click on the ? icon to enable tool tips. Tool tips
provide a handy way to learn the various features
of Scratch Live. Move the mouse over a section
to bring up a context-sensitive tool tip. Holding
the mouse over the ? button with tool tips turned
on will show you a list of all keyboard shortcuts.
Tool tips are available in several languages.
Scratch Live displays tool tips in the language
your computer is set to. If your language is not
available, the tool tips are displayed in English.

It’s important to understand how your turntables
and CD players are connected to each Virtual
Deck in Scratch Live before calibrating or playing
tracks. These options allow you to customize the
layout of your DJ setup. We recommend learning
Scratch Live with just two decks.
Starting with two turntables or CD players,
select these as your “Primary Decks.” In a multi-
deck setup, this denes the sources you will play
the majority of your tracks from. Select Primary
Decks in the  tab of the  screen.
.
To set a USB Source in Scratch Live, click the
USB Source dropdown box above each Virtual
Deck.      

.
Change your Display Mode to
Classic Vertical mode if you don’t see
the dropdown above the Deck.
See “diSpLay

.
Start with the Left Deck, select “Channel 1.”
This Deck is now controlled by the turntable / CD
player plugged into Input 1 on the SL 4, and the
audio from Scratch Live will be sent to Output 1.
On the Right Deck select “Channel 2.” This
Deck is now controlled by the turntable / CDJ
plugged into Input 2 on the SL 4, and the audio
from Scratch Live will be sent to Output 2.
Changing the Display to 4-Deck Stack
Mode will allow you to see and assign all
four Decks at once. Your Primary Decks will have
a white border around them. Repeat the above
steps for the remaining two Decks.
RANE SL 4 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • OPERATOR’S MANUAL 2.2.2
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