Operator`s manual
RANE SL3 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • OPERATOR’S MANUAL 2.5.0
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making it illegible to Scratch Live. Use key 
correction within Scratch Live instead. 
See “Key Lock” on page 14.
I want to backup my library and crates 
or move them to another machine, so 
where are they stored?
Your database and crates are stored in 
the folder Home\Music\_Serato_ on a 
Mac, and My Documents\My Music\_
Serato_ in Windows XP, and Libraries\
Music\_Serato_ in Windows 7. If your 
library contains tracks that are stored on 
a drive other than your boot drive, a folder 
called _Serato_ will be created in the root 
of that drive, and a separate database will 
be made in this folder. If it is a removable 
drive, the tracks will only appear in your 
library when the drive is connected. See 
“Scratch Live Backup” on page 28.
I have pink files which don’t play
These are les which Scratch Live thinks 
are missing. You can use the Relocate 
Lost Files feature in the Ofine player to 
re-associate these with their new location. 
To do this you can either: drag the le 
itself from Finder/Windows explorer onto 
the button to relocate an individual le, 
drag an entire folder onto this button, 
or press the button (this will search all 
connected drives for all the missing les in 
your library).
I have cue burn at the beginning of my 
control record, does that mean I need 
to replace it?
No, use the Vinyl Start Offset function (in 
the Vinyl Control tab of the Setup screen) 
to move the point at which tracks begin to 
a position further into the vinyl. See “Vinyl 
Start Offset” on page 34.
What are the best cartridges to use 
with Scratch Live?
We recommend the Ortofon|Serato S-120 
cartridges for use with Scratch Live. 
These employ revolutionary new cantilever 
suspension, which delivers high output 
volume, unrivaled tracking ability and low 
record wear.
NOTE: To keep up with the latest tips, 
visit the Official Scratch Live Forum 
online at serato.com.
Troubleshooting and 
Frequently Asked Questions
I can’t get the Scope View to show nice 
clean circles
Check your needles and make sure 
they are clean. If the circles look fuzzy, 
try cleaning your control record. If the 
Scope View shows a line instead of a 
circle, Scratch Live is only receiving a 
signal from one channel — check all your 
cables, and the connection between your 
cartridges and the tone arm. You can 
order replacement control records from 
your local distributor. You may also order 
these in the online store at www.rane.com 
if you are in the USA.
The first time I play a new track, it 
takes a while to load
Scratch Live has to read the entire le and 
create a le index (overview) the rst time 
it is loaded. This may take a few seconds 
for longer les. After the rst load, it 
should load instantly. See “Preparing 
Your Files” on page 11.
I have a particular MP3 that won’t play / 
plays badly / takes a long time to load / 
crashes the program.
The le may be damaged, and may need 
to be deleted from your library. Please go 
to the forum at serato.com and notify the 
support team that you have a bad le. By 
reporting damaged or corrupt les, you 
help the developers to improve Scratch 
Live’s ability to play damaged MP3 les in 
the future.
Scratch Live freaks out when I use the 
master tempo (key correction) function 
on my CD player
Scratch Live interprets the signal coming 
out of the CD player, and uses this 
information to control the playback of 
the les on your computer. Any audio 
processing performed on the signal before 
it reaches the hardware interface, such 
as key correction, will scramble the signal 
The audio playback is dropping out / 
clicking / popping
Scratch Live is not getting a clear signal 
from the record, or your computer is not 
able to process quickly enough. Go to 
the Setup screen and check the scope 
views. When the record is playing, the 
circles should be round, and the value in 
the bottom right corner should be close to 
100%. If this is not the case, you need to 
calibrate. See “Calibrating Scratch Live” 
on page 9.
  Also try increasing the USB Buffer Size 
in Hardware Setup if your computer is 
close to the minimum spec.
  Clean your needles! This is the most 
common cause of audio drop-out. 
Because you are playing the same record 
over and over, the needles will get dirty 
more quickly than usual.
The threshold goes to the far right 
when I click the estimate button
Make sure the needle is on the record 
and the record is stopped when you click 
estimate. If the slider goes hard right 
and stays there, you most likely have an 
grounding problem with your turntables/
mixer. If you cannot eliminate this 
problem, use REL mode instead of ABS 
mode.
Scratch Live makes a strange digital 
noise, even when no track is playing
Scratch Live is interpreting background 
noise as record movement. In the Setup 
screen, move the threshold slider (located 
left of the Estimate button) to the right 
until the noise stops. See “Calibrating 
Scratch Live” on page 9.
The tracks are playing backwards!
The inputs (from the turntables or CD 
players) are the wrong way around. Try 
swapping red and white wires at one end.










